When your ‘kids’ (18+) are home for a holiday or the summer, it’s great to spend quality time over dinners, and you don’t want them to be high maintenance! Spend little time on the food prep so you can enjoy the company! These meals are light, healthy, super easy (I’m telling you four steps each) and very tasty too! 

What I particularly love about these recipes is that you customize most of the ingredients, so whatever you are in the mood for that day/night! They are perfect for summer, because there is no hot kitchen required! In fact, bring the (few) ingredients needed with you on your beach trip!

1. Grilled Nachos. I was very skeptical when I first heard this was even a thing. Wow, my mind got changed immediately the first time we made them. Foil packets- I cannot say enough about them for both cooking ease and clean up. 
   Steps:
   * Put some nachos in a large piece of foil
   * Add whatever toppings you love (ideas: corn, tomatoes, cooked ground meat or shredded chicken, onions, peppers, black beans, avocado, salsa, pickled onions*, queso, cilantro…)
   * Seal your pack with a small slit in the top to release steam
   * Grill on medium high for 12-15 minutes
   Serve with Mexican rice, Mexican corn (see next recipe), guacamole, salads
   
   * my daughters are obsessed with pickled onions and make them all summer long! Honestly just red onions, white vinegar, salt and sugar. They truly are delicious and go on everything!
   
   2. Mexican Corn. We love this in the summer when corn is in season. Serve as part of a bigger Mexican- themed meal or a snack.
   Steps:
   * Spread each piece of shucked corn with mayonnaise
   * Dip each generously in cotija cheese
   * Wrap each tightly in foil
   * Grill ten minutes each side
   
   3. Honey Lime Tilapia
   You can honestly make fish of any kind fool-proof in foil packets, substitute it in recipe #1! Use whatever ingredients sound good to you. In this case:
   Steps:
   * Spread thawed tilapia filets with a generous amount of honey and place in foil
   * Put 2 slices of lime over each piece of fish
   * Add whatever else you like in terms of veggies (I used asparagus and tomatoes), plus cilantro and a dash of olive oil
   * Grill 12-15 minutes (a bit longer if the fish is thicker)
   Serve with cilantro lime rice, salads 
   
   4. Crockpot Chicken Fajitas
   We love to make this when we’re heading out for the day and want to come home to dinner already done!
   Steps:
   * Put chicken thighs into the crockpot on low heat
   * Add whatever you’d like! We use a couple cans of diced tomatoes, onions, peppers, corn, taco seasoning. Sometimes we add potatoes as well.
   That is literally IT. When you get home, put out tortillas with salsa, avocados, sour cream (fat free greek yogurt WW). 
   Make some quick rice and pull out a salad if you need.
   
   5. Hot Dog ‘Bar’. I’m finally straying from the Mexican theme! Obviously hot dogs and hamburgers are great on the grill (if done right)…but we like to fancy them up with a self serve bar.
   Steps:
   * Grill hotdogs (or turkey if health conscious, WW)
   * Put out fixin’s: condiments, pickles, onions, sauerkraut, coleslaw, cheeses, chili, etc.
   Serve with chips and/or homemade fries, salads, corn on the cob and watermelon
   
   6. Corn and Black Bean Salad. This is a great accompaniment for any of the Mexican dishes we have above (including the hot dogs). Enjoy it on its own or with some grilled chicken!  
   Steps:
   * Throw into a bowl equal parts chopped grape tomatoes, canned corn, black beans, red onion, quarter cup fresh cilantro
   * Whisk together 2 tbsps each- olive oil, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, a clove of garlic, half teaspoon cumin, salt and pepper
   * Pour dressing over veggies and mix well. The longer in the fridge the better! Top with avocado if desired. 
   
   7. Strawberry Poppyseed Salad
   We love this salad- it has so much flavor and is a light yet hearty meal that stands on its own, as opposed to a side salad.
   Steps:
   * Start with your lettuce base (we like Romaine)- I do the salads as their own servings as opposed to one main bowl to serve from, because you can use your judgement as to how the salads look as you’re assembling them.
   * The only thing you have to chop here are the strawberries. Add those to the lettuce base, then blueberries, mandarin oranges, nuts (pecans or walnuts), and diced cooked chicken. Add a poppyseed dressing to taste (SkinnyGirl Fat Free WW).
   
   8. Shepherd’s Salad. This is a delicious Greek salad that I get every time in a local Turkish restaurant. We, in general, like our Greek food, and you can turn this into a great themed dinner (lemon potatoes, pita and hummus, tzaziki, dolmas- I could go on). Because it’s just ‘equal parts’, you can easily make single servings.
   Steps:
   * Cut into bite-sized pieces- equal parts of cucumbers, grape tomatoes, red peppers, red onions. 
   * Mix together in a separate bowl, 2 tablespoons each- olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar
   * Mix together dressing and vegetables. Add some parsley, black olives, and feta cheese.
   If refrigerating (I suggest it for at least an hour to let flavor meld)- do not add feta until ready to eat. Yum.
   
   9. Spring Rolls. Getting to a different cuisine! We love Asian too, but lean more toward Japanese since it’s usually much fresher. These rolls fit the bill, and are SUPER easy. You can buy spring roll wrappers in the ethnic foods section of your grocery store. They are, to be honest, a bit tricky to manipulate- I would plan on messing up one or two at least when you start working with them. But you get the hang of it soon!
   Steps:
   Prepare your wrapper by running warm water over it on a slightly ridged dinner plate, until transparent.
   Fill with whatever you’d like! A mix of textures is perfect with the soft roll. We use: shrimp, white rice, cucumbers, green onions, cabbage
   Easy peasy. These goes well with a Thai peanut dipping sauce (buy or make with peanut butter, soy and fish sauce!)
   
   10. Crab Boil. Definitely last but not least. Nothing says summer to us than this dish. We bought a bunch of the crab boil mixes, and they season this dish with Old Bay and other spices so perfectly. No worrying about getting the taste right. A trip to your local seafood place is fun in preparation for this, where you can choose from a wider variety!
   Steps:
   * Cut and boil as many potatoes as you eat- cook to semi-done
   * Separately, bring a very large pot of water to a boil with a pack of crab boil seasoning mix (Zatarains)
   * Add the pre-cooked potatoes, and corn on the cob in 3-4 inch pieces-for about 5-6 minutes. 
   * Add cooked sausage (turkey sausage WW) and shrimp; and fresh crab legs-cook 5 minutes more.
   * Drain and serve. We like to do like in the restaurants and pour the whole pot out on a table lined with newspapers. Have plenty of napkins!!!!
   

• FYI, my husband and I are on Weight Watchers, and these healthy meals fit perfectly with the plan. In cases you can substitute points-friendly alternatives, I’ve noted that.