Confession: I love to cook. But I hate heating up my kitchen in the summertime.
Here are a few foods that help us keep cool.
I’m telling you, these are a midsummer night’s dream. I make them with my favorite homemade barbecue sauce:
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup ketchup
1 T. mustard
1 T. vinegar
½ T. Worcestershire sauce
¼ t. salt
Liquid smoke
TarragonMix together and bring to a boil. Microwave works fine.
-  Potato Salad, with this recipe from a blogger named Rachel
This is most delectable! especially eaten the first day when the flavors are fresh. I don’t like celery seed, so for a dash of seasoning I use dried parsley and black pepper instead. Best enjoyed out of plastic cups as a midnight snack with sis-in-laws! Right, ladies?
- Blueberry-Peach Milkshakes
If you’ve never tried this flavor combination before, you must! It was recommended to me as a smoothie flavor by a barista in my favorite local coffee shop. (Before the shop was taken over by brainless new ownership and run into the ground–the world is broken.)
Don’t think “blueberries” and “peaches.” The combo forms an entirely new flavor. At home, we throw vanilla ice cream, milk, an egg (opt), fresh blueberries, and soft fresh peaches all into a blender. Add a bit of sugar and a dash of extra vanilla. Yum!
- Haystacks with Shredded Taco Chicken
Coming up tonight! Greens, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, cooked rice? that spicy cubed chicken with beans, and Ranch dressing. Sounds like all we need yet is cornbread.
What do you cook when it’s hot outside?
Oh, that blueberry peach combo sounds amazing.
Our new favorite summer meal is fruity curry chicken salad on croissants.
One of my favorite “light” summer meals is fajitas- and we make them all kinds of ways! I use any meat- often chicken breast cut in chunks or strips is our favorite, but ham chunks, ground beef, steak strips, etc. can be used (I’ve even used pepperoni when desperate and out of meat). Saute the meat in small amount of oil or butter until almost finished, then toss in some fresh sliced or diced veggies: zucchini squash, mushrooms, sweet bell peppers, onions, carrots, adding a little oil…. Add some spices, or fajita seasoning, and toss veggies with meat until lightly cooked but still crunchy. Spread sour cream on a tortilla, add some lettuce and cheese, top with meat and veggie mixture, a couple spoonfuls of salsa on top, and then roll up (You have to start pretty small because you can end up with a tortilla you’re unable to fold!) You can also do this with scrambled eggs instead of the meat. This is a make-in-a-hurry, easy, healthy staple for us when I don’t want to spend a lot of time in a hot kitchen.
And I totally get the blueberrry-peach thing. I love that as a fresh fruit mixture, so I can imagine that smoothies would be delicious!
Yes, me too!
http://naturallivinggonesimple.wordpress.com/2012/07/07/zucchinis-best-kept-secret-recipe-in-five-minutes
This is my current favorite side-dish recipe…and current favorite use-of-zucchini. 🙂
Featured on the health/nutrition blog I coauthor.
I’m so glad you enjoyed my burger recipe! Thanks for sharing the other recipes as well!
Gina