summer salads: part 1 {Summer Bulgar Salad}

Well, it's summer. And it's hot. Around here that means we try to find substitutes for the typical evening meals where we normally would be eating hot foods. Why add to the agony, right?! Instead we eat cold salads that include our grains and veggies. I love it. It keeps the house cool, and it's less work - which means we have more time to spend at the pool!

Starting this week, I'm going to be sharing one of our family's favorite salad recipes each Tuesday. I'm not sure how long it'll go on. Depends on how many recipes I can pull together. ^_^ It is my goal to document at least one of my recipes each week, so this should help, right? Although this week's installment is really healthy, um, not all of them are. Next week's recipe will involve broccoli, bacon, cheese and mayonnaise - and it's one of our absolute faves for summer bbq's. Hey. We don't eat chips. So we get a pass on the bacon, ok? Plus, I use nitrate free, so it's not really bad for you...

Anyway! On to today's recipe... if you've never heard of bulgar, there's a great little article and cooking directions here...

Summer Bulgar Salad
1 c. bulgar wheat, cooked and cooled {it will yield something like 3 c. after cooking}
1 1/2 c. sweet corn, cooked and cooled
1/4 c. sweet red pepper, finely diced
1/2 fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 c. grape tomatoes, quartered
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Toss all of the ingredients together in a pretty large bowl. Serve immediately, or not. It keeps well for several days in the fridge, too! Which is totally nice if you're busy with summer activities like us! I usually just grill up some chicken or fish to serve along side, and sometimes toss a lettuce salad in there for good measure.  And believe it or not, our youngest son was hovering over this while I photographed it - just waiting to dig in with a fork...

Just as a reminder, all of the ingredients used in my recipes are organic! We believe it's important for our family's health, and the earth...

Happy Tuesday!