Favorite Simple Summer Meals

I enjoy cooking in the summer, because most of the time I can cook outside on the grill. The tough part about cooking in the summer, is that it’s often harder to plan ahead for the week. We are always out and about during the summer: days at the pool that run late, last minute trips to the beach, etc. We enjoy not sticking to a schedule in the summertime. I decided to come up with 5 easy, go to meals for this summer. I’ll keep the ingredient lists on hand for quick trips to the store or my Fresh Direct orders. Of course, with all of the recipes below, you can switch up what you serve on the side, I just like to have the whole meal planned and ready to go.

1.) Easy Balsamic Chicken Served With Quinoa Salad

Ingredients: 

Boneless chicken breasts

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Quinoa Salad: quinoa, red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon, tomato, green pepper & cucumber

Directions: Place chicken breasts in a large zip lock. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 cup of balsamic vinegar. Seal and shake the bag. Let the chicken marinate as long as you’d like. Cook the chicken on the grill. For the quinoa salad: Cook quinoa according to directions on package. Once cooked, toss with diced tomatoes, green peppers and cucumbers. Dress with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. 

2.) Mushroom & Kale Burgers With Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

Ground beef patties or turkey patties

Hamburger buns

Kale

Mushrooms

Frozen sweet potato fries (fries pictured are our favorite!)

Directions: Cook burgers on the grill. While they are cooking, cook sweet potato fries according to the directions on that package. Saute mushrooms. When burgers are cooked, top with raw kale and cooked mushrooms. Serve with sweet potato fries. 

3.) Grilled Shrimp Served Over Lemon Tomato Pasta

Ingredients: 

Shrimp

Can of diced tomatoes

Box of spaghetti or linguini

4 cloves Garlic, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Lemon Juice

3/4 stick of Butter

1 Lemon

Pepper

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions. Season the shrimp with pepper and cook on the grill. Making the sauce: Melt 1/2-3/4 stick butter in a small saucepan. Add about 1/4 cup lemon juice. In a pan, sauté garlic in olive oil. Sprinkle some pepper in the pan. Add the can of diced tomatoes and cook for 3 min. Add the shrimp, butter/lemon mix and cook for a few minutes. Pour the sauce & shrimp over the cooked pasta and garnish with sliced lemons. 

4.) Simple Grilled Pork Chops, Couscous & Asparagus

Ingredients: 

Boneless pork chops

Olive Oil

Lemon juice

Pepper

Boxed couscous (we like the Near East Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil)

Asparagus

1 Lemon Sliced

Directions: 

Place the pork chops on a plate and season each side with a little olive oil, pepper and lemon juice. Cook pork chops on the grill. Make couscous according to the package. Steam the asparagus with the lemon slices in the pot OR cook the asparagus and lemon slices on the grill. You can use a grill basket or make one with some foil paper. 

5.) London Broil Over Arugula Salad With Corn on the Cob

Ingredients: 

London broil

Pepper

Corn on the cob

Arugula

Anything else you like on a salad & dressing of your choice

Directions: 

Season the London broil with pepper. Cook on the grill. Steam the corn on the cob or cook on the grill. Prepare an arugula salad. Slice the cooked London broil and serve over the salad with the corn on the side. Enjoy!