Chicken gyro salad, fresh pepper and zucchini pasta, lentil salad, cauliflower & shrimp fajita bowls and smoked pork tenderloin
I hope your summer is going well and you are getting to enjoy some "staycation" activities, or maybe hang out at the cottage or go camping. We recently visited Flowerpot Island in Tobermory, and it was such a lovely day. The waters of Georgian Bay are the most amazing blue colour and we enjoyed our hike to see them.
Meals around here remain simple and quick, featuring the best of summer's veggies and recently, some grilling. It's been a couple of years, but we finally have a barbecue again. Actually, we upgraded quite a bit and bought a Broil King Pellet Grill. I didn't realize they were so trendy right now, but I can definitely see why! We tried it for the first time Saturday night and I think it's safe to say we are in love. My son is super excited to give beef brisket a try, so that will be on the menu soon.
On the menu July 19 - 25, 2020:
Sunday Chicken Gyro Salad
My salad was nowhere near as pretty as the one Smitten Kitchen made, but I don't think anyone cared because it tasted amazing. Since we don't currently have a grill, I cooked the chicken in a grill pan on the stove. Again - no one cared. This salad is everything you want in a summer meal - it showcases some of our fave summer veggies, it's quick, easy and so yummy!
Monday Leftovers / takeout
Tuesday Leftovers / takeout
Wednesday Fresh Pepper and Zucchini Pasta and green salad
I was totally surprised by how much my family (and especially my son), liked this recipe. Typically he is not a fan of zucchini, and he doesn't usually like lemon either, but he ate this for supper, took it to work for his lunch, and then took it a second night for lunch. I'm not sure if it was the angel hair pasta (which I have never cooked before) or what, but he seemed to love it. I didn't have a 300 g log of goat cheese so I used about 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan in addition to the goat cheese. This had a mild flavour but was quite tasty. Another great way to feature summer's best veggies.
Thursday Turkey burgers with green salad and Bethany's Lentil Salad
I needed something quick and easy tonight, so I made this fantastic lentil salad shared by my cousin, Bethany, at a family gathering last fall. We really enjoyed it and it paired so well with onion and parsley turkey burgers tonight. Beef burgers would also be awesome.
We loved these cauliflower & shrimp fajita bowls so much I wanted to make them again. I've been trying to empty the freezer to make some space for raspberries and corn, so it seemed like a good time. The Avocado & Cilantro Sauce is super - it could almost be doubled for four people. This meal is carb-less as written, but feel free to serve over rice if you like. Yum!!
Saturday Smoked Pork Tenderloin with Smoked Potatoes and Smoked Vegetables
Earlier this week we purchased a Broil King Pellet Grill and tonight we tried it out for the first time. AH-mazing! I can definitely see what the hype is all about. The whole meal was out of this world. We're still learning as far as timing everything goes, but for a first try, I think this meal was a success.
I didn't want to mix my potatoes with my veggies tonight, so I just cut up some baby potatoes really small, topped them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and cooked them in a foil pan on the side. Next time, I will start the potatoes first as they could have used a few minutes longer. The veggies were to die for. The size is important since they are cooking at such a low heat. They took about 2.5 hours at 225, just like the pork. If your kids claim they don't like vegetables, they NEED to try these. Such a simple way to cook them, but so good! It's also a great way to use up odds and ends in your fridge. I made my own dry rub for the pork, using this recipe. I will say that if you don't like the flavour of smoked paprika, you may want to try regular paprika instead. This was really good, but I could definitely taste the smoked paprika. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it.. lol I forgot to use any barbecue sauce on our pork, but honestly, it was really good without it - moist and tender and so flavourful.
#broilking #pelletgrill #stayhome #stayhomeandcook #grilling #smoker #summermeals #quickandeasymeals #weeknightmeals #mealplanning #eattherainbow #iloveveggies #alltheveggies #pantrycooking
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