Summer time meals wanting to move on from chilis and soups....

RoxieDawn

I am starting to do some research and I thought I would post this question to see what you guys in the MFP world could add... need ideas, websites, etc...

I cook in bulk every Sunday or Monday for the week. Usually a crock pot meal or casserole (it is cheaper and it lasts 4 or 5 meals). My husband and I enjoy this type of cooking but we are ready to move on from the "winter/cold cooking" if you know what I mean...

We eat a lot of salads and I do make one pasta dish that is out of this world... need to add to my recipe book..

Thanks in advance for replies...

IGbnat24

How about stir fry? It's quick and easy if you use frozen veggies. Add to it shrimp or precooked sliced chicken/steak/pork and seasonings and you've got dinner in 5 minutes. I also love to cook up a big crock of bbq pork or chicken. You can eat it as a sandwich, over salad, quick tacos, or nachos.

lovematthewchristopher

I have been doing some research myself on different meals i can make. It gets a little boring making the same things all the time. I have come up with a few that my whole family like.Chinese pepper wraps with whatever meat you want, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes and lettuce. Barbq meatloaf muffins. Small muffin sized meatloaves made with lean ground chicken, served with a steamed potato and salad on the side. Zucchini lasagna served with salad. Tai chicken stir fry. Greek style chicken burgers served with lettuce, tomato and cucumber on a low cal bun. Just to name a few. If you go on line, you can find so much good stuff. I just go through them and make sure that they dont have too many calories per serving before i print them up.OR if they do, i modify them to bring the calories down. Good luck with your search.

Out_of_Bubblegum

Here's one of my all-time favorite summer salads - Bulgarian Tomato salad:

5 large tomatoes
2 bunches green onions (10 onions including greens)
2/3 large hothouse cucumber (don't use American cucumber. Can substitute pickle cucumbers though)
1 Cup sunflower oil
Salt to taste

Optional - Crumbled Feta cheese

Cut tomatoes into bite-size chunks over bowl (make sure all juice falls in bowl)
Dice cucumbers and onions to 1/4", and add to bowl
Add oil, salt, and stir.
Rest for 15 minutes in refrigerator before serving

If using feta, add cheese on top right at time of serving

af_wife2004

I love fresh kimchee made with lettuce, broccoli, or English cucumbers. It brightens up what ever meat we grill.

burnsjulia

Mexican can be versatile in the summer. Here are some Rick Bayless crock pot ideas that you turn into tacos, etc. and still do the weekend bulk cooking. Rick Bayliss is one of my regular go to cooks and it's so much better than crappy ground beef tacos! I usually make one recipe and we eat half one week and then I freeze the other half for easy dinner another week.

http://www.rickbayless.com/qualities/slow-cooker-friendly/

Fresh salsa is really easy to make if you have the patience to chop the stuff. Make basic pico de gallo a little more interesting by adding corn & avocado. I LOVE salsa verde - puree raw tomatillos, fresh cilantro, a wax pepper and a little garlic -- and it's good on everything. (chicken, fish, steak) Pico do gallo lasts a few days in the fridge, but the salsa verde doesn't last so well. Simple steak, fish or chicken tacos are great with some fresh salsa - you can even skip the tortillas for a lower calorie count and eat it with a fork. Rick Bayless has some great salsa recipes too.

Grilled or baked chicken with tabouli & hummus? Really anything middle eastern. If you have the patience to chop the parsley, tabouli is actually really easy to make and healthy. (Message me if you need a good recipe.)

Cole slaw - low on the mayo, a little higher on the vinegar? Super easy if you have some machine (Cuisinart?) to shred the cabbage for you. Add an apple and a couple carrots. With baked chicken, again. Or I love pork... Bake a pork tenderloin and eat it with BBQ sauce, skip the bread.

OK, now I'm hungry! :-)

RoxieDawn

Thanks so much for the replies and everything sounds yummy! I am going to check out all of these. We are just ready for something lighter and something to spark our taste buds and we eat just about everything.... except my husband hates kale! LOL

I am now hungry too... I just made corn bread and hopefully heating the last bit of 3 bean/pork chili for a while..

Thanks all! Have a great evening...

PeachyPlum

Chicken salad with the mayo replaced with Greek yogurt! I also have a recipe for one that has a vinaigrette base.

Now I'm craving it.