Well friends, we have a KINDERGARTENER!

FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

Finn’s first day of school was Monday and he absolutely rocked it! One of the neighborhood moms organized a group to walk to school together the first day. I think we have about 6-7 kindergarteners between our street and the surrounding streets – and plenty of older elementary kids. I’m only one block from the school so I’m really looking forward to being able to walk!

He turned to give us a wave (both parents were there – yay!) and walked into the school so confidently and bravely. We were so proud of him!

Finn was all smiles when I picked him up and he said, “I’m so tired. I want to get this uniform off, relax and eat snacks.” Haha.

Kindergarten does a staggered start so he will only go two days this week. We’ll find out his teacher assignment on Thursday and his first “real” day in his class is Friday. Exciting times!

I’m doing surprisingly well. I thought I would be very emotional about this new phase of parenting and sending him out into the world but I mostly feel peace around it. I’m grateful we did a TK year and deeply believe he is ready…which is a good feeling!

And now for some delicious dinners! 🙂

RECENT EATS: DINNER

Baked maple mustard salmon, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted cauliflower and green beans with butter, salt and pepper.

Steamed white rice with sautéed chicken sausage, sautéed arugula and spinach and fried egg.

Chicken schnitzel which is a thin and crispy sautéed chicken breast breaded in panko, parmesan and herbs. I whipped up an orzo side with sautéed squash, fresh mozzarella, basil, seas salt and Trader Joe’s soffritto seasoning.

Sautéed shrimp over mixed greens with fresh mozzarella, carrots, peppers, avocado and ranch dressing.

Sautéed chicken in a spiedie marinade. I got the pre-marinated chicken from Reid’s and cooked it at home. Served with steamed rice and sautéed eggplant, squash, onions, shishito and banana peppers (just whatever I had in the fridge!).

Sun-dried tomato meatloaf. This was super yummy and I need to share the recipe! I found it in an old cookbook. Served with sautéed zucchini with parm and buttered sourdough toast.

Here’s another meatloaf dinner but with roasted squash and potatoes and sliced tomatoes.

Mixed greens, air fried chicken tenders, roasted beets, tomatoes, avocado, pepitas, red pepper, hot honey goat cheese and poppyseed dressing.

This is a pork tenderloin recipe that I used to make regularly 15 years ago – happy to report it’s still really good! Recipe coming to you soon. Served with braised kale cooked with bacon and roasted potatoes.

I stopped at a barbecue restaurant in the mountains on my way home from a recent weekend trip and the leftovers fed me for days! I had a barbecue chopped chicken plate and here is leftover chicken, collards (also from the plate) and rice. I melted a little cheese on the chicken and added some extra barbecue sauce.

More leftover chicken made into a dinner salad. Chopped romaine, red peppers, carrots, fresh mozzarella, chopped crostini for “croutons,” avocado and ranch dressing.

Another shrimp salad – this one made by my dad! Very similar to this recipe.

Dad dinner #2. Smoked beef short ribs with polenta and asparagus. I adore short ribs with grits/polenta. So good!

Dad dinner #3. The best bolognese! Finn ate two bowls!

Dinner out in Florida at Stewby’s. I had a grilled grouper sandwich and fried okra. I love a grilled fish sandwich and the okra was so fresh! I only got one hushpuppy because Finn staked claim over them. Haha.

Back at home I made a simple dinner of pre-marinated pesto chicken breasts from Trader Joe’s (would definitely buy again) with roasted potatoes and sautéed squash and onions.

Air fried tofu over brown rice with sautéed shaved brussel sprouts and sautéed mushrooms, a spoon of hummus and harissa aioli.

RECENT EATS: DESSERT

I made a peach and blueberry crisp and it was everything. I used this recipe and added a handful of blueberries. I think fruit crisp with ice cream might be one of my top desserts choices. And about the ice cream…I didn’t have any vanilla the first night I baked it so I used Jeni’s Brambleberry Crisp and it was like crisp on crisp!

With vanilla!

Slice of 14 layer cake from Reid’s. It alternated caramel and chocolate.

Most nights I just eat a bowl of ice cream with two different flavors. I’m kind of stuck on the ice cream stack right now!

QUESTIONS

What grade are your kids in this year? 

Are you a fan of repurposing leftovers? 

Any summer veggies that you’re ready to bid farewell to? I’m about done with squash.