What are your favorite summer dinners?

[LuckyMommaToo]

It's already warming up here, and I'm reminded of how much I hate preparing dinner in the summer. We're a family of four, and we all seem to have the same high metabolism and are big eaters, so things like smoothie and toast won't cut it.

I really prefer one-pot kind of meals, like chili and soups, and I never seem to find my groove in the summer. Any ideas?
thanks,
-e

[colsxjack]

We love easy and one-pot meals too.
The summer is too hot and busy to spend much time cooking.

We use the slow cooker to make chilis, soups, pulled pork, etc.
We also do veggie omelets alot. Just basically a stir fry that we toss some beated eggs in near the end. That with toast and sweet potato fries is great. Sometimes I just put sweet potatoes right in with the veggies.

"Fajitas" are popular in our house. Basically stir fry up some veggies or meat, add some spice. Heat up some baked beans, grate some cheese, sour cream, avocado slices, salsa. Then we use tortillas and make our own and eat it up. It is quick, easy, fun and tasty.

We also use the BBQ a lot in the summer.
And we make hearty salads and keep them in the fridge for snacking and super.
A favorite salad is broccoli and sweet potato with honey-lemon dressing.
Quinoa salad. Pasta salad. Bean salad.

[Magelet]

Last summer, we made lentil salad once a week, (always making enough for at LEAST lunch and a snack, sometimes a second dinner).
cook green lentils until tender, cool (you can cook them a day in advance and put in the fridge, or you can cool in some ice). chop up feta, or cheddar, bell peppers, tomatos, carrots, celery, sometimes cucumbers, various summer veggies, and raisins. toss it all together with a vinegar-y salty vinegrette (I like half acv, half evoo, lots of salt, and some molasses). yumm. we love it.

also great is gaspacho with or without some good bread.

pita, hummus, feta, tzaziki, and olives or pickles.

Not really a one pot meal, but pretty easy and summery deliciousness: chicken fry bread salads.
make bread dough, stretch it flat, and fry it in a cast iron skillet.
meanwhile, shred some cooked chicken, put it in a little pot with a few garlic cloves, cumin, salt and peppercorns, and chicken stock to cover and some onions that were sauted in that pot first. simmer until the stock is pretty much all gone into the chicken (really no liquid left). (I know, it's cooking and on the hottest days you don't want to, but it's not that much heat added, and this dish is so good it's worth it to me. and you don't have to hover at all. It takes like an hour or more, so you can go and come back just checking it a couple times).
make guacamole by mixing an avocado with lime juice and salt.
spread on the breads guacamole, and top with fresh corn, fresh tomatoes, sourkraut and chicken. and optional salsa or hot sauce. love that one too.

[katelove]

This is one of DH and my favourites. The only cooking is the flat bread, if you choose to, the rest is just chopping and mixing. DH is vegetarian so he has the chick pea option. You could also use tinned salmon or cooked, leftover chicken/fish/beef anything really.


Flat bread of some sort, we like roti
tomato
cucumber
avocado
green leaves, we usually use baby spinach
tinned tuna or chick peas
lime juice
olive oil
salt & pepper

Chop tomato, cucumber and avocado into small pieces. Season with salt and pepper and toss in a dressing of one part lime juice, two to three parts oil. Marinate for 30 mins or so if desired. Toss green leaves through just before serving.

If using chick peas, marinate them in the same dressing for 30 mins or so.

Cook flat bread as desired. I just dry fry the roti in a pan. Top with salad mix and tuna or chick peas. Roll and eat.

You could use any salad dressing recipe you like but the lime is particularly summery and delicious IMO

[lil_earthmomma]

Originally Posted by LuckyMommaToo

we all seem to have the same high metabolism and are big eaters, so things like smoothie and toast won't cut it.

-e

Hee hee, that totally made me LOL for real!

We eat BAS (big ass salads) a lot in the summer.

Chicken caesar salad, steak ginger salad, BLT salad, etc. salads that are big on flavor and protein, and refreshing! Also very filling. Todays was left over pork loin chop, diced into a salad with purple onion, tomato, and garnished with chopped pistachios and bacon, dressed with a dijon white wine dressing. Yummy, and made in under 15 min with no heat prep nec if I'd had the bacon pre cooked.

We also grill often, and use our smoker to slow cook.

[Princess ConsuelaB]

I freeze dinner portions of hummus and baba ganoush in summer so I can just pull it out of the freezer to thaw for dinner, then I just have to add flatbread or veggies.

[luckysgirl]

HUGE bowls of tomato, cucumber, watermelon, and feta salad and similarly large cobb salads.

[JessicaS]

Spring rolls with shrimp, and lots of veggies

[ollyoxenfree]

Yum - love cool spring rolls in rice paper wrappers on a hot day!

Sushi is good too, with a cucumber salad.

And speaking of salads - substantial ones like nicoise or warm steak salad or thai chicken.

BBQ is great too - we grill all sorts of meat (lamb, chicken, beef) and seafood and veggies. I like to grill extra, and then add it to salads or make sandwiches the next day.

[dawningmama]

BAS is my new favorite acronym.

In the summer, we do a lot of BBQ or we eat raw/cold meals. We don't have a/c so I like to not have to turn on the stove or oven. My neighbor makes the most awesome BBQ pizza and so I want to make those this summer. Same neighbor also makes roasted potatoes on the grill---cut potatoes in wedges, toss with oil and seasoning, double cover of tin foil and cook on the BBQ. Omg, they were awesome.

Other big favs:
~kebabs----fruits, seafoods, chicken, veggies. Whatever. Added plus: easy clean-up
~ribs nom!
~three (or more, whatever's on hand) bean salad. I keep this in the fridge at all times
~continental platter of fruits and cheeses and crackers
~pasta salads with in-season veggies and fruits and cut up leftover meats
~fish! So many great ways to make so many kinds of fish. I'm not particularly skilled at cooking fish but I like learning: lemon dill salmon on the grill, grilled shrimp over a cold pasta salad, scallops and crabmeat salad, tilapia with citrus and cilantro. mmmm


When I do cook, I like to have egg dishes in the summer. Lots of protein, easy to feed the vegetarian, etc. Quiches, frittatas, stratas can be made when it's cool enough to turn on the oven and then kept in the fridge or freezer and eaten cold. I tend to take the mild rainy summer days and spend them cooking so I don't have to do it on the 90degree days.

[LuckyMommaToo]

Okay, I love BAS, too! And clearly I have to expand my repertoire this summer. Never made bean salad. We've never been a salad family, and I don't know how my kids (almost 4 and 6) will react, but I think I need to make the jump.

Katelove, that lime dressing sounds divine!

So I'm off to look up recipes and make lists. Stomach growling now!
-e

p.s. Didn't even realize you could make your own spring rolls! Will google that as well...

[dawningmama]

Oh, spring rolls and eggrolls are lots of fun to make---good for little hands to help.

My kids dig bean salad, and I didn't think they would at all. I like to serve it with toasted pitas or big tortilla chips and they eat it sort of like salsa that way. My kids like green beans, red kidney beans and garbanzo beans but I generally use whatever is on hand. I will use bottled Italian or vinagrette dressing but prefer to make my own with olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and whatever yummy fresh herbs we have around.

[3 Star Mom]

My family loves lentil burgers. Made basically like meatloaf, with egg, breadcrumbs, and ketchup, but with lentils instead of beef. They are good with or without a bun and with sprouts. We also love the BAS too .

[russsk]

My dh turned me onto ravioli salads for summer. Just boil some ravioli in the morning before it gets too hot, rinse under cold water and toss with a little olive oil and pop in the fridge. Toss with salad fixings and dressing for dinner.

We also do Israeli salad night - humus, baba ghanouj, matbucha, etc. with salad, falafel, pita, olive, pickles and saurkraut. Maybe some grilled meat.

Grilled tacos - marinated flank steak, grilled veggies and black beans. With the fixings, of course.

Pasta salad - with whatever veggies we have around - plus some leftover grilled meat or canned salmon.

Salmon cakes made with canned salmon. Very quick to throw together.

Cold brown rice salad, with lemon, olive oil and veggies.

Frittata - potatoes, peas and asparagus baked in eggs, basically. I like to top with parmesan or drizzle with aged balsamic vinegar and serve with a salad.

[caiesmommy]

-grilled eggplant, zukes, portabello mushrooms corn on the cob
-stuffed zukes w leftover rice, beans, veg
-veggie burgers
-hummus/pita and veggies
-cold noodle salad w peanut sauce, red peppers, cukes, mango
-GAZPACHO!!!! w flax seed "crackers' from the dehydrator or croutons
-bbqed baked potatoes, with soy sour cream, black beans, chunks of avocado, grated soy cheese ect
-cold spring rolls
-rye cracker/flatbread w cubes of soy cheese, sliced tomato,red onion and basil
-taco salads-homemade tortilla bowls(just wraps baked into pyrex bowls in the oven), with refried beans, veg, salsa
-fried rice w leftover rice, egg, tofu

[karne]

Wild salmon. I poach a big piece and the have it in the fridge for salads, fish roll-ups, or just eating cold with a side of a chilled grain salad. Shrimp works the same way for us.

[Llyra]

We eat a lot of seasonal veggies in the summer, because of our own garden, the community garden DH runs, and our CSA.

Our favorite summer dinner is grilled summer veggies, roasted potatoes, and a few slices of good mozzarella. I can't imagine August without loads and loads of ratatouille. And we also do a lot of pan-sauteed fish, because it's not as hot as turning on the oven.

When I do turn on the oven in the summer, I'll do it in the middle of the night. So I'll roast the chicken late at night, or bake the bread, and then serve it cold the next day, instead of having it on in the hottest parts of the day.

We eat our biggest meal at noon in the summer, because I work in the evenings during the summer, and DH is off all summer.

[wife&mommy]

Wow this thread is making me really hungry!

In the summer we like...

Cobb Sandwiches

Blackbean & Cheese Quesadillas

Ham & Pineapple Couscous

Lemon Crumb Tilapia

Zucchini Orzo

And other stuff like Pasta Salad, Salads with grilled chicken or plain, Egg Salad sandwiches, homemade sloppy joes, etc.

I'm sure there are more but that is all I can think of right now!

[Tilia]

We do a lot of pasta salads in the summer:

rotini, zesty italian dressing, black olives, green peppers and pepperoni

bowtie pasta, caesar dressing, broccoli, and frozen peas

Texas Caviar with tortilla chip strips

[Honey693]

BLTs and corn on the cob. I do the bacon in the microwave b/c bacon is evil and I always get attacked by grease.