Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Simple Summer Supper: Perfect Pasta Salad

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

What makes this Perfect Pasta Salad perfect? You do, of course! You build it the way you like it, making it the perfect salad for you!

Perfect Pasta Salad Tips:

Except for the people who refuse to add any veggies to their pasta salad. I have kids at my house who try this. This makes the Pasta Salad not so perfect. Pasta and meat – what else do they need? VEGGIES. They need veggies. This is not difficult.

Perfect Pasta Salad Options:

  • Cooked and cooled whole wheat or brown rice pasta – any shape
  • Chopped sweet peppers
  • Chopped carrots
  • Chopped tomatoes
  • Cooked chicken, tuna, steak, roast beef, salmon or other meat that sounds good
  • Chickpeas or other cooked beans
  • Corn
  • Olives
  • Shredded cheese
  • Favorite salad dressings – we prefer homemade Italian Salad Dressing and Ranch Salad Dressing
  • Other delicious add-ins of your choosing!

Set out any options you know your family or guests would enjoy. Set out bowls and forks. Slice a watermelon. Now you’ve got yourself a Simple Summer Supper in the form of a Perfect Pasta Salad!

Have you seen our other Simple Summer Suppers? Here’s a running list:

Don’t miss any of our new ideas we’ve got coming! Subscribe for free so all the latest can come directly to your inbox!

Have you become a Simple Meals member yet? You will LOVE how simple all the recipes are, and better yet, you’ll love that we do all the planning for you!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Simple Summer Supper: BLT Chopped Salad

by 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Of all the salads in the world, this BLT Chopped Salad is my very favorite.

I shared this back in 2015 after I fell in love with a variety of this salad from the Cheesecake Factory. Just when you thought people went there for the cheesecake, I give a shout out about a salad. But for the record, their cheesecake is also delicious. :)

What I love about this salad is that every single bite is packed with flavor. Between the savory-ness and salty-ness offered by the bacon and feta cheese, the sweetness provided by the tomatoes and corn, the tartness of the lime juice – this salad packs an incredible flavor punch!

It is also filling, which makes it a great Simple Summer Supper. Some salads leave my family hungry and asking for more food. Not this one!

BLT Chopped Salad

Simple Summer Supper: BLT Chopped Salad
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 6 cups chopped mixed greens, lettuce, or spinach (any combination you like)
  • 2 chopped tomatoes
  • ½ pound bacon, cut into bites, cooked, and drained
  • 1-2 cups sweet corn, cooked and cooled
  • 1-2 chopped avocado
  • 4 ounces feta cheese crumbles
  • Dressing:
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • Juice of one lime (about 2 Tablespoons)
  • salt and pepper to taste (I put in a few shakes of each)
Instructions
  1. Toss salad ingredients into a large bowl.
  2. In a small jar, shake together dressing ingredients.
  3. Pour over salad and toss.
  4. Serve right away!

 

Have you seen our other Simple Summer Suppers? Here’s a running list:

Don’t miss any of our new ideas we’ve got coming! Subscribe for free so all the latest can come directly to your inbox!

Have you become a Simple Meals member yet? You will LOVE how simple all the recipes are, and better yet, you’ll love that we do all the planning for you!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Simple Summer Supper: Farmer’s Market Finds

by 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

What if you put together all the best Farmer’s Market Finds of the week and created a Simple Summer Supper?

Make a Meal from Farmer’s Market Finds!

The Farmer’s Market in our town opens for two hours every Thursday evening through the summer. Sometimes I run downtown on Thursdays and grab a few favorites, then take it all home to serve immediately for our dinner. We can make a great meal this way, with very little effort or money!

Is it weird to make a meal without any meat? I used to think so. But now we are perfectly happy to eat a meal of buttered corn on the cob, sliced watermelon, fried zucchini, and fresh peaches with cream.

Come to think of it, sometimes there’s a booth set up at our Farmers Market that sells fun meat sticks or kielbasa. Those go great with any of the fresh fruits and veggies we can pick up. It makes a great meal without any trouble. And it sure doesn’t get any fresher than this! (Unless we pick it from our own garden, of course!)

And this, my friends, is today’s Simple Summer Supper tip. Go to your local Farmer’s Market and pick up food to serve for a meal or two. Take your kids and let them pick their favorites! It’ll be fun, simple, delicious, and highly nutritious.

Have you seen our other Simple Summer Suppers? Here’s a running list:

Don’t miss any of our new ideas we’ve got coming! Subscribe for free so all the latest can come directly to your inbox!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Simple Summer Suppers: Perfect Grilled Chicken

by 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

I have the secret to creating the Perfect Grilled Chicken. You can make this even if you own a pitiful grill like we do. :)

Someday we’ll invest in a grill that isn’t duct taped together. I kid. Our grill isn’t really duct taped together. It’s just on the cheap side and doesn’t always light the way it’s supposed to or heat evenly. Through the years we’ve considered putting some money into a better one, but you know what? Ours still works. So we’ll continue to make do until it dies.

In the meantime, our grill still turns out chicken that is incredible. We can’t get enough. It’s always juicy and perfect and you’ll be happy to know the prep time on said chicken is about thirty seconds.

What’s the secret? I’ve shared it before and I must share it again: We use boneless chicken thighs. Skip the dry, chewy chicken breasts. It’s thighs all the way. They have more fat in them, so they turn out a deliciously juicy grilled chicken.

How to make Perfect Grilled Chicken

Simple Summer Suppers: Perfect Grilled Chicken
 
Save Print
Author:
Ingredients
  • 6-12 boneless chicken thighs
  • 1 cup sauce (bbq, teriyaki, sweet and sour, Italian dressing, any of your favorites!)
Instructions
  1. Place chicken and sauce in a ziploc bag or casserole dish to marinate in the fridge. (This takes 30 seconds, but you'll feel like a brilliant chef.)
  2. Marinate for 1-24 hours. (Because sometimes we plan ahead and sometimes we can't handle basic organizational skills for the day.)
  3. Grill on low heat for 25-40 minutes, turning a time or two until your chicken is perfect.
  4. Serve with salad and veggies.

We love making extra chicken to chop into chef salads on another day. It’s kind of like killing two birds with one stone, or rather two chickens with one grill. This is a rather violent way to say “Here’s a great way to get ahead on meals for your family!”

Our favorite homemade marinades for Perfect Grilled Chicken

Have you seen our other Simple Summer Suppers? Here’s a running list:

Don’t miss any of our new ideas we’ve got coming! Subscribe for free so all the latest can come directly to your inbox!

Have you become a Simple Meals member yet? You will LOVE how simple all the recipes are, and better yet, you’ll love that we do all the planning for you!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Simple Summer Suppers: Tuna Salad Wraps

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

I find these Tuna Salad Wraps to be so refreshing on a hot summer day!

Tuna is a food I consider to be a life saver when I don’t feel like cooking, when I don’t have much time to throw a meal together, and when I’ve failed to thaw meat for dinner.

We eat tuna salad with crackers, in a sandwich, on a bed of lettuce, or in these Tuna Salad Wraps. We set out raw veggies and fresh fruit to eat alongside our tuna. So our meals is nourishing and full of variety!


I love asking my kids to mix up several cans of tuna because it’s something they can make easily. Then we keep it in the fridge to use for upcoming fast meals that don’t heat up the kitchen!

The recipe below is a typical ratio we use to make one can of tuna. Double, or triple, or octuple as necessary for your family!

Tuna Salad Wraps

Simple Summer Suppers: Tuna Salad Wraps
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
  • 6-ounce can tuna in water, drained
  • 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise (I use Hain Safflower mayo)
  • 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
  • Dash of sea salt
  • Whole grain wraps
  • Lettuce and tomatoes
Instructions
  1. Mix tuna, mayo, pickle relish, and salt until well combined.
  2. Wrap tuna salad into whole grain wraps with lettuce and tomato.

Our Favorites to use in Tuna Salad Wraps:

Have you seen our other Simple Summer Suppers? Here’s a running list:

Don’t miss any of our new ideas we’ve got coming! Subscribe for free so all the latest can come directly to your inbox!

What’s your favorite way to eat tuna?

Some of these links are my affiliate links.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Simple Summer Supper: Grilled Tortilla Pizzas

by 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

These Grilled Tortilla Pizzas are so simple and fast, you’ll hardly know what to do with yourself!

I suggest letting each person build their own Tortilla Pizzas to their liking. Put them on the grill until the cheese is melted, which takes just a couple minutes.

Just like that, your meal is ready! Grab the greens and other salad fixin’s out of the fridge (or out of the garden – even better!). Slice some fresh peaches or strawberries. Truly, your Simple Summer Supper doesn’t get any easier than this!

Grilled Tortilla Pizzas

Simple Summer Supper: Grilled Tortilla Pizzas
 
Save Print
Author:
Ingredients
  • Whole grain tortillas
  • Pizza sauce
  • Shredded cheese
  • Your favorite pizza toppings (meats, peppers, olives, onions, pineapple, mushrooms, etc)
Instructions
  1. Top a tortilla with all your favorite pizza toppings.
  2. Grill on low heat for about 2 minutes or until cheese has melted.
  3. Serve with fresh fruits and veggies.

You can use flour or corn tortillas (corn if you need to eat gluten free). You can add sauce or no sauce. Perhaps my only caution is that you don’t over-cheese your Grilled Pizza Tortillas; otherwise your cheese might overflow onto the grill grates and create a mess!

Have you seen our other Simple Summer Suppers? Here’s a running list:

Don’t miss any of our new ideas we’ve got coming! Subscribe for free so all the latest can come directly to your inbox!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Simple Summer Suppers: Taco Salad

by 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

This Simple Taco Salad ranks right up there as one of the most refreshing and tasty meals to serve in the summertime!

I can’t get enough of this salad. And interestingly enough, while my kids typically just serve themselves a small amount of greens for a salad on a normal day, they eat huge bowls of this Simple Taco Salad! Maybe we should always put chips in our salad – ha!

Simple Summer Suppers: Taco Salad

Simple Summer Suppers: Taco Salad
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 pound hamburger
  • 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning mix
  • 1 head lettuce, any variety (we prefer red leaf, green leaf or romaine)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar or Colby jack cheese
  • 15 ounces (or 2 cups) of pinto, chili, or black beans
  • 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
  • 1-2 cups crushed tortilla chips
  • 1 cup French Dressing (give or take; recipe link below)
Instructions
  1. Brown hamburger meat and season with taco seasoning mix (recipe link below)
  2. Chop or tear lettuce into a large serving bowl.
  3. Add cooked meat (cooled), shredded cheese, beans, tomatoes, and chips.
  4. Toss with French Dressing.
  5. Serve.

Make a batch of this French Dressing to serve in this salad. You won’t be sorry!

I recommend making this Taco Seasoning Mix to have on hand for recipes like this. Easy and delicious! Also, I find it helpful to make several pounds of taco meat at once, then I use the leftovers to make this salad!

Have you seen our other Simple Summer Suppers? Here’s a running list:

Don’t miss any of our new ideas we’ve got coming! Subscribe for free so all the latest can come directly to your inbox!

Have you become a Simple Meals member yet? You will LOVE how simple all the recipes are, and better yet, you’ll love that we do all the planning for you!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Simple Summer Suppers: Sloppy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

by 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Have leftover Sloppy Joe Meat? Use it to quickly make Sloppy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches!

How’s that for a twist on Sloppy Joes and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches? Sure it’s a tiny bit messy. That’s the point. The flavor is super fun and delicious with the butter, the cheese, and the meat.

These can be thrown together quickly and served with simple sides like fresh fruit and raw veggies. You can have your entire meal on the table in ten minutes!

I’m quite sure most of you know how to make a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. I’m also quite sure that it’s obvious that to make a Sloppy Grilled Cheese Sandwich you simply add sloppy joe meat to your grilled cheese. Thus, writing specific directions below to describe exactly how to make a Sloppy Grilled Cheese Sandwich was an interesting adventure. How did I do? Please be impressed.

Sloppy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

5.0 from 1 reviews
Simple Summer Suppers: Sloppy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
 
Save Print
Author:
Ingredients
  • Leftover Sloppy Joe Meat (recipe link above)
  • Whole grain bread
  • Softened butter
  • Cheese slices (we like Colby jack or Pepper jack)
Instructions
  1. Rewarm sloppy joe meat in a saucepan until bubbly.
  2. Butter two slices of bread and place on a warm/hot griddle.
  3. Lay a piece of cheese on each unbuttered side of bread, allowing cheese to melt.
  4. Spread warm meat over one piece of cheese bread.
  5. Place the other slice of cheese bread onto the sloppy joe/cheese bread to make a sandwich.
  6. Cook until both sides of bread are golden and cooked to your liking.

Add as much or as little Sloppy Joe Meat to your sandwich as you like. We think these are delicious!

Have you seen our other Simple Summer Suppers? Here’s a running list:

Don’t miss any of our new ideas we’ve got coming! Subscribe for free so all the latest can come directly to your inbox!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Simple Summer Suppers: Sloppy Joes

by 6 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Sloppy Joes are one of our favorite Simple Summer Suppers.


I love them because I can make a big batch and freeze to use as needed. This recipe becomes a no-brainer, so you can simply brown meat, add a few key ingredients, and supper is served!

(For the record, our family calls the evening meal “dinner” but somehow in the summer it feels lighter and cooler to call it supper. It’s kind of like how it feels more special to call Sunday’s lunch “dinner” even though we eat at noon. But I digress.)

Sloppy Joes are easy to make and keep warm in the crock pot to serve to a large crowd. They can be eaten in the yard for a summer picnic. They taste great with simple sides like raw veggies, cold watermelon or cantaloupe, cole slaw, or baked beans.

Make Sloppy Joes with any ground meat you have: beef, turkey, chicken, venison, or lamb. Eat them on buns or with tortilla chips. Or skip the carbs and eat the meat in a bed of lettuce!

Simple Summer Suppers: Sloppy Joes

5.0 from 2 reviews
Simple Summer Suppers: Sloppy Joes
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs ground meat (beef, turkey, venison or lamb)
  • 2 T. minced onion
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 Tablespoon worchestershire sauce
  • sea salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Brown meat and onion together.
  2. Add remaining ingredients, stirring well.
  3. Allow mixture to simmer in the skillet for a few minutes.

sloppy_joe_1

Have you seen our other Simple Summer Suppers? Here’s a running list:

Don’t miss any of our new ideas we’ve got coming! Subscribe for free so all the latest can come directly to your inbox!

Have you become a Simple Meals member yet? You will LOVE how simple all the recipes are, and better yet, you’ll love that we do all the planning for you!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Simple Summer Suppers: BLT Wraps

by 4 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Through the month of July, we’re going to share Simple Summer Supper recipes. First up: BLT Wraps!

Like this recipe for BLT Wraps, some of the ideas we’ll share have been on our site for quite a while. We figured this was the perfect time to refresh your memory and pull out some oldies but goodies. These BLT Wraps are a big favorite at our house for sure! (Pssst! We’ve got some new ideas to share too!)

Are you like me in the summer? I love the sunshine and the heat, but figuring out our evening meal often leaves me stumped! I don’t want to turn on the oven. I don’t have a lot of motivation to stand over a stove. I like our food to be simple…

Oh wait. I like our food to be simple every day of the year; not just in the summertime. :)

So here we are, avoiding soups and casseroles but still needing to eat. I highly recommend making bacon bits like this, then taking a few minutes to make these fabulous BLT Wraps!

Simple Summer Suppers: BLT Wraps

Simple Summer Suppers: BLT Wraps
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 4 ounces softened cream cheese
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 8 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
  • ½ cup chopped tomatoes
  • ½ cup shredded spinach, romaine, or green leaf lettuce
  • 3 eight-inch whole wheat tortillas
Instructions
  1. Mix cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth.
  2. Stir in bacon crumbles and chopped tomatoes.
  3. Spread mixture onto tortillas.
  4. Sprinkle shredded lettuce on top evenly.
  5. Roll tortillas up tightly.
  6. Cut each into 5 diagonal slices.
  7. Chill until ready to serve.

Helpful Hint: When cooking your bacon for these wraps, I recommend cutting your bacon with kitchen shears. I also recommend cooking several pounds at a time so you can get ahead and pull out bacon bits for easy recipes like this one!

What are your favorite Simple Summer Suppers? 

You can look forward to getting more ideas like this during the entire month of July. Stay tuned! (Be sure to subscribe here for free so you don’t miss any of these ideas and posts!)

Have you become a Simple Meals member yet? You will LOVE how simple all the recipes are, and better yet, you’ll love that we do all the planning for you!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!