What are your short cuts and quick nutritious summer meals?

[mello]

Here's a crockpot meal that's easy and delicious:

Throw a few boneless chicken pieces in the crock pot with a jar of salsa and cook on high all day. You can also add onion, garlic, taco seasoning etc. if you want to spice it up more.

About an hour or so before serving, shred the chicken with two forks (it's easy to do right in the crock pot, the meat just falls apart).

Then add any or all, and heat for about an hour:
corn, black beans, tomatoes, shredded or chopped veggies of any kind (I like to shred different kinds of squash, carrots, etc. and chop different kinds of veggies like celery, onion, green, red & yellow peppers, and keep in the freezer to add to various meals like this - it's so easy to toss into things and my kids don't even know it's all in there!)

Serve with fresh salsa, chopped avocado or guacamole, sour cream or plain greek yogurt, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese, etc, and tortillas to wrap it all in. Enjoy!

 

[karenbaco]

Here's a crockpot meal that's easy and delicious:

Throw a few boneless chicken pieces in the crock pot with a jar of salsa and cook on high all day. You can also add onion, garlic, taco seasoning etc. if you want to spice it up more.

About an hour or so before serving, shred the chicken with two forks (it's easy to do right in the crock pot, the meat just falls apart).

Then add any or all, and heat for about an hour:
corn, black beans, tomatoes, shredded or chopped veggies of any kind (I like to shred different kinds of squash, carrots, etc. and chop different kinds of veggies like celery, onion, green, red & yellow peppers, and keep in the freezer to add to various meals like this - it's so easy to toss into things and my kids don't even know it's all in there!)

Serve with fresh salsa, chopped avocado or guacamole, sour cream or plain greek yogurt, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese, etc, and tortillas to wrap it all in. Enjoy!

How is this possible? If I throw boneless breast in a crock pot on high all day mine will be one big tough rubbery blob.

 

[sherreis]

Sigh... DH is convinced the crockpot will burn the house down, so he asked me not to use it if I'm not home (which is the whole purpose of the crockpot). Not worth arguing over, and well... can you imagine the "I told you so" I'd get if something happened and it did burn the house down?

This summer we have dinnertime activities five nights a week, and we are trying to limit eating out to one of those nights. I'm trying to keep fixings for salads, sandwiches and quesadillas, plus cut-up fruit and veggies in the fridge. I'm adding a few ideas from here as well! I have time to prep/cook late morning, so maybe I just need to focus on things I can make and then reheat.

Just a thought. Have you ever considered a pressure cooker? I have an electric one and I love it.

 

[threecrazykids]

How is this possible? If I throw boneless breast in a crock pot on high all day mine will be one big tough rubbery blob.

Me too...I have tried 10 ways to Sunday to do any kind of chicken in the crockpot, and every stinkin' time it comes out mealy/grainy. ICK

 

[threecrazykids]

Last night we had kind of an Asian theme:

Asian Turkey Burgers (grilled)
Grilled pineapple
Asian Salad with crunchy Ramen noodles

It was prepped and on the table in less than 20 mins.

 

[luvmylatte]

You can make really great salad on weekends that have vinegar etae type of dressing. Think beans, raw veggies and such. The longer hey I h better they get. Grill up anything,maith the salad and some great artisan bread and you are set. Also,remember you can grill up stone fruits, like plums, peaches, nectarines for dessert with whip cream or ice cream on a pre bought slice of angel food or pound cake. YUM!

 

[*pixie*dust*]

Trader Joe's frozen turkey burgers are my go-to food (year round). I can have them cooked in 10 minutes, they're cheap ($3/4) and a decent source of protein.

We love these too! Best turkey burger around, IMO.

 

[mello]

How is this possible? If I throw boneless breast in a crock pot on high all day mine will be one big tough rubbery blob.

Hmmm... It must all depend on your crock pot. You could alway put it on low, or cook it for less time. In our crock pot it works great for around 6-8 hours, comes out tender & moist, and shreds super easily.

 

[TravelMommy]

How is this possible? If I throw boneless breast in a crock pot on high all day mine will be one big tough rubbery blob.

I have found that my smaller crockpot and the newer one that I use for BBQ chicken breasts (boneless skinless) only needs 3 hours tops, depending on the size of the chicken pieces. (my older one could cook all day and not turn into a tasteless mess) This is one of our favorite summer go to meals.

 

[pjlla]

Sigh... DH is convinced the crockpot will burn the house down, so he asked me not to use it if I'm not home (which is the whole purpose of the crockpot). Not worth arguing over, and well... can you imagine the "I told you so" I'd get if something happened and it did burn the house down?

This summer we have dinnertime activities five nights a week, and we are trying to limit eating out to one of those nights. I'm trying to keep fixings for salads, sandwiches and quesadillas, plus cut-up fruit and veggies in the fridge. I'm adding a few ideas from here as well! I have time to prep/cook late morning, so maybe I just need to focus on things I can make and then reheat.

If you are concerned about it, how about leaving it on your stovetop? That way if it cracked or spilled over, it would be on a fireproof surface. I do that if I am concerned about my crockpot overflowing. Just a thought......P

 

[My5Mouseketeers]

One thing I try and remember for the summer is that almost *anything* that I make for dinner is going to be cheaper and healthier than take out. So if I need to buy pre-cut veggies, it's ok. and if I end up serving turkey keilbasa with pretzels and grapes (not my best meal), it is still healthier than nuggets and french fries.

I do try and have a plan for at least a few nights. I try and marinate meat to stir fry one night, grill another. I also keep packages of different types of sausages (apple chicken, feta/spinach, etc) in the fridge. They have a long shelf life.

 

[EeyoreEma]

We do a TON of veggie nights in the summer. Hit the produce stand and get tons of veggies and fruits and you have an easy dinner! Corn is great - if you get it still in the husks, all you have to do is cut off both ends of it, wrap it in paper towel and microwave 3 minutes per ear. You can stick as many as 4 in the microwave at one time. When it comes out, the husk comes off super easily as well as the silk. Works out great every time! I also use my slow cooker a lot. Target has some taco stand sauces that I've been loving lately. They have one called Al Pastor - take the whole jar of that, a can of crushed pineapple (drained) and pork tenderloin and put it in the slow cooker. Shred the meat and you have some delicious tacos later!! And now I'm starving ...

 

[eliza61]

A very easy meal for us OceanA, is corn on the cobb and hot dogs.
I usually get a good brand of dogs (beef or turkey) and the summer is great because corn on the cob is relatively inexpensive and delicious.

20 min tops and we're done.

subscribing to the thread though, great ideas.

 

[minnie1012]

I clean and then marinate chicken in a light but flavorful Italian dressing and put them in the freezer. Then I defrost them when needed and they keep marinating as they defrost. I then either make kabobs or grill as is.

 

[Muushka]

snip..



Hi Barb! I will make a smoothie now and then and throw in some whey powder. What is in an Atkin's protein shake?
...snip

Oops, forgot to answer you, sorry.

I found another quick meal with these shakes. Add Diet Coke to the vanilla shake. Coke float!

 

[jsmith]

Pre prep organic greens and veggies for salad. Butterfly boneless skinless chicken breast and freeze in bags with a marinade of your choice-they marinate as they thaw-take maybe 15 minutes on the grill-slice and top the salad. Add some good bread and presto dinner in 20 minutes.

Freeze left overs from any meal in single portions-instant home made TV dinners.

 

[sandgrace]

I found this recipe for cooking frozen chicken breasts it fast and easy, and tasted great! It's so easy to have the ingredients on hand.

This recipe came from a Woman’s Day magazine from many (many) years ago. It is a great goto recipe when you have the bags of frozen chicken breast in the freezer – and you have forgotten to thaw them out for a recipe. The result makes the chicken tender, juicy and full of flavor (whatever flavor you are hungry for that night!). There are five marinades to use with the basic recipe, but you could use anything in your refrigerator – salad dressing, barbecue sauce, salsa, or bottle marinade.
Serves: 4 Total Time: 17 min. Print

Ingredients

4 frozen - skinned & boneless chicken breast halves (5 to 6 ounces each)
1/2 cup water
Marinade (recipes below)
Garnish (see marinade recipes)
Instructions

1. Place chicken breasts in a large, preferable nonstick skillet. Pour marinade evenly over chicken breasts. Pour the water directly into the skillet all at once.
2. Cover, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil 5 to 7 minutes. Turn chicken over, reduce heat to medium and gently boil uncovered 7 to 8 minutes until chicken is no longer pink at center (cut a small slit in thickest part to find out). Marinade will boil down to a thickened sauce. If there's not enough to spoon over each serving, stir 2 to 3 tablespoons water into what's left in the pan.
3. Spoon sauce over chicken. Add garnish.

Here's the link there are some marinade recipes if you scroll down.
http://www.squidoo.com/frozen-chicken-breast-recipe#module88807731

 

[OceanAnnie]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone!

Lately we've been eating a variety of chilled pasta salad w/ turkey pepperoni or diced ham, and different veggies. The kids don't like the same salad dressing we do, so I really need to make different batches. I need to remember that. I like it all, but I do like my favorite better! It travels well in the cooler. I pack our water, lunches, snacks. A few days we were running late and I didn't have time to pack. It didn't take long to see how much planning saves.

I need to make a plan for next week now.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I'll be looking them over!

 

[dpswift]

Being prepared is the best way to save money and make nutritious meals. For one thing if having prepared mashed potatos, macaroni salad, and chopped peppers and onions on hand is going to get you to cook buy them. I do not mind chopping and making macaroni salad however I would never buy prepared mashed potatoes because of the cost. It turns out it is not much more than a restaurant soda for DH.

The 2 biggest time savers are our grill and our smoker. With the grill I can prepare a meal in less than a half hour. The smoker is time consuming but you can easily smoke 3 meals in one day. Start out in the morning by putting in ribs and a pork shoulder, after about 5 hours move the pork shoulder to the crockpot. At this time add something that cooks quickly such as sausages or chicken legs. When the meat is done have the ribs for dinner the first night, make pulled pork out of the pork shoulder for the second night and have the third meat for the third night. All you have to worry about is sides for those days.

After a long day at work I am just to tempted to go out if I did not have a plan.

 

[3boymthr]

Left overs are a quick go to so like in winter I make summer time meals on Sunday that can easily be reheated during the week. Today I made pulled pork in the crockpot. There was enough left over for two more meals. A full meal one night and sandwiches another.

I also like to make a quick meal of hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill. From frozen to the grill is quick and easy. It just takes a couple of extra minutes for them to cook.

Premade salad mix is your friend also. Just dice up some onions and tomato and cucumber and away you go. Top with pre-grilled chicken breast strips or beef strips and you have a full meal in a bowl.