Dining Al Fresco

With the weather finally feeling warm and enjoyable, we can enjoy dinner outside each evening. It's really nice to be able to let the boys run and play, while sometimes giving me heart failure with their "brave" stunts off the play set, and just enjoy time outside together. There's just something about us all being outside together even if we are each doing our own thing. We all come back together to eat dinner on the patio and have some fun since dinner outside is a more relaxed meal than when we eat inside. Eating dinner together is really important to me, mainly because I know we all come back together after our busy day. With the boys beginning to get involved in sports I'll be really striving to find ways to keep our nightly meal routine in tact.

The temp was around 80 today, so the idea of cooking was not high on my list of things I really wanted to do. Fortunately, I had roasted a chicken last weekend. I really love roasting a chicken on the weekend because it allows me to make chicken stock, chicken salad and use the cooked chicken in salads and other dishes throughout the week. So, dinner tonight was extremely simple and reasonably healthy.
Passover Chicken Salad
Chicken salad and egg salad topped our Matzah, and an assortment of grapes, watermelon and carrots finished out the meal. It may not seem quite like a real dinner but it was nice and cool and not heavy. Exactly what the evening required.
fresh fruit

Comments

Anonymous said…
I just love reading your blog! I’m amazed that with your busy scheduled you find the time for all this. How lucky are you’re boys to have a mother like you!
That Girl said…
I used to love summer dinners when we'd eat outside. Most of the time it also involved a salad made from fresh veggies from our garden my brother and I would pick. And of course, there was always watermelon.
Deborah said…
I am insisting we get a nice patio set this year so we can spend the evenings outdoors. It's still a little too cold here most nights, but I can tell that the warm weather is right around the corner!
test it comm said…
I agree, roasting a chicken is great in so many ways. The tasty first meal, followed by making stock and using the leftovers in other dishes.
Leah said…
Patsy, I think that is so awesome that you have the forethought to roast a chicken ahead of time for use later in the week! I'm usually such a cook by the seat of my pants gal, I shop for and cook one meal at a time, but it really would be helpful to think ahead and blast a chicken on Sunday afternoon, then have it to use for a spur of the moment potpie or whatever....I'm gonna try it this weekend!

Have a great weekend!
Patsyk said…
Anon- thanks for the compliment! I think I'm getting better (some weeks) at juggling things.

That Girl - sounds like wonderful memories... which is what I hope to create with my family.

Deborah - it'll be worth every penny! We spend so much time outside each summer. Who wants to go inside to eat after a lovely day outside?

Kevin - you are so right!

Leah - sometimes I have forethought, other times it's pure luck that I happen to have bought a chicken! LOL! Do give it a try, it'll make the weeknight meals easier and faster.

Popular Posts