Meals for the Week of June 25, 2012

Last year around this time, I chose to not focus my post on the July 4th holiday.  This year I decided that I will provide some recipes that I think would be great for the holiday, but mixed in with other everyday recipes you might like for this season.
So I'm keeping this post short and sweet and getting down to the business at hand with the list of recipes for this week.  You can view the Pinterest board for these recipes here.  Have a fun and safe July 4th!

Meals for the Week of June 25, 2012

Chicken and Sun Dried Tomato Orzo- Orzo is like rice in shape, but pasta that is very quick cooking so this is a good meal you can have ready in 30 minutes. 

Grilled Lime Shrimp- Simple and delicious.  Use them as a basis for tacos or in a salad.  Eat them with brown rice and grilled veggies. 

Southwest Flank Steak Pinwheels- This is something you can make ahead; assemble and then freeze until you are ready to cook it.  The recipe provides instructions for cooking in a crock pot.  I have also grilled stuffed flank steaks before if you wanted to try that.

Hawaiian Pork Burger- A yummy change of pace from a beef burger. Topped with a pineapple ring and a slice of ham; such a great flavor combination.

Spinach and Chicken Tortilla Bake- This is spicy; it has salsa verde in it, but you can use less than it calls for if you need to.  It’s a quick and easy meal for a weeknight and leftovers are good for packing in your lunch. 

Southwestern Stuffed Peppers- Very easy and adaptable recipe for stuffed peppers.  A good thing you can bake ahead and re-heat if you need to. 

Crunchy Coconut Chicken- I have another recipe for coconut chicken tenders that I almost chose instead of this one, as it’s delicious.  But it’s fried, not baked like this one and the coating has a lot more fat and sugar in it.  So, this version is far better for something you can make on a more regular basis and it requires less active work to prepare.

Grilled Veggie Tostadas- This is great if you are going to have a taco bar for the holiday.  Grill up some chicken and veggies and then set it all out for everyone to build their own tacos or tostadas.
 
Turkey Burgers with Zucchini- Healthy burgers with some added nutrition with finely grated zucchini mixed in. 

Honey Lime Chicken Skewers- These grilled chicken skewers are sweet and spicy and are great to prep and marinate ahead of time.  Then all you do is thread them on skewers and grill. 

Peanut Noodle Salad- You can use a whole grain or brown rice pasta if you want, you could also add julienne carrot and chopped broccoli to increase the veggies.  A great side dish with grilled chicken.  Bring this to a bbq. 

Pasta Salad with Grilled Summer Vegetables- Take this healthy option to a bbq party or make this for a weeknight dinner when you want to keep things cool.  You can grill the veggies ahead of time, or use leftovers from a previous meal. 

Red, White and Blueberry Trifle- This is a festive lower fat and lower sugar dessert for the July 4th holiday. 

Vanilla Raspberry Sundaes- Most of this recipe is for making the spoon-shaped cookies you can top the sundae with, so if you want to skip that, it’s simply a recipe to give you inspiration for making a patriotic sundae.  I love the combo of vanilla ice cream with the tangy raspberry sorbet.