Perfectly Practical #120 - Simple Summer Supper Tip

Salads.

That's it?  That's the tip?  Yep, that's it.

All this month with Dishing It Up we have been talking about little to no heat required recipes - in Texas that is a given for summer fayre - and no cookin' screams salads to me. 

I'm going to be honest with you if I may, okay?  Good.  I don't really like cooking in the summer. 

I spend my days over a hot stove most days pickling and preserving all manner of produce so the last thing I want to do is start supper at the end of the day. 

That's where the salads come into play.

If you make up several kinds of salads at the beginning of the week and have them sitting in the fridge, then you know you've got dinner halfway made.  All you need to cook is the main course.  At the end of the week, you could have a salad sampler supper. 

Here are some suggestions for summer salad sides:

• Fruit Salad - After a couple of days if the fruit is looking a little sad, then blend it up and make popsicles with the puree or use the puree mixed with yogurt for breakfast smoothies or even a chilled soup.  Alternatively, try this easy and tasty Fancy Fruit Salad.
• Green Salad - just make sure you store it without dressing
• Slaw - you can make traditional or try this super quick and easy version of Cilantro Slaw (you could use basil instead of cilantro if you so desire)
• Potato Salad - again, traditional or try this vinegar Dill Potato Salad
• Bean Salad - I like all kinds of bean salads but here is one that may not be familiar to you a Make Ahead Mung Bean Salad
• Pasta Salad - Those Suddenly Salad box mixes are fabulous when you are in a pinch but you can just as easily make your own up with some pasta, Italian or Ranch dressing, and chopped veggies.  To turn it into a complete supper add extra chopped veggies, olives, shredded cheese, and/or meat.
• Veggie Salad - Nothing tastes as summery to me as a fresh from the garden Tomato, Cucumber, and Onion Salad.  If you don't eat it the first day, it becomes more of a marinated veggie salad so you could throw in mushrooms too to make it heartier.  Speaking of veggie salads, why not try a Sauerkraut Salad?  It's delicious and gets better throughout the week.
• Grain Salad - One of my go to side dishes in a pinch is tabbouleh which is bulghur wheat mixed with fresh herbs and chopped veggies you could also use couscous or rice.
• Congealed Salad - Jell-O salads take me back to my childhood where my Maw-Maw kept Jell-O with fruit cocktail in the fridge all the time and would put a scoop of Cool-Whip on the top for me.  Here's a recipe for another family favorite, Coke Salad. 
• Other Salads - Oh how I love Panzanella, the Italian bread salad. 

If you make a selection of these salads and eat them throughout the week you have less cooking to do and can get supper on the table a whole lot quicker.

This is part of Works for Me Wednesday and the Mommy Club.