As a family, we do our best to eat locally produced foods as much as possible. Summer is the easiest time of year to make this happen! We've discussed my failure at meal planning in prior blog posts, but I actually spent some time thinking through a couple meals I want to cook next week! Most ingredients are available from farmers market vendors and can easily be adapted based on what your family likes. Thought I would share in case they inspire meal ideas for you too!
One of the easiest meat cuts for me to plan around is boneless skinless chicken breast. When in doubt, I start thawing a package of chicken breast and make up a meal as I go! I try to avoid defrosting in the microwave, so if I forget to thaw overnight in the fridge I put the package in a large bowl of cool water or cover with water in the sink for about an hour.
These meals are definitely nothing fancy, but include lots of veggies readily available at the farmers market this time of year and are quick and easy for weeknight meals.
MEAL #1 CHICKEN KABOBS
No fancy instructions here.... dice up chicken breast, a large onion, bell peppers and alternate on a skewer. Add salt, pepper, maybe some garlic salt, whatever spices you're feeling and grill until interior of chicken pieces reach 165 degrees. If you're feeling super inspired add some mushrooms, pineapple, whatever else you can spear! Sometimes I'll sprinkle teriyaki or BBQ sauce over the top when they are almost done cooking... this is one of those meals you can't mess up!
MEAL #2 Zoodles in Tomato Sauce or Alfredo
If you don't own a spriralizer to turn zucchini into noodles, it's a must have!!! Plan on about 1 to 1.5 zukes for each person you're feeding and make sure they are small enough to fit through the spiralizer.
Start by making your zucchini noodles, add salt and let them drain in a colander. Next, dice chicken breast, onion, green peppers, garlic, mushrooms, a yellow squash, whatever you want to add into your sauce! Saute in a skillet with olive oil until chicken is done and veggies are softened.
Remove veggies and chicken from the skillet and add in zucchini noodles. Saute for 5-10 minutes or until the noodles soften and the water they release evaporates.
Add veggies and chicken back to skillet. Add your tomato or alfredo sauce (can be freshly made from scratch, home canned, or store bought) - you won't find me judging your sauce choices! If you need to get really sneaky with your veggies, add them to the food processor and mix them all into the sauce.... the picky ones will never even know they are eating a mushroom.
Top with parmesan, serve with a salad or garlic bread!
What are some of your go-to recipes that use what's available at the farmers market this time of year? I'm always looking for new meal ideas!
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