Memorial Day has always signaled the beginning of summer for me. As a kid, memorial day meant school was out for summer, the weather was warm, the pool opened, and that meant one thing: summertime meals!
It's hard to narrow down my favorite meals to eat in the summer so here you will find 5 of my favorite recipes for the season. I truly had a hard time narrowing them down so don't worry - I'll be posting a few more summertime recipes in a few weeks! This quarantine season has majorly thrown of my meal calendar as ingredients at our grocery store have been slim, but it looks like stores are starting to recover (thankfully!) and those weekly meal plans will return soon!
Enjoy these recipes! Send me a message of your favorite summertime meals or if you try one of my recipes!
Let's start with the obvious: grilling!
I asked a few close friends what their summertime favorites included and the general consensus was "grilling". Turns out you can cook just about anything over a grill. Rather than stating the obvious (burgers, steaks, pork chops, etc), I'm sharing one of my all time favorite grill recipes that just scream summer!
Hawaiian chicken with grilled pineapple.
For the pineapple: It's best to by a whole pineapple and core it/cut it into slices. All you have to do is throw it on the grill and wait for it to brown a little. For a little sweet flavor, sprinkle some cinnamon!
Hawaiian chicken: You'll need chicken breasts or tenders (amount depends on how many people you're trying to serve). For tenders, we typically do 2 pieces/person or 1 breast/person.
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced
2 teaspoons fresh garlic minced
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 cup pineapple juice (you can use juice from a can or whole pineapple)
Directions:
Place the pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup and sesame oil in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade in the refrigerator in a small bowl. This will be used later on to baste the chicken.
Stir the garlic and ginger into the large bowl of marinade. Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 24 hours.
Preheat an outdoor grill or grill pan to medium heat.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the grill. Cook for 6-8 minutes per side or until chicken is done, basting occasionally with the reserved marinade.
Summer Berry Salad
Ingredients:
4-5 cups of mixed greens
1/2 cup of craisins
1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese
1 granny smith apple sliced and cut into bite size pieces
1/3 cup candied pecans
1 cup of cut strawberries
Directions:
Wash and dry lettuce. Place lettuce into bowl as salad base.
Mix remaining ingredients to liking.
Preferred dressings: Panera Fuji Apple, Berry Balsamic Vinaigrette, Poppyseed
For added protein, grill and cut chicken into bite size pieces and mix.
Crab Cakes
Ingredients:
1 pound lump crabmeat
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
2 Tablespoons green onion sliced
1/2 red bell pepper finely diced
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon cajun seasoning
juice of half lemon
1/4 cup vegetable oil for frying
Directions:
Mix together crabmeat, mayonnaise, Panko, flour, egg, green onion, bell pepper, Worcestershire sauce, cajun, and juice of lemon. Mix together and shape into patties.
In a large saucepan add the oil and heat to medium high. Add the patties and fry until they are brown on each side for 4-5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with your favorite sauce. (My personal favorite is cajun sauce.)
Serves well with fries, baked potato, or cubed potatoes. Recipe credit to therecipecritic.com
Pulled pork (or chicken) & coleslaw
There are many ways to make pulled pork, but this is my personal favorite because it's the easiest and it kinda makes me giggle.
Ingredients:
1 pork shoulder roast/pork butt
Salt & pepper
Garlic Powder
1 sliced white onion
1 can Dr. Pepper (you can also use coke, but Dr. Pepper flavors better in our opinion!
3/4 cup of BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's honey flavor is our go to!)
Directions:
Place onion in bottom of crock pot/slow cooker. Generously rub pork with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Pour can of Dr. Pepper over pork. Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 7-8. Once meat is tender, use forks to pull pork apart.
Grab your favorite sauce and sides and eat up! Serves well with coleslaw, Mac n cheese, rolls, etc.
Home made Coleslaw:
1 head green cabbage shredded
1/2 head red cabbage shredded
2 cups carrots shredded
1/4 cup red onion shredded
Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
salt and black pepper to taste
Combine shredded ingredients in bowl. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over shredded ingredients. Best served day of, but can last 3-4 days in fridge.