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Summer Eating
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So I am wondering what cheap and easy summer meals you have in your pockets you’d like to share! We need some new fresh things.
I’m interested in dinner and snacks. Things that are healthy without sugar for snacks (honey is fine) and made from scratch.
We have a family of 9 and I think it’s time to start thinking of some new things, we’re bored!
I take boneless/skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs (either buy a bunch of bone-in and skin/debone them before freezing….or save time and buy them already bnls/sknls when they’re on sale) and I tear off several sheets of foil, then place one breast or two thighs on a sheet. Drizzle some brown mustard then drizzle some honey over each one. Wrap the foil around each and seal the edges firmly. I do this in the morning and leave them in the refrigerator. Then, if we are going to grill, they just go right on the grill. If not, I put them on a baking sheet and slide them into the oven instead. Either way, they turn out yummy. And it’s quick prep.
We love gazpacho. This is especially nice to make if you have a garden to pull from as most of the ingredients are common small garden items: cucumbers, tomatoes, cilantro, onion (or green onion) jalapenos and garlic. You can also add any types of other summer-y goodies as well like zucchini or yellow squash. It’s easy if you have a food processor, and it gets better as it sits in the refrigerator. AND you don’t have to heat the kitchen to make it!
We also like flat bread pizzas with just about any toppings you like. The great think is everyone can assemble their own if you want, and you can bake about 5 at a time or even grill them on your outside grill. Also, for dessert, use your flatbread and mix mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese) honey and a little coriander or cinnamon and spread it on the bread, top with blueberries, walnuts and bake (or grill). When it’s done, you can sprinkle chopped mint on top. It’s very refreshing.
For drinks, we like to do some special things during the summer without adding sugar (we don’t do pop at all) so we make lemonade with fresh lemons and stevia in sodium free club soda or the like- very tasty- and you can also make what we call “spritey juice” where you buy juice concentrate and reconstitute it with sodium free club soda instead of plain water. It’s a nice, cool, zesty change from the norm and if you let your concentrate stay partly frozen when you add it, and make sure your water’s very cold, you end up with a kind of slushy, sparkly drink.
One more, and it’s probably kind of obvious, but I forget about it too sometimes: fruit and cheese! Even if you make a fruit cheese dip from cream cheese (watch the labels though, some have MSG under another name added-YUCK!! Philidephia’s one of them) and honey, you can skewer fruits and dip away! Our favorites are grapes, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, peaches, apples, and (for everyone in my family but me LOL) bananas.
We make just about everything from scratch too, so I know that summer’s a challenge, at least in the SW where we live because things like baking bread heat the house even more than it’s already heated by the 100+ degrees outside. So I try to do as much “un-baking” as I can.
Hope you’ve got some fresh ideas now.
Blessings,
LillyLou
I ran across this recipe this morning and i’m dying to try it. Glad the grocery store was already on the to-do list for tomorrow :o) I’m thinking I’ll make a more basic version so the kids will eat it too and then I can serve the more adult toppings on the side.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mediterranean-Chicken-Salad-109681
SMOOTHIES!!!! We eat them nearly everyday with fruit and spinach (we have a vitamix so we can mix and match any fruit/greens combo and/or add flax, rolled oats, or almonds)….but even without a power blender you can’t beat the simple yogurt, honey, and fruit smoothie combo.
Nuts mixed with dried banana (or plantains) and raisins.
Pizza pitas…..drizzle a little EVOO on pita bread. Mix a can a tomato paste, a little water to desired consistency with garlic powder, onion powder, and basil for sauce. Top with whatever (we like bacon, spinach, and cheddar cheese)….bake in a toaster oven or regular oven at about 425 for 10-12 minutes.
Salad…..lettuce with chopped apples, raisins, goat cheese or feta cheese, walnuts, and sliced turkey or bacon. With a fruit vinegrette dressing…and muffins for the side. A very well-rounded quick to put together meal…..and my picky eater gets all the same ingredients only separated on a plate.
Ripe pears and blueberries blended together to applesauce consistency….we call this “blooper sauce” instead of “bluepear” sauce. Our all time favorite fruit blend.
Carrot sticks dipped in fruit dip
Whole wheat tortillas with almond butter (or peanut butter) and honey
Roast chicken….we use Ina Garten’s recipe from food network website and she has a video….just chopped up potatoes, onions, celery, and carrots on the bottom….place chicken on top (stuffed with a cut lemon, garlic bulb halved, thyme, salt, pepper on the inside), EVOO and salt all over the top. Tie up the legs and roast at 425 for 1 1/2 hours. It sounds like alot, but it takes less than 30 minutes to prepare, and it leaves time to have a quiet time or do things with dc till its time to come out of the oven. Plus its a complete one dish meal.
Breakfast burritos
Black beans (soaked the night before) cooked with 1/2 jar of salsa and a few cups of water or broth in a slow cooker about 8 hours on low…served with rice or cornbread.
These meals/snacks have made our transitioning to “whole foods” diet a lot easier! I’m enjoying hearing the other’s suggestions as I need to add new things into our meal rotation.
Blessings,
Kim
Wow! Thank you ladies for these yummy recipes. I can’t wait to try them myself! And I always appreciate new chicken recipes. Awesome!
~ Helen
We love to eat fresh, and last night we had salad (which everyone loves in my house
even the 2 yr old when I make green smoothies) with lettuce right from my garden! It was wonderful. Keep thie idea’s coming they are great.We like to take squash, zucchini, onions and potatoes and cook it on the stove with ground turkey meat. All it needs is buter, salt and pepper. This is one of my husband’s favorite summer meals. It is so easy and fresh!
Isn’t it great. It’s so easy to eat in the summertime. We’re also eating lots of fresh… and doing lots of raw smoothies too! My boys (6 & 8 yrs. old) are especially loving the red grapes right now. Any meats, that we might eat, are cooked without salt. To make them tasty, I cook with lots of garlic and onion and tons of celery.
We love frozen grapes–just pick the red grapes off the stems, pop the bowl into the freezer…..they are like candy to us!
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Oregano-Chicken
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Tropical-Tuna-Melts
http://mysimplenorthernkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/06/chicken-pasta-salad.html
http://mysimplenorthernkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/04/hawaiian-chicken-salad.html
http://mysimplenorthernkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/03/shaved-ham-sandwiches.html
http://mysimplenorthernkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/jiffy-banana-pudding.html
These have all been tried and enjoyed by our family.
HTH!
Sauted zukes or yellow squash with garlic (sprinkle w/ salt and pepper to taste while cooking) YUM!
Brown chicken breast in a skillet – cube w/ spatula and sprinkle with salt, onion powder, and pepper to taste. Use on top of salads for a quick meal.
Make a large batch of taco meat either using a packet or your own blend of spices. Store in frig to make taco salads, tacos, taco pizza, sloppy nachos, stuffed zukes or add diced tomatoes with tomato sauce and some water to get desired consistancy and you’ve got the topping for chilighetti – use spaghetti squash or a special slicer/veggie peeler for zukes to make noodles (I don’t cook the zuke noodles – the heat from the sauce is sufficient to make them more noodle-like)
Second the smoothie idea………. YUMMY!
Quick treat – freeze grapes and eat. They taste carmelly and are very refreshing on a hot day.
Cut bananas in half, place on stick and dip in chocolate add desired sprinkles (nuts, etc) and freeze on greased cookie sheet. You can also heat peanut butter slightly and dip frozen bananas into this, refreeze, then dip in chocolate – lots of steps, but yummy. 🙂
Take smoothie mixtures (we use our leftovers), and place in freezer pop molds. Great quick treat.
Place favorite fruit, yogurt, and stevia or honey into and whirl until just smooth. Pour into freezer pop molds & freeze.
DRINKS:
Get a few springs of spearmint, bind together, add hot water and stevia (or honey) and allow to steep for 15 minutes or desired depth of flavor is achieved. Remove mint. Chill thoroughly and serve over ice.
Try making sun tea from herbal teas. Our favorite is blueberry blend herbal tea. Very tasty and refreshing.
I have a recipe for a homemade “soda” (it’s fermented) that is good. Haven’t made it in a while, though. If you’d like the recipe, just ask – or if you have Nourishing Traditions cookbook, there are a few fermented drinks (to be served cold) that are in there.
even the 2 yr old when I make green smoothies) with lettuce right from my garden! It was wonderful. Keep thie idea’s coming they are great.
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