Simple turkey chili is made with ground turkey and plenty of vegetables for a fast and easy chili recipe perfect for weeknight cooking.
For a delicious slow cooker chili, try my Turkey Pumpkin Slow Cooker Chili. It is creamy and just a little spicy.
This chili is a staple in our house during the fall and winter months. I make double batches to freeze for quick dinners when I need them. Chili always tastes even better the next day, so plan ahead if you can.
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tomato
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
It’s finally summer and you know what that means – picnics, barbecues and long days at the beach. This Mediterranean orzo salad is perfect for taking on the go. It is light, yet substantial and dressed in a light vinaigrette. It is one of our favorite Mediterranean lunch recipes for the work week.
I love this particular pasta salad because of all of the fresh vegetables it has. If you really wanted to load it up – broccoli, julienned zucchini, summer squash, cauliflower, red bell pepper or even summer beans would all be great in this salad.
Making salads of all kinds is my go-to during the warmer months. Check out my favorite summer salads post, you might find a new favorite!
If you make a purchase through one of the affiliate links, I make a few pennies at no extra cost to you. Questions? Please see disclosure for info.
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Tomato Tart Recipe with Goat Cheese
Ripe summer tomatoes make this Tomato Tart Recipe a seriously delicious dinner. A buttery crust is filled with creamy goat cheese and caramelized onions before topping with sliced heirloom tomatoes. A sprinkling of fresh parmesan gives it a browned, bubbling top when you slide it out of the oven. A slice of this tomato tart makes a great warm weather supper.
This tomato and goat cheese tart is featured on my Top 25 vegetarian recipes for dinner post, where you can find delicious options for a meatless meal or hearty sides to go with dinner.
Post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of the links, I make a few pennies at no extra cost to you. Questions? Please see disclosure for info.
This post has been updated from its original publication date of 8/5/13
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Tomato Cucumber Salad Recipe
This Tomato Cucumber Salad Recipe is a great way to use up your end of summer bounty. As summer comes to an end, tomatoes and cucumbers are plentiful and this salad celebrates all the flavors of the season.
With ripe heirloom tomatoes, seedless English cucumber, kalamata olives, marinated artichokes and a burst of lemon, this salad is the perfect summer side or light lunch.
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Stuffed Tomatoes – two summer recipes
Stuffed tomatoes are a great way to use ripe, summer tomatoes. They are plentiful in most gardens this time of year and if you are fortunate enough to have them; odds are, you are looking for ways to use them up. Try stuffing them with a mixture of flavorful herbs and breadcrumb mixed with crab meat. For a Greek twist, try them stuffed with orzo, feta and Kalamata olives. Whichever recipe you try, they are the perfect side dish or light summer meal.
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Dinner Divas Weekly Menu Plan: Week 9
The Divas are back, friends! It’s Friday and that means a week’s worth of dinner recipes along with 2 extras. From pizza to pasta, we have it all this week, including a fresh tomato tart and a gorgeous salad for lighter meals.
How it works: Every Friday morning, a new meal plan will show up in your email. It will consist of 5 dinner options, plus 2 extras. Those two extras could be side dishes, dessert, drinks, etc. The Dinner Divas weekly menu plans will feature (mostly) healthy, seasonal foods that don’t take all day to prepare. Getting the weekly menu delivered to your inbox on Friday morning gives you the chance to make your shopping list and get organized for the week ahead. We’ve got so much good stuff this week! I’d love to hear from you & see your creations! Post a pic using #DinnerDivas and tag @pookspantry! I hope this weekly menu plan provides inspiration and makes life a little easier… one meal at a time.
I am over the moon for this Pork Banh Mi Burger from Girl in the Little Red Kitchen, It has everything I love in a burger. Tons of flavor!
Next is this One Pot Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Spinach from The Chef Next Door. I don’t know about you, but Tuesdays are always harder for me than Mondays. This is the perfect low effort meal for me.
One of my favorite (and most popular) recipes. This Heirloom Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart is a serious stunner. Although it looks quite fussy, it’s not as difficult to make as you might imagine. It’s a beautiful way to use up those luscious summer tomatoes!
This beautiful Strawberry Mango Salad with Strawberry Poppyseed Dressing from Comfortable Domestic is a great option for a light Summer dinner when it’s just too hot to cook.
Friday means PIZZA and Pastry Chef Online does not disappoint with her Sausage Gravy Pizza with Peppers and Onions.
It wouldn’t be summer without an awesome recipe for potato salad. Girl in the Little Red Kitchen brings Potato Salad with Bacon, Corn and Peppers as an extra treat this week. I would be first in line for this!
Finally, we close out the week with The Best Strawberry Shortcake from Comfortably Domestic. I can’t imagine a backyard gathering without it. What a perfect way to wrap up!
Thank you all so much for being here! Next week, our theme will be RED, WHITE & BLUE! Just in time to plan your 4th of July menu.
Remember, if you make any of these recipes, use the hashtag #DinnerDivas so we can see your creations! See you next week!
Dinner Divas
Summer Grain Salad with Rainbow Carrots, Heirloom Tomatoes and Herbs
This grain salad is full of summer vegetables. Whole grains provide a satisfying, chewy texture to this salad, while the vegetables give it great crunch. Herbs and red wine vinaigrette make this salad super flavorful.
It’s the unofficial start to summer and you know what that means: dining alfresco! Whether it be picnics, backyard BBQ’s or lunch hours outside on a bench while soaking up a little sunshine, this grain salad with it’s rainbow of colors has you covered.
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Spanish Grilled Tomato and Garlic Bread
Grilled bread rubbed with cloves and garlic and juicy, ripe summer tomatoes is drilled with grassy olive oil and dusted with flaked sea salt. Best enjoyed outside with a glass of Spanish rioja. A super simple dinner, or appetizer, this bread is bursting with flavor.
I had been dreaming about travelling to Spain for nearly a decade, so when I finally landed there back in April of 2000, I cried. The moment my feet touched Spanish soil, I was almost in disbelief. I was so overwhelmed that I could not contain my pure joy. It felt as if the entire universe lined up and planted me exactly where I was supposed to be for that one perfect moment. I wanted for nothing.
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You say tomato, I say tomahto…
I was home visiting my family and was freshly out of culinary school. I mean
green. I hadn’t really worked in kitchens yet other than as a stagiaire or
“stage”, which is an intern (read: free labor).
I’m not really sure where the brilliant idea came from, but I had it in my head to make fried green tomatoes. Keep in mind, I’d never eaten them nor made them but off I went to
gather green tomatoes and make them. I had no reference point, so I didn’t know
how thick or thin to cut the slices.
So, I took to the kitchen with my tomatoes in hand and proceeded to make what one could only technically classify as fried green tomatoes.
They were tomatoes. They were green. And they had been fried.
Looking back at the first attempt to reach beyond my comfort zone, so full of enthusiasm, as all
new culinary grads are, I wince at what I made. Thankfully, I’ve gotten a handle on it now.
I still struggle with failure as I’m sure we all do. I don’t want to look stupid or fail at something.
But, isn’t that how we learn and grow? Our failures tend to teach us more than our successes in my experience. I’m learning to let go of that a little, although I’ll be the first to admit that my competitive spirit will never disappear and the fear of embarrassing myself in front of people is still quite real.
With that, I give you the following recipe… southerners need not correct me. I’m sure you
make it better.
Fried Green Tomatoes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Total Time
30 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 - 5 green tomatoes, cut into 1/4" rounds
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups breadcrumbs, any kind you have on hand
- pinch cayenne pepper
- pinch paprika
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- oil for frying
- optional: dried herbs
Instructions
- Combine flour, garlic powder, cayenne and paprika in a shallow dish and whisk together. Set aside.
- In a separate dish, whisk eggs and buttermilk together.
- In a third dish (it will be worth the dirty dishes, I promise) combine breadcrumbs with a little salt and pepper and any dried herbs if you are using. I throw in about a tablespoon of dried oregano or thyme if I don't have seasoned breadcrumbs.
- Lightly season tomatoes on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge through flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Then dip into egg mixture and coat with seasoned breadcrumbs.
- This next step most people find annoying, but I have found it essential. Place on a cooling rack and let it rest for about 15 - 20 minutes. This allows your coating to adhere to the tomatoes. I do this when coating anything I am going to fry. You know how disappointing it is when your breading falls off in the pan or as soon as you cut into it? Let it rest beforehand and that will be a thing of the past.
- After the tomatoes have hung out and gotten acquainted with each other, it's time to fry.
- Heat a large skillet with enough oil to go about 1/4 inch up the side. Heat oil on medium high heat (350 degrees with a thermometer) and carefully slide tomatoes slices into the oil, dropping them in away from you, not toward you. If the oil splashes, it will not splatter you, but the back of the stove.
- Fry until GBD (Golden Brown Delicious), remove and place on a bed of paper towels to absorb excess oil.
- Serve immediately.
Chirmol
As many of you are fully aware, I have an exploding tomato population. I went a bit “Little House on the Prairie” thinking I needed to sow all my seeds to get me through the long, hard winter on the farm apparently. Well, now… I am reaping what I have sown. PUN. FULLY. INTENDED.
It’s mass chaos back there. I think the tomatoes get together in some sort of secret society at night while I’m sleeping, plotting to overthrow me. One day I may wake up to them all crouched down waiting to pounce (think: Lord of the Flies). OK, clearly I’ve gone off on a tangent……