Not so Fancy Meals

I am in a slump again.  It happens every couple of months.

I am tired of cooking meals.

I am tired of deciding what to cook for meals.

Funny--a couple of months ago I was so grateful to be in my kitchen again after 2 months of sitting around letting everyone else work while I was healing.

This happens every year.  Nobody’s hungry because of the heat(especially lunch).  So I  stop planning meals.  Then I am frustrated because when they are hungry I have no plan.  See how this is a bad cycle to get in?  I made a super easy lunch last week.  I loved it because it was easy & nourishing.  The kids loved it because there was cheese on their eggs & they got to have ketchup on their potatoes(can we say easy to please).   Potatoes & ham, scrambled eggs w/ cheese, peppers & onions & toast.  Not fancy but filling.  Easy and better than not fixing anything.

So I am gearing myself up for some easy meals.  Here is my short list.

Freezer meals—check out some of my favorites

Crockpot meals like Pirates Stew,  Salisbury Steak, Mexican Chicken,  or Orange Pork Chops—dump it in, turn it on, eat it later

BLT’s

Sandwiches

Fruit, cheese & crackers

Leftovers—gotta find a way to make enough they don’t eat it all

Frittata

Sloppy Joes

Salads—Taco salad, Quinoa salad, so many to choose from

So I am not going to stop cooking but I am going to be smart about what I fix.  What are some of your favorite summer meals?

Linked up at Tasty Tuesday, Delectable Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, What’s On YOUR plate, & Fun with Food Friday

Making your own fun

The price of gas is going down here.  It is tempting to change our stay at home ways & start to go & do more.  And we do go & do when we NEED to do so.  But to help with the gas budget(which is still ugly) we are making our own fun around home more. 

Isn’t that what summer is for anyway?  To pursue things you want to do with the free time you have?

Megan has dug out puzzles.  She is a puzzle fiend.  She did her first 2000 piece a couple of weeks ago!

Joshua loves water & water balloons.  He also finds random animals in the yard.   This is a mouse visiting 2 toads in a window well.  Not to mention the cicadas.  He loves them and will be sad to see them gone in the next couple of weeks.  Crazy kid.

Michael is working his way through some audiobooks.  He’s taking speech this summer so he cherishes downtime.

Elizabeth is my worker.  She is out mowing or cleaning inside.  I love this way of keeping busy!  She also has picked Lord of the Rings back up to read.  That is one book that will take her a while.

After a sort of long break, Steve is working on the molding in our bathroom.   We finished the rest of the bathroom remodel a while ago but we had some tough decisions to make on the molding.  Could we reuse the old stuff or did we need to buy new? Where did we put the old stuff?  Where did we put the stain?  But now progress is being made & we will FINISH this project!

I am working in the garden every chance I get.  This morning I found our first baby tomato!!! 

There are going to be lots this year judging from the blooms.  I am craving a REAL tomato.  Not one from the store but one I pick & 2 minutes later slice & eat.  MMMMmmm

There are lots of other things blooming out there too.  Here are a couple of my perennials!  Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Salad

Could we please go back to spring?  Wow it has gotten CRAZY warm here!  Not really complaining here but really June is not always swimming weather here & I am sure I would have been just fine at the pool this afternoon.

Switching to summer mode puts me in the “I am NOT turning on that oven” mood. 

I just don’t like to cook when it is warm.   So I change the way I approach meal time.

#1SALADS, SALADS & more SALADS

Our favorites

• Mexican Bean Salad
• Taco Salad
• Grilled Chicken Salad(below)
• Bean & Tomato Salad
• Mexican Bean Dip & iceberg lettuce

We try to vary the salads from week to week so next week I will post a different one but my absolute favorite salad is SO easy!

#2Crockpot meals

This week it was Lemon Chicken, BBQ Chicken & Swiss Steak

#3 Favorite Freezer meals  Not this might require me to turn on the oven but most of the time I throw the meal in the crockpot in the morning(often still frozen) and let it cook all day.  But even if it needs the oven the work in the kitchen while it is warm is minimized! 

A win for those really hot days.  I'd rather be by the pool--wouldn't you?

Grilled Chicken Salad

boneless skinless chicken breasts—as many as your family will eat

Romaine &/or Green leaf lettuce or choose a prepared mix from the store(we love the Aldi organic spring mix!) to make it super easy

1/4 c. dried cranberries

1/2 c. slivered Almonds

dressing—use your favorite, most of my family doesn’t even use this!

• Now for the easy part. 
• Make your salad—stick it in the ‘frig. 
• Grill the chicken(keeps the kitchen cool).  Put it all on the table. 
• EAT! 

If I am feeling like I can handle it I will cut up watermelon to go with this. 

Just sweet enough to finish the meal off!  Enjoy!

What are some of your favorite ways to stay cool with meals in the summer?

Need some more recipes?  Check out the links below!

Sweet lil’ monster

See the water balloon?

You get the idea.

Healthy Summer Snacks!

What do you feed kids when they are starving?  My younger two are growing like weeds these days & really need some extra food to keep them going.  What do YOU reach for when the energy levels are low?  Healthy or not?

1.  Full meals  I try to make sure they are putting away meat, vegies, carbs & good fat at each meal.  This helps them make it to the next meal if we cannot snack without getting really cranky!

2.  Fruit  This is my first question to them.  Have you had some fruit today?  We don’t eat a lot of fruit at meals so they need to get this through snacks.  Apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, pineapple etc  Elizabeth loves apples & can go through a couple a day!

3.  Trail mix  Peanuts, raisins, & m&ms(a few)  I think Joshua would live on this stuff.  Daddy lets them add other stuff—like marshmallows. 

4.  Nuts  We always have almonds in the house.  Not everyone likes them but this is my little snack I have before fixing supper(when I am starving) so I don’t start snacking!

5.  Yogurt & peanut butter dip  We don’t do this often but is sure is good.  Apples are delicious dipped in this. 

1 cup Stoneyfield French Vanilla yogurt

1-2 T smooth peanut butter

6.  Smoothies  Nothing better on a hot day!

7.  Popcicles Well maybe this is better.  Freeze your smoothie recipe for a healthy alternative to frozen sugar.

8.  Sandwiches  Sometimes a little snack won’t do it.  When we go for a bike ride or a long walk.  I will pack peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.  Also peanut butter & crackers or cheese & crackers are crowd pleasers.

9.  Popcorn  Regular or Kettle corn---mmmm love it!

10.  Cheese sticks or slices of regular cheese   Mix it up.

11.  My favorite snack right now—Apple cut in to 4 pieces, topped with peanut butter & sprinkled with sunflower seeds.  Nothing better!

Linked up at Tasty Tuesday, Delectable Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, What’s On YOUR plate, & Fun with Food Friday