When my husband was in graduate school we lived in a small college town full of local “diners, drive-ins, and dives.” Since we knew we would be living there a couple of years we decided to spend date nights exploring the area, and made a goal to go through the phonebook starting with “A” and try each local eatery–all the way to “Z.” It was super fun to try different foods and discover local gems, although I’ll be honest, we abandoned the goal after a while because we found a few favorites places we kept going back to.

One of the restaurants we loved had an amazing southwest taco-style salad. It was a sad day when we moved from that town, just because of that salad. So when I was thinking of salads the other day and what I was going to share for Sunday Salads, I remembered that favorite college days southwest salad and decided it was time to recreate something similar.

My version ended up quite a bit different from that beloved restaurant bite, but we loved the homemade version so much it  just may be a contender. It features many veggies that are currently in their prime season (I even picked some of them from my garden! Proud mama here!), including fresh corn on the cob.

Southwest Taco Salad 

Author/Source:

Pam @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of lettuce salad
  
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup diced bell pepper (I like color, so I used a third cup each of orange, yellow, and green)
• 0.5 cup chopped red onion
• 1 cup corn*
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• 2 TBSP oil

Cilantro Lime Dressing

• 1 cup ranch dressing
• 0.5 fresh lime
• 1 large handful cilantro
• 0.5 jalapeno, seeded (optional)

Directions:

Place chicken, taco seasoning, and oil in a Ziploc bag or container, and coat well. Cook on a hot grill about 10 minutes, or until done. Meanwhile, assemble salad by mixing lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, onions, corn, and beans in a large bowl. Prepare cilantro lime dressing by placing cilantro, ranch, juice of the lime, and jalapeno in a blender or food processor. Pulse until cilantro and pepper are very finely chopped and all are mixed well. Slice chicken. Serve salad with grilled chicken and cilantro lime dressing.

*Since I was already grilling the chicken I put a couple ears of fresh corn on the cob on the grill as well. Then when it was done, I let it cool a bit and cut the kernels off to add to the salad. You can easily substitute frozen corn if you don’t have fresh on hand.

Servings: 6

**Don’t forget that NEW menus come out tomorrow, August 1st and there is a great Shutterfly giveaway going on through Tuesday, August 2nd.

In our salad, we used vegan bacon, but traditional or turkey bacon would work great, too.  Just cook the bacon as crispy as you like it and chop it into 1-inch sections.

Grilled Avocado BLT Salad

Author/Source:

Kristi @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 2 avocados, halved and pitted
• lime juice
• kosher salt
• 16 ounces baby greens salad blend
• 2 fresh tomatoes, diced (or 15 ounces diced tomatoes, drained)
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped (I used vegan bacon)
• 1 cup croutons

Avocado ranch dressing

• 1 avocado, halved and pitted
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon parsley
• 1/8 teaspoon dill weed
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

Sprinkle lime juice and kosher salt on cut-side of the 3 avocados. Grill the avocados for topping and salad face-down for 3-5 minutes. Set one avocado aside for dressing. Slice the other two and set aside for topping.

Mash 1 avocado for dressing. Mix all other dressing ingredients in a medium bowl. Top salad greens with sliced avocado, tomatoes, bacon, croutons and dressing.

Servings: 4

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Beautiful salads really can set off a meal in a positive way, can’t they? Don’t you just love the look of a fresh summer salad bursting with ready to eat produce? Even if the rest of my meal doesn’t feel gourmet, my salads seem to set the stage for beauty at the table.

This Raspberry Pear Romaine is one of those salads. It is bursting with summer excitement. Raspberries, pears, feta, romaine and all topped off with a raspberry dressing. I think that you will find that this salad is a great addition to your dinner table or to a large gathering of friends.

Raspberry Pear Romaine Salad with Raspberry Dressing

Author/Source:

Tricia @ Onceamonthmom.com

Raspberry Pear Romaine Salad Ingredients:

• 1 bag Romaine Lettuce (or 2 bunches, chopped)
• 1 pint raspberries
• 1 medium pear, diced
• 4 Tablespoons Feta cheese
• Raspberry Dressing

Raspberry Dressing Ingredients:

• 1.33 cups raspberries, or frozen raspberries thawed
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
• .33 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2.5 Tablespoons Grape Seed Oil

Directions:

Toss together all ingredients for salad mixture except Raspberry Dressing. To make Raspberry Dressing, add all listed dressing ingredients to a food processor, process until well combined. Pour dressing over salad (or toss) just before serving.

Servings: 4

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When I set out to do this post I definitely had sundried tomatoes in mind for the 4th of July weekend. It was my every intention to make a red, white and bleu salad with sundried tomatoes, blue cheese (which is actually white) and something blue, maybe blue corn chips? But then the posting time grew near, we were invited over for an impromptu dinner at the in-laws where we were requested to bring salad and I decided instead to use ingredients that I already had on hand.

We all know that I have a *thing* for sundried tomatoes. And buffalo sauce. No don’t worry, I didn’t marry those two ingredients. Yet. I had Romaine lettuce on hand and was thinking I wanted to do something creamy and away from the vinaigrettes that I have been doing the past few weeks. Add to that the fact that my husband loves Caesar salads and I came up with this combination. And it was a fabulous one.

As I mentioned I took it to my in-laws for a dinner. And this is the type of salad that when there are leftovers it doesn’t really keep because the lettuce gets soggy with the dressing sitting on it in the refrigerator. So I was a bit nervous that there was going to be a lot of waste. There was NO WASTE! We polished it off in one sitting with my father in-law asking if anyone else needed any more as he cleaned the bowl. That my friends, is a HUGE win as my mother in-law is a fantastic cook. So let that be your testimony for this salad.

Sundried Tomato Caesar Salad with Sundried Tomato Caesar Dressing

Author/Source:

Tricia @ Onceamonthmom.com

Sundried Tomato Salad Ingredients:

• 2 bunches Romaine lettuce, chopped
• 0.5 cups Parmesan cheese, shredded
• .5 cups sundried tomatoes
• 1 cups croutons
• Sundried Tomato Caesar Dressing (see below)

Sundried Tomato Caesar Dressing Ingredients:

• 0.25 cups sundried tomatoes, packed in oil
• 2 teaspoons garlic
• 0.5 teaspoons dried oregano
• 0.5 teaspoons salt
• 0.25 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 0.25 cups olive oil
• 0.125 (1/8) cups red wine vinegar
• .67 (2/3) cups sour cream
• ¼ cups Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Prepare Sundried Tomato Caesar Salad Dressing: Mix sundried tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add olive oil and red wine vinegar and continue blending.  Add sour cream, process until smooth and add Parmesan cheese. Set in refrigerator to chill before serving if time allows.

Prepare Sundried Tomato Caesar Salad: Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl. Toss with sundried tomato caesar salad dressing just before serving. Serve.

Servings: 8

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The pizza we order when we go is always changing, however, the salad is a constant Candied Walnut Grape Salad all the way! My husband and I usually split it and then bargain over the last few bits. It is incredible.

One day it dawned on me that I might actually be able to come up with the equivalent at home. So I scoured the internet in search of a comparable recipe. And I am happy to say, this recipe does the trick! Don’t worry Dewey’s we are still coming to visit every now and again, we just can’t quit you!

Candied Walnut and Grape Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

Author/Source: Tricia @ Onceamonthmom.com

Candied Walnut & Grape Salad Ingredients:

• 5 cups romaine leaves, chopped
• 1 cup red seedless grapes, halved (you can use white but red ads more color
• 3 1/2 ounces Gorgonzola, crumbled
• 1/2 cup candied walnuts, halves

Dijon Vinaigrette Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

In a large salad bowl mix together salad ingredients. In a small bowl with a lid or shakable container mix all the ingredients for the Dijon Vinaigrette. Just before serving, pour dressing over the salad and mix to combine.

Servings: 4

Once A Month Mom Meat Pairings:

(Suggestions from us to you on meats from Once a Month Mom menus you might use atop this salad as a way to use leftovers or to change up your meal selections.)

• Honey Mustard Pork Chops (May Traditional)
• Garlic Dijon Chicken (May Gluten Free & Dairy Free)
• Lemon Chicken (May Traditional)
• Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken (Summer Diet)
• Grilled Summer Steak Kabobs (Summer Diet)
• Black Bean Burgers (Kitchen Stewardship Beans eBook) (June Whole Foods & Vegetarian)
  
• Turkey Cutlets with Mustard Sauce (June Gluten Free & Dairy Free)

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When I decided to embark on this Summer series I began it with this salad in mind. Yes, this salad is SO MEMORABLE that I decided to create a whole Summer series just so I could show it off.

Well, that might be extreme. But. I definitely had this salad in mind from the beginning. This is a recipe from a dear friend. She would periodically bring this salad to our house church gatherings and eventually I begged her for the recipe. Of course, when I went to locate the recipe for this series I couldn’t find it. Figures. Good thing she is a “good” friend because she didn’t hesitate to give it to me a second time.

So in an effort to guarantee that I never lose it again, I am writing it here, for all of you so that it lives in infamy. How is that for not forgetting?

Summer Fruity Romaine Salad with Sweet Onion Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Author/Source:

Tricia @ Onceamonthmom.com

Salad Ingredients:

• 2 bags of Romaine lettuce (4 bunches)
• 1 apple, cored and diced
• 1 pear, cored and diced
• 1 cup of blueberries
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese

Sweet Onion Poppy Seed Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/4 -1/2 medium white onion
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds

Directions:

Combine all of the salad ingredients into a large bowl, toss. For the dressing, in a food processor mince onion until fine. Add sugar and lemon juice. Pour into a bowl with a tight lid. Add oil and poppyseeds. Shake well. Toss with salad and serve immediately. (Salad will wilt after dressing has been on for some time.

Servings: 8

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**And if you haven’t gotten your copy of the Survive Before 5: Toddler Meals for Your Busy Days eCookbook, be sure to get your copy now. It is on sale through July 1st for just $5.99 with the code OAMM599.

So I give to you Pickled Beet, Goat Cheese and Arugula Salad. The flavor combination’s make this anything but an ordinary salad. The strong flavors of goat cheese and arugula balance out the sweet and tangy flavor of the pickled beets. This wasn’t exactly a salad my toddlers were clamoring for, but I was fine with that, more for me! And I like my fancy salads. Hopefully you will to.

Pickled Beet, Goat Cheese Arugula Salad with Beet Vinaigrette

Author/Source:

Tricia @ Onceamonthmom.com

Pickled Beets:

See directions located in this post.

• 3 large, cooked, fresh beets OR (15 ounces canned beets)
• 1 cup water (or reserved canned beet juice)
• 0.125    teaspoons cloves
• 0.25    cups vinegar
• 0.25    cups sugar
• 0.25    teaspoons cinnamon

Salad Ingredients:

• 8 cups Arugula (or other salad blends)
• 1 cup sliced pickled beets
• 8 teaspoons goat cheese

Beet Vinaigrette Ingredients:

• 6 Tablespoon reserved pickled beet liquid
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1.5 teaspoons chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 0.125 teaspoons ground black pepper
• o.33 cups olive oil

Directions:

Place salad on plates, add pickled beets and goat cheese. Top with Beet Vinaigrette. Serve

Servings: 4

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It is the inaugural Sunday Salads post! I am so excited for this series for so many reasons. First and foremost, because with all of those frozen meals and the gardens overflowing, I still love to have fresh fruits and vegetables on the table for dinner. And what is better than a great tasting salad to compliment a meal. Or to be the meal for that matter!

Now, I find it a bit ironic that I started off Sunday Salads with a recipe that I can’t even eat! Yes, I am allergic to strawberries. BUT. Maybe you aren’t! And strawberry season is upon us so if you can enjoy them, please do (and have a few extra for me).

I will say that I enjoyed this salad minus the strawberries. I happened to have some kiwis about as they were on sale and I thought it would be fun to mix it up a bit and throw them into the mix too. After all, don’t you see kiwis and strawberries together quite a bit? And then I decided to get add some pizazz with some homemade candied pecans. Mmm. . . .well. I will let you let your taste buds do the deciding.

Strawberry Kiwi Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Author/Source:

Tricia @ Onceamonthmom.com

Strawberry Kiwi Spinach Salad Ingredients:

• 4 cups fresh spinach, washed
• 1 pint strawberries, sliced
• 2 kiwis, peeled, halved and sliced
• 0.25 cups feta cheese
• 2 cups candied pecans
• Poppy Seed Dressing (see below)

Poppyseed Dressing Ingredients:

• .33 cups sugar
• .50 cups grapeseed oil
• .25 cups vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons celery seed
• 1.5 Tablespoons poppy seed
• .25 teaspoon paprika
• .50 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1.5 teaspoons minced onion

Directions:

Mix salad ingredients together carefully. Prepare Poppy Seed dressing ingredients in a separate container and shake vigorously. Serve dressing on the side or add to salad just before serving. Allowing the dressing to sit for an extended period of time on the salad mix will cause wilting.

Servings: 4

Once A Month Mom Meat Pairings:

(Suggestions from us to you on meats from Once a Month Mom menus you might use atop this salad as a way to use leftovers or to change up your meal selections.)

• Honey Mustard Pork Chops (May Traditional)
• Garlic-Lime Pork Chops (May Traditional)
• Garlic Dijon Chicken (May Gluten Free & Dairy Free)
• Lemon Chicken (May Traditional)
• Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken (Summer Diet)
• Grilled Summer Steak Kabobs (Summer Diet)
• Black Bean Burgers (Kitchen Stewardship Beans eBook) (June Whole Foods & Vegetarian)
  
• Honey Chicken Kabobs (June Gluten Free & Dairy Free)
• Turkey Cutlets with Mustard Sauce (June Gluten Free & Dairy Free)
  

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I was having a friend over for lunch this week and decided to I had all the ingredients for my chicken salad. And I realized I had never posted the recipe here. Interesting. Well, one thing led to another as I was preparing it and I decided to get all fancy with it.

It is a great summer chicken salad with a burst of sweetness from the grapes and explodes with color if you use the red variety. It is so easy to make that you can whip it up in no time for lunch. But it is tasty enough that you can dress it up in some crescent roll bowls and serve it at a baby shower or for entertaining. Perhaps even for a summer picnic!

Give it a try this weekend and see what your guests think!

Author/Source:

Tricia @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 cup grapes, halved
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• (optional) crescent rolls

Directions:

If you so desire, preheat oven to 350 degrees for crescent rolls.  Spray the muffin tin and spread a crescent triangle in each cup. Bake according to package instructions, approximately 12 minutes. Allow to cool. In a large bowl place all ingredients except crescent rolls. Mix together. Once crescents are cooled, spoon in chicken salad. Serve.

Freezing Directions:

Mix all ingredients except mayonnaise. Freeze. To serve: Thaw. Mix in mayonnaise. Serve.

Servings: 4-6

Author/Source:

Ben Callahan care of Tricia @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 8 Slices of Sandwich Bread (He prefers Rosemary Olive Oil, but you can use any kind)
• 4 Tablespoons of Mayonnaise
• .5 lb of bacon, cooked
• 2 Avocados, sliced
• 8 leaves of lettuce
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 4 slices Pepperjack Cheese

Directions:

Cook the bacon until crispy (we tend to do this ahead so that we don’t have to prepare it at lunch time). Lightly toast the sandwich bread. Spread one tablespoon of mayonnaise on the slices of bread. Choose 4 slices of bread for stacking your sandwich. Place the remaining ingredients in this order: lettuce, avocado, pepperjack, bacon, tomato additional lettuce. Add the top sandwich slice and you are ready to eat!

Freezing Directions:

Not recommended.

Servings: 4

This Post will be linked at:

• Mouthwatering Monday at A Southern Fairytale
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy

My husband and I value vacations but don’t want to break the bank trying to enjoy ourselves. That is no fun when you return home! So we save up, try to find discounts where we can and then commit to enjoying ourselves without all the “we can’t afford it” lines.

Here is how we save:

1. Share a residence – for several years now we have gone in with another family to rent a house for the week. We like to vacation at the beach and the houses that are closest to the beach are often bigger homes. Therefore, splitting the cost makes them affordable for the week. It usually ends up being much cheaper than renting a hotel room and with a lot more amenities.

2. Shop VRBO – when we are looking to rent a house I always use VRBO. (this is not a sponsored post). Have you ever used it? There are a gazillion places listed that you can rent all over the globe. It is my first place of research usually when I am ready to find a residence. We have used VRBO for our honeymoon in Roatan, Honduras; for our vacation to Hawaii; for our trip to Panama City Beach, Florida; and for recent trip to Outer Banks, North Carolina. We have always had a great experience. And the house we just rented even came with baby equipment. Score! One less thing to pack in the vehicle!

3. Plan your meals – I love eating out like the next person. Especially on beach vacations where you can dine on local seafood. But every night is a little much. The last few years I have frozen some OAMM meals and packed them nicely in the cooler to take with us. The ones that are mostly defrosted when we get there we eat the first few days. And we proceed from there. This saves us money because we aren’t eating out every night, we aren’t buying overpriced groceries at resort locations and it saves us the time of meal preparation on the night that we eat in.

4. Coupons – I use coupons on the items that I purchase to make food before we leave. And then I make a list of the items that we are going to need to purchase once we arrive. We don’t pack EVERYTHING we will need in the way of food or there wouldn’t be room for diapers! I then go through my coupons and cut out any that correspond or that I think that I might use on items on our “to buy” grocery list. No use saving money at home just to waste it while we are away. And no need to drag my coupon binder all over the world!

5. Grocery Savings Cards – Do a search on Google Maps and find out what grocery stores are located near your vacation destination. Do a little research to find out if they have a store loyalty card. If they do apply and have one mailed before you go or pick one up when you get there. At one of our vacation destinations the local chain actually just scanned a card for us seeing that we were out-of-towners. That was super nice. Perhaps ask about that before you start your shopping or fill out the application.

6. Rewards Cards & Programs – There are many ways to earn rewards with different companies and credit cards. I save up points throughout the year and redeem them prior to vacation to cut our vacation costs. Here are a few that I utilized on our recent vacation:

• Swagbucks – I redeemed my swagbucks for Amazon.com gift cards for some of the last minute supplies that we needed like floaties, ear plugs, etc. There are lots of other things that you can redeem your swagbucks for. There are airline tickets, restaurants.com, Starbucks are just a few.
• Tropicana Juicy Rewards – I searched here for entertainment and dining discounts for near where we were staying. This vacation didn’t have a lot of options so we didn’t end up using any rewards but if you collect Juicy Rewards (which you should) you should check do a search near the zip code where you are staying.
• Cellfire – They have coupons you can download or use right there from your phone which is one way to save money. But they also have discounts for area attractions and dining locations sometimes as well. It is an easy way to potentially save money. Whenever I am in a new location, I change the zip code in my cellfire phone application to the zip code where I am staying. I then peruse the deals and discounts to see if there are any I can use.

7. Credit Card Rewards – I know many of you swear by Dave Ramsey and the envelope system. In this household we only use the envelope system for problem areas like eating out. The main reason we don’t use it is that I love some credit card rewards! And we have a long history of NOT abusing credit cards, we pay the total amount in full each month (otherwise the rewards are null). Prior to leaving on this trip I used my DiscoverRewards to get us a nearly free hotel room for our journey down there (we broke it into 2 days). It was so nice to save that way. I also looked into getting restaurant and gas cards for us to use along the way as well. It definitely saved us money to be eating for free while we were traveling.

8. Search the blogs – You obviously are a blog reader if you are reading this post (especially if you have made it all the way to this point in this post. . .he he)! Do a swagbucks search for “blogs (city you are going to) discounts”. You might just find a handful of well written blogs that can direct you to great savings. Here in Dayton, Ohio (I know you are all considering vacationing here) we have Deals for Dayton. Chances are the place where you going has a great blogger eager to help you out!

9. Off Season – whenever we can we travel in the off season. Sometimes, like this last vacation, it isn’t too terribly “off” but we try. That way you shave hundreds of dollars off most everything from lodging, to food, to gasoline.

10. Ask for a discount – there is no harm in asking! The worst thing they can say is no. There were several places this last week that we checked on discount opportunities. Whether it is AAA or student or military or AARP there is no charge to ask!

What about you? What do you do to save money when vacationing? Or do you just splurge?

This post is linked up to Top Ten Tuesday at Oh Amanda.

If comments on the Stuffed Buffalo Chicken are any indicators of readers love for all things buffalo, this recipe should appeal to your taste buds as well! This recipe was inspired by Laura who is a member of our House Church group and actually remembered to bring lunch on our Cincinnati Zoo trip and had enough to share with our family. They were delicious and a perfect idea for the Summer 2010 menu. So I adapted on her recipe and created my own. This is the fabulous result.

Author/Source:

Tricia @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups boneless chicken breast, cooked & diced
• 1 cups celery, diced
• 1 cups bleu cheese crumbles (sub Mozzarella if you don’t like bleu cheese)
• .75 cups ranch dressing
• 3 Tablespoons buffalo wing sauce
• 8 each flour tortillas, large

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together ranch dressing and buffalo wing sauce. In a large bowl, mix together chicken, bleu cheese crumbles and celery. Add ranch mixture to the chicken mixture and stir. Add 1/2 cup of the mixture to each tortilla and fold tortilla like a burrito. Cut in half and enjoy!

Freezing Directions:

Follow all directions above and then wrap in plastic wrap. {**If you are concerned about soggy tortillas (they shouldn’t be but there is a chance) you can simply put the 1/2 cup mixture in sandwich bags and put those inside a gallon freezer bag to freeze. Then assemble the tortillas when you are ready. You can add fresh veggies to them this way also.} Place in gallon freezer bag and freeze. To serve: Thaw. Cut in half.

Servings: 8

This Post will be linked at:

• Mouthwatering Monday at A Southern Fairytale
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
• Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home

I am SO excited about this menu. For so many reasons. The summer off, great summer grilling recipes, recipes from yours truly, and a menu that doesn’t use the oven! Woot!

1. You may have noticed instead of it being the May 2010 menu it is the Summer 2010 Menu. That is not a typo, this menu will be the featured Menu until August 1st, 2010. I learned after last summer that a lot of people forgo freezer cooking during the summer for many reasons: vacations, less time, more mouths to feed, not wanting to turn the oven on, etc. In addition, the sales items throughout the summer are virtually the same (listen to the podcast to hear what they are), the produce is the only thing that changes a bit. And I figure if you DO want to do once a month cooking more than once this summer you can go back and use the menus from May, June or July of last year, they are great menu too!

Don’t worry, I will still be around this summer posting like crazy, bringing you new recipes and talking about everything from cooking to eating out to vacation to exciting adventures. I just will be free to try out some new things and get prepared for the great fall menus. And of course, to enjoy my two kiddos and husband.

2 & 3. I have been whipping up some great recipes the last few weeks and I am having so much fun. I can’t wait to try new ones out this summer as well! I’m having so much fun experimenting. Watch out Martha Stewart (yea, not really)!

4. Yes, you read that right. This menu DOES not require to turn your oven on during your cooking day! Can I hear an AMEN! That is one of the single greatest drawbacks of doing oamc during the summer. Well, not with this menu. This is BY FAR the easiest to put together menu I have ever created. There is little to no cooking involved at all. In addition, there are very few recipes that use your oven when you cook. Most of them can be grilled or done in the slow cooker. That should help save on the cooling bills!

Oh, and one more thing. I know there are several recipes that contain bleu cheese on this menu. I also know that people either love bleu cheese or hate it. If your family falls into the “hate it” category just substitute shredded Mozzarella cheese instead. They will taste just as great. Also, if your family likes spicy feel free to up the amounts of buffalo sauce (or decrease for more mild flavor).

I hope you enjoy these meals as much as our early readers/cooks have. If you are new and not sure how to get started, read here. For frequently asked questions visit here. And there are several other helpful links under the Helpful Hints/Resources section below to help you on your cooking journey. Good luck!

Podcast

• Listen in the orange player at the top of this post…

Menu

• Included below are the menu items that we will be preparing as part of our Once A Month Cooking (OAMC) BIG DAY. In the printable Summer 2010 Recipe Cards the menu items are listed as single, double, or quadruple depending on how much we need to make on the BIG DAY. The recipes linked below are ONLY for the single batch, to see the amounts we are making on the OAMC BIG DAY you will need to visit the printable Summer 2010 Recipe Cards.

Breakfasts

• Fruity Breakfast Burritos**
• Harvest Cinnamon Rolls**
• Frozen Fruit Cups**

Lunches

• Summer Harvest Soup
• Grilled Chicken Pesto Wraps
• Black Bean & Mango Chicken Salad
• Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Dinners

• Stuffed Buffalo Chicken**
• Lemon Chicken**
• Beef-Potato Dinner Wraps
• Sun Dried Tomato & Capers Pasta Sauce**
• Tangy Steak Marinade**
• Italian Flank Steak Pinwheels**
• Bacon and Bleu Burgers**
• Tomato Basil Hamburgers**

• Printable Summer 2010 Recipe Cards

**Indicates meals that require NO COOKING on your OAMC BIG DAY!

Grocery List

• Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your Summer OAMC BIG DAY. For more instructions on how to use this, go here.
• Summer 2010 OAMM Grocery List

Instructions

• These are the step-by-step instructions you will need to quickly and efficiently approach your OAMC BIG DAY!
• Summer 2010 OAMM Instructions

Labels

These customized labels are designed specifically for the April 2010 Once A Month Mom Menu. They contain not only the name of the dish but also the serving instructions for preparing the dish on your serving day. They make preparation of the dishes hassle free.

These labels are designed to be printed on Avery 8163 or equivalent! Readers who didn’t have labels available suggested just printing them on paper and taping them.

• Summer 2010 Printable Labels

Helpful Hints/Resources

• Sliced & Diced: Onions
• Sliced & Diced: Ground Beef
• Creating Your Own OAMC Menu Series
• How To Navigate the OAMM Menu
• Preparing For A Successful OAMC Day
• Adapting The Menu for YOUR Family
• Making the Menu Healthier
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• Shopping For Your Cooking Day
• Final Shopping Trip For Your OAMC Day
• Choosing The Right Containers

What do you think of Summer 2010’s menu?

If you are feeling abundantly blessed and generous feel free to donate. But don’t feel guilty if you aren’t able. And don’t forget you can always go back and use May 2009, June 2009 or July 2009‘s menus if you are looking for something different!

Designed to be printed on Avery 8163 or equivalent! Readers who didn’t have labels available suggested just printing them on paper and taping them.

This menu I am trying something NEW with labels. A reader suggested this several months ago and I am just now getting around to implement it. It turns out it is BRILLIANT! It saved me a lot of time.

The labels come two per recipe to a sheet with five recipes on each sheet. If you are only cooking half the menu (by yourself) this is all you will need. If you are cooking with a partner, you will need to print TWO of each label which will give you enough. If you need extra labels fro some reason print out a set of the blanks to use. Make sense? I hope so! Enjoy

• Summer 2010 Labels – 1 – Fruity Breakfast Burritos, Harvest Cinnamon Rolls, Frozen Fruit Cups, Summer Harvest Soup, Grilled Chicken Pesto Wraps
• Summer 2010 Labels – 2 – Black Bean & Mango Chicken Salad, Buffalo Chicken Wraps, Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, Lemon Chicken, Beef-Potato Dinner Wraps
• Summer 2010 Labels – 3 – Sun Dried Tomato & Capers Pasta Sauce, Tangy Steak Marinade, Italian Flank Steak Pinwheels, Bacon and Bleu Burgers, Tomato Basil Hamburgers**
• Blank Labels

Grocery List

• Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your Summer 2010 Once A Month (OAMC) Mom BIG DAY. You can make a copy of this list and customize it for yourself and your family or use it as is. For more instructions on how to use this, go here.
• Printable Summer  2010 Grocery List

Recipes

Please note that all recipes in this document have been altered (increased quantities) to meet the needs of TWO people participating in a OAM Cooking Day. It is indicated on each recipe whether it has been doubled or quadrupled for your convenience. If you are just one person or would like to make less of a particular recipe, you will need to make the adjustments on your own to the recipe and to the grocery shopping list.

Instructions

• Chicken, boneless - 21.5 pounds used – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Buffalo Chicken Wraps, Grilled Chicken Pesto Wraps, Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, Black Bean & Mango Chicken Salad).
• Chicken, thighs or drumsticks – 12 pounds and it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Lemon Chicken).
• Ground Beef – 11 pounds and it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly but not recommended based on quality (Tomato/Basil Hamburgers, Bacon/Bleu Hamburgers, Beef Potato Dinner Wraps).
• Flank Steak – 4 lbs used and it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly but not recommended based on quality (Italian Flank Steak Pinwheels).
• T-Bone Steak – 8 lbs used and it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly but not recommended based on quality (Tangy Marinated Steak).

Thaw (in refrigerator)

• 21.5 lbs of chicken
• 12 pounds of chicken thighs or drumsticks
• 11 lbs of ground beef
• 4 lbs of flank steak
• 8 lbs of t-bone steak

Night Before:

• Place 3 pounds of ground beef into a slow cooker, add 1 cup of water and cook for approximately 8 hours on low or until ground beef is cooked through.
• Place 13.5 lbs of boneless chicken into 2 slow cookers, add 1 cup of water to each and cook for approximately 8 hours on low or until ground beef is cooked through.
• Optional (but HIGHLY recommended) – chop up all vegetables – bake bacon

Day of:

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Feel free to leave comments below about your participation/lack of participation this summer. But also don’t forget to vote in the right margin. This will help me to get a feel for what is ahead for next summer.

Mmmm, Subway!

Andrea thought it would be a good idea for us all to get together this summer for a nice fun Subway “eat fresh” lunch and frolic at Winton Woods. (Subs donated of course, thanks Subway!) It was a great time and a good excuse to get all our kiddos together for a end of summer blast!

We had some great Subway subs, Frito Lay chips, fruit, and various “homemade” desserts. Then we took all of the kids to the spray ground for some entertainment. Pretty sure I ended up more wet than my son and he was the one wearing a swimsuit.

This picture cracks me up because I look like I am concentrated on my sandwich (I am preggo) while Amy is taking care of my kid.

It was a great time and so much fun to see everyone. (Although those poor girls – only three of them).

The other fabulous moms who were there:

• Amy – Amy In Ohio
• Andrea – Mommy Snacks
• Becky – What’s new with the Dell’s
• Carrie – Money Saving Methods
• Cortney – Evan Has Landed
• Jenny – Mommin’ It Up
• Marianne – Writer Mommy

This about sums it up. Dude, wish I could have done that!