I can hardly believe I am saying this, but it is time to think about easy weeknight dinners for school nights. It doesn’t seem possible that the start of school is barely two weeks away! This is a good time of year to review some of your favorite family dinners and find a bunch of new recipes to try. Adding new recipes to the repertoire keeps everyone at the dinner table interested in trying new foods, while weaving in family favorites lends element of comfort to your routine. To help you get started, here is a great new recipe we love that uses naturally delicious Arla Dofino Gouda cheese. It is a fun twist on everyday macaroni and cheese and comes together with ease on a weeknight.
I went a little peach crazy this summer. The harvest in the Northeast seemed particularly good this year. The peaches were exceptionally juicy and full of flavor. Perfect for jam, punch, and pie. I’ve never shared this pie recipe before even though my mother has been making it since before I was born. It is from her friend Sandy and there is a small secret ingredient that sets it apart from all the other peach pies I’ve ever tasted. The ingredient elevates the peach flavor without overshadowing it. Once you add it to your peach pie you’ll never make one without it again.
I haven’t done as much summer reading this summer as I would’ve liked. Running around after two kids, working on the next book, and keeping up with the house has taken up almost all my time. However, I had the good fortune of getting a copy of my friend Kathleen Flinn’s latest book, Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family, and I read the whole thing cover to cover in just a few days. I’ll admit, I pushed aside work in favor of reading and it was so worth it.
I’ve been canning up a storm in Cooperstown this month with my Dad. As I’ve outlined before, we love canning fruits and vegetables each summer. It is a time for us to bond, plus we get to reap the rewards all winter long. I also give a lot of the preserves we make away for holiday gifts. I am excited to work with my friends at Ball Jar for the second year in a row to celebrate International Can-It-Forward Day. It is coming up this Saturday August 16th and you don’t want to miss it if you are a canning enthusiastic, or a novice who is eager to learn.
This post has been updated October 3, 2016 as part of the 5 Affordable Weeknight Dinners with Whole Foods Market. We were able to enjoy this recipe again in a whole new way with ingredients from my recent Whole Foods Market trip.
These chicken skewers are a favorite of ours. This week it is part of our 5 Affordable Weeknight Dinners with Whole Foods Market. For this project I am sharing how I make five delicious, easy dinners for my family using one bag of Whole Foods Market groceries. I love shopping at there because of their extra fresh ingredients and high commitment to quality. Before I go I always check my Whole Foods Market app and sales flyer for downloadable and printable coupons. They are so easy to use and offer terrific discounts for so many of my favorite every day staples, and the specialty items I love to try.
Making these was super easy and it was made even easier by the spices and chicken I bought at Whole Foods Market. I love buying my poultry there because it is such high quality and I never have to worry that I am getting something that has been filled with antibiotics and water. Whole Foods Market implements and easy to understand animal welfare system in their stores so I can make informed choices about animal welfare when I make my selection. I also know they never sell meat or poultry that was raised with antibiotics, growth hormones, or animal by-product in their feed. With these high standards I never worry about my purchase!
For flavorings I like to pick up 365 brand spices and oils from the spice aisle. They always taste great and are a very reasonable price. Who can argue with that? Some oils and spices can be expensive and flavorless, but that isn’t the case here.
Last weekend some good friends visited us in Cooperstown. When they came in on Friday night we had a big feast to welcome them. It was all about easy, homey food that we all could enjoy at the big table. My mom made one of the salads from my cookbook, lots of corn, and a salad. I contributed these Greek chicken skewers my friend Caroline had made for us earlier this year. They marinade couldn’t be more simple and their bright, garlicky flavor is ideal for a family meal .
This simple dinner is ideal for summer and fall entertaining. Pair it with a salad and some rice and you’ve got a terrific full meal!
(Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Whole Foods. The photographs and ideas are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make The Naptime Chef possible.)
2 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 large red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large red pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
Homemade tzatziki sauce, or store-bought
Instructions
In a large bowl whisk the first 7 ingredients. Pour it into a large ziploc bag and add the cubed chicken and vegetables and toss everything well so the chicken is completely covered with the marinade. Refrigerate the chicken this way for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.
When you are ready to cook the chicken heat the grill to medium flame. Place the chicken on skewers. Place them on the grill and cook for about 5 minutes per side, about 10 to 12 minutes total. Make sure the chicken is cooked through. Serve warm with a side of tzatziki sauce.
Every summer I fold a new selection of recipes into my repertoire. But I also spend a lot of time revisiting old favorites. It is kind of like that saying “make new friends but keep the old.” I spend all winter looking forward to our summer classics just as much as do trying new recipes. Here are some of the tried-and-true family favorites I’ve been making this summer. They deserve another go ’round in the spotlight in case you missed them the first time:
Summer vegetables are always my inspiration when I start composing salads for friends and family. This time of year, they are so fresh and bursting with flavor that I am always sure to include as many as possible whenever I prepare a bowl. Lately, I’ve been trying to take my salads up a notch, making them even more flavorful and exciting. This summer, my trick has been to add a generous shower of creamy, natural Arla Dofino Havarti with Dill. The cheese has a delicious, mild dill flavor which adds a wonderful dimension to the salad.
