I love spending hot, summer afternoons at our neighborhood swimming pool. Love it. What I don’t love is figuring out what to make for dinner when we walk through the door and everyone is starving!
Summer cooking is all about survival at my house. Here’s what works for me:
Keep raw veggies and dip in the fridge to pull out as soon as you walk in the door. The kids will chow down, and if they spoil their appetite for dinner, who cares? They’re eating vegetables.
Ditto on the fruit. A bowl of washed grapes or sliced apples is easy to pull out for a quick and nutritious snack. (Just toss the apples with a little orange juice to keep them from browning.)
We like to grill. Did you know you can freeze your meat right in the marinade? So, when you find chicken on sale, buy a bunch, whip up a double batch of your favorite marinade, divide it into ziplock bags and freeze the meat right in the marinade. Here’s one of my favorite recipes for chicken and pork:
ZESTY DIJON MARINADE
(Cooking Light, July 1997)
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Combine all ingredients, and stir marinade well. Yield: 1 1/2 cups.
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5 comments:
Yummy marinade...I'll have to give it a whirl!
:)
When my kids were small,(and didn't sleep til 11 like they do now) and my realtor husband was rarely home for dinner during the summer, we'd make breakfast our "family meal" in the sunmmer. We'd make pancakes or eggs, but all sit down together. I did this to let myself off the hook--I felt like I needed to have "family meals" and they weren't happening in the evening. With the pressure off, we could just throw fruit and sandwiches in a cooler and go to the pool in the afternoon and stay as long as we want.
I love the veggies in the fridge idea--that will be good for my teens, too.
I just went out yesterday and stocked up on fresh fruits and veggies! Great tips!
ooo that sounds good. I'll have to give it a try.
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