An Italian Dinner with Leftovers in Mind

Last week my father-in-law broke his ankle. I spent part of Friday cooking, and on Saturday we went to visit them, bringing food (it's the thing to do, right?). They got to see the grandkids, and we got to see them, and it was a pretty nice time, considering. The weather was beautiful, the kids behaved (until it was time to leave, at least). We brought:

• Beef Meatballs--I made a double batch. These are baked, and therefore insanely easy.
• Lindrusso's Marinara--Famous on the Cooking Light bulletin boards.
• Quick Fall Minestrone--I know, it's not fall, but this is a dependable soup. For kicks I used barley instead of the orzo and beans.
• Whole-Wheat Orange Juice Muffins--My default muffins.

And a couple of different kinds of bread, naturally. I patted myself on the back for not driving myself crazy, but picking things that require little prep work and attention while cooking.

Today is going to be busy--all the stuff that we normally do on the weekend and didn't get a chance to do yesterday, plus car shopping. This week is going to be busy--a couple of late days at work in the offing.

In fact, as I sit here looking at the next few weeks, and months, I think we're going to be busy from now through New Years....