Heirloom Tomatoes with Basil and Chevre

In an effort to eat more fruits and veggies, I've realized that I need to make COMPLETE meal plans.

In the past, I've sought out dinner recipes, and that's pretty much it. Sometimes those dinner recipes are complete meals, but more often, it's just a protein. And about five minutes before the protein is ready, I'll remember that we need a side, and throw a bag of frozen veggies in the microwave to steam. Now, I love me some steamed carrots or broccoli, but night after night . . . it gets old.

I have the same problem with lunch. I'm not a huge deli-meat-sandwich fan, and especially not five days a week. I plan out our dinners, but when it comes to lunch, I wander around the grocery store, looking for something appealing, easy to take along, and won't take forever to cook in the microwave.

So when I saw down to make my meal plan for the first week in July, I chose to make simple pan-sauteed sirloin steaks with garlic butter, and chose a simple tomato salad as a side.

The original recipe called for heirloom tomatoes cut into wedges, but all I could find were mini heirloom tomatoes. They were a beautiful mix of red, yellow and orange with tints of green. Combined with deep green basil and flecks of white goat cheese, it made for a colorful side dish. This salad was also super-fast to prepare, just some quick chopping.

And the FLAVOR! I am not normally a tomato fan. I've gotten over my childhood phase when I refused to eat them AT ALL (seriously, I didn't eat pizza because of the tomato sauce), but I've never been a fan of things like marinara sauce or tomato soup. But I could've eaten the entire six servings of this salad.

And the leftovers (surprising that there were any leftovers!) were even better the next day, after the tomatoes had time to marinate in the dressing.

Trust me, your summer will not be complete until you taste this salad!