Wednesday: Pizza Salads, Grilled Chicken & My Favorite Summer Dinner

This morning we used some of the bacon I’d cooked yesterday. Breakfast was simple—bacon, toast, and cereal for most of the kids.

My teen made one of her favorite breakfasts.

She gets a skillet really hot, cracks in one egg, breaks the yolk because she likes it over hard, and lets it cook. Then she adds a little of the cooked pork sausage that I keep stocked in the refrigerator, sprinkles on some cheese, transfers everything to a tortilla, rolls it up, and puts it back into the skillet just long enough to toast the tortilla.

She serves it with avocado salsa.

We’re officially down to our last container.

Costco still hasn’t brought it back, which means I’m probably going to have to start buying the much smaller (and much more expensive) containers at Kroger. I’m still hoping Costco surprises me.

A Busy Morning

We’re officially in vacation countdown mode now, so I spent part of the morning starting to organize and pack for our lake trip.

My teen also teaches a piano lesson at our house on Wednesday mornings during the summer, so she had that going while the rest of us worked around the house.

Lunch

Lunch was all about cleaning out the refrigerator.

The kids still had leftover pizza from Saturday night when my parents fed everyone while Chris and I were at the concert, so I heated up the rest of it.

A couple of the kids requested pizza salads.

The others just wanted their pizza with fruit and vegetables on the side.

Everything disappeared.

For myself, I made what I affectionately call my “ugly salad.”

It isn’t much to look at, but it tastes fantastic.

No lettuce.

Just lots of chopped vegetables, a can of tuna, my favorite avocado salsa dressing, and today I crushed up a couple tortilla chips over the top for a little crunch.

Still ugly.

Still delicious.

Pool Time

After lunch we headed to the pool.

When we got home, I sent the kids straight outside to play.

Whenever I can keep them outside a little longer in the evening, I absolutely do.

I passed out snacks while they played:

• Ice cream cones
• Chips
• String cheese
• Fruit
• Red pepper slices for one very happy kid

Whatever keeps everyone happily outside a little longer.

Prepping Dinner

While they played, I prepped the chicken thighs for dinner.

Dijon Chicken Thigh Marinade

• Olive oil
• Dijon mustard
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Plenty of smoked paprika
• Italian seasoning
• Splash of red wine vinegar

I’ve noticed something lately about the boneless, skinless chicken thighs from Costco.

I still love buying them because they’re such a great value and they grill beautifully.

But every package seems to need more trimming than it used to.

I find myself cutting off quite a bit of extra fat, and almost every package has at least one little piece of bone hiding in it somewhere.

That’s frustrating when you’re paying for boneless chicken, especially with kids eating it.

So now I inspect every single piece before it ever goes into the marinade.

Jammy Roasted Tomatoes

Earlier this afternoon I also made one of my favorite summer sides.

I sliced a whole tray of tomatoes onto a parchment-lined half-sheet pan, added two chopped red onions, then seasoned everything with:

• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Italian seasoning

I roasted them low and slow at 350°F for about 1½ hours until everything became soft, caramelized, and wonderfully jammy.

Those tomatoes are pure gold.

Dinner

When dinner rolled around, everything came together incredibly fast.

The chicken went straight onto the grill.

I reheated the leftover pasta I’d already cooked.

I quickly sautéed:

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Yellow pepper

Then everyone built their own plates.

Some of the kids wanted everything separate:

• Chicken
• Pasta
• Vegetables

The adults—and anyone else who wanted the full experience—layered everything together:

• Pasta
• Grilled chicken
• Sautéed vegetables
• Jammy roasted tomatoes and onions
• Homemade vinaigrette
• Parmesan cheese

It’s one of my favorite summer meals because it’s so adaptable.

Everyone gets exactly what they want while I’m really only making one dinner.

My Everyday Vinaigrette

This is the dressing I keep in the refrigerator all summer.

I don’t really measure anymore.

I just combine:

• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar (today I used balsamic)
• Dijon mustard
• Honey
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Italian seasoning

I use almost equal parts vinegar and olive oil, then season to taste.

Simple, versatile, and it goes with just about everything.

Looking Ahead

The best part about making all those roasted tomatoes and onions?

I intentionally made a double batch.

The extra is going into the freezer to bring on our lake trip.

When I make my Dinner Insurance Meatloaf for the whole family next week, I’ll simply thaw those jammy tomatoes and onions, warm them up with the meatloaf, and dinner is practically done.

A little extra work today means one less thing to think about while we’re on vacation.