A simple roasted chicken breast recipe augmented by a delicious, creamy and simple sun-dried tomato sauce. Perfect as a quick fix in the summer months.
An easy homemade pesto elevates a casual pasta salad recipe to a must-try dish. Pasta salads are ideal for summer days when it's too hot to eat fresh-from-the-oven dishes.
This salad is just one big bowl of fresh, summer yumminess. From the famed pork tenderloin dinner, this guacamole salad (or salsa variation, if you will) has become one of my go-to sides for everything from chicken (grilled or baked)
This is a delicious healthy banana bread that I've been making for years. The recipe is flexible, optionally sugar-free and dairy-free, & can be embellished with chocolate, nuts, and fruit. A great way to use your over-ripe bananas!
Some people don't like to have soup during the summer. But, I love it for a go-to lunch. This is one of my favorite soups, an all-time comfort food for me. During a recent bout with the flu, I whipped up a batch and froze the extra. It reheated really well in the microwave, so it may be a real keeper for freezer cooking.
Classic American three bean salad, perfect for summer picnics and potlucks. With cannellini beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, celery, red onion, parsley, and a sweet and sour dressing.
Here's an ideal summer pasta with fresh tomatoes as the main attraction. Feta complements the tomatoes beautifully, and the heat of the pasta and hot garlic oil make the cheese meltingly soft.
Lemon zest and fresh lemon juice add a refreshing flavor to these soft and chewy sugar cookies. This easy lemon sugar cookie recipe is perfect for spring and summer.
An essential part of any summer cookout is a good side dish, and what better of a side dish then a cold salad? This tuna pasta salad is perfect for those warm
A fresh black bean salad, perfect for a summer picnic or potluck. Tomatoes, jalepenos, avocado, black bleans and corn combined to give this salad it's kick and fresh flavors.
Quinoa is the perfect vehicle for summer vegetables: it's more substantial than couscous or rice and it kind of binds ingredients together. This simple version involves minimal cooking: just toss hot quinoa with black beans, chunks of ripe heirloom tomatoes, and crunchy scallions, and cover with a refreshing lemon dressing.
I think that every dinner party should start with something tasty to awaken the appetite, or to occupy your guests while the meal receives its finishing touches. I don't want to overload guests with a too-heavy appetizer, though - you're about to feed them dinner, after all. Here is one little bite that is a small yet delicious way to start a meal in late spring or early summer.
My local market had an impossible-to-resist pile of ripe avocados for an impossible-to-resist price so I came home with a big bagful. And while I'm a happy member of the avocado toast for breakfast club, I also needed to find other ways to use up my bounty. Here's a very simple and delicious avocado-based salad dressing that also makes a nice summer dip for crudites.
Roasted vegetables are an old standby, but how about roasted fruit? The steady abundance of citrus in Southern California yards and CSA boxes has inspired countless new ways to use these fruits and our latest trick is adding orange and mandarin slices to roasted vegetables. The citrus adds a sweet, caramelized flavor and brings a bit of sunniness to winter roots like carrots and parsnips.
Are you still getting fresh peas? We aren't either, but peas are one of the things I like to eat year-round because frozen peas are often so much sweeter and fresh, actually, than fresh peas. What? It's because frozen peas are frozen so quickly after harvest, while fresh spring/early summer peas from the market are already a day or two old by the time you buy them, let alone shell and eat them.
