Ok, I need some ideas for those hot evenings when you don't want to be in the kitchen making the house warmer. I love to grill out but I tend to have the same thing over and over again.
My new thing is Trader Joe's reduced calorie salads. They have one that is a Southwest salad that is awesome and only 170 cals with the super tasty dressing. I grill up some chicken every few days and keep it sliced up in the fridge. It's so easy to grab a salad, throw in some chicken and keep the house cool!
I also love grilled asparagus, grilled salmon, chicken & veggie kebabs, and any kind of salad. One I make a lot is a salad where you mix together canned crab meat, avocado, mangoes, lettuce, and mint with a vinaigrette made with orange juice and a little olive oil. Tasty and refreshing!
Grill the following - chicken breast, red bell pepper, and red onion rings - on your outdoor grill. Inside, mix together a clove of FINELY minced garlic, a small single-serve container of nonfat greek yogurt, the juice of one lemon, salt, pepper, and a tablespoon or so of chopped dill. When everything else is done, throw a couple of whole wheat pitas on the grill to warm and get yummy grill marks. Cut the pitas in half, fill with chicken, peppers, and onions (chop them up just a little bit so they fill easily) and top with the yogurt sauce. Serve with a side salad, or with melon spears with proscuitto.
I made a great salad yesterday. I cut up cucumber, tomatoes, onion and brocoli. I added a bag of walnuts and 5 tbls of Light Miracle Whip. It was really good and ended up being about 250 calories a cup.
Also, as sweet corn comes into season, try grilling it instead of boiling it. Peel back the husks without taking them off, clean out the silks, and then wrap it back up. Soak in water for awhile and then grill for 12 minutes. Yum!!
Mandalinn - Wow! I like that idea so much I think I may have that for dinner! Fabulous, thank you!
Diane - yes, I love side dish ideas too! I think they're even harder to think of because grilled meat is pretty easy. I make corn the same way - I think the charred husks give it a lovely smokey flavor.
Yeah....I can use tons of summer dinner ideas!! It's such a nice thing to be able to share our great ideas...then we all have so many more options.
Thanks Jessica, for posting this...I'll be watching for more too!
One that we love is Greek salad. I like mine without onions, or dressing...
So basically it's cukes, tomatoes, peppers, olives (I like kalamata's myself) and light feta...YUMMY Sometimes I'll fill a pita with the salad, or sometimes I warm the pita and dip it in tzatziki..mmmmmm !
But this one good one does get tiresome...so I need more..
I pick up a bag of baby spinach, a carton of mushrooms, and go to the meat/fish counter & get some already cooked shrimps. Voila! With a Light Done Right! French dressing, and a whole grain roll or bread, I'm all set.
We grill a lot, too. Shrimp grill really fast and they're great with some cajun seasoning sprinkled on them. I grill veggies about every night. Cabbage, asparagus, whole vidalia onions, summer squash, peppers. I just give them a once over with cooking spray and then sprinkle on garlic salt or salt and pepper. YUM! You can do the cabbage whole or chunked up so it cooks faster, but you pretty much have to wrap it and the onion in foil to keep it from burning. The asparagus and peppers and squash I just put right on the grill. For some reason cooked veggies fill me up longer than raw ones. Anyway - after the veggies are cooked I either just eat them or throw a piece of flatbread on the grill, pile on the veggies and top with some cheese. Instant pizza!
I threw together a salad last night that was very good. I had a bagged spinach/spring mix salad. I used that, added in sliced strawberries and some toasted almonds. I used a blush vinagerette that I had on hand. It wasn't fat free or even low fat, but with the sweetness of the berries, I barely used any dressing at all. I think next time I'll add some chunks of grilled chicken.
4 anaheim chiles (You can substitute 2 poblano chiles. My store was out of both so I used 3 jalepenos.)
2 ears corn on the cob
1/4c freshly chopped cilantro
1c diced tomato (about 2 med size tomatoes)
6T freshly squeezed lime juice (about 3 limes)
4 pc fish, size according to plan (Original recipe called for skinless salmon, which I made for DH. I don't eat salmon so I made it with tilapia)
1tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1. Grill peppers over direct heat until charred on the outside. Place in ziploc bag for 5 mnutes. Remove from bag, remove skin and seeds and slice into thin strips.
2. Grill corn over direct heat 10 minutes until cooked. Cool 5 minutes and cut from cob.
3. Combine chiles, corn, tomato, cilantro, lime juice and 1/2 of the salt (1/4 tsp)
4. Rinse and dry fish. Combine cumin, other 1/2 of salt (1/4 tsp) and pepper. Rub on both sides of fish. Grill 4 minutes per side. Top w/corn relish.
Cannellini (white kidney) bean salads are one of my favorite summer suppers – no cooking involved and a nice change from grilling or green salads:
CANNELLINI BEANS AND AVOCADO SALAD:
1 can cannellini beans
chopped red onion - a quarter to a half an onion
homemade vinaigrette (1 TBS olive oil, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, S+P, herbs)
1 avocado, cut into pieces
Mix up the vinaigrette first, then mix well with the beans and onion. Add the avocado last, and stir gently, to maintain the chunks and avoid ending up with gaucamole! Makes two servings – 385 calories.
CANNELLINI BEANS AND TUNA SALAD:
1 can cannellini beans
1 can tuna fish
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper
1/2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Drain the tuna and rinse the beans, and mix together with the chopped scallions. Mix olive oil, lemon, parsley, and salt and pepper to make dressing, and mix with the salad. Makes two servings – 382 calories. Sometimes I cut the olive oil in half and add a little more lemon juice. Easily doubled, to have another night or for lunch. The only hard part is the chopped fresh parsley – sometimes I’ll do a whole bunch and freeze the extra, or Trader Joe’s sometimes has fresh herbs frozen in little cubes.
Grill the following - chicken breast, red bell pepper, and red onion rings - on your outdoor grill. Inside, mix together a clove of FINELY minced garlic, a small single-serve container of nonfat greek yogurt, the juice of one lemon, salt, pepper, and a tablespoon or so of chopped dill. When everything else is done, throw a couple of whole wheat pitas on the grill to warm and get yummy grill marks. Cut the pitas in half, fill with chicken, peppers, and onions (chop them up just a little bit so they fill easily) and top with the yogurt sauce. Serve with a side salad, or with melon spears with proscuitto.
That sounds SOOO good. We're all set for today, but this is going on my shopping list for this weekend! Thanks!
Cannellini (white kidney) bean salads are one of my favorite summer suppers – no cooking involved and a nice change from grilling or green salads:
CANNELLINI BEANS AND AVOCADO SALAD:
1 can cannellini beans
chopped red onion - a quarter to a half an onion
homemade vinaigrette (1 TBS olive oil, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, S+P, herbs)
1 avocado, cut into pieces
Mix up the vinaigrette first, then mix well with the beans and onion. Add the avocado last, and stir gently, to maintain the chunks and avoid ending up with gaucamole! Makes two servings – 385 calories.
CANNELLINI BEANS AND TUNA SALAD:
1 can cannellini beans
1 can tuna fish
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper
1/2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Drain the tuna and rinse the beans, and mix together with the chopped scallions. Mix olive oil, lemon, parsley, and salt and pepper to make dressing, and mix with the salad. Makes two servings – 382 calories. Sometimes I cut the olive oil in half and add a little more lemon juice. Easily doubled, to have another night or for lunch. The only hard part is the chopped fresh parsley – sometimes I’ll do a whole bunch and freeze the extra, or Trader Joe’s sometimes has fresh herbs frozen in little cubes.
3-4 oz sausages, cut up into bite sized pieces
2 small red roasting potatoes, cleaned and cut up into bite sized potatoes
1 red pepper, cleaned, seeded and cut up into strips
2 slices of onion
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/8 tsp Italian seasoning
Mix the above well, make sure all is coated with olive oil. Place in tin foil, make sure it is wrapped well and closed tightly (when cooking over a campfire, I double wrap it in foil!) Cook over grill or fire for 40-50 minutes, (turning over several times), or until potatoes are tender. Open foil, add ketchup if desired. No dishes needed, you can eat it out of the foil!
3-4 oz ground hamburger or turkey burger
1 small Russett potatoe, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup of canned corn, drained
1 carrott, sliced to about 1/4 inch thickness
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2-3 teaspoons olive oil
optional- 1/8 tsp. Italian seasoning
Same directions as above- mix well, make sure all is coated with olive oil. Cook over grill or fire for about 40-50 minutes (turning over several times), or until potatoes and carrotts are tender. Add ketchup again, if desired.
Next recipe:
4 chicken breasts, cut up into bite sized pieces
4 potatoes, cut up into bite sized pieces (you can use Sweet potatoes, if desired)
4 carrotts, cut into bite sized pieces
optional- 1-2 large stalks of celery, cut up into half inch sized pieces
1 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup mix
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Mix Lipton Onion Soup mix and olive oil well, add the rest of the ingredients, coat everything well- if needed, add a tablepoon or two of water to make the Onion soup mixture easier to coat everything. Separate mixture onto four pieces of tin foil, wrap twice. Cook about 45-55 minutes on the grill or over the fire, or until potatoes and carrotts are tender and chicken is thoroughly cooked. If you have a packet or two left over, store in refrigerator for the next day, and reheat in the microwave or grill. Serves four.
Summer Supper?
Sometimes I'll fill a pita with the salad, or sometimes I warm the pita and dip it in tzatziki..mmmmmm !
