I have five cooking goals this summer:
1. Cook simple meals.
2. Cook dinner in the mid-afternoon.
3. Don't use the oven much (aka keep the house cool!)
4. Get acquainted with my bread machine.
5. Experiment with marinades (yay for grillin' season!)
While I love to experiment with new recipes, I'm finding that with two little ones underfoot my time in the kitchen is limited. I'm sure there will be plenty of time for expanding my culinary horizons later on, but for now, I'm focusing on simple, healthy meals.
I've already started to cook dinner earlier in the afternoon, which has pretty much been great life-changing. I test drove our new summer schedule last week, and I think the "cooking dinner early" time slot will stick. It's definitely cut down on dinnertime stress, and it has allowed me to get a little afternoon exercise in. Imagine that!
While I won't be cooking extravagant meals this summer, I will be collecting new marinade recipes for summer grilling, and I will be reading my The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook in an effort to aquatint myself with my bread machine. I've already made some homemade bread sticks, and I'm going try some pizza dough this week. I'll keep you posted on my bread machine adventures!
What about you? Do you have cooking goals this summer? What are you favorite summer recipes?
I'd love to hear from you!
I'll leave you with our menu plan this week...
Monday: One Pot Beefy Cabbage Creation
Tuesday: Dinner with Friends
Wednesday: Chicken and Mushrooms in Garlic White Wine Sauce with a side of Baked Rice and Peas (in the rice cooker instead of the oven)
Thursday: Homemade Pizza (using the bread machine)
Friday: Date Night
Saturday: Grilled Chicken Sandwiches, Chips
For more menu inspirations, click over to I'm an Organizing Junkie!
Happy Eating!
