Kitchen

[Coco Butter Bean]

We have a mountain cabin and frequently have weekend guests in the summer. I'm comfortable with breakfasts and grilling is easy for dinners, but I am always stumped with lunch. I would welcome any and all suggestions for easy -- even make ahead -- options. Thanks in advance!

[soonersis]

I've been making egg salad once a week now that the weather is warmer. It's easy to make and I always have eggs in the fridge. I usually just serve it on lettuce as I don't eat bread, but if you do it makes great sandwiches.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

I'd keep it really simple so you can relax and enjoy the time with your guests, concentrating more on breakfast and dinner. And really, when you're on a more relaxed schedule, if you've had a good breakfast, oftentimes people aren't very hungry again for lunch in just few hours. Get some assorted deli meats, cheeses, and sandwich fixin's. Have some kind of chips and assorted fresh fruit available. Call it a day. If you want to make something ahead, maybe some chili or light soup - gazpacho, chicken tortilla soup, french onion soup. A bowl of good soup and some crusty rolls is a fine lunch.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

On 6/25/2014 soonersis said:

I've been making egg salad once a week now that the weather is warmer. It's easy to make and I always have eggs in the fridge. I usually just serve it on lettuce as I don't eat bread, but if you do it makes great sandwiches.

Have you ever eaten at a Jimmy John's sandwich place? They have something called an "unwich". It's the sandwich ingredients served on big lettuce leaves. I'm trying to watch my bread, too (at least cutting down). I recently found some big lettuce leaves at the supermarket so I've been doing that at home. It can get a little messy, but it works!

[ennui1]

On 6/25/2014 JeanLouiseFinch said:

I'd keep it really simple so you can relax and enjoy the time with your guests, concentrating more on breakfast and dinner. And really, when you're on a more relaxed schedule, if you've had a good breakfast, oftentimes people aren't very hungry again for lunch in just few hours. Get some assorted deli meats, cheeses, and sandwich fixin's. Have some kind of chips and assorted fresh fruit available. Call it a day.

OMG, you read my mind!

Chips, hummus, avocados, too. Gazpacho.

[Magny]

How about putting out sliced cheeses, meats, egg or tuna salad, sliced tomatoes, onions, pickles, lettuce, a variety of breads, and let them make their own lunches. Or maybe a great big tossed salad with sliced eggs, cheese, tomatoes, olives, etc.

[Triciawizard]

I hope that these ideas are helpful:

Thinly sliced Black Pepper Ham on French Bread or Sourdough with a chopped basil-mayonnaise mixture. I prefer Hellmann's Olive Oil Mayo.

Sliced turkey sandwich with a mild salsa-mayo mixture. Cut-up veggies on the side or small salad.

Sliced turkey sandwich on French bread which has been spread with cream cheese-chives mixture and then layered with whole cranberry sauce. (Can be messy to eat.)

Italian-style subs: hearty sub roll with ham, salami, Capicola ham, sweet pickles or pickled sweet peppers. lettuce, and tomato - dressed with Italian dressing and oregano. Mayo optional.

Chicken-Waldorf Salad on a bed of organic leaf lettuce with a biscuit.

Hot chicken salad with cheese on a Kaiser roll. Keep foil-wrapped sandwiches warm in low-temp oven until guests arrive. Works with tuna salad too. Tiny salad or cup of soup on the side. For a hot day, make a chlled Gazpacho (tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, etc.) soup. For a rainy or cool day, any hot soup.

Tuna salad mixed with French dressing served in a hollowed out large tomato on top of a small salad. Bread sticks or roll on the side.

"Impossible" Bisquick Quiche with a small salad.

Skillet Quesadillas with chicken, sauteed onions, spices, fresh cilantro, and cheese. Warm both sides of flour tortilla in a nonstick skillet before assembling. ndividually wrap filled quesadillas in foil packets and keep warm in oven. Serve with salsa and sour cream. Cut-up fruit with a cookie for dessert.

Grilled burgers with a small salad.

Long slices of melon (remove rind and seeds of course) wrapped in a fancy strip of ham. Selection of fancy cheeses with crackers. Small salad on the side.

[goodstuff]

Salads and sandwiches are classic, easy summer lunch options. You can make things like chicken salad, perhaps with toasted nuts and fruit in it, ahead of time and serve when needed. You can always put out an array of deli meats, cheeses, spreads, and pickles and let folks make their own sandwiches. Or provide a bowl of lettuce and chef salad toppings like ham, julienned chicken, cheese, cherry tomatoes, and hard-boiled egg wedges and let people compose their own chef salad. Crusty bread or assorted crackers on the side.

The simpler, the better.

[Coco Butter Bean]

Thanks so much to all that have replied! You are truly helpful and I am making notes. Triciawizard -- I wish you could be my personal lunch chef!!

[Ladybug724]

When we go camping we bring a jar of peanut butter and some jam/jelly for lunch. You could put that on some thick crusty bread. Or sometimes we do hot dogs for lunch, with some kind of chips. If you have a place to plug in a crock pot you could make sloppy joes or mac & cheese, and you could make this ahead of time.