• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Smart In The Kitchen

Dinner is done!

  • Smart Recipes
  • Meal Plans
  • Gift Cards
  • About
  • Cooking Classes
  • Kitchen School

Summer Cooking

July 10, 2019 By msmart 1 Comment

Why I Don’t Meal Plan During Summer Break

Routine is good, and so is a break from routine. Summer cooking means cooking from the farmer’s market, grilling outdoors, making big snack platters that “count” as dinner, and generally just relaxing and enjoying a looser schedule.

During the school year, our schedule is like a military precision drill. And I know so many of you have the same existence. It’s a product of having multiple children, a job, a family, a life. It’s a full life and a very good life, but it can suck the energy right out of you. Summer, for me, is about sleeping a little more, stressing less, lots of reading, walking about recharging my battery.

Summer, whether you’re still going to work every day or shuttling young kids to and from day camps that never seem to last more than an hour, should be about recharging. That means easy dinners with low effort and minimal cleanup. Here are a few of our favorite low-stress meals that have been sustaining our family dinners this summer.

Chopped Chicken Tacos

We’ve had these quick and satisfying tacos on the regular for the past month. Marinate 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts with 1/4 cup lime juice, 1/4 cup tequila and kosher salt. Let them sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes while you fire up your grill to high heat. Grill at medium-high heat for about 7-8 minutes per side, until the meat releases easily. Close your grill after you flip it to help cooking process. Use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature in the middle of the thickest part of the chicken. Once it reaches 165 remove from the grill and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Chop into very small pieces, about 1/4″-thick. Use in lettuce tacos, tortillas or on salad topped with pickled red onions and guacamole (store-bought is my summer game). Since you have the lime and tequila out, make yourself a margarita.

Tomato Confit Spaghetti

Get a bunch of tomatoes at the farmer’s market, or pick them from your garden if you’re lucky. Cut the large ones in half and tuck everything into a ceramic baking dish (glass is fine too, I just prefer how ceramic baking dishes hold heat). Cover everything in a nice bath of extra virgin olive oil that reaches half way up the side of the tomatoes. Tuck in a head of garlic that’s been cut in half and some sprigs of herbs (thyme, chives, basil, whatever) and sprinkle everything with kosher salt. Cook at 350 for an hour in the middle of the oven. Toss about 2 cups of the warm tomato confit and olive oil with a pound of cooked spaghetti, a teaspoon of red pepper flakes and fresh basil if you have it. Save the rest of the tomatoes with their juices and the olive oil in a glass jar in the refrigerator, and thank yourself for a job well done when you use them next week.

Grilled Salmon

Make this with ANY fish, just pick your favorite or see what looks best at the market. I prefer grilling fish with the skin on since it gives you a surface for the grill. Heat your grill to medium-high heat and oil the grates. Place fish skin side down and sprinkle with some kosher salt. Close the grill and cook for 5-7 minutes. Use an instant read thermometer to check the temp and remove when the fish reaches 145. Serve with your favorite green salsa (store bought or homemade), pesto, chermoula, chimichurri, whatever! Throw some asparagus or zucchini or red peppers on the grill at the same time as the fish and once it comes off the grill, squeeze some fresh lemon over everything. Dinner is done. I love grilling fish because it keeps the mess outside!

Grilled Steak with Compound Butter

This one is so good it’s an excuse to have a party. Make an herb compound butter with 1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter (use good Plugra or KerryGold), 2 tablespoons finely chopped herbs (chives or garlic chives, thyme, parsley, whatever), 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon salt and a bunch of freshly cracked pepper. Mix well to combine and place the mixed butter on a large sheet of parchment paper. Roll into a log, close up the parchment at the ends and refrigerate until firm. Meanwhile, grill well-salted room temperature steaks on a hot grill (I like petit filets, my husband is a bone-in ribeye fan). I cook my steaks to 145 degrees and let them sit for five minutes, which gives you a steak cooked slightly under medium. Here’s a good guide for grilled steak temperatures. Remember: It’s not the amount of time that matters when cooking meat, it’s the internal temperature! When the steaks come off the grill to rest, top them with a slice of the compound butter and a sprinkling of Maldon salt. Again, throw some vegetables on the grill as long as you’re at it, or toss up a super easy cheater Caesar salad.

Snack Platter Dinner

Come late July and August, we pack a lot of picnic dinners and listen to the symphony on the lawn at the Sun Valley Pavilion. Those dinners consist of some type of healthy green goddess dip and a tray of crudités, as well as Manchego or St. Andre, seeded crackers, almonds or pistachios, olives and summer apricots or cherries. I also think this healthy seven layer dip is 100% appropriate for a snacky summer dinner.

Filed Under: All Recipes, Dinner, Summer, Weekly Meal Plans Tagged With: summer cooking, summer dinner

Previous Post: « Fourth of July Menu
Next Post: Easy Planter’s Punch »

Reader Interactions

By Category

By Date

Search

Comments

  1. Amy Mac

    July 11, 2019 at 9:02 am

    This is exactly what I’ve been doing & man, it’s a nice break! If you’re serving it to kids out by the pool, you can even use paper plates for EASIER clean up! Dessert is usually big chunks of COLD watermelon! Sweet & easy!
    Thanks for the Tomato Confit idea! Our cherry tomatoes are plentiful right now. Enjoy the sun!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Primary Sidebar

Marcia Smart
Marcia Smart is a cooking instructor, recipe developer and food writer who wants to help you make good, simple meals for your family and friends. She craves food that's seasonal and delicious and wants to share it with you. A California girl living in a Houston world with her husband and three children.

FIND ME HERE

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

FOLLOW ME ON YOUTUBE

Recent Posts

  • Low Effort Dinners
  • Cinco de Mayo Favorites
  • Big Batch Jalapeño Margaritas
  • Weekly Meal Plan // March 27-April 1
  • Weekly Meal Plan // March 20-25

GET SMART IN THE KITCHEN RECIPES AND NEWS

Categories

  • All Recipes
  • Appetizers and Snacks
  • Basics
  • Breakfast and Brunch
  • Casseroles
  • Cocktails
  • Condiments
  • Dairy-Free
  • Dessert
  • Dinner
  • Entertaining
  • Fall
  • Freezer Friendly
  • Friday Love List
  • Gift + Product Guides
  • Gluten-free/Gluten-free adaptable
  • Grain-free
  • Grilling
  • Holidays
  • Instant Pot
  • Kitchen
  • Mains
  • Meat
  • Meatless Mains
  • Mediterranean
  • One-Pot Meals
  • Pasta
  • Poultry
  • Retreats
  • Salad Dressings
  • Salads
  • Sauces and Salsas
  • Seafood
  • Sheet Pan Suppers
  • Slow Cooker
  • Smoothie
  • Soups
  • Spice Mix
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Thanksgiving
  • Travel
  • Uncategorised
  • Vegetable Side Dish
  • Weekly Meal Plans
  • Wellness
  • Whole 30
  • Wine
  • Winter

Archives

  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • October 2016
  • June 2015
  • April 2015

Copyright © 2022 · Smart In The Kitchen