I need summer supper ideas!

I struggle with summer meals too! We do love grilling out and we do burgers and chicken and pork on the grill besides burgers and hotdogs! I also love having a good pasta salad in the fridge - for both lunch and dinners! Can't forget tuna noodle salad either! Hmmm...can't think of crock pot meals for summer?!

 

I love pasta salad in the summer. We use Italian dressing and throw in whatever looks good. I have also done the same with rice, very yummy and easy too. Which reminds me, it is time to make a big batch of it!

Here are a few recipes too...

Grilled Portobello Burgers
Ingredients:
• 4 Portobello Mushroom caps - snap off the stems and wipe down well with a paper towel
• 4 whole wheat hamburger buns
• 1/4 cup Fat Free Italian Dressing
• 1 small jar of roasted red peppers, drained and cut into strips
• 4 slices provolone (I used 25% less fat Alpine Lace and it tasted great)
• Cooking Spray
Directions: (These are supposed to be cooked on your charcoal grill… I did it on my grill pan over my stove and they turned out fine so that’s what my directions refer to here… but I bet that charcoal taste would be awesome too).
1. Coat grill with cooking spray and heat to about medium high.
2. Brush both sides of each mushroom cap with the Italian dressing, and place on grill. Cover loosely with foil (or close the lid) and cook about 3-4 minutes.
3. While those are going… brush the insides of your whole wheat buns with the rest of the dressing, place dressing side down on the grill to toast.
4. Flip your “burgers”, and grill on the other side for 3-4 minutes. You’ll be able to tell when they are done as they shrink a bit and smell REALLY good.
5. Top each mushroom cap with a slice of the cheese, and grill for about one more minute until the cheese melts.
6. Assemble your masterpiece, bun, cheesy cap, sliced red pepper strips, and bun. This is SO good.

Stuffed Peppers

I don't normally like stuffed peppers but I love this recipe. They aren't tomato saucy...they are cheesy with a little spicy kick too.

3 bell peppers (any color)

1 small onion, chopped

2/3 cup rice

2 cans Rotel tomatoes & chilis (hot, mild or regular to suit your taste)

2 Tbspns Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon basil

1+ pound of hamburger

salt/pepper

1/3 cup water(enough to wet mixture)

2 cups cheese(cheddar/monterey jack mix)

Cut peppers lengthwise, remove seeds and core. Boil peppers for 3 minutes. Remove from water and invert on paper towel.

Brown meat with onion. Drain grease. Add Rotel tomatoes, rice, water, basil, salt/pepper, and worcestershire. Bring to boil, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes (until rice is done.) Place peppers in baking dish.

Add 1 cup cheese to mixture. Fill peppers with meat mixture. Put excess mixture in baking dish around peppers. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is slightly brown.

Patsy’s Chicken Salad This is from Pioneer Woman, I have never made this particular recipe but it is fairly similar to the one I make.

Combine the following:
1 roasted chicken, deboned and cut or pulled into small bite-size chunks
1 – 1 ½ cups dried cranberries
½ - 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Mix:
½ cup plain yogurt
½ cup sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise
Combine with chicken mixture, place in storage container and refrigerate.

I am planning to make this salad this weekend, one of my faves...

Grilled Eggplant Salad

I plan on serving it with baked french fries and some boiled/steamed artichokes. But you could easily serve it with grilled chicken, or whatever.

 

Meals in the summer are hard around here - my hubby works nutso hours in the summer.

This is a recipe I got from Allrecipes and it is really, really good. Sometimes I don't want to deal with the kabob part and will just marinate whole chicken breasts. Delish.

Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup ranch dressing
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon white sugar, or to taste (optional)
5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
Directions

In a medium bowl, stir together the olive oil, ranch dressing, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, salt, lemon juice, white vinegar, pepper, and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes. Place chicken in the bowl, and stir to coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the grill for medium-high heat. Thread chicken onto skewers and discard marinade.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill skewers for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear.
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If you're into buffalo chicken at all, these sandwiches are awesome. For the kids we just skip the sauce. Super easy to keep some shredded chicken on hand and whip them up. I get a ton of requests for this recipe.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

1/2 c. hot wing sauce (we use Frank's)
1/2 c. chicken broth
2 tbps. butter
1 rotisserie chicken (2-3 lbs)
1/2 c. celery, minced
1/2 c. blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 c. mayo
Juice of 1/2 a lemon (I just use bottled lemon juice, a few tbsp.)
4 French rolls, split (I use Kaiser's, usually the 'everything' kind), toasted

Bring hot sauce, broth and butter to a boil. Reduce heat to low and keep warm for serving.

Remove meat from chicken and set aside.

Combine celery, blue cheese, mayo and lemon juice in a small bowl.

Spread each half of the rolls with some of the blue cheese mixture. Place lettuce on bottom half of roll (optional, I don't use it), top with some chicken and season with pepper. Cover each with a top portion of the roll and serve with warmed wing sauce for dipping.
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I love this crockpot meal, feels homey to me.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

1 pound cubed beef stew meat
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup water
4 ounces cream cheese
Directions

In a slow cooker, combine the meat, soup, onion, Worcestershire sauce and water.
Cook on Low setting for 8 hours, or on High setting for about 5 hours. Stir in cream cheese just before serving.

 

Here are a few more I just thought of...super easy too -

barbecue chicken wraps

Chicken Tortilla Soup

In crockpot, put 1 package chicken breasts, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 soup can water and 1 jar salsa. Cook on high for 5-6 hours. Take a metal spoon and break up the chicken so it's shredded and falling apart. Add 1/2 tsp cumin and any other spice that feels right (I add a pinch of garlic) Simmer on low until you are ready to eat. Serve with crushed tortilla chips and cheddar cheese on top. I have also served with diced red onions and avocados. This is REALLY good

Barbecue Pork/Chicken

In a crock pot put a boneless pork roast or several chicken boneless chicken breasts, add your favorite barbecue sauce and cook on low all day long. about 1/2 hour before serving shred the meat and return to the crock pot. serve on buns with coleslaw.

 

we do TONS of grilled veggies in the summer... just dice them up in large chunks, coat them with olive oil and italian seasoning (or italian dressing works okay too), and grill them in a grill basket. goes great with just about anything. also corn on the cob is fab on the grill if you're doing a lot of grilling. if you shuck it first, wrap it in foil with an ice cube or 2 and a pat of butter in it. it takes a bit of time - maybe 45 minutes, but SOOOO good!

stuffed peppers work great in the crock pot.

you could also do a not-so-heavy pasta dish in the crock pot with big chunks of fresh veggies in it.

 

I love doing taco salad on hot summer days - I keep already-cooked ground beef in the freezer and just add the taco seasonings to the meat when it's still frozen - quick and easy, and so refreshing!

 

Here's a favorite summer pasta recipe: William Sonoma's Farfalle with Peas and Prosciutto

and we love this salad:

Apple & Tossed Lettuce Salad

4 types lettuce - mixture of red leaf, green leaf, romaine and spinach
2 Royal Gala apples, chopped
1 cup cashews
1 cup grated or diced swiss cheese

Dressing:
1 cup canola or olive oil
1 tbsp fresh grated onion
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp prepared mustard, dijon
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp poppy seeds
pinch of salt.

Make dressing. Combine lettuce with apples, nuts and cheese and toss with dressing right before serving.

 

yup, i was thinking something similar to carolee's salad too... one of my fav's is leaf lettuce of some sort with apple slices, walnuts, turkey, and dried cranberries. great w/ a vinagrette of some sort - i like raspberry myself. YUM!

 

I've made this recipe from Tali, and I can tell you, it's one of my family's favorites!! All of my boys request it, and I know when Ryan comes to visit in August, he's going to want me to make it. I just get the chicken from Costco and have my dh shred it (I can't stand the feel of it)...and do it warm...it's so much easier. Easy and delish!!

 

Along the lines of burgers...Costco has some AMAZING salmon burgers right now (at least in their SoCal stores). I think the brand is Trident, and they were on the last coupons. My boys told me to go back and get several more packages while they were on coupon! I bought 5 packs to put in the freezer. They'll have them when I'm at work...they like them with jalapeno jack cheese and then the raspberry chipotle sauce from Costco. I always have them cook one up for me too so when I get off work, I can shred mine in a salad. So good and good for you too!

 

I was just planning on living off of burgers and corn on the cob all summer...LOL Great ideas here, thanks ladies!

 

hubby has been combining avocados & mangos (diced small) and spoons it over anything we grill - I am not fond of mangos, but they taste like summer to him.

We also serve almost everything in tortillas this time of year. Try grilled pork loin - sliced thin, with diced onions, fresh chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime, on a warm tortilla.... yummmmmmmmm I add a bit of ff sour cream and salsa

 

Laughing cow cheese have new flavors... I bought the blue cheese just to try Tali's Buffalo Chicken sandwhich and still stay on program!

 

fajitas!

 

Rice Paper Rolls are quick, fun and yummy!!

You can use whatever fillings you like; leftover chicken, shrimp, smoked salmon, shredded lettuce, cilantro, julienned carrot, sprouts, wombok...

They can take a while for one person to prepare a tray, but we usually but everything on the table and everyone rolls their own.