July Meal Plan

[SpuglyRoo]

With the heat of summer upon us, I've found it a bit trickier to stay away from wheat.  Last summer was all about sandwiches and pasta salads- both of which are now off limits!  I also have NO idea what to expect to receive from our first veggie garden so sides are up in the air at the moment, hopefully we will get enough to fill in the blanks!  How do those of you with CSAs or personal veggie gardens plan ahead?  Anyway, here is the month we have planned out.  I'm really behind on posting accompanying recipes on my blog but for me that's par for the course.  Here is our July, what are you mixing up in your kitchens?

July
Mon.	Tues.	Wed.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
				Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice	Chicken Spiedies, Grilled Veggies	Hamburgers, Baked Beans, Salad
Hot Dogs, Baked Beans	Greek Chicken Kebabs	Grilled Lemon Pepper Salmon	Tex-Mex Dry Rub- Steak	Bean Burritoes	BBQ Rub- Pork	Salad w/Deviled Eggs
Hamburgers, Beans, Salad	Ham & Pineapple Kebabs	Grilled Salmon Patties, Grilled Sweet Potatoes	Chicken & Spicy Wing Sauce	Black Bean Salad, Chips?	Kefta & Zucchini Kebab	Chicken Caesar Salad
Indian Dry Rub- Chicken	Steak & Pepper Kebab	Grilled Mustard Salmon	Hot Dogs & Baked Beans	Grilled Turkey Breast	Party	Taco Salad
Grilled Steak, Grilled Veggies	Teriyaki Chicken & Pineapple Kebab	Grilled Salmon Patties, Grilled Sweet Potatoes	Pancakes (Wheat Free!)	Zucchini Parm	Cajun Rub- Chicken	Cobb Salad

 

[TreeRose]

I love looking at meal plans. It makes me feel more inspired. I only plan once a week. When I had a CSA, I would either look ahead (via a newsletter about what I could expect) and go from there, or wait and plan as soon as it came. Now I don't have a CSA :( and I plan on Sundays, shop on Mondays, etc. Weekends are the hardest because DH helps a lot with meals, has different ideas, grills, etc., so I find that is when we go over budget, going shopping for more. Ah well.

I love this meal plan you've posted. As for gluten, I use brown rice noodles for all my pasta needs and I LOVE them. I make pasta salad, mac n cheese (with goat's cheeses), and all things pasta with them. Trader Joe's has the best and cheapest but they're 90 miles from us. I'm about overdue for a trip.

I notice you have a lot of "grilled" foods - do you BBQ a lot?

I'm trying to use the slow cooker more this season, so that DD and I can freely go to the lake and pool and hang out with the people who are out for the summer (cousins, family, friends).

Anyway, thank you!

[SpuglyRoo]

Oh yeah, tons of cooking outside on the grill.  We don't have central A/C and it is easier to keep the house cool if we don't heat it up in the first place (um...obviously sorry) but it also allows the kids to run around in the yard while I'm cooking as well being a different kind of flavor than we get the rest of the year.  I actually used the grill to reheat some pizza we had bought for lunch over the weekend and I think I really prefer it reheated that way!

[TreeRose]

That makes a lot of sense. I'm using the toaster oven for just about everything for the same reason!

Enjoy! :)

[gagirl2008]

Your menu sounds yummy!!  Would you mind sharing your recipe for crock pot red beans and rice please?

Thanks!

[SpuglyRoo]

I would have been happy to share it, but I wasn't that thrilled with it actually (it was a new recipe I had come across).  The beans stayed way too firm even after doubling the cooking time.  I was so disappointed in it that I tossed the recipe and I no longer have it (it was just a print out from online somewhere).  I usually don't just toss a recipe, I tweak it to fix it, but I wasn't even sure where to start to fix that one so I didn't bother.  Sorry! :-/

[gagirl2008]

I'd rather hear that than try to make it myself and hate it.  Thanks!