Summer in the Kitchen

I love Summer! I love summer vegetables and cooking on the grill! There’s something about summer that makes it more fun to cook!   I think because it feels more relaxed … Eating outside and not having as many activities to go to with kids. 

What are some of your lighter fare dishes you love to whip up when the weather is hot?    Grilled shrimp, grilled chicken, chopped salads and corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes and cucumbers are some of mine!   I love a chilled gazpacho soup too!   Let’s share some favorites!

Summer nights

Oh how I love Summer nights!   Grilling yummy food and enjoying the evening sunset!   My husband and I have been trying to eat healthier…. you know how that goes!  So we recently found this new favorite recipe for Cedar Plank Salmon!  It’s absolutely to die for!

We also found that the marinade works great on shrimp!  We’ll skewer the shrimp after marinating and grill those too!   So incredibly yummy!

You can find Cedar Planks in your grocery store in the fresh fish section – at least you can in ours – and I recommend stocking up.  We only use our boards once.. they are not very expensive and really make the dinner amazing!    We also keep a jar of crushed/minced Ginger on hand so we don’t have to grate it for this recipe AND finally…. If you buy scallions and chop them.. you can freeze what you don’t use and use them for the next marinade.  We’ve also substituted minced onion in a pinch and it works great!

CLICK on photo for recipe!

Now enjoy your evening at home… a delightful dinner… relaxing in your own back yard! Priceless!

Salads taste better when someone else makes them!

SALADS!

I’m not sure why salads taste better when someone else makes them… but they do.    In my never ending quest to eat healthy with variety….. I think this will be my NEW staple side dish!  So simple and delicious!  Wait for it….. Tomato Cucumber salad!
Yep… pretty simple and easy to keep these ingredients in the fridge all summer long!  Whether you get them from the store, farmstand or your own garden… this is simply delicious! If you are a salsa connoisseur you’ll also love this fresh salad!  Add some cilantro and you pretty much have salsa or pico de gallo!
2 chopped Tomatoes
1 cucumber peeled and diced
Red onion to taste
1 TBS lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
I was looking for a non-mayo based salad that was healthy and yummy and stumbled upon this simple treasure!    It’s only 31 calories a serving.  A serving is 1/4 of the recipe!    There’s no carbs… no fat…. it’s a winner!
The ONLY downside is if you don’t like tomatos or cucumbers… but it’s going to be my summer staple for sure!   Enjoy!