Half the Battle

I love all of your suggestions and posts, thank you for participating!  Do you want to know something embarrassing... I could not remember how to log in for like 3 weeks!  Good thing I emailed all of you with the details and even wrote it in my trusty and very official purple polka dotted notebook that I keep all of my passwords! So, I decided that half of the battle of summer cooking, comes when I sit down to write my grocery list and I can't turn to my usual crockpot meals or soups (which Ryan and I have a love/hate relationship with... I love them and Ryan hates them!) So, besides the obvious BBQ here are a few of the summer"ish" menus that we have had the last week or so:
*BBQ pulled pork sandwiches (cooked in the crockpot) then put on soft rolls with coleslaw
*Wraps (chicken salad, bacon tomato ranch avocado, Asian salad with soy sauce and mandarin oranges and wonton strips... pictured above... I know, they look awful... but taste light and fresh!) 
*Quinoa salads (Heather's black bean, creamy italian dressing and feta salad tastes great with quinoa instead of brown rice.  I also like to make quinoa with snap peas chopped up, a few tablespoons of Kraft Toasted Sesame dressing, toasted almonds, mandarin oranges and green onions.  Since the quinoa is a good source of protien you don't have to add chicken, but sometimes it seems like more of a meal to Ryan if I do this!)
*Fajita bar (this is my kids favorite) I just slow cook some chicken so it shreds easily for me, then serve it with tortillas, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, rice and beans, cheese, avocados it is easy for everyone to add their own and the kids like all of their stuff separate!
*Sandwiches or Panini bar I love a good sandwich we throw on some green peppers, chicken, cheese, vegetables and serve with some frozen sweet potato fries or chips, EASY!
*Salad bar (same concept as the fajitas, but a big plate of washed romaine and top with lots of yummy toppings like boiled eggs... is that weird?) We usually serve this with homemade rolls or bread sticks.
*Cool drinks- in the summer we love to try things like Our Best Bites Brazilian Limeade, Italian Cream Sodas, Dirty Diet Cokes (pictured above) or that old school pineapple slush with sprite! 

We served these with summery sides like watermelon, asparagus, corn on the cob, mozzarella and tomato salad, cold cut vegetables and ranch dip etc.
Happy Summer Cooking!
ShaeMarie