The meals from friends have stopped arriving and my freezer stash is rapidly dwindling. Baby Sister joined us almost three months ago; it's time for me to start cooking again. The problem: I'm seriously out of practice and desperately in need of fresh inspiration.
I'm looking for simple, easy supper ideas. I'm talking about short ingredient lists and minimal prep... like cook the shrimp, boil the pasta, and toss it all with olive oil kind of easy. We can't live on grilled chicken with oven fries, shrimp with pasta, and fruit salad for the rest of the summer.
What are your favorite "go-to" summertime meals? You know, the simple recipes that you can recite from memory. Do tell, please. I'm a girl in need of ideas.
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24 comments:
Easy Caprese salad!
Fresh mozzarella cheese (cubed), basil (torn into pieces), avocado if you like it, tomatoes (cubed), and fresh baguette (cubed). Toss all ingredients (bread cubes included) with S/P, olive oil and lemon juice to taste.
It is SOOO delish!
What a great idea! This is a link to my favorite.
http://livingwiththelowrys.blogspot.com/2009/08/blackened-portobello-mushroom-salad.html
My favorite summer dinner is grilled zucchini and tomatoes with pasta. Take zucchini,tomatoes, and onion, chop, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a few crushed garlic cloves. Roast in oven at ~350 until they "look done." (This varies for me...20-45 minutes.) Toss with pasta and some extra olive oil. Easy, and uses those great summer veggies.
O.K., I have to respond. I follow your blog thru journeywiththejacksons, iam a blog addict and follow many whom i don't personally know. No, Iam not a stalker I just love to see all the creative photos, art, sewing, cooking and the list goes on. Iam envious because none of these things I do. But this one I can answer. On the fly, one dish dinners are my specialty. We call them pizza sandwichs. You use Pilsbury pizza dough from the fridge section, lay it out flat in a square on a greased baking sheet, spread a few spoonfuls of Pizza sauce (ready made in a jar) top with your favorite toppings (pepperoni, cheese etc.), bring the long sides together and pinch the ends so nothing comes out. Bake at 350 til brown (about 15 min). Dinner's ready!
I wouldn't want to spend much time cooking either if there was a little girl as cute as yours in my house!
Pulled pork tacos:
take a pork roast and rub it down with a few spices, (I just use whatever I have on hand which usually ends up being something like salt, red and black pepper, cummin, chili powder), brown in on all side in your dutch oven, throw in a cup of water or broth, put on the lid, and cook it in the oven at 300 for about 4 hours. (this way you can really do most of your dinner prep during nap time and avoid the usual witching hour chaos.) The pork should be falling apart by dinner time. I just serve it with corn totillas, sliced limes, rice and a side salad. There are usually plenty of leftovers so that we have lunch taken care of for the next day and I can throw the rest in the freezer to thaw for a dinner the next week.
For summer we love grilling as much as possible. Too hot to turn on the oven!
~Pork, beef, or chicken kabobs with your favorite veggies.
~Marinate chicken breasts or thighs in lemon pepper sauce, or teriyaki sauce, or Italian dressing, or Olive oil/vinegar/salt/pepper, or bbq sauce, or tomato juice with basil/oregano/garlic powder, etc., then grill (or bake) and serve with salad (either vegetable salad or fruit salad) and bread.
~Grill pork chops, serve with vegetable and bread.
~Pasta salad with artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, olives, tossed with salad dressing or olive oil and serve with sandwiches.
~Stir fry with bits of chicken or beef, broccoli, rice, soy sauce, turmeric, and garlic.
~Gazpacho soup (There are lots of good recipes for this online)or cold zucchini/potato soup (Sha has a fantastic recipe for this). Serve with bread or crackers.
Make extra chicken on the grill and chop it up in a lettuce or pasta salad the next day.
We do a lot of grilling in the summer (hamburgs, hotdogs, brats, pork chops, steak, kabobs, veges).
I rarely turn the oven on in the summer unless it's a cold day. So, there's always the crock pot. Pork chops and a can of Golden Mushroom soup in the crock pot. Serve with rice, noodles or potatoes.
Cook a roast in the crock pot and shred for sandwiches. There's tons of crock pot recipes that are simple and online.
Make your own sub sandwich night
Pan fried tilapia in olive oil with lemon pepper
Breakfast for supper
Cold tuna noodle salad (tuna, cooked cold noodles, a bit of mayo, celery, onion, pineapple)
Tacos
Sloppy Joes
I'm a friend of Amanda's over at homeiswheretheairforcesendsus. I started checking in here occasionally after she linked to the home-made baby wreath, making a sweet "It's a Boy" wreath of her own for a friend's shower.
One of my favorites comes straight from the crock pot to your table. My boys, ages 3 1/2 and 2, are huge fans. The original recipe can be found here:
http://www.workitmom.com/bloggers/orderingdisorder/2008/02/21/in-the-crockpot-chicken-curry-with-sweet-potatoes-and-coconut-rice/
It's not nearly as complicated as it sounds. You don't really have to measure much.
Take about a pound or two of chicken, dice one onion, peel and chop 2 large or 3 medium sweet potatoes.
Mix 1 teas. salt, 1/2 teas. ground pepper, 3 teas. curry powder, and 2 cloves garlic, minced into one cup of orange juice. Pour over sweet potatoes.
30 minutes before serving, toss in 1-2 cups frozen peas, just to add something green.
To make the coconut rice, add one can coconut milk, plus the same amount of water. Once boiling, add 1 3/4 cups jasmine rice. (Regular rice works fine, too.) The hardest part of the whole recipe is making sure the rice doesn't boil over.
Best of everything!
Ellen
ooooh, I love this kind of question! (I'm packing so I have to be quick, but maybe I'll be back later!)
corn on the cob - on the grill or in the pot, with caprese salad or some kind of marinated veg (steam lightly, marinate with your favorite viniagrette - add some nuts or cheese maybe).
any kind of melts - a super easy one is bread, tomato, cheese, onion slice - - -broil. you could have ice cream floats with this :) and done. or a melon, for better nutrition.
Make rice and beans, sprinkle lots of cilantro and lots of fresh lime juice. maybe some tortilla chips on the side.
Summer calls for quick and casual and no heat!
I found this versatile recipe for Beef and Lime Rice salad in a Southern Living Cookbook from the library. It can also be found at this website: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Beef-and-Lime-Rice-Salad-145183. Bon appetit!
Homemade fresh pesto over hot linguine. Lots of pine nuts or walnuts for protein.
COLD cottage cheese scoop, black pepper.
Sliced tomato
cantaloupe
Corn on the cob if available
BLTs of course
Smoothies and/or milk shakes w/ hot dogs roasted over fire.
COLD leftover baked beans. And toast for dipping. Cherry tomatoes.
OUTDOOR fish or frog legs fry! (I'm dreaming now)
Easy vinegar slaw
watermelon
Watermelon, lime juice and lime zest, sea salt "salad". Add chunks of feta cheese if you like.
Zucchini boats stuffed with rice/hamburger/grated cheese. Grilled.
Making my rotating menu as I type to you : ) Thanks for the call out
deb meyers
wow, the pulled pork tacos sound good.... will try those, thanks Kelly
deb m,
We love goat cheese pasta around here. Cook pasta, in another bowl cut up about 4 oz. of goat cheese, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, add some fresh garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. When the pasta's done, drain it and mix the hot pasta into the bowl of the other stuff. It melts the cheese and is oh so yummy!
We've been existing off some pretty simple meals around here too. Meals from friends are so nice and getting back into the swing of things takes a bit of practice. :)
Kelly
I knew you guys would have some great ideas! I'm feeling energized and inspired about cooking once again. Thank you, thank you... please keep the recipes coming.
We like chicken salad sandwiches(chicken, toasted sliced almonds, halved red grapes, & miracle whip) on croissonts or buns.
Another meal is big pan of nachos (tortilla chips, taco meat or beans, real cheese) under the boiler and then add the tomatoes or salsa, sour cream and avocado later.
or BLT's :)
Tonight, I made a summer lasagne. Boil up some lasagne noodles and use them to create stacks of tomato, grilled or sauteed sliced veggies (squash or eggplant works well), and your cheese of choice. Season with a little olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper. Then, eat and enjoy.
My absolute favorite summer meal, though, is tomato, swiss, avocado and butter on a baguette. YUM.
I'm not sure how I first found your blog, but I've followed it for a while now.
Some of our favorite, easy meals: (Usually prepared with a bored 5 year old & screaming 18 month old under-foot...)
-Personal Calzones- I usually have some Trader Joe's pizza dough in the fridge- divide dough into the # of calzones you want- fill with sauce, cheese & your favorite toppings, fold, prick with fork, brush with olive oil & spices & cook at 400 for about 18 minutes
- Pesto Pasta Salad- any type of pasta (I normally use penne), cook, drain & mix with olive oil, vinegar, pesto, parmesan, feta, sundried tomatoes, capers & chicken & anything else that sounds tasty to you. This is a family favorite.
-Pulled Pork in the crock pot. I use pork tenderloin & my favorite BBQ sauce- cook on high for about 3 hours, drain, shred & add more sauce. Yum. :)
My current favorite is lightly cooked asparagus topped with two over-medium eggs, a little parm, and a side of tomato salad. I'm all about no/minimum cooking too!
Goulash - Brown some ground beef (flavored with onion powder), throw in some cooked macaroni, tomato sauce, cheese, and you're good to go. It tastes even better warmed up the next day, because the tomato sauce flavors through more thoroughly. We lived on this stuff growing up.
My absolutely favorite short cut is to buy a large (several pound) package of lean ground beef. Brown it all in large stock pot and drain. Freeze in one lb portions (I just eye-ball the size). It's hot and ready with a two minute zap in the microwave, to make tacos, spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, or sprinkle on pizza instead of pepperoni. Dinner is ready super fast.
Vietnamese Spring rolls! I just made some last night and it was much easier than I thought...light, all fresh ingredients, and the whole family loved it :).
fish tacos. Our supper last night.
deb meyers
I cannot wait to try this:
http://www.zupas.com/index.php/2010/06/rigatoni-with-sausage-tomatoes/
(I'm starting some overnight crusty bread tonight to go with the pasta tomorrow!)
I'm getting in late on this, but...
I'm a big fan of pan fried tuna patties (just tuna salad with egg and breadcrumbs), and eat alone or on bun. Also, BLTs somehow always taste more special than they actually are. Especially with avocado. And one more: Cold soups. Gazpacho!
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