Grill Once, Dine Twice

Written by Diana - July 16, 2010 1 Comment

We like grilled food, and grilling, but cooking a full meal every night can be time consuming and we are an easy prep/cook family. Most days I assign a person, and then that person tries to figure out a meal that won’t take up a lot of their time. Of course with my son it means Mac n cheese and hot dogs, plus something that’s not baked beans – because he doesn’t like them. If I can during the week I try to figure out something quick too. Grilling is great because not only does it taste good, but if you do it right, you get two meals out of one grilling.

We had a meal or I should say meals lately that were fantastically good, simple and yet clean tasting all at once. We grilled some salmon, and veggies, just brushed with olive oil, salt and pepper. Really simple. Then for dinner the next night, I chopped up the salmon and the veggies, added a cucumber, some dressing and then spooned it on top of a bed of bulgur. My son both nights, waved his hand over the food, and said, ” Mom, all of this is good.” My son who will be officially an adult next week (and tells me I legally have to provide him with shelter until then), hated a lot of food when he was a kid, but I never gave in to his whines and now he appreciates my cooking. My husband, daughter and I all loved it too. Cold grilled Salmon is really flavorful and delicious in a salad, but we often use chicken and make extra for the second night’s salad.

First night – Grilled Dinner - Prepare extra of everything – we want leftovers.

Zucchini and Crookneck Squash (yellow squash) – peeled and sliced into finger length and about an inch think wedges.
Onion – slice in half
Asparagus – snap off bottoms
Salmon Steaks

Brush all of it with Olive Oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill over low heat. You want the vegetables to soften, but not get mushy, the salmon needs to be just barely cooked on both sides – a few minutes on each side. When the salmon stops gripping the grill, it’s time to flip.

We also had grilled corn on the cob with this meal.

Leftovers should be placed in zipper bags, or a covered bowl.

Second night – Cold Grilled Salad

Ingredients:

Grilled Leftovers
Cucumbers and any other salad vegetable you’d like to add.
Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Directions:

Cut all the grilled veggies into bite size pieces, including the salmon. Prepare bulgur according to package directions.

Place a heaping spoonful of bulgur on your plate and spoon the salad over top. Use dressing as desired – substitute your favorite dressing for the vinaigrette if you like. My mom eats fat free ranch on all of her salads, and my dad when he was alive ate blue cheese – if you have a favorite use that.

Grilling once, dining twice is also frugal way to go too, because you aren’t using propane or charcoal twice. There are also no fights over who was cooking dinner because it’s a quick prep and then right to the table. In fact – Grill once dine three times might be a good way to go also.

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One Outstanding Responses to "Grill Once, Dine Twice"

momgateway on July 20, 2010 at 1:07 am

grilling is so healthy and minimal work if you have an electric grill which I do…

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