The Easiest Summer Meals

The best of summer memories usually revolve around a lovely sunset over the beach or the laughter of children playing with a back yard hose or an evening stroll around the neighborhood. But, they never include standing in a hot kitchen with a stove top full of boiling over pans and an oven so hot you can't stand near it. The good news is that with the tiniest bit of preparation, you can have a lovely memory filled summer that doesn't include one, single day of slaving over a hot stove.

Now, one of the easiest things you can do is immediately divide up all meats into dinner sized portions before throwing them into the freezer. Most people with a family are already buying in bulk, so you know you take that giant package of hamburger meat or the enormous roast and divide it up before freezing. But, what will make things even easier is to divide the portions into meals, as well. 1 section : hamburger patties, 1 section : hamburger loaf , 1 section : roast slices, 1 section : thick sliced to make "picnic ribs". If you have mind to bar-b-q soon, you could even take the portioned meals and begin to marinate them as soon as your newly portioned meals are put away. Talk about triple efficiency!

The bottom line is that the more you prepare, even if it means sitting down to write out every meal until the end of summer, the less time you'll be spending doing the one thing mother's have resented since the dawn of summer vacation! COOKING!

So, on to the recipes. The first one I thought up many years ago when it occurred to me I had been making a more time consuming version of something very similar. So, I grabbed the equivalent ingredients, threw them all together and my kids loved it!

1 lb. ground beef or turkey (frozen or thawed)

1 small bag of frozen french fries

1 large can Spaghetti sauce

1 large (or two small) bags of frozen vegetables

Mozzarella or Provalone cheese

The greatest part of this recipe is that you literally don't thaw a single thing. You just throw it all into a large skillet and when the meat is thoroughly cooked you add the cheese. There is no particular order, but if you want the french fries to be crunchy, add them second to the ground meat. Otherwise, you are done, prep time included, in about 30 minutes! And, you can fancy it up or keep it simple just by what ingredients you choose to use.

With your lovely hamburger patties already made, you could go cool and creative one summer evening and make reverse cheese burger's! My daughter loves this one because she never knows when she's get "the surprise". This can be done on the stove or on the grill and it easy, peasy!

2 ground meat patties per person

Simply take two of your pre-made patties and instead of slapping the cheese on top, put it between the patties and pinch the sides together. The cheese will melt on the inside and this simple little thing will make clean up easier as well as seeming like a very cool idea! Garnish with Pineapple, Salsa & sour cream, Lettuce & Tomato - the more creative the better to compliment the already creative burger. Toasting the buns on the grill or in the broiler make it even better!

This next recipe comes from the foodnetwork.com and is curtesy of Alton Brown.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

1/2 pound elbow macaroni

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon powdered mustard

3 cups milk

1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 large egg

12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Fresh black pepper

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf. Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

And, curtesy of Paula Dean from Paula's Home Cooking.

Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots

1/2 cup frozen green peas

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup

1 cup chicken broth

Salt and pepper, optional

1 1/2 cups instant biscuit mix

1 cup milk

1 stick melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a greased 2-quart casserole, layer the chicken, eggs, carrots, and peas. Mix the soup, chicken broth, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Pour over the layers. Stir together the biscuit mix and milk, and pour this over the casserole. Drizzle butter over the topping. Bake until the topping is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.

All are quick and easy and with a little preparation before hand can be made even easier. And, with the extra time you may even find the creative spark that will make simple seem gourmet. Give it a try and I guarantee you'll get hooked!