Great Summertime Dishes

Summertime is great for being outdoors to enjoy family and friends with great food to enjoy. With temperatures hot, no one wants to be slaving over a hot stove or oven preparing food. This is the time of year to be grilling all sorts of wonderful foods outdoors so that the smells linger through the neighborhood and drive folks crazy. Check out your cookbooks or the internet for easy marinate recipes and get your meats and even vegetables swimming in new sauces that could well become lifetime favorites.

Naturally not everything can be grilled, so use appliances such as a slow cookers to prepare the family-favorite baked bean recipe. Create some of your favorite potato and pasta salads early in the day. This will keep you away from a hot stove while everyone else is visiting and still allow for the great salads to get chilled to perfection and ready to eat. A real favorite during the summer are marinated vegetables. Try thin slicing some cucumbers, tomatoes, and purple onions, then covering them with light Italian salad dressing. Place this combination in the refrigerator until thoroughly chilled. You and your guests will really enjoy this simply, yet tasty treat.

Sun-brewed tea has a taste all its own and makes terrific iced tea. With sun power creating the tea you will have an endless supply all day long. Any type of fresh fruit makes a wonderful summertime dish to serve. Puree some of the fruits to make simple toppings for ice cream or snack cakes. During the summer, keep things as quick and simple as you can in the kitchen or off the grill and enjoy the company that you are eating with.