Family Sunday Dinner in Almost Summer

Sometimes the hardest part of preparing a meal is deciding what to make.

Actually, many times the hardest part of getting out of a food rut is also choosing a new food to help get out of the hole.

This weekend when I was going grocery shopping my older son gave me several dinner requests.  Two involved chicken, but that's fine - one was for grilled chicken and the other for version of chicken and mushrooms.  Sunday was a perfect time for the grilled chicken.

With bruschetta.

It's really just chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, splash of olive oil, pinch of garlic powder, sprinkle of oregano.  The family prefers it on toasted bread (which I actually grilled) and I mixed the tomatoes in everything  I piled it on the grilled eggplant planks.

The chicken was grilled two ways, some with a dry rub and a few with Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce.

Macaroni salad - the photo version includes the chopped and seasoned tomatoes.

A crispy and fresh tossed salad.  I always eat mine without dressing and though I am sometimes teased or given strange looks, I like and enjoy the taste of the vegetables.

A quick flick of the wrist and a mini-watermelon is scooped into a bowl.  It's one thing to say we need to include more fruit and veggies in our diet, but the quickest and best way to ensure it happens is by actually putting it on the table in easy to eat servings.

The other side dish, the conversation, well, it was mostly about the week ahead and our schedules.  Work, play, and when the family will gather again. 

The memorable chat was before the meal when my older son asks how things are prepared, how much of what goes in the tomatoes or on the chicken and how long does it cook...  Someday it will be his turn to provide, prepare and independently be fed well.