Dinner of the week: Delux Cobb Salads

Summer is HERE!  
Firing up the grill, dinning on the deck, birds serenading your meal, 
and watching the kids play in the yard after a meal.  I LOVE summer meals!

This week's Dinner of the Week is Delux Cobb Salads with Grilled Chicken and Biscuits.

This meal is on a weekly rotation for my summer menus.  It's easy, fresh, light and every family member can tailor it for their taste buds.  For our summer salads, I wash and cut the greens (usually a romaine and spinach base, but sometimes I get creative with other greens) and add Marinated Grilled Chicken along with a few basics, like tomatoes and cucumbers.  I call this "base" the non-negotiables.  The kids can choose to add as much or as little of any of the other ingredients, but they must have this base.  

The add-ins are the usual suspects:  

• Chopped Bacon
• Diced hard boiled eggs
• Shredded Cheese
• Chopped red onion
• Diced avocado
• Chopped Bell peppers
• Sunflower seeds
• Croutons
• Cilantro

I'll offer different "add-ins" depending on the type of salad on the menu (another favorite salad is a southwestern salad - with corn, tortilla strips, pico de gallo).  I place each "Add-in" in a separate bowl and let the family build their salad creation.  It's so fun to see how each kid thoughtfully constructs their salad.  Bread adds a little substance and makes a great addition to this meal. I try to buy a large sourdough or Italian loaf I can heat up in the oven, but crescent rolls or biscuits work great too.

Other meals on the menu for this week were:

Monday:  Delux Cobb Salads with Grilled Chicken and Biscuits

Tuesday:  Pork Steaks with Roasted Broccoli and Cubed Apple Fruit Salad

Wednesday:  Meatballs with Harvest Quinoa and Steamed Green Beans

Thursday:  Sloppy Joe Sliders (on Kings Hawaiin Sweet Rolls) with Steamed Peas and Peaches

Friday:  Pizza or dinner out!