My Favorite Summer Recipes
Topic: Summer Grilling
At the start of every season, I like to browse through my recipe collection and look for some of my all time favorites. Summer in my neck of the woods means hot, humid weather with pretty frequent thunderstorms, gardening in my flower beds and pots, and trying to keep cool! My favorite recipes reflect all of this.
Main dish salads are a summer staple. I like the fact that I can make them in the cool of the morning or after dark, and keep them in the fridge for a few days. We eat them until they are gone, which also saves lots of kitchen time! I like using the best of summer's produce and herbs in these salads. I also make sure to have some canned staples on hand so I can still prepare good meals even if the power is off.
Grilling, of course, is also a major part of summer. I use marinades a lot to tenderize meat and add flavor.
Grilling main dish salads is also fun and the texture and temperature contrast is wonderful. And dinner packets wrapped in foil cooked on the grill are some of the best meals ever; the blending of flavors is wonderful and cleanup is nil.
No cook desserts also use the best of summer produce and help cool us down when it's just too hot. Just bringing a frozen dessert out of the freezer in a billow of cold air makes me feel cooler.
Enjoy these recipes and bookmark them so you can refer back to them often this summer. And be sure to get outside and plant! I always plant tomatoes, green peppers, and lots of herbs including basil, chives, dill, mint, and tarragon.
My Favorite Summer Recipes
Butter Bean Salad
You can add canned tuna, chicken, or seafood to this salad for more protein. Use your family's favorite type of canned bean; chickpeas, kidney beans, or black beans would work well.
INGREDIENTS:
3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
5 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
2 (15 oz.) cans butter beans, rinsed and drained
11 oz. can shoepeg corn, drained
14.5 oz. can zesty chili diced tomatoes, undrained
1 small red onion, chopped
PREPARATION:
In large bowl, combine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and parsley and mix well with wire whisk. Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Cover and chill 2 hours, or serve immediately. Serves 4-6
Grilled Garlic Steak Salad
This wonderful salad, with its tender, garlicky slices of steak against nutty soft mushrooms and crisp greens and bell peppers is really inspired.
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup Italian salad dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 lb. boneless beef sirloin or Porterhouse steak
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
6 cups mixed salad greens
PREPARATION:
Mix together salad dressing, garlic and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Prepare and heat grill.
Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper and place beef on grill 4-5" from medium coals. Cover and grill 12-17 minutes, turning once, until desired doneness.
Meanwhile, toss bell pepper and mushrooms with 2 tablespoons of the dressing mixture. Place in grill basket and grill 5 minutes, shaking grill basket occasionally, until bell pepper and mushrooms are crisp tender.
Let beef stand for 10 minutes, then cut into 1/4" slices across the grain. Toss beef and 1/4 cup dressing mixture. Place salad greens, grilled vegetables, and beef in large bowl and toss to coat. Serve with remaining dressing mixture. 6 servings
Italian Bread Salad
Boboli pizza crusts are cubed and used in this excellent salad recipe. If you'd like more crunch, toast the cubes before tossing them with the other salad ingredients.
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. bottle creamy Italian salad dressing
12" Boboli pizza crust, cut into 2" pieces
10 oz. pkg. mixed salad greens
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 lb. hard salami, chopped
PREPARATION:
Combine all ingredients in large bowl and toss to blend. Serve immediately. 10 servings
Chicken Melon Salad
When you find really sweet, ripe melons, be sure to make this easy five ingredient salad recipe; it is simply outstanding. I like to buy individually frozen boneless chicken breasts, bake them (still frozen!) at 375 degrees for 45-55 minutes, then cut them into big chunks for this salad.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup low fat mayonnaise
1/3 cup orange juice
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups gemelli pasta
1 ripe cantaloupe, cut into 1" pieces
PREPARATION:
In large bowl, combine mayonnaise and orange juice and blend well. Refrigerate while preparing rest of salad.
Bake chicken breasts at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes if thawed and 60-70 minutes if frozen, until thoroughly cooked.
Let cool until cool enough to handle. Cut chicken into 1" pieces, and add to salad dressing.
Cook pasta as directed on package. Drain, rinse briefly with warm water, then drain thoroughly. Stir cooked and drained pasta into mayonnaise/orange juice mixture.
Gently stir cantaloupe into the salad. Chill 1-3 hours until cold or serve
Grilled Swordfish with Tomato Salsa
Use this cooking method and salsa with any grilled firm fleshed fish: tuna, salmon, halibut, or red snapper.
This simple fresh salsa can be served with any grilled fish; try tuna steaks, or it can be served with grilled chicken breasts.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup salsa
1 Tbsp. lime juice
4 (3/4" thick) swordfish steaks
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. salt
dash white pepper
PREPARATION:
In a small glass bowl, combine tomatoes, salsa, and lime juice and chill in refrigerator until steaks are done.
Prepare and heat grill. Oil grill rack when ready to cook. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper and place fish on grill 4-6" from medium coats.
Brush lightly with oil. Cover grill and cook for 10-14 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes easily with fork, turning once. To serve, top steaks with salsa, draining salsa if necessary. 4 servings
Flank Steak with Nectarines
Or peaches! Or mangoes. Whichever tart and sweet fruit you choose to pair with this tender steak, your meal will be fabulous.
Grilled nectarines are a wonderful accompaniment to a juicy grilled marinated flank steak entree recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 lb. beef flank steak
4 nectarines, cut in half
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup beef broth
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger root
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
PREPARATION:
Make cuts about 1/2" apart and 1/8" deep in a crisscross pattern on both sides of the beef. Place beef in a zip lock heavy duty plastic bag. Combine wine, soy sauce, broth, honey, ginger root, garlic, and pepper in small bowl and mix.
Pour this marinade over beef and seal bag. Place bag in glass baking dish to catch any leaks. Refrigerate for 4-24 hours.
When ready to grill, heat coals. Remove beef from marinade and reserve marinade. Grill beef 4-5" from medium heat for 12-14 minutes until medium doneness, brushing twice with marinade and turning once. Add nectarines to grill for last 5 minutes of grill time, turning once and brushing frequently with marinade. Discard leftover marinade. Cut beef across grain to serve and serve with nectarines. 4 servings
Lemon Thyme Grilled Chicken
Double the cooking time and you can cook these very flavorful chicken breasts on an outdoor gas or charcoal grill.
The delicious flavor of lemon, garlic, and thyme permeate these tender and juicy chicken breasts.
INGREDIENTS:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
PREPARATION:
Combine all ingredients together in medium bowl and mix well. Cover and chill in refrigerator for 1-3 hours. Prepare and preheat two sided grill. Cook the chicken breasts for 4-6 minutes until thoroughly cooked.
All-American Burgers
These super moist and juicy burgers start with the freshest ground beef you can find. Mine must be topped with melted American cheese, mustard, lettuce, and tomato.
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. water
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 sandwich buns
PREPARATION:
Prepare and heat grill. Combine all ingredients except sandwich buns in a large bowl and mix gently. Shape into four patties. Cook 4-6" from coals 10-15 minutes until hamburgers are no longer pink in center, or they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
You can toast the sandwich buns on the grill just before serving, if you like. Serve with all the traditional fixings - mustard, ketchup, pickles, relish, American cheese... 4 sandwiches
Pesto Stuffed Steaks
If you use your own basil to make pesto, you will not believe how good these steaks are. (But use purchased pesto and they will still be wonderful.)
Use purchased pesto for this simple recipe, or make your own.
INGREDIENTS:
2 (1 lb.) beef rib eye steaks, about 1-1/4" thick
1/4 cup basil pesto
3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. olive oil
PREPARATION:
Heat grill. Cut into side of each steak, forming a deep pocket. Be careful not to cut through to opposite side. Mix pesto and cheese and spread into pockets. Press closed and drizzle oil over beef.
Place steaks carefully on grill and cook 4-5" from medium coals for 12-15 minutes for medium doneness, turning once.
Remove from grill, cover, and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Cut beef into thick strips to serve. 4 servings
Enjoy.
2006-12-04 12:23:57
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answer #4
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answered by Teddy Bear 4
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