So many times our dinners are just like this – an assembly of various recipes that aren’t really recipes. I find that sometimes I just need an idea of what to have for dinner – something different than Pizza, Tacos, Burgers, Spaghetti, etc… the familiar rundown. So, I hope these snapshots of our dinner table will give you an idea of how to put together a simple, but fresh dinner this week. Maybe it is the onset of warmer weather (or maybe that I put on shorts for the first time in a while…yikes!), but I’ve been craving lighter, fresher dinners.
In the cooler months we do a lot of one-pot stews, heavy pastas, braised meats and potatoes for dinner. They are the type of dinner that makes you want to put on your PJs and settle in for the night. Now that April is here, I want fresh, crunchy colorful dinners that don’t weigh me down. Basically, I’m trying to add more colorful vegetables and steer clear of the full (giant) plate of pasta dinners that we’ve been having all winter long.
This is my new (fresher) formula for dinner :
– Grilled Steak or Chicken (could also do fish or shrimp…)
– Side Salad
– Vegetable Packed Side/Pasta
This is what we had last night for dinner :
Sliced Grilled Steak
Panzanella Tomato Salad
Sliced Avocados with Sea Salt & Pepper
Wilted Lettuce Salad with Bacon 
Potted Salad Garden. A couple of weeks ago we planted this “Salad” Garden in one of my big pots on the gravel patio. It has been the easiest gardening adventure yet. Emma did all of the planting and she is always eager to go and “harvest” some lettuce, spinach or arugula for dinner. It should keep regenerating throughout the season – giving us no excuse not to enjoy a fresh salad every night.
We planted :
Arugula, Spinach, Leaf Lettuce, and Baby Micro Greens. I am looking forward to planting the rest of our garden next week. I’m planning for tomatoes, herbs, squash and melons. Wish us luck…!
In a month or so we will probably be adding grilled sweet corn and sliced tomatoes to this mix!