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Fab idea! Lettuce makes a great soup, or cook it in butter with peas as a side dish...

Freeze bananas in chunks, them use in smoothies straight from the freezer or make icecream with buttermilk - stick the frozen bananas and any other frozen fruit you may have straight into the running blades of the blender and add buttermilk - yummy. Instant icecream.

Stuff and bake tough-skinned tomatoes with breadcrumbs and herbs (or anything, really!)

After one year in our CSA, we were disappointed, not in the quality, necessarily, but in the strange selection and amounts of food. We get no choice in the items that are packed for us. What is grown locally is supplemented by the CSA's purchases from other organic sources. We get such things as 2 beets, 1 radish, tons of oranges, greens, eggplants, most of which taste great. Granted, we are a 2 person household, and 2 heads of iceberg lettuce would never be used in one week. We rarely eat iceberg. We get 6 or so bananas a week and I usually give them away, because we don't like bananas and, after all, how many weeks in a row does one want to fix and eat banana bread? I was really looking forward to tomato season but the tomatoes were a disappointment. The skins were very tough,and the tomatoes were often over-ripe. Russian kale has been supplied several weeks in a row. After fixing it one week, I wasn't ready to have it again. The leaf lettuces have been great, however, as has been the basil and parsley we often get. We still had to go to the farmer's market throughout the summer for tomatoes, zucchini and corn. I had assumed we would be overwhelmed with zucchini, but never got any because their fields of cucumbers and zucchini were flooded twice. So there was no savings in gas costs. I wound up throwing a lot of produce away which was a crime.

Our CSA is organized and run by people who prefer to eat raw foods and the selections seem to run to items that could be juiced alone or in combination. I will not be joining again next year but appreciate their endeavors and wished for good health for the community. We will go back to growing our own tomatoes and supplementing our produce needs from visits to the farmers' markets in the surrounding area.

My CSA offers a half and a whole share during the summer. The half share comes every over week, which has worked reasonably well for two people. We actually didn't get as much as I thought we would and occasionally supplemented with farmer's markets and the grocery store.

Sometimes we get items that seem daunting or unappetizing, but that is part of the fun. Guilt is another motivating factor, although food occasionally goes bad before we eat it. I should say that this happens a lot less than it used to, when I was buying all my produce at grocery stores. One other thing we've done to reduce waste is to begin a kitchen composting bin. The worms can only eat so much, but it's a small step.

We hope to do more of this, but a few times we invited friends and family over for a big meal and cooked food from the CSA. They were game to try out a few recipes, especially our beet pasta, which was a big hit!

Community supported agriculture. You basically buy a share of a farm by paying up front (varies from farm to farm, but could be $500 for the growing season) and in return you receive a crate of fresh, seasonal vegetables every week or biweekly. It's a way to support local farmers by giving them money to buy seeds, fertilizer, etc. and help tide them over if anything happens to their crops. And you get amazing produce in exchange from about May to November, depending on where you live.

I know a lot of people who split a share with friends so that nothing goes to waste. I'm also a big fan of canning and freezing!

This was our first year as members of a modest CSA and it has been a mixed bag. I've let way too much lovely produce rot in the fridge and feel guilty about that (but my freezer has no more room). On the other hand, I learned to appreciate summer squash and the potatoes and onions were consistently better than anything I was able to buy locally. I'm still on the fence about rejoining for next year.

I joined a csa for the first time this year, and have to admit its been overwhelming, even though i signed up to only get a share every OTHER week. I've started freezing a lot of stuff, and have to say that its been a great experience trying some new veggies and being forced to learn new recipes. That being said, a lot of food went to waste, particularly because my farm seems to be especially keen on lettuces, which i've found really hard to keep fresh. Seriously, how is a 2 person household supposed to deal with 2 heads of lettuce and a quart each of arugula and mesclun before it all goes slimy??? If everything i was getting would last at least 5-7 days before the "goes in the garbage" point, i think it would have been manageable.

Try some non-meat based meals once in a while to add variety to your week-day meal rotation. Here are some ideas...

">Spinach Strawberry Salad
Cheesy Rice Burritos w/ Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Stuffed Bell Peppers
White Lasagna with Spinach and Almonds
Eggplant Parmesan
Toston Sandwich - which has no bread at all
Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich
Green Banana Mash
Stewed Potatoes over Brown Rice

Hope you like them...

Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking

Staples for me include quinoa with some sort of beans and greens mixture - very versatile if you vary the beans and greens. You can add salsa and cheddar to make it mexican, tahini and lemon for a more middle eastern taste, olives, feta, olives and olive oil for a greek take, etc. Soup is also big, as is stir fries with lots of veggies and tempeh. Get a good cookbook (I recommend Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian or any of his other cookbooks) and start cooking. Or scour food blogs for recipes. There are a ton of easy options out there.

@PumpkinBear: Good for you, trying to mix it up!

I am probably too late since you have probably already made your potpie, but next time I suggest you make this one- it was pretty easy and really, a fantastic pot pie.

Here are some of my other favorite relatively easy and super good dinners that tend to please everyone...
Chicken with Leeks
Rustic Beef and Rice Casserole
Filipino Pork Adobo
Meat with a simple pan sauce

Have fun, and let everyone know how it goes!

P.S. Now I am totally craving Texas Toast and feel like I must have some right now... thanks for the suggestion!

First have protein component of meal on hand: tofu, fish, lean meat. Pre-chop vegetables for a stir-fry and finish stir-fry at dinnertime. You've done the prep. There's a huge recipe selection from which to choose.

Get out your slow-cooker - it's not just for hearty winter meals. Slow cookers save on energy and don't heat up the kitchen. Put in your dinner in the a.m. and it's ready when you are. Again, slow-cooker recipes are endless. Add a salad to your slow-cooker entree and you've dinner.

During good weather, it's easier to barbeque. When you grill, grill 'ahead' , e.g., grill a flank steak along with tonight's chicken pieces and you've the makings for a delicious cold beef salad.

Love "The Rocco." I love Tyler Florence and I hate Applebee's. I was totally confused for a while.

"The Alton?" Give it to Giada DiLaurentis. Her food is solid, in spite of the distractions. Although the great thing about giving it to Ina Garten is that she probably won't care.

http://nujoikitchendiary.blogspot.com/

I think Emeril should also be considered for The Mario, considering his sale to Martha.

Ina deserves The Alton. Giada? Not a lot of versatility there. Guys like the part of her anatomy that enters the room first? And it wiggles and jiggles and tickles inside her. And I'm not talking about her pregnancy.

I can't believe Sandra Lee isn't a nominee for The Swollen Liver award. Doesn't being a dipsomaniac count?

Sir Robert could get:
The Fergus....for guts.....not in a good way
The Rocco....worst career move even surpassing Tyler - how could you???
Car Cora.......man, ya got me?

And to Chef Link........you should get the trophy and they should cast it in gold! That clog/croc is so darned cute and would look perfect alongside your cast in bronze baby shoes.