Dinner of the week: Caprese Pasta Salad

I think what I love most about Summer meals are the fresh ingredients.  
I love having the kids run out to the garden and grab a Cucumber or Chives for our meals.  
Tonight's meal borrowed Basil and Roma tomatoes from the garden.
Caprese Pasta Salad:  Grilled Chicken, Fresh Basil, Chunks of Mozzarella Cheese 
with a few Tomatoes, Spinach, and Pasta noodles.  

I was making this meal when my friend happened to stop by.  We were talking about the elementary school talent show auditions that were set to take place the next day while I was chopping and mixing.  In her true conversation style, she stopped mid-sentence and asked, "what is that?!  It smells so fresh!"  This Caprese Pasta salad is (you guessed it) EASY and another summer favorite.

The key ingredients for any Caprese dish are Basil, Mozzarella Cheese, and Tomatoes (along with balsamic vinegar and oil).  I forgot to grab Mozzarella during my grocery trip, so I opted for cutting up the kid's string cheese sticks!  Perhaps not as fancy as the larger chunks of Mozzarella, but definitely a time-saver for this busy momma! Adding pasta into the mix gives the meal a little more "oomph" (yes, that is a technical term- HA!) and helps keep little bellies fuller, longer.  I also tossed in Spinach and grilled chicken. This meal is truly as easy as grilling the chicken, cooking the pasta, and cutting up the cheese and tomatoes.  Toss it up with a good drizzle of Balsamic vinegar mixed with oil and you're all set.

Need more ideas for the week?  Here's what we ate:

Monday:  Caprese Pasta Salad and Black Sesame Crisp chips

Tuesday:  Grilled Chicken Drumsticks, Corn on the cobb, Baked Beans, Strawberry/Blueberry fruit salad

Wednesday:  Grilled summer veggies (Zucchini, Summer Squash, Cherry Tomatoes, Onions) and sliced Chicken Feta Sausages, crescent rolls, and grilled Pineapple slices

Thursday:  Tortellini in red sauce and salad

Friday:  Burgers, chips, and Watermelon