Fast Summer Dinner

When we got home from vacation last week, the last thing I wanted to do was cook.  But I also didn't want to get take-out or go to a restaurant.  What's a girl to do?

I settled on running in and out of the grocery store really quick.  I promised myself that I would just grab the things that I needed to make a really fast meal.  Ten minutes in the store - tops. 

But then I saw cherries on sale.  Oh, and seltzer.  And yogurt!

So it took me 20 minutes.  But it was worth it.  I was able to get chicken, corn and fresh mozzarella for that dinner that night, plus some things for breakfast in the morning.  More than enough to hold us over until I went to do a big shopping trip.

So what did we eat?  Italian seasoned chicken, corn on the cob and tomato salad.  It's nothing special, and I didn't follow a recipe, I just threw it together.

grilled chicken with grilled peppers on top, corn, tomato and mozz salad

The corn was easy: I just boiled it.  The chicken was simple too: I sprinkled a dry packet of Italian Salad Dressing mix onto 2 lbs of chicken, and grilled until done. 

The tomato salad (often called a caprese salad) was also easy.  This is probably my most favorite summertime salad.  And what made this one even better was that the tomato was from my garden! 

Summer Tomato Salad
Ingredients:
1 tomato
1 small package fresh mozzarella
4-5 basil leaves
olive oil
salt and pepper

Instructions:
Slice tomato and mozzarella.  Layer the slices of tomato, mozzarella and basil leaves. 

First I layer tomato and then mozz

And then I add the basil between the tomato and mozz.  I tear the leaves if they are too big.

Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

What is your favorite summer salad?  Do you have a go-to recipe for the days that you don't want to cook but take-out isn't an option?  Leave me a comment and let me know!