Quick Easy Summer Recipes

Now that summer is here and it seems we are busier than ever with various activities it is important to have a few quick easy summer recipes to make mealtime a breeze.

It is hot and we don’t want to heat the house with a lot of cooking, besides I’d much rather hang out poolside with the grandkids than being stuck in the kitchen.

I got creative in my meal choices and I also searched Pinterest for several ideas as well. In this article, I will share what has become some of my favorite quick easy summer recipes.

Grilling is a favorite and with the garden growing nicely fresh salads are also top of the list.

In our family, we have an adult son who was recently diagnosed with celiac disease and our 5-year-old grandson has type 1 diabetes. This creates some challenges with family meals.

I take these dietary restrictions as a challenge to find the best tasting recipes I can find.

Naturally, I won’t recommend a recipe until I have made it several times with consistent results.

I hope you enjoy a few of our favorites.

Amish Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

1 head broccoli, chopped

1 head cauliflower, chopped

1 cup mayo

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

1. Combine mayo, sour cream, and sugar and mix well.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Add dressing mixture to vegetable mixture and mix well.
4. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

My Potato Salad

Ingredients

6 medium potatoes, cooked and cut up into 1-inch chunks

1/2 cup green onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and cut up

2 celery ribs, cut up

1/4 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup mayo

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Chill several hours before serving.
3. Garnish with fresh parsley.

If the salad seems too dry add more mayo.

Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread

While I do not have Celiac’s disease, one of my adult sons is and he mentioned that he did not like the gluten-free bread he could buy in stores so I decided I had to start finding a tasty GF bread recipe.

When it comes to recipes whether gluten-free for my son or diabetic-friendly for my grandson, I need to make and taste every recipe before I can recommend it to anyone.

Good tasting gluten-free bread was much more difficult than I thought. I finally came across this simple gluten-free bread recipe.

You might wonder why I included bread on this list of summer recipes and the reason is quite simply because I got so excited that I found a tasty GF bread recipe that I couldn’t contain my excitement and had to share.

Plus if you can make great bread you can make hamburger or hot dog buns with it too although I haven’t tried those yet. Keep in mind a great sandwhich demands great tasting bread.

I found this particular recipe on Pinterest originally from jaimehughes.com and it is fantastic.

Yesterday I made a BLT with this bread and I was so excited. This bread toasted lovely and golden and tasted just like real bread.

Naturally, I couldn’t wait to share this recipe with my son and with all of you.

Ingredients

Yeast Proofing

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 TBSP sugar or honey or other natural sweeteners of choice
• 2 1/2 tsp instant yeast

Dry Ingredients

• 3 cups Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 eggs

Instructions

1. In a glass measuring cup, warm the water to 105-110 F. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Add in yeast then set aside to proof and get foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the wet ingredients, and mix with the paddle attachment for a few seconds.
4. Add in the proofed yeast mixture and mix for a few more seconds.
5. Slowly, so you don’t make a mess, add in the combined dry ingredients and turn the mixer to medium-high for about 3 minutes until well incorporated. The dough will be very thick and sticky.
6. If needed, grease your 9×5 loaf pan. Use a spatula to scrape the bread dough into your prepared pan & smooth out the top as best you can.
7. Cover the pan with a damp paper towel and place somewhere dark and warm to let it rise for 20-30 minutes (depending on how warm your room is). This is a great time to preheat your oven to 375°FIMPORTANT: Don’t let it rise too high or it will overflow the pan or collapse when cooking as it will rise more in the oven.
8. Bake it for 35-45 minutes. If you have a Pullman loaf pan, make sure the lid is on to give you that fabulous sandwich bread shape. If you don’t, you can foil tent the loaf if the crust is darkening too quickly.
9. Do not let the bread sit in the pan to cool. Carefully roll it out onto your cooling rack. Let it cool completely before cutting into slices.

 

Tomato Cucumber Salad

This is a fantastic salad to use up some of those cucumbers and tomatoes in the garden.

Ingredients

4 medium fresh tomatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 large cucumber, sliced

1/2 red onion, diced

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

salt to taste

garnish with fresh dill

Directions

1. In a large bowl, toss together the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, mayonnaise, and garlic.
2. Season with pepper and salt.
3. Refrigerate until serving.

Conclusion

Summer can be a busy time full of adventure and heating the house with cooking just doesn’t seem all that appealing.

Still, we have to eat, right.

I have shared some of my favorite quick easy summer recipes that go well with any BBQ.

These salads taste fantastic with any grilled meat such as steak, chicken, pork chops, or even burgers.

I know I didn’t put any grilling recipes and I will do a separate post with some of our favorite grilling recipes.

I also have a few favorite foil pack recipes that are great on the grill. I like to use those when we head out on the boat like we will this weekend. I’ll be sure to get some pics for that post when I write it.

What are your favorite summer recipes? Feel free to share them in the comment section below.

“I am not in any way a medical practitioner, please do not rely on the information on our website as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or another healthcare provider. We only share our experiences.”