20 Recipes for Summer

Summer is here! Okay, well maybe not “officially” but I think all the moms out there can agree that summer starts when school lets out. Now that it’s hotter outside and the days are longer we want to avoid turning on the oven as much as possible and either grill or eat light, refreshing meals.  I don’t know about you but my kitchen gets really hot when I use the oven so I will definitely be planning any baking for very early in the day and relying more on the grill and other summertime fare.

Here is a roundup of 20 recipes that are summer worthy from appetizers to desserts, and not a one requires an oven.

Appetizers: Bruschetta, Cherry Caprese

Salads: Deviled Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, Cheeseburger Salad, Chopped Thai Chicken Salad, Chili Lime Chicken Salad, Greek Chicken Salad with Grapes & Pecans

On the Grill: Grilled Balsamic Chicken, Bourbon BBQ Sliders with Garlic Aioli, Honey-Lime Chicken Kabobs

In the Crock Pot: Honey Sesame Chicken, Sweet Chicken Rio, Cashew Chicken, Chicken Teriyaki

Cool Desserts: Chocolate Banana Pudding Pie, Mud Pie, Watermelon Petit Fours, Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert, Easy Eclair Dessert

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Breakfast Enchilada Bake

What an easy casserole to pre-make for a weekend breakfast or brunch. Just remember this must sit over night so pre-plan and allow time for it otherwise the enchiladas will not come out right. Of course, you can use your breakfast meat of choice. I decided to use turkey sausage links, chopped up. It worked really well.

This is also a rather small recipe, which makes perfect serving sizes for the four of us, to be served along some fruit, yogurt, or any type of muffin or pastry for a complete breakfast. Feel free to double the recipe as needed. Baking time for a double recipe would increase to about 45 minutes.

1 cups turkey sausage, cooked & chopped

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar, divided

4 flour tortillas, large size

1 cup Half & Half

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp flour

Salsa

1. Whisk the eggs and combine with flour and Half & Half.

2. In another bowl combine sausage, 2 cups of cheese, and green onion.

3. Measure cheese and meat mixture onto tortillas and roll up, placing them snuggly in a sprayed 4×7 baking dish, seam down.

4. Pour egg mixture over the tortillas evenly. Cover and refrigerate over night.

5. In the morning, preheat oven to 350*. Bake enchiladas for 25 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese on top and bake another few minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with salsa.

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Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

You all know how much I love Mexican food around here, and you may have picked up on my increasing love of Asian food, but did you know that I LOVE Thai? Well, I say that but I have to admit that my Thai experiences have been fairly limited (as in Pad Thai mostly). However, this recipe definitely helped quench my taste for decent Thai flavors in a town without any options whatsoever, and it made the cut with the whole family as well. Bonus!

Also a little tip* I used leftover lime cabbage from my Shredded Beef Tacos for this salad.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 head cabbage

1/2 head of green leaf lettuce

1/2 cup carrots, chopped or shredded

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Thai Dressing

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp minced hot pepper (I used jalapeño, as usual)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vinegar

3-4 T sugar

2 T fresh lime juice

2 T EVOO

1 tsp fish sauce

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup water (+ a few tbsp more if needed for consistency)

1. Poach chicken in water or chicken broth until cooked through. Shred and set in refrigerator to cool.

2. Slice cabbage and lettuce thin. Combine with prepared carrot, cilantro, and green onion. *At this point you could combine the chicken with the salad if you wanted. Refrigerate.

3. Mince garlic and pepper and place in medium bowl. Add in the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, lime juice, oil, and fish sauce. Whisk until combined. Stir in peanut butter and water and whisk until smooth.

4. Toss salad with the dressing (only what you are going to eat). Add the crushed peanuts.

5. Serve chilled and enjoy!

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June Menu ~ 2013

Holy moly, I am having a hard time believing it is June already! Don’t get me wrong, I am so ready for summer and for the kids to be out of school, but when I look back at the past 5 months, I’m like wha??? Where’d it go? And it’s not even that so much as realizing that you’re half-way through 2013 already! Before you know it it’ll be 2014 and I still haven’t gotten used to writing 2013 on my checks!!

Ok, fine, enough complaining.

This month I have a lot going on. Most times June is a busy month for this family and this year is no exception. In fact, I have even more going on than usual for June, but mostly it’s coincidence. With that said, I will be out of town for three of the five weekends, and  so my aim is make my menu as easy as possible. There isn’t much in the way of new recipes, though I am sure if I have the time I will add something else. I often do. And there are also the leftover recipes from my May menu that I didn’t get to in time, so I will most likely get to those as well. I hope you find something you like. Happy cooking and welcome summer!

Recipes I have posted before: Bourbon BBQ Sliders, Baked Tacos, Poor Man’s Mongolian Beef, Balsamic Grilled Chicken, Tomato & Zucchini Frittata, Dijon Dill Salmon, Honey Sesame Chicken, Lobster Risotto, Chili Lime Chicken Fiesta Salad, Crispy Cheddar Chicken, Maple Mustard Chicken, Pasta Lentil Soup.

Recipes I am working on this month:

Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Brown Sugar Grilled Salmon

Tuscan Pasta

General Tso’s Chicken Sliders

Egg-Stuffed Potatoes

Crock Pot Pesto-Ranch Chicken

Chicken Pad Thai

Chocolate Fudge Tart with Mint Cream

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

Pear Pecan Muffins

Raspberry Lemon Drop

Southwest Chicken Wraps

The other night I was going to a friend’s house for an evening of homemade pesto on pasta, wine, and girlfriends (the best kind of evening!) so I decided to make these easy wraps for all my boys so they would have something for dinner. I know, I’m so nice.

This is a great recipe for when you have leftovers or if you’ve pre-planned a little bit. I knew I was going to make these wraps so I had already poached some chicken breasts and cooked the rice. Then all I had to do was throw everything together and it was ready in no time.

1 cup cooked rice*

1 cup cooked & shredded chicken

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 (4 0z) can chopped green chiles

1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped **

1/4 cup red onion, chopped fine

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp southwest seasoning

2 cups shredded cheddar

flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350* and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Mix rice together with the chili powder, cumin, and garlic salt. *If using precooked rice make sure it is not cold; room temp or even a bit warm is best.

Add the remaining ingredients except for the cheese because you may not use it all, though mixing it into the chicken mixture would certainly not be a crime, so by all means do it that way of you wish. **For the bell peppers I used 3 mini yellow bells. You can use any colors you like.

Arrange cheese and chicken in the center of tortillas and fold in the sides, making a little pillow. Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Bake for about 10 or 15 minutes or just until the tortillas brown slightly.

Serve with avocado, sour cream, salsa, green onions, and tomatoes. Yum! Recipe yields about 6 burrito-sized wraps or a dozen smaller (6 inch) wraps.

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Cajun Chicken Fritters with Cajun Aioli

These fritters were super yummy, and the best part is with all these flavors you could easily swap the meat out for crab or shrimp or any other fish you like. The aioli definitely made this dish so don’t forget to whip up some and refrigerate for a bit while you’re making your fritters.

Cajun Chicken Fritters

3 or 4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 cup flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 eggs, separated

1 cup buttermilk

1 T butter, melted

1 tsp srirachi or other hot pepper sauce

1-2 tsp cajun seasoning

1 1/2 tsp liquid crab boil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (any colors)

Cooking oil

Cajun Aioli

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 T grain mustard

1 tsp cajun seasoning

1. Whisk ingredients for aioli together and refrigerate. *This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled, depending on how much you like.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder.

3. In another bowl combine buttermilk, butter, slightly beaten egg yolks, hot pepper sauce, cajun seasoning, and crab boil.

4. Stir to combine the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Add in peppers, garlic, and shredded chicken.

5. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and then fold into the chicken mixture completely.

6. Heat cooking oil (about 1 inch) in a dutch oven or heavy skillet, and drop chicken mixture by spoonfuls into the oil, about 4 at a time so they have room to cook and don’t stick together. Flip and cook until golden brown. Drain on paper towel-lined plate.

7. Serve with cajun aioli and something creamy and crunchy like cole slaw.

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White Bean Turkey Chili

This is a super easy, healthy, and yummy chili. All you have to do is prep the meat and a few veggies and the slow cooker will do the rest for you.

1 lb. ground turkey

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

1 lb. dried navy beans, soaked and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced

2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp tarragon

1 tsp pepper

3 cups vegetable broth

1 cup white wine

1 cup heavy cream

1. Saute garlic in some EVOO. Add ground turkey and cook until browned and crumbled.

2. Add meat and the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot.

3. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

This was awesome! One of the truly authentic recipes I’ve been able to make. I served this with my Thai Dragon Noodles but you can easily serve this with rice and it would be fabulous. I also love the fact that it’s a slow cooker recipe so all the work was done for me. All I had to do was enjoy the aroma

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt & pepper

6 green onions, sliced (all of it)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 T EVOO (or sesame oil if you have it)

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

4 tsp cornstarch

1/3 cup water

sesame seeds

1. Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and salt and pepper them, stirring to cover each piece evenly. Place into bottom of slow cooker.

2. Combine onion whites, garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oil and red pepper flakes. Stir well. Pour over chicken. Cook on low 4 hours, or high for 2.

3. In a small bowl dissolve the cornstarch into the water. Add to crock pot and stir in well. If you’ve been cooking on low then turn heat up to high. Cover and allow to cook another 15 to 20 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken some.

4. Spoon chicken over rice or noodles and top with sesame seeds and scallions (green part of onion).

5. Enjoy!

This recipe is featured at Simple Supper Tuesday!!

Southwest Chicken and Corn Chowder

You probably are thinking this would be a great recipe for the Fall and I agree, but the weather here has been cold and rainy for nearly a month, so it feels pretty Fall-like. Besides, comfort food is welcome in my house anytime of the year and I’d bet you’d agree if you try this lovely chowder. Just serve with some crusty bread and enjoy.

1 T EVOO

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup carrots, sliced thin or diced

1/2 cup celery, sliced thin or chopped

1 small to medium potato, peeled and cubed

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 mini bell peppers, red & orange, chopped (optional)

jalapeno pepper, minced

4 pieces turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled

3 cups chicken broth

 1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2 T flour

1 1/2 cups frozen corn

2 tsp southwest seasoning*

salt & pepper

1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and toss with southwest seasonings. *This is just a combo of chili powder, chipotle powder, and paprika. Cook in EVOO in skillet heated over medium heat.

2. In soup pot place the chicken broth and the chopped carrots, onion, garlic, jalepeno, bell peppers and celery. Allow time to soften and simmer in broth before adding the chicken, corn and potato. Cook for at least 20 minutes.

3. Fry up your bacon, drain and crumble into the chowder pot. Season with thyme, salt and pepper. Taste.

4. Using a small whisk, combine the flour with the heavy cream in a bowl to make a roux. Add to the chowder and stir in well.

5. Let simmer another 20 minutes or more until potatoes are tender and all the flavors are combined.

I will share a few secrets with you: First, I used the crock pot, in stages, which made the chowder awesome. If you have the time I’d recommend this. Just follow the recipe with longer cooking intervals. After several hours the chicken is extremely tender and the overall flavor is amazing. Also, I used leftover chicken from my Chicken Enchilada Pasta Bake since there was so much leftover and I didn’t want to waste all that chicken or fantastic flavor. If you have any leftover dishes in your fridge, don’t be afraid to dig your hands into it and find a way to use it. 

Chicken Enchilada Pasta Bake

Instead of rolling the mixture up in tortillas I decided to make it a one-dish meal by combining everything with some cheesy pasta. Yum!

1 lb. spiral or penne pasta, cooked

3 or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 T EVOO

3 tsp southwest seasoning blend*

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp peper

1/2 cup bell pepper, sliced thin

1/2 onion, sliced thin

2 gloves garlic, minced

1 (12 oz) jar enchilada sauce

1 T lime juice

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese blend, divided

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Preheat oven to 350*.

2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the spices (southwest, cumin, chili pepper, salt & pepper). Southwest seasonings is just a combo of chipotle powder, chili powder, brown sugar, and paprika, so you can easily put this together with separate ingredients.

3. Cut chicken up into slices or bite-sized pieces and toss with 1/2 the spice mixture. Heat 1 T EVOO in a large skillet over medium high heat and brown the chicken. Remove and set aside.

4. In the same skillet heat the remaining 1 T of EVOO and cook the onion and peppers until soft. Add garlic for a few minutes longer. You may need to add a bit of water or chicken broth here. I put in about 1/8 cup.

5. Add in the enchilada sauce (I use Trader Joe’s 12 oz. jars but you can use any kind you like) the lime juice, and the remaining spice mixture. Stir well to combine.

6. Stir back in the chicken and add 1 cup cheese until it begins to melt.

7. Mix with pasta and place in sprayed baking dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top and bake for about 20 minutes until bubbly and perfect.

This recipe was featured on Tuesday’s Table @ Love in the Kitchen!!