It is indeed September! I always feel like the start of the school year is the real start to a set of resolutions. That's one reason I was really pleased when we were planning our 30 meals for 30 days of September special calendar. I decided to take the challenge for my family, because we've been in a rut lately. With an eight-year-old and a two-year-old at the table I thought it would be neat to see how it works out. (Hopefully not to the horror of our Test Kitchen.) If you're doing the same please feel free to comment and let me know how it's going! Here's how the first two meals went: September 1: Tomato and Cheddar Baked Chicken I wasn't sure how the tomato-rich sauce would go down with my kids, because it is actually my elder who inspired the idea for our collection of pasta recipes for kids who won't eat tomato sauce. (Happily, at least.) But he finished his plate, so the jig's up. My two-year-old did not like the cheese on the chicken, which was an easy fix but took me by surprise. We were on vacation last week in an area with a great farm produce stand, so my kids picked out the baseball zucchini (see below), which I think helped with the buy-in. Family rating: Excellent, will make again September 2: Spicy Green Bean and Tofu Stir-Fry I made two versions of this dish, which is one of my strategies to walk the line between being a short-order cook, and having a meal on the table my kids will eat. Weirdly, they both like curry but neither one is a fan of heat in any other dish. So one version was spicy, and the other was green beans and tofu with a bit of soy sauce. It may have been the back-to-school blues but the kids did not love their version, although my oldest muddled through. I loved it for how easy and healthy it is, though, and the spicy version was really flavourful for something so fast to make. Plus, served with rice, they had something on their plates they would eat. Family rating: Yummy for the grownups, but not likely to be a regular favourite. What are you making for dinner this fall?