Is it just me, or are Summer days just longer when you're a parent, tasked with entertaining, feeding, and, sometimes, simply tolerating children? The idea of cranking up the oven and creating a gourmet meal at the end of a day spent carpooling to camp, chasing toddlers around a pool, and slathering on sunscreen, is just plain overwhelming . . . and overwhelmingly hot. Instead, whip up one of the following 28 easy-to-make — and, in many cases, easy to clean up — meals that will please the whole family and help you keep your Summer sanity.
From foil-pack dinners that eliminate pots and pans to slow cooker wonders that mean dinner's ready when you finally drag your kids away from the beach, these meals are Summer friendly and all busy mom approved.
These grilled barbecue chicken bowls are an easy meal to prep in advance and throw together at the last minute.
Who would love grilled Caprese French bread pizza, topped with juicy grilled tomatoes, creamy mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil pesto? Everyone.
This juicy slow cooker barbecue chicken is as easy as it gets. Serve it with creamy coleslaw on soft buns for a sandwich the whole family will flip for.
These easy stuffed peppers are filled with a mixture of Italian sausage, tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese, and plenty of seasoning, then baked to perfection.
The quick and easy recipe for the simplest zucchini Parmesan pasta uses zucchini and yellow Summer squash to create a buttery pasta sauce without using any cream. Delicious!
Grilled avocado balsamic chicken is the perfect Summer dinner, made with a sweet and tart balsamic vinegar marinade, melted mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken, creamy avocado, fresh basil, and a balsamic drizzle.
Sandwiches are a perfectly acceptable summer meal, especially when they're as good as those made with perfect tuna salad, loaded with crunchy extras like carrots, pickles, and nuts.
Foil pack barbecue chicken can be ready in 15 minutes. Plus, this healthy meal makes cleanup super easy.
Perfect to toss on the grill, the grilled chicken tenders are marinaded, making the chicken tender and flavorful so you can serve them alone or toss them in a salad or pasta dish.
Do you have 10 minutes? Then you can make foil pack lime cilantro salmon.
The slow cooker Asian chicken lettuce wraps let the slow cooker do all the work and include lots of yummy and sneaky veggies, including cauliflower rice.
These delicious baked chicken meatballs can pair with spaghetti or any pasta, served with mashed cauliflower and green beans, or just eaten all by themselves.
Beans and veggies (and the fact that it only takes 30 minutes to make) make this chicken with white beans and vegetables recipe one to treasure.
Filled with grilled Italian sausage, bell peppers, and pasta in a tomato sauce, the sausage and pepper pasta is a crowd-pleaser.
The supersimple ranch baked chicken requires only five ingredients but has a ton of flavor the whole family will love.
Taco spices, beans, corn, rice, and salsa make this recipe for Mexican stuffed peppers a joy to eat.