Happy Thursday all. I am so enjoying the garden and I am sure you are as well. I mentioned the other day, I eat little meat during these months, well, because I so enjoy the freshness of the veggies. I know several of you are vegetarians, so this post will offer some goodies for you. Everyone else, can maybe add some meatless nights to the repertoire! Not only is it good for us to use less meat, but it also saves money.
I may have shown some of the pics before, but this post is all about eating the goodness, so enjoy.
I have tomatoes and cucumbers probably at every meal now. The bowl of cherry tomatoes is my 'candy' dish! I grab a handful every time I walk past it. Little pops of juicy goodness in each bite!
ZUCCHINI FRITTERS - I made these in an unconventional way. I found a box of cornbread dressing mix in the pantry when cleaning it out. Not sure why it was there, not something I would normally eat. SO, I used it with a cup of hot water - blended together. Then I added grated zucchini (prob. a cup or more) - added 3 eggs and mixed it all up. It made about 8 nice size fritters - which I grilled. You could use the waffle iron as well. These were so tasty topped with butter. You can also use ranch or whatever other topping you like. This and a salad was dinner! Using what I had!!!
MEXICAN CONCOCTION - Ground beef (1/2 lb.), taco seasoning, can of corn drained, can of red beans drained, zucchini cut up, salsa (homemade) and rice. I ate this in several ways over time. When I make a big pan of something - I try to get creative in ways to serve it. Also some will go in the freezer for a later date. Below are the ways I served it.
In a bowl - topped with shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips
In a burrito - added cheese and grilled and topped with sour cream
In the latest zucchini boats - topped with lots of cheese and cooked in the air fryer
Lots of different ways to eat the same things. You just need to think about it and get a little creative. It is all good!!!!! (you could make without the meat)
Tuna salad (many do eat fish) with the last hard-boiled egg (and frozen peas) added to it - served with crackers and fresh veggies.
Grilled zucchini and sauteed beans with peppers and onions - oh my this was soooooo good.
Veggie fried rice. Added broccoli, green peas, onion, peppers, zucchini to the rice - topped with hard noodles.
Dirty rice and what I call - zucchini fries. YUM! I used the remainder of the rice in another dish later. That was a pack of dirty rice mix from Aldi that was in the pantry.
Veggie wraps on a hot day! Tortilla wraps, cream cheese, sliced cukes, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, radishes, all wrapped up and yummy. These were smaller tortillas so I couldn't exactly wrap - so ate them like soft tacos. Add any seasonings or herbs you like OR any veggies!!!!!
I know many people think these may seem like lunches and not conventional dinners. Well, let us just say I am not a conventional gal! I eat what I like, and it is good, and I get full!
Is that not the definition of a good meal?????
I eat one 'meal' a day - usually late afternoon. I may snack on a bowl of cut up veggies and dressing or I may eat cheese and crackers or popcorn or fruit or a handful of chips - nothing special or nothing large.
I stay healthy and maintain my weight. Actually, in the summer I lose some weight - which is fine, since I tend to gain over the winter.
I just love to get inventive with fresh items from the garden. I now have peppers coming on - so there is a whole new game for me!!!!!!!!
I hope I have inspired or given you a new idea or two.
Remember dinner is whatever you chose it to be. There are NO rules!!!!!!!
ENJOY
Hi Cheryl. Summer is a time to eat lighter for us and we enjoy at least 1 or 2 meatless dinners each week. When I make zucchini chips or fries I do the flour, egg and bread crumbs but I see you don't. I'll have to give them a try that way. Have a great day!!
ReplyDeleteOh I do fried zucchini and green tomatoes that way too. This was just sliced, seasoned and sir fried. It was tasty that way - no extra breading. It sure is time for lighter eating.
DeleteAll of your meals look delicious, Cheryl! Yummy! Hubs doesn't do meatless, and as a diabetic, protein is essential for him (glycemic index), but we don't eat big portions of meat. We actually use salad plates as our dinner plates. After going through the pantry, fridge and freezers at the end of July, I'm staring something new-for-me in August... Meal Planning.
ReplyDelete:-o
Like you, I've always been more of an "improv cook". Planning s meals for a week doesn't come naturally. But with so much food on hand, and prices rising again at the grocery stores in my area, an Austerity August sounded like a good idea. On Tuesday evening I made meats for the whole week... oven roasted chicken thighs in a little balsamic vinaigrette, Italian sausage links, and a skillet of meatloaf patties with homemade gravy. We'll eat that with various sides (mainly veggies) throughout the week and have a buffet of whatever leftovers on Saturday. If it works out as planned, I'll continue weekly meal planning until the end of the month.
Mainly, I want to challenge myself to shop at home before considering grocery stores. Also to avoid temptation of picking up quick ingredients because nothing is thawed, or buying something just because it's on sale, or using a coupon for FF because I'm too tired at night ($7 hot & ready thin crust pizza has become a fallback). Crossing fingers I can stick to it this month. --Elise
Sorry for the typos. Blush.
DeleteSounds like a good plan. I always try to use frig stuff first. I can also freeze some of them. Using what one has at home, just makes good sense. No wasting, already cooked or close at hand, and it saves money.
DeleteIt is easy to get those convenience items for those tired nights. You have homemade convenience items, which is much better!
Elise, I love having already cooked meals on hand. I never liked meal planning but decided to give it a try and really found out that I like it. I might do it a little differently than most. What I did was look at what I had on hand and then wrote down as many meals as I could think of using those ingredients but not assigning them any particular day. Then I just go back and pick a meal to prepare. It works really well for us. Cookie
DeleteThanks for the tip, Cookie. Hubs and I only eat one formal meal per day; a light something like toast w/peanut butter late morning, maybe a snack of fruit in the afternoon, and dinner. It's a modified sort of intermittent fasting that works for us. I'll definitely try your suggestion. I cook at home 99% of the time, from scratch, but burn out does happen.
Delete--Elise
Austerity August. I like it. Spartan September. No spend November. Miserly March. Meager May. Maybe a periodic low spend cycle.
DeleteEllie
Central Az
Yes, Ellie, we need to fence the acre for the dogs and I'd like to pay cash when we do so w/o touching any savings or "slush" money. Staying out of the stores and eating from our own store of foods will help. Fingers crossed. --Elise
DeleteYum! Everything looks delish! Stuffing mix would be a good jumping off point when making patties of any kind. When shopping the backyard is a good time to think of new combinations. I am very happy with veg only.
ReplyDeleteActually the recipe came from the box of stuffing and it was for crab cakes! So yes, it could be used for any number of things. I great with veggies in the summer months.
DeleteCheryl, I think it's so great that you make yourself such good meals. When I was living alone, I really just needed a small sauce pan and a toaster! Oatmeal, soup, toast. I took a Lean Cuisine, apple, and diet Pepsi for lunch every.single,day. Once a week I stopped at a Mexican grill for a chicken plate. 2 nights of chicken, rice, and beans. I still hate cooking, lol. I could've survived with a mess kit lol.
ReplyDeleteHubs found a flat iron steak in the wrong place 8n the freezer so he wants to grill that on Sat. night. Always yummy. I hope I remember to make up some hamburger patties. Excellent MREs for the freezer.
Someone needs to turn the outside furnace off!! My BIL just spent a month in 50° temps in Alaska and I'm jealous!!
Good luck, Elise! I might do that challenge in October, after it cools down enough for soup.
Debby, I started cooking at 13 and after nearly 50 years, there are times I just don't wanna. If I'm in the mood it seems best to cook ahead (like you mention... MREs). Some nights I'd be fine with a bowl of cereal. I cook because I'm the only one in the house who can. I wonder if you can train a dog to cook? LOL!
DeleteWe got rain earlier this week so the furnace has been turned down a wee, tiny bit. Can't wait until fall gets here!!! It's my favorite season anyway. --Elise
I just am not of fan of fast food or the freezer meals one can buy. I think they taste like cardboard. Not knocking anyone who eats them - I just don't like them. Real food for me - even if I just make a sandwich at home.
DeleteIt isn't too bad weatherwise here so far this week. A couple of hot days are in order, then another cooldown to low 80's again,
Cheryl, I think when you're single and working fulltime, those freezer meals are more appealing than might be for those of us who have time to cook from scratch. Our oldest son buys them as lunches for work. Our youngest works from home so has leftover of whatever for lunch. The frozen meals never appealed much to me. Well, other than frozen lasagna, which is as good as I can make w/o an afternoon of prep. And I do still buy rotisserie chickens from time to time (maybe once every other month).
Delete--Elise
Cheryl, those frozen meals served 3 purposes. Food, low cal, and fast. I left at 7am and got home at almost 7pm. Long day and a long commute. When my parents divorced, I ended up with all the family pets. 1 dog and 3 cats. I look back and can't believe how much I took care of at 26 when I rented that house alone. I did all the yardwork and pool cleaning (cheaper rent), painted the whole inside, had the 2 bedrooms carpeted (old was gross), then took care of everything, including me! Food barely blipped my radar. It was a complete nuisance lol.
DeleteVery exhausting time lol. Insane way to live.
On the hottest of days, cottage cheese and fruit and/or vegetables with a handful of crackers truly satisfies. And, I've been doing a lot of salad "steaks" or wedges (depending on the size of the head of lettuce) with bacon and cheese crumbles, halved cherry tomatoes, and sliced hard boiled egg, if I have one handy. Filling and healthy.
ReplyDeleteLove the other ideas you've shared!
Sounds good. I just like simple and healthy meals. We have to take care of ourselves, no one else is going to do it!
DeleteYour meals all sound good except the cottage cheese!!!! I assume by crumbles you mean blue cheese - that is a no for me too. Those are just two things I cannot make myself eat. I don't know for sure why - but I cannot do those. I guess we all have out thing!!!
Thanks
I love all your recipes. Thank you. They're very adaptable to my food plan. Hubs and have done intermittant fasting for years so to us a meal is a meal and it doesn't really matter what it. I found a very interesting site on Youtube that's out of Germany. She has incredible meatless meals. Tonight I'm going to make her zucchini pancake. The recipe looked like my fritter recipe only thinner and baked until crispy in the oven. Salad and green beans from the garden will round it out.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been in a conventional grocery store in quite a while, but rather than go to usual places because I only needed some onions, we went to our local store which, by the way, always features produce from local farms. What a shocker!! Celery was $6 a bunch, lettuce was $2.49 a pound, potatoes were $6 for 5 lbs, and just checking prices on bread, the least expensive loaf was $4.50. Makes we extra glad to be able to bake for my family and really glad to have planted loads of salad veggies, especially celery, and most grateful for the farms we can shop at. Cookie
As mentioned (above), Cookie, we do the same in our house as far as intermittent fasting. It just sort of evolved as our retirement style. --Elise
DeleteP.S. Our prices have gotten pretty high, too.
Glad that these might work for you. I just love the simple eating of summer. Such goodness to be had and so many ways to enjoy it.
DeleteI have never really fasted, but have thought about it. It probably couldn't hurt now and then.
It sure is lovely to have those fresh veggies just out your door! Good to shop local and small.
Cheryl, intermittent fasting is where you limit your eating to a blocked out period of the day, and then don't eat for the remaining time--giving yourself a window of 6-8 hrs. with solid food, 14-16 hrs. with just water/liquids. There's a weekly plan where you eat regularly for 5 days and have only one meal each of two days. In retirement, never having been big on breakfast, we kind of fell into the 1st plan very naturally; after dinner we don't eat until somewhere around 10-noon the next day, and then just something light. Dinner really is our meal of the day.
DeleteHope I didn't come off badly earlier. We all do what works best for us and it's easy to think our way is the best way for everyone. Many retirees eat out a lot for the social aspect and there's nothing wrong with that when there's room in the budget for it. Many here are no/low meat eaters, and that's great, too. Many grow their own produce and/or are part of a co-op, which is all awesome. When my mom lost much of the use of her hands several years back, those microwavable frozen meals were a Godsend to her. Now that she lives with Sis, it isn't an issue.
(((Hug))) --Elise
Since I seldom cook/eat meat at home, it's always interesting to see what others do! :) Summer is my season - all these fresh vegs and fruits, yum yum. Without the "main meal has meat" requirement, it's very easy to create a meal as a breakfast, lunch, or supper.
ReplyDeleteMaryB
I eat at home most of the time. I do not need meat to be happy. Sure, I like meat - but don't need. Especially this time of the year - so many wonderful goodies out there.
DeleteThese meals look delicious to me - just perfect for summer! I do not garden and am low on vegetables right but after a run to the farmer's market, I am going to be eating several of these meals!:) Thanks for all the suggestions -
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer. Glad it is something you will use. Farm markets are great.
DeleteI am not the conventional cook at all - so I figure if I share some of my 'weird' meal ideas others will like them to. Enjoy!
Oh my goodness Cheryl! Those zucchini fritters are calling my name! Yes indeedie, those look SO luscious. MMMmmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteAll of your meals look so nice and very versatile for us straight veggies too. Love it!!! I also love how content and happy you are to cook those marvelous meals for you! You deserve it!
Thank you for sharing today, these are some super ideas, and I needed some new ideas. : ) Thank you for taking pics too, that is so thoughtful!
On that vet? I called our old vet's office, they have some new crew there and seemed to have gotten their act together and found another old fashioned office in another country town the other way much more reasonable. I ALSO called the vet's office the very pristine vet's office I went to yesterday. Yes, I just felt I *must* be true to myself. I told the sweet tech who answered the phone, I felt defiled on the exhorbitant price charged for ear infection and I was not asked about the panel. I also went ahead and told her that it honestly hurt my feelings for the vet to tell me even kindly not to wait so long to bring her next time. : O Grrr...I had called him and spoken with him the evening before at 5pm immediately when we saw her spinning and crying. Even their office visit is the same price our daughter drives to the city to pay a holistic vet. ...And furthermore I never saw Dr. yonkers. (name changed). Only talked on the phone with him *after* panel was done! She couldn't get up, well duh. He had me give her Benadryl plus Gaberpentine I had on hand. I knew Gaberpentine was very heavy stuff and hated to give that but she was crying so horribly. I told them I love them all to pieces (I do- did not sure on that haha) but I must be true to myself and let them know just how I feel. She was very sympathetic, truly so and understood my feelings. She asked if I wanted the doc to call me (he won't be available to call til next Wedneseday. Yes, that's right, not til Wedneseday. I told her if he *wanted* to call me that is fine, otherwise please relay the entire message to him. Now. We sha'll see what *he* does. I added: This little blind dog was dumped on our road and we are doing the best we can for her to take care of her. End of story. ; )
I know you understand these things Cheryl, I'm still flabbergasted and very disappointed, like I said. If you saw the bill you would fall over.
I SO appreciate you Cheryl, your reply was a breath of fresh air and one of the receptionists from one of the other vet's office was careful but fully agreed and shocked.
Big hugs coming your way, have a great evening Cheryl, ~Amelia
Thank you for the compliments on all the dishes. I just fix whatever sounds good for me on any given day! I think these are all very simple things - maybe I do better than I thought.
DeleteI m glad you called and complained. That was needed. That Vet sounds like an omph!!!!!! A real butt head!
He needs to be told that his bedside manner is appalling. There was no excuse for it and all the expenses.
I know it will probably change nothing - but at least you got it off your shoulders.
Hope the baby is doing better.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYou are so correct about all of it, I'm hoping he will call me. As my only cousin on my German side wrote...'Beware I speak the truth'.
DeleteMissy is doing better, so that is good news. She's on a lot of meds and ear cream to boot. Whew!
We just discovered grilled eggplant this year and love it. I put a bit of cheese on top. I will be making Parma for the freezer and since our eggplant are producing like crazy will make some of this for youngest to have in his freezer as well.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I have tried eggplant in the past and wasn't thrilled. I think I need to try again and fix it differently. Good use of the eggplant!
DeleteCheryl, you can also make eggplant by oven frying in olive oil (no breading), in strips or rounds. Then you layer it with pasta gravy and Italian cheese, sheep's or goat's is great. This is my Italian grandma's way of making eggplant. She was born in Naples, Italy. This recipe converted my husband to an eggplant fan. Serve with pasta.
ReplyDeleteI was just perusing your blogs, looking for G's Red Bean Salad. I found it and also found the Zucchini 'Meatballs'. How did I miss that? That also sounds soooooooooo good. Gotta make those.
Thanks again, Cheryl. : )
Thanks - like I told Jackie, I have tried eggplant before and wasn't crazy about it. I need to try again.
DeleteI figured you would jump on the zucchini meatballs - not sure how you missed it! Hope you enjoy both!
P.S. You could also do zucchini much like that too, or just bake it in pasta gravy in it's little rounds and serve with a pasta. Our thirdborn, I call her Zuzu here....She loves it like that and will even use yellow squash in rounds like that too.
ReplyDeleteThanks - I love squash just about any way a person can make it!
DeleteMy dinner tonight was a tomato and cheese sandwich. I told my son it is far too hot to cook, and the tomatoes from the garden are so good. Dessert was a bowl of cherries, yummy!
ReplyDeleteYUM!!!!!!! Tat sounds perfect to me. I love tomato sandwiches. Mmmm on the cherries.
DeleteAmelia-- when I was in Naples, Italy I had eggplant at restaurant just as you described. It was sooo good. And I can't stand eggplant.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm ever to have eggplant again it will be in Naples, outside, at a lovely cafe.
~margaret
It must have been something!
DeleteOh Margaret, that sounds so delightful...Yes, it will definitely make a person a fan of eggplant when fixed that way! Most people think of breaded eggplant, or mixed with stuffing type thing. You can also make sandwiches out of the Naples-style eggplant and it's delicious!
DeleteI make a taco soup that is thick with rice and cheese that can be served several ways. It is about time I made some.
ReplyDeleteTaco soup is so good. It is getting close to soup season for me - that is always on my list.
DeleteWe have no dinner rules here either and that’s the way I like it. 😊
ReplyDeleteYEP! Eat whatever you are in the mood for - that is dinner!
DeleteNew challenge for next week ***and an answer*** thanks to this blog post...
ReplyDeleteWe just heard last night that the aunts and one uncle will be coming up from Phoenix on Sunday and staying for the week at a cabin. All three only eat lunch. It's their one, big meal of the day. The last time they came we took everyone out for lunch, but that would derail my Austerity August plan. Thanks to you, Cheryl, I'll make a modified version of your Mexican Concoction in the crock pot; they limit carbs, so I'll do some rice on the side and tortillas. I have cubed beef in the freezer to make it heartier. I can make fresh tortillas with flour on hand.
A serious question to any readers: When I was growing up, I don't remember anyone having special diets, food allergies or restrictions, and I lived all over the lower 48. I remember portions sizes were smaller, but it was 3 meals per day universally with 2 choices, eat or go hungry. What were your experiences?
--Elise
Yay - glad to be of service! Hope everyone enjoys.
DeleteSame here - don't remember people have restrictions much or even people having the health issues they have now. I know it may not be popular opinion - but in my eyes it is all the CRAP that had been added to foods and de-naturalizing of everything. Just me!
Our choices were also eat or go hungry. Portion sizes were definitely smaller. We have the fast food industry to thank for super-sizing everything. They don't care whether you actually eat it, just that you buy it. And unfortunately, all too many people do eat the oversized ff meals with outrageous calorie and sodium counts. I do remember a girl in grade school who was allergic to milk. She put orange juice on her cereal. By adulthood over 60% of people are lactose intolerant (myself included), but I still drink the lactose-free milk and eat cheese with lactase pills. Gotta get my calcium somehow!
Delete--Frances in the Trailer Park
Cheryl, you're not alone. I've wondered the same thing. And still remember crop duster planes all through the summer during the 60s.
DeleteFrances, we have Lactaid milk, too and eat cheese/butter in small portions (not every day), plus take calcium gummies every day. Do you remember when a McDodald's Happy Meal of burger + small fries + small drink was an adult meal? And They advertised you could get change back from your dollar for that? In those days, ff was a rare "treat"... maybe a couple of times per year. --Elise
Frances you make a good point about fast food. They have changed everything about how people eat. Super large portions, lots of grease and salt. It is pretty disgusting. No wonder America is such an obese country.
DeleteGlad you have found ways to get your calcium.
There were no allergy restrictions/Diets at our house when growing up BUT when I got married and stopped drinking milk I felt so much better. No more ear infections, asthma got better. I'm sure I should not have been drinking milk in childhood.
ReplyDeleteEllie
Central Az
I am a huge milk drinker and I know that is probably not good. No other species drinks milk regularly after infanthood really. I had allergies to milkweed and goldenrod but that was it. Not food.
DeleteEllie, as a young child, I had digestive problems will milk, cheese and various other things. No bonafide allergies (as in life threatening), but I was the only member of my family that was "such a picky eater." Maybe there were issues with other people I wasn't aware of, but we all had the same kinds of things for meals. Even school lunches. I don't remember any specialty diets until the mid 70s or so, when low fat and low cholesterol became a push for heart health. From there it seemed health... well... fads, really... got going. Of course, before then, people rarely ate out and FF (in general) wasn't popular. --Elise
DeleteI don't remember diet related allergies growing up either. We had milk for breakfast, otherwise, we drank water with our meals. Friends of mine who grew up in dairy country drank milk at all meals. Cheese was used in sandwiches or as an appetizer if company came over.
ReplyDeleteI've looked at the nutrition facts for some fast food/chain restaurant meals. A typical meal can have all your sodium for the day. Some can have 50% to all your calories for the day. The Eat this, Not that series of books are informative in determining calories & other nutritional facts. I have the one that provides a healthier recipe to replace the restaurant version. I was reading some to my husband. He couldn't believe how much difference there was in home prepped versus purchased meals.
As kids we didn't eat for entertainment unless it was something like watermelon, popsicles or ice cream cones.We didn't buy food and eat at every activity or venue we went to. We were allowed snacks at an appropriate time if we were hungry between meals. We were allowed to buy sweets with our allowances.
~margaret
Those are good books - lots of information. It is amazing the calories, the salt, the fat, the crud that people eat at EVERY meal today! Like you if we had a snack - it was healthy. Life was not oriented around food. A sweet treat was a pure joy and not often.
DeleteMy zucchini is just now coming on- I think I'll try some fritter today.
ReplyDeleteGreat recipes.
Wow = yours are starting to produce much later than most. I am now getting round 2 started with them. They have gone crazy this year.
DeleteFritters are just so good and filling too.
Had some celery and a Roma tomato that needed to be used, so with the last of the chicken thighs (meat), chicken bone broth from the freezer, penne pasta and Italian herbs, I made a pot of tasty goodness for last night and tonight. So far, so good, sticking to the August plan.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing how those of you with plentiful gardens can/freeze/dehydrate the last of this year's bounty to use in the months ahead. --Elise
Good job. Love that you are sharing - that keeps you accountable. Sounds tasty.
DeleteI look forward as well - so any great ideas from everyone. I am finally getting tomatoes galore!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHome Made Simple is a you tube channel that I just discovered and I like the lady that presents it. She is not about a gushing personality and entertainment. She shops, cooks and shows compassion. She has some really good ideas about making food from scratch; even table syrup. When she makes a creamy soup, there is no 'cream of soup' cans involved. Mostly she does a weekly shop for $50. and then shows how to prepare the food. This would be a perfect channel for beginning cooks. Check it out.
Nice that you all are getting loads of veggies. Here in the great white north, I still don't have any female zucchini blossoms. I am getting beans, peas, lettuce and potatoes but with the night temperatures going below 50F the squash are on strike!
Sounds like a good channel - will check it out. Thanks.
DeleteThey will come - it seems like forever before the female blossoms happen - then pow! I am now going through round 2 od the same thing. Sounds like you are getting yummy goods. I think they should be OK for a while.
I'm the same as you. I eat what I like. For us, that often means breakfast for dinner. Love that.
ReplyDeleteZuke boats, a girl at work was talking about those the other day. They sound fun.
Back when I grew cherry tomatoes I ate them like candy too!
Lastly, thanks for the comment about Wiggy. She's having a good day today. That's nice to see.
Breakfast for dinner is wonderful - do that sometimes as well.
DeleteZuke boats are really good and a great way to use them up.
Glad to hear!!!!!!
Hi Cheryl, Your meals some great to me and I too often have a "lunch" for dinner. I love all the fresh farm produce available in the summer which I get at a local farm since I only have an herb garden. Enjoyed your post. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I just eat whatever hits my fancy. Why not? Might as well eat what we want and what sounds good. Veggies are in such an abundance now, and it is wonderful for all!
Delete