Thought Provoking Thursday

I smiled this morning when I read Bargains to Bounty's post listing almost two dozen salad recipes... great minds think alike!

This picture shares our family's Monday night dinner; steak salad and yummy bread. Quick, easy, delicious, seasonal, a crowd pleaser and inexpensive. What more could a wife/mother ask for?

We've eaten this meal several times already, and it may well become a 'grillin' season' staple for our family! Lettuce and salad additives (like tomatoes and cucumbers) are plentiful, freshly picked and at their lowest prices of the year! The steak that I have been purchasing, sells for about $2.59/pound, and we are able to feed our family of three with less than one pound. Our size steaks usually sell for about $2! The best parts of these thin little steaks are that they are very lean, are versatile to prepare (marinade or seasonings), are grilled quickly and taste delicious in a salad!

Have YOU considered instituting any inexpensive & seasonal 'Summer staples' into YOUR meal planning?

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Lastly, I thought I'd share my easy, inexpensive and yummy Italian pasta salad!

Begin by boiling your favorite pasta, we enjoy Piccolini.

Next, slice a few rounds of cucumber, and slice them into match stick size slices.

Next, quarter your cherry/grape tomatoes.

I like to dice mozzarella cheese into cute little squares (can you tell that presentation is everything in my book?).

Lastly, assemble your ingredients and add the Italian dressing! (For the best results (wink, wink, wink!) try my homemade salad dressing!)

Beautiful and tasty, the best combination!