Rethinking Dinner

(salmon, mixed green salad with dried berries and sunflower seeds, orzo pasta with feta, olives, tomatoes and squash)

dinner has been stressing me out lately...or rather, the complete lack of any sort of meal plans for the week...i took a night where bryan was gone and took out 6 of my favorite cookbooks and went through them to get inspired and see what needs to be cooked.

what ended up happening was that i didn't copy down recipes for grocery lists...i didn't end up with a meal plan for the whole week...instead i decided our whole dinner set up needs to be re-thought...for the summer.

it gets unbearably hot in our house around 4 - so the prospect of cooking is super crappy and sends me into a mini depression. i am a little scared of our BBQ - its bryan's territory anyway...so i decided to compile certain meats and veggies to be que-ed on one night and use the rest for lunches and dinners for the rest of the week.

instead of meals...i am thinking more salads and pastas...and mixing everything we have on hand in. one of my favorite salads is this chicken caeser salad with rice mixed it - i love the hot and cold and different tastes and textures, so that is what has been happening around here. lots of orzo pasta with olive oil and red wine vinegar, feta cheese, chicken, corn, whatever other veggies we have, olives and sun-dried tomatoes...really orzo pasta is like the official summer pasta. i boil up a big batch and sprinkle some olive oil on it and fridge it for the week - such a satisfying lunch! we also have been cooking quinoa, chicken veggie lettuce wraps - lots of everything burritos...like a leftover medley all week!

this is working for us...so far - i know once fall rolls in i will be back to my one pot cooking that i love, but for now - i love this easy dinner set up - and the kids are being introduced to all kinds of new dishes that are surprisingly being gobbled up - which is always the best kind of encouragement! i had to share this since i am sure i am not alone in this...right? anyone have any other brilliant summer dinner ideas? a.k.a. little to no kitchen cooking involved?