Ahh summer!  It has been so beautiful this week.  sorry I didn't post the week it was 150 degrees outside (ha ha) lots of salad and grilling out here!  One thing we like to do in the summer is stock up on fresh crunchy veggies and we ALWAYS have a veggie tray with ranch dip (I make mine from greek yogurt and Hidden Valley) handy in the fridge and bring it out at almost every meal.  The kids love fresh veggies because of this and quite often they skip the dip part and just eat the yummy organic carrots, green onions, cucumber, etc.

So here it is Menu Ideas for the week!

Monday-- Fish Fry (beer battered) and beet salad
Tuesday--grilled burgers and cantaloupe
Wednesday--Pasta Salad
Thursday--Ribs and hash browns
Friday--Chef Salad (or have your MIL cook that is honestly what I am doing)

SHOPPING LIST:

Produce:  salad makins', cantaloupe, onion (one red one white) beets with greens still attached, bell pepper

Meat:  already prepared ribs (for example Lloyds or Farmland) fish--if you don't catch them yerself, hard salami, pillow of pepperoni, hamburger

General--good seasons Italian dressing packet, dry onion soup mix, pasta (such as spirals or penne), olives
black and/or green
Frozen--hash browns,

MONDAY--  take about 1 1/2 cup flour and mix it with beer to the consistency you like for batter.  Then take about 1 cup flour and mix in salt, pepper and ground garlic to taste. Batter up the fish in the wet (beer batter mix)  the dredge it in the dry and drop into the preheated oil (this is so light and flaky and wonderful!!!!!)  We do our oil in a cast iron dutch oven on the burner or our grill outside.  I'd say depending on the size of your fish fillets about 4 minutes or until golden brown and delicious.

Beet salad--I went out on a limb here but it was SO YUMMY!!!! if you are not a beet fan, I don't know many, at least try this recipe   Trim the greens off and keep them and also trim the bottom off.  Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and bake at 350 for an hour or until knife tender.  Meanwhile, rip the greens (removing the rib) as though you are preparing a salad.  I ripped mine and then washed them in the salad spinner.

Make a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

While your roasted beets are cooling to the point where you can handle them, saute about 2 cloves minced garlic and one sliced (small) red onion.  When the onions are caramelized add in the beet greens and cook them til they are wilted.  While they are wilting--cut your beets into bite-sized pieces.  When the greens are wilted add in the beets, toss and add a couple splashes of balsamic vinegar (not the dressing yet).  Remove from heat and let cool about 10-15 minutes.  The toss with the vinaigrette dressing.

TUESDAY--Grilled burgers--here is where the onion soup mix comes in.  I use one packet per 2 lbs of hamburger, if you are only making 1 lb use half a packet.  Mix dry mix into the hamburger with a little water Not much you can add more if needed, mix with your hands and patty up the burgers.  Very moist and flavorful burgers!!!!!!!

Cantaloupe as a side dish.

WEDNESDAY--Pasta Salad--I cook my pasta according to package directions
Meanwhile I chop up red onion, bell pepper, open a small can of sliced black olives, slice up some green olives, chop up some cucumber, a few radishes (if I have them), I take a stack of about 12 pepperoni and quarter them.  I also take about 4-5 hard salami slices and cut them into eighths.  (Another thing you can toss in that is excellent is the faux crab)  I then toss this all with the prepared (drained and rinsed cool) pasta and use the Good Seasons Italian dressing that I have prepared--to me this dressing is the best on the salad in my opinion.

THURSDAY--grill up the ribs according the package directions (I am lazy and not really a huge rib fan so I let the grocery store do the work for me here).
I make my hash browns with diced bell pepper and onion, so i guess technically they are a potatoes o'brien.

FRIDAY--Chef Salad--your way!