Did you know you can make bread in the slow cooker?
I didn’t know either until our oven broke!
It’s amazing what you can cook in a slow cooker. I use it all the time in the summer to keep from overheating the house. There’s a lot of appliances you don’t need for the kitchen, but a slow cooker is a must-have.
I use it for many of our main meals plus treats like slow cooker peach cobbler. Pair that with homemade vanilla ice cream and childhood summers are relived!
There’s nothing like living the summer through your child’s eyes. Enjoying time outdoors exploring and finding frugal fun is one of my favorite aspects of summer. I like to be flexible with my meal plan and keep my time in the kitchen to a minimum.
This month’s meals are quick and easy to keep you from spending all your time in the kitchen, too. As always mix and match to your family’s taste. There’s no set rules to what goes on YOUR meal plan!
Click HERE to download the 14-day Frugal Real Food Meal Plan with recipes and shopping list.
(Note that clicking the link will trigger a pop-up form. Enter your information to have the recipes and shopping list sent to you via email.)
Summer Dinner Ideas: June 2012
A note about summer dinner ideas:
- This meal plan is designed to feed a family of four for about $350. Prices will vary by region and with adjustments made for your family’s needs.
Summer Dinner Ideas: Week 1
(S) Hearty Minestrone Soup with Dinner Biscuits
(M) Chicken & Spinach Enchiladas
(T) Creamy Squash Pasta Bake
(W) Southwestern Salad with Dinner Biscuits
(T) Vegetable Fried Rice
(F) Homemade Pizza
(S) Summer Kick-Off BBQ (Church) – bringing Greek Pasta Salad
Summer Dinner Ideas: Week 2
(S) One Pot Chicken and Rice with Vegetables
(M) Mini-Chicken Sandwiches on Homemade Rolls with Potato Wedges
(T) Spring Pasta Primavera
(W) DIY Salads with Dinner Rolls
(T) One Pot Mexican Vegetable Quinoa
(F) Homemade Mini Pizza on Homemade English Muffins
(S) Grilled Salmon with Garlic Green Beans and Pesto Risotto
Summer Dinner Ideas: Week 3
(S) Slow Cooker Quinoa Chicken Cacciatore
(M) Fried Coconut Shrimp, with Coconut Rice and Pan Seared Broccoli
(T) Faux Risotto with Summer Vegetables
(W) Vegetable Fried Rice
(T) One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta
(F) My Birthday! / Homemade Grilled Pizza
(S) Bacon-Wrapped Pesto Chicken
Summer Dinner Ideas: Week 4
(S) Slow Cooker Whole Chicken with Pan Seared Broccoli and Man Bread
(M) Tilapia & Shrimp Tacos with Coconut Rice, Southwestern Corn, Homemade Tortillas
(T) Homemade Spaghetti-Os
(W) Chicken Salad Wraps
(T) Zucchini Beef Skillet
(F) Buffalo Chicken Pizza
(S) Grilled Tri-Tip on Homemade Rolls with Pesto Risotto
Don’t let summer stress you out. Enjoy the relaxed, no schedule nonsense that goes along with it. Use a meal plan that works to keep you ahead and out of the last minute stretch to put food on the table.
Find more meals to mix and match with your favorites in the meal plan archives.
Click HERE to download the 14-day Frugal Real Food Meal Plan with recipes and shopping list.
(Note that clicking the link will trigger a pop-up form. Enter your information to have the recipes and shopping list sent to you via email.)
The month of June is looking good and busy!
Hi,
Your meal plans look wonderful but do you have any tips for sticking to them? I always find that if I do a meal plan for the week I stick to it for two or maybe three days then it all falls apart. I don’t know if I’m rebelling against the plan or what but I just can’t bring myself to cook whatever is on the list for the second part of the week – I simply don’t want to eat it, even if it is a favourite dish.
Any tips?
Hi Lorna! I plan for the whole month, but there is definitely flexibility if we’re not “feeling” a certain meal. I’ve often switched out Monday for Wednesday, or a meal from week 3 for week 2 instead. One thing that has helped me stick to the plan is doing most of the shopping at the first of the month. It’s much harder to stray from the meal if I know I’ve already purchased the ingredients… and if I don’t use them, they go to waste. If I choose to “steal” from a meal later in the month, then I have to replace what I stole, or eventually eat the original meal I had planned. If I have an extra night of chicken this week, then there will be another meal later that requires chicken that I won’t have. My efforts to deviate end up backfiring, on myself!
I think that if you don’t want to eat what you’ve cooked, perhaps allow yourself some deviation. Maybe use the veggies planned, but do something else with them. Or allow yourself to eat what you want, but it has to be from the pantry (i.e. you can’t go buy anything). Another idea is to give yourself one night “off,” where you don’t HAVE to eat what you planned, but you can only do that once each week.
That spiced carrot bread recipe looks yummy. (I would make some healthy substitutions.) But you call it vanilla chip carrot bread. Tell me more about vanilla chips, do you make them yourself or buy them and where?
Thank you Laura! The original recipe could definitely use some healthier upgrades 😉 There’s a better version here, but that can certainly be improved too!
The vanilla chips were in the pantry – I did not make them myself. They can be found near the chocolate chips at the store. I used up the remaining chips I had shortly after the first recipe was posted (hence the sunflower seeds and cranberries in the upgrade), but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some no-no ingredients listed! Our eating habits are improving and some of those older recipes show where we’ve come from.
Carob or chocolate chips would work, or even seeds, nuts or other dried fruit too! ~Tiffany