An Easy Summer Dinner Menu

I love cooking different recipes in the summer!

The following menu is one that I made for our dinner one evening last week.  It was a hit!

The following recipes were originally from Taste of Home/Simple and Delicious but I've tweaked them to suit our tastes.  The originals can be found at the Taste of Home website.  The Fruit Cup is one that I just kind of made up!

SUMMER EVENING DINNER MENU

Italian Beef Circles
Veggie Spiral Salad
Steamed Pea Pods
Melon Fruit Cup
Lemon Iced Tea (decaf)

ITALIAN BEEF CIRCLES

1 lb of  lean ground beef

(we use the antibiotic-free/hormone free kind)

1/2 c. chopped sweet onions

1 c. Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1 Tbl fresh basil

1 tsp ground oregano

1 egg

a dash of skim milk

1 small jar of pasta sauce

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

• Place beef into large bowl and add the next 4 ingredients.  Stir.
• Add the egg and milk and mix thoroughly.
• Form "circles" from the beef mixture and place on a plate.
• Take about one Tablespoon of canola oil and put in electric frying pan or skillet for the stove.
• Get the oil warm and then place each circle into the pan. Cook on medium high heat for about 3 minutes and then flip the circles over and continue cooking on low heat.  Cover the pan and cook for about 15 min or until juices run clear.
• Add  one small jar of prepared Pasta sauce (I use the regular marinara kind) We like this brand.  Spoon the sauce over the top of each circle and allow to run down the sides.
• Add shredded mozzarella cheese.  Place cover back over the pan.
• Cook for one more minute.

Serve one circle per person. 

VEGGIE SPIRAL PASTA

1 pkg (12 oz) spiral pasta, cooked

1 c. shredded carrots

1/2 fresh cucumber, chopped

1/2 c. thinly sliced red onion

1 c. black beans, drained and rinsed

1 sweet yellow pepper, chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

dash of ground black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbl cider vinegar

2 Tbl olive oil

2 Tbl Italian dressing

(we like this brand in Old Venice Italian)

• Cook pasta according to package directions and then rinse well in cold water.
• Meanwhile:  add the veggies and spices to a large serving bowl and toss gently.
• Add the pasta and stir gently.
• In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the cider vinegar, olive oil and dressing.  
• Drizzle over the salad and toss to coat.
• keep in fridge until serving.

STEAMED PEA PODS

1 box of Green Giant Pea Pods, frozen

ground pepper

• Cook peas according to the microwave directions on back of package.
• Open package, place pea pods in pretty serving bowl and sprinkle with a dash of ground black pepper.
• Serve immediately.

 Note: One box from Green Giant serves a family of 4.

MELON FRUIT CUP

fresh cantaloupe, balled

(for my family of 4 we used a half cantaloupe 

and had the rest in the morning for breakfast)

2 fresh nectarines, diced

1 c. fresh blueberries, rinsed

• Take 4 dessert cups and place about 1/3 melon balls in each cup.
• Add another 1/3 c. of nectarines.
• Add 1/4 c. of blueberries to each cup
• Place in fridge until meal time.
• Serve cold!

TIPS:  my daughters don't always care for fresh blueberries so I simply leave them out of their fruit cups. You can add whatever fresh fruit you have but I have found that melons and nectarines or pear slices go very well together. No sugar needed!!

ENJOY!!

as with all of the posts under the label "faithfixes", you have permission to copy!!