I know the heat can be difficult and maybe even discourage you from cooking.  I get it!  It’s not hot where I live, but I sometimes I enjoy not turning on the stove or the oven and eating less structured meals of olives, hummus, crackers and cheese.  We’ve been doing this for ages, but now it’s trending LOL and even has a hashtag #girldinner. Ok whatever.  Let’s make a mocktail (I have the best recipe in last week’s newsletter) and celebrate being ahead of the curve! Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Meatless Monday: oven baked eggplant with olives, capers and basil, served with spinach and quinoa salad with feta and dill

Tuesday: corn puree with mushrooms and burst tomatoes, blackened wild salmon tacos (I’m going to skip the tortilla and top the corn puree with the blackened salmon.)

Wednesday: skillet pesto chicken and rice, green bean and basil salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Thursday: Let’s not call it a “girl dinner,” but instead a “light, unstructured meal.” The term #girldinner is a bit silly, but I like the concept and have been throwing together non-meal meals like this for ages.  Make a board for yourself or your entire family with hummus, cheese and/or tinned fish, bread or crackers, ripe tomato slices, basil, olive oil, salt, and some cut up vegetables.  I will also raid my pantry and pull out anything with a Divina or Wildfare label!

Friday: Tuna “ceviche” with avocado p.255 from Quicker than Quick served with tortilla chips or plantain chips,  Arugula and cantaloupe salad with grilled halloumi 

Saturday brunch: peach-blueberry buckle (serve with yogurt and it’s a meal!)

Sunday: grilled watermelon salad from Food Network, grilled chicken with spinach and pine nut pesto from Food Network

 

Here’s what you can do in advance if it helps you: 

Sunday: 

Cook quinoa 

Make salad dressings

Wash salad greens 

Make eggplant topping mixture

Make pesto if using homemade

Measure salmon spice mixture

Monday: 

Slice corn off the cob

Tuesday: 

Blanch green beans for salad

Thursday: 

Cut cantaloupe for salad

Friday: 

Make peach buckle

 

 

I have LOVED seeing all your creations of my recipes on Instagram. If you make any of my recipes, please tag me @pamelasalzman #pamelasalzman so I can check them out! I have a free Monday newsletter with my thoughts, new recipes, and things I’m loving lately. Subscribe here!

Order my cookbook, Quicker Than Quick!  If you have 1 minute, would you mind leaving a review on amazon?  I would be so grateful, thank you! Take a peek at my first cookbook “Kitchen Matters”!