What to Eat this Week – Easy Summer Meal Planning
What does a perfect week look like? Probably days full of sunbathing, beach volleyball, and dips in a refreshing oceanic surf, and evenings laughing with friends and family on breezy verandas.
Not what your coming week looks like? Mine either. Alas, just living my regular life. But while we may not be spending our days on the beach, we can add a little breeze to the evenings. You definitely don’t need to tear your hair out over what to each every single night. Instead, take our handy dandy meal planner, stock your fridge with the ingredients, and enjoy some seamless, easy summer dinners that will remind you that it is indeed summer, even if you aren’t on vacation (yet).
Monday
Start the week with these grilled chicken and veggie kabobs – and make LOTS of extra, so your grilled goods can do double duty for your Tuesday night pitas.
Ingredients
1 cup Cabot 2% Plain Greek Yogurt or Cabot 2% Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
½ teaspoon dried basil
Hot sauce, such as Sriracha chili sauce, to taste
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1-1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
About 3 cups assorted vegetables cut into 2-inch chunks (such as onion, bell pepper, zucchini, squash, etc.)
Tuesday
Grilled Chicken Pitas with Basil Cheddar Mayonnaise
Ingredients
[Shopping Note: You’ll need about 1lb of Sour Cream (Light or Regular, your choice) for the rest of the week’s recipes. If you plan to double the recipe, be sure to get a 2lb tub!]
Tomato Basil Cheddar Mayonnaise:
3 ounces Cabot Tomato Basil Cheddar or Cabot Sharp Cheddar, grated (about ¾ cup)
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Grilled Chicken:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 cups cold water
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
About 1 tablespoon olive oil
4 large rounds pita bread
Thinly sliced vine-ripened tomatoes and zucchini
Wednesday
½ cup Cabot Light Sour Cream
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon blackening or Cajun seasoning
¾ pound firm white fish fillets (such as red snapper, halibut or striped bass)
4 fat-free flour tortillas
2 ounces Cabot Sharp Lite50 Cheddar, grated (about ½ cup)
Optional toppings: fresh lime wedges, diced tomato, finely shredded red cabbage, sliced green onion, chopped fresh jalapeno salsa
Thursday
You can even make this delicious quiche on Sunday, keep it in the fridge or freezer until Thursday, and then reheat and enjoy. You can never go wrong with quiche!
Ingredients
[Shopping Note: You’ll need just 1 12oz can of refried beans (2 if you will double recipes) for Friday & Saturday. Cheers!]
Crust:
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold Cabot Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
½ cup chopped crisply cooked bacon (about 7 ounces uncooked)
¼ cup Cabot Sour Cream
¼ cup cold water
Roast tomatoes:
5 medium vine-ripened tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Quiche:
2 tablespoons Cabot Unsalted Butter
2 leeks, white and pale green part only, chopped and rinsed to remove any grit
8 ounces Cabot Sharp Cheddar, grated (about 2 cups)
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Friday
Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 (14.5-ounce) can “no salt added” peeled whole tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn kernels1 cup shredded or diced cooked skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2.5 ounces Cabot Sharp Lite75 Cheddar, grated (about 2/3 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 cup fat-free refried beans
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
.75 ounces Cabot Chipotle Cheddar or Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar, grated (about 3 tablespoons)
1/3 cup Cabot Light Sour Cream
1 green onion, white and tender green parts, sliced
Saturday
Bean Quesadillas with Cabot Cheddar
Ingredients
8 large (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup refried beans
8 ounces Cabot Monterey Jack, Cabot Pepper Jack or Cabot Jalapeno Lite50 Cheddar, grated (about 2 cups)
¼ cup sliced green onions
Cabot Sour Cream
Tomato salsa
If you would like to learn more about Cabot Creamery Cooperative, get more delicious recipes, or take a virtual tour of some of our 1,000 farm families, click here. If you find a recipe that you love on our site, please rate and review it – we appreciate your feedback!You can also sign-up for our Newsletters so that you don’t miss a thing.
Dr. Averill (aka <3Ave) is a long-time member of the Cabot team (ca. 2006) and a life-time lover of cheese (the sharper the better!). She’s always been moved by the Cabot commitment to the farmers, our communities, and making quality products. You can catch her on Twitter most of the time, where she leads the @cabotcheese tweeting. When she’s not talking cheese, she’s digging into the past, and just finished her PhD in History.
