I’m fully aware we’re getting dangerously close to the part of the year when everyone starts pretending they’re emotionally attached to pumpkin spice. It couldn’t be me. I’ll be hanging onto summer for as long as I possibly can. There are still tomatoes on the counter, watermelon in the fridge, and evenings that stay light just long enough to eat dinner outside. As far as I’m concerned, that’s reason enough to keep summer around a little while longer.
Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten older, or maybe it’s because seasons of life have a way of refining what matters most, but I’ve found myself gravitating toward simpler meals.
Listen, I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s when dinner usually looked like a casserole, a chicken dish with what felt like fifteen ingredients, or that familiar blue box of mac and cheese when everyone just needed something quick (which, if I’m being honest, absolutely hit the spot).
My forty-one-year-old self is cringing at the ingredient list, but my eight-year-old self had zero complaints. The point is, it was comforting and exactly what our family needed in that season.
These days, my own kitchen looks a little different – especially in the summer.
We’re eating bigger salads, fresh fruit, grilled chicken, sandwiches after long afternoons at the pool, and meals that come together in ten minutes instead of an hour. I’ve traded heavier recipes for lighter, fresher ones, and that little blue box for options that leave all of us feeling a bit better.
Maybe that’s also why I’ve started pushing back against the pressure to make every meal an event. Because while the internet is busy perfecting dinner, real life is happening.
Kids are running in and out of the house dripping wet from the pool, someone forgot to thaw the chicken, there’s laundry waiting to be folded, the dog has decided the back door is now a revolving door, and someone is asking what’s for lunch while still holding the breakfast plate.
I’ve realized I don’t want to spend my summer standing over a stove (Especially when it’s already 94 degrees outside and my air conditioner is fighting for its life). Because the meals I remember most from summer have never been the elaborate ones.
They’re grilled burgers eaten in swimsuits with wet hair. Watermelon slices on the back porch. Paper plates balanced on patio furniture. Fresh peaches dripping down little hands. A big bowl of salad shared around the table after everyone wandered inside from whatever adventure the day held.
None of those memories happened because the meal was extraordinary. They happened because the meal got out of the way.
A simple meal isn’t less. It’s creating space.
Space for slower conversations. Space for one more game of catch in the backyard. Space to linger around the table instead of rushing to clean another mountain of dishes. Space for the kind of summer evenings that end with everyone saying, “Let’s stay outside a little longer.”
The older I get, the more convinced I become that a well-designed life isn’t built by optimizing every single thing we do. Sometimes it’s built by intentionally choosing the easier option. Not because we’re lazy. Because we’re protecting what matters most.
One of our favorite meals this time of year is a Southwestern chicken salad. It’s hardly groundbreaking, but neither is brushing your teeth and I think we can all agree that’s worth repeating.
Most of the ingredients are things we already have on hand.
Shaved chicken from a local eatery (though rotisserie chicken works just as well), black beans, cherry tomatoes, red onion, fresh cilantro, chipotle mayo, a few favorite spices, and a squeeze of fresh lime.
Ten minutes later, dinner is on the table. No oven heating up the house. No complicated prep. No recipe I’ve had to reference six different times while cooking. Just good, fresh food that tastes like summer.
I think every season has meals that belong to it. Autumn invites soups that simmer all afternoon. Winter makes room for comfort food and things that bake low and slow. Spring feels fresh and hopeful. But summer? Summer practically begs us to simplify.
To buy the peaches. To grill the chicken. To toss together whatever is fresh. To eat outside whenever we can. To remember that food was never supposed to become another performance.
Maybe that’s why the simplest meals end up being the ones we remember most. Not because they were remarkable on their own. But because they left enough room for everything else.
And if I have anything to say about it, there are still plenty of simple summer dinners left before I let this season go.
For those who asked (or for anyone looking for one more excuse to hang onto summer), here’s the salad that’s been on repeat around here:
Southwest Chicken Salad
There's no perfect formula for this salad, and that's part of its charm. Add more of what you love, leave out what you don't, and taste along the way until every bite feels balanced. It's simple, fresh, and proof that the meals we make most often are rarely the most complicated.
Ingredients
- Chopped or shredded chicken
- Black beans
- Finely diced red onion
- Cherry tomatoes, halved
- Mayonnaise
- Chipotle ranch dressing (optional)
- Taco seasoning
- Cilantro, torn
Instructions
- Add chicken, black beans, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro into a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine your desired amount of mayonnaise and chipotle ranch. Add taco seasoning to taste.
- Add the mayo mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Notes
This is one of those recipes that's nearly impossible to get wrong. Adjust the ingredients and quantities based on how many you're feeding and what you love most. For an even quicker dinner, rotisserie chicken works beautifully.
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