9 Summer Grilling Favorites 2018

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Summer is well under way and everyone is trying to beat the kitchen heat by grilling outdoors!

I have an array of some of my favorite grilling dishes that I think you will just love.  So look through them below and pick a few to try when you are planning your next meal on the grill!

9 Summer Grilling Favorites 2018



Let start off with something light and healthy like my Weeknight Balsamic Steak Salad.  This has such bold flavors that will leave you craving more.. Don't forget the Blue Cheese on this one, it's a definite must for those complex flavors!

For a great chicken dish you'll just love my Grilled Balsamic Chicken with Mediterranean Rice.  Again as with the steak dish above Balsamic is the primary flavor and it's just makes this chicken pop!  We love Mediterranean flavors and this dish is a winner!

For those who like fish or seafood you have to try my Lemon Herb Grilled Shrimp and Scallops.  It is so light and delectable that it will just knock your socks off!

You certainly can't get through summer without having a burger.  And if you choose any burger it better be my Butter Burgers.  Man oh man are these the juiciest burgers you will have anywhere!  An absolute must in my book.

Oh this salad!  The marinade which is also the salad dressing is to die for.  This salad is worth eating just for that marinade.  Grilled Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken Salad with leave you feeling like you are sitting on a small island somewhere drinking Chianti and savoring the sea breeze! 

Let not forget the side dishes that are perfect for grilling.  Try The BEST Grilled Corn Ever and you will know what I mean.  Savory with chives and then there's the butter.  Need I say more?

What's better than a side of grilled vegetables?  Not much.  Grilling brings out the sweetness in the vegetables, and that char...oh that char!  Flavors are waiting.  Try my version of Grilled Vegetables with a balsamic marinade...they are truly perfection!

For something fun and different on the grill try Grilled Pita Pizzas.  They are a quick weeknight meal or can be a great appetizer.  They're easy to throw together and taste superb on the grill!

Let's not forget about dessert!  You gotta try a dessert on the grill.  Yes, grilled peaches and nectarines are tasty, but let's go a step further and have my Grilled Lemon Pound Cake with Strawberries and Vanilla Ice Cream!  Oh boy, oh boy!  I'll take the dessert over the meal when this is served!

Have a wonderful "grillful" summer!



Beth's Simple Fruit Salad

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When Spring and Summer hit we are in Heaven around here because it is "Fruit Season"!

Both MGG and I are big fruit lovers and can't wait until the abundance of fruit produces each year.  We spend countless weekends scouring Farmer's Market for varieties of fruit that are new to us, while also loading up on the basic, berries, oranges, pears, peaches, cherries, grapes, and nectarines.

Today is all about the basics. They are your standard fruits.  They can be used in smoothies like this Tropical Sunset Smoothie and my Vanilla Kiwi Smoothie or baked into muffins like Lemon Blueberry Muffins and Strawberry Sour Cream Muffins.  Salads get punched up with fruits such as this California Salad.  Since we eat fruit so much it was no surprise that I have a Simple Fruit Salad that we serve with meals as well.

BETH'S SIMPLE FRUIT SALAD

Simple is in the title because this is a cut and throw in a bowl type of salad.  Nothing fancy, just a lot of good fruits cut into bite sized pieces and placed in a pretty bowl.  No special sauce, no drizzle, or glaze....just good delicious fruit!

Perfect for picnics, potlucks, holidays, and everyday meals or snacks.  Have fun with fruit this year, it good for you!

Enjoy!





Beth's Simple Fruit Salad


2 cups cantaloupe, cubed
2 cups honeydew melon, cubed
2 cups fresh pineapple, cubed
2 cups watermelon, cubed
1/3 cup blueberries
1/4 cup blackberries
2 kiwi, sliced
1 cup strawberries, sliced

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to mix.  Serve chilled.

Strawberry Vanilla Waffles with Yogurt

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Like many of you our mornings are filled with rushing around getting ready, going to work, and we don't really have time to sit and have breakfast.  We just grab and go.

Oh, but the weekends are a different story!  MGG loves a big breakfast on the weekends.  Some hearty food to start the day off right.  A little leisurely time that we spend together before the demands of chores, exercising, and hopefully some playtime calls.

This past weekend was MLK holiday so we had an extra day off, which was wonderful!  The weather was in the 80's which is not typical of January in Southern California (who said there wasn't global warming with this wacky weather).  So I decided to make use of some fresh strawberries MGG brought home from Costco the other night and make Strawberry Vanilla Waffles with Yogurt.  A nice light springtime style dish to celebrate the nice weather.

STRAWBERRY VANILLA WAFFLES WITH YOGURT

These waffles are bursting with strawberries inside, along with a hint of vanilla.  When you place the strawberries inside the waffles you get the flavor of roasted strawberries, deep concentrated flavor and little more sweetness. Oh my, heaven in a waffle.  Then you top them with a creamy vanilla based yogurt and all is right on a beautiful morning!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend, and make sure to try the waffles to bring a touch of springtime to you winter.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Vanilla Waffles with Yogurt

1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup vanilla or plain yogurt

Preheat waffle iron. 

Wash and slice your fresh strawberries.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until fluffy. Add flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla.  Stir just until moistened.  Add in 1 cup of the sliced strawberries and fold into the batter. 

Spray the heated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown.

Remove from waffle iron and keep warm.  Continue making waffles until batter is gone.  To Serve:  Add a dollop of vanilla or plain yogurt and top with slice strawberries.  

Tip:  Flash freeze any leftovers, then store in a freezer bag up to 3 months.  To reheat, place frozen waffle in the toaster. Toast until thawed and heated through.

Strawberry Cinnamon Smoothie

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Happy Labor's Day!  I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday. Here's a quick and easy recipe I wanted to share with you today.  


You may not know that I love a good farmer's market and now I'm fortunate that we have one that sets up every Wednesday in our work complex.  It's heaven to be able to go to the farmer's market during the week!  There is one particular stand that sells the best organic fruit and vegetables.  I was in heaven looking at all the food, and walked away with much more items that I should have.

One treat was their strawberries!  Plump, juicy, deep red strawberries that promised to be sweet and luscious!  I couldn't wait to get these home and make a smoothie with them.  Smoothies fall in the "fast and fresh" category and are simple, quick and absolutely delishhh!

So a strawberry smoothie is very tasty but also quite ordinary.  So let's amp this baby up a bit and make a Strawberry Cinnamon Smoothie!  Have you every had cinnamon and strawberry?  Well, you are about to venture on a wonderful sweet and earthy journey with your taste buds.  This combination hits you with the sweet flavor of the berries and then on the way down you get that kick of heat and spice from the cinnamon.  HEAVEN!

What a great combination for a smoothie plus the health benefits that you get from both strawberries and cinnamon.  It's a win win in our house!  Let it be one in yours too by trying this right away.  There are still plenty of strawberries around so get them while they are still ripe and try this drink today!

Enjoy!





Strawberry Cinnamon Smoothie

serves 2

1 6 oz lite vanilla yogurt
1/2 pint of strawberries, hulled
1/2 frozen banana
1/4 cup lowfat milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup ice

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until all incorporated and ice has crushed.

Pour into two glasses and serve immediately.

Cast Iron Summer Berry Cobbler

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I grew up with Mom making pies all the time.  She made so many cream pies and because my Dad loved them, and occasional blueberry pie.  Pies along with her favorite apple crisp were staples around our house.  

Cobbler not so much.  However, as we grew older I began to quiz her about cobblers.  She had mentioned that my grandmother made them often, and that she always used a cast iron skillet.  So in honor of my grandmother I decided to try my hand at a Cast Iron Summer Berry Cobbler.  

Other cobblers/crumbles I've made are this Pumpkin Cobbler (Heaven!) and this Blackberry Crumble (similar to a cobbler) and I just love desserts of this sort.  

CAST IRON SUMMER BERRY COBBLER

I chose to make servings two small 6" cast iron skillets that serve 1-2 people.  The recipe makes enough for 2 skillets.  I think individual servings like this are cute and perfect for sharing.  I used these skillets.  Of course, if you want, you can make this in one large 10" skillet.

Cast Iron Berry Cobbler is made with 3 different summer berries.  Plump raspberries and blueberries as well as the sweet tart blackberry.  This combination is a winner and when baked they come out juicy and sweet.  Topped with a sweet biscuit-like topping this dish is the perfect dessert during the summer.

Thanks to my grandmother for the inspiration.  The cobbler tasted divine.  A little scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the hot, bubbly cobbler just made the perfect ending to the day!

Hey, Labor Day is around the corner and this would be perfect!!!  Of course, any time is the right time to make cobbler.  Try this soon before the abundance of summer berries goes away until next year!!!

Enjoy!

Cast Iron Berry Cobbler

serves 2-4

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt, 

1/4 cup sugar plus 2 Tablespoons, divided

2 cups fresh summer berries such as blueberries, blackberries and raspberries mixed

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons butter

1/4 cup milk

Preheat an oven to 400°F. Grease 2 6-inch cast iron skillets with cooking spray.    

In a large bowl combine sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and cornstarch.   Add berries and toss to evenly coat. Stir in vanilla extract and lemon juice. Pour mixture into the 2 skillets.

In a medium bowl, add 2 tablespoons of sugar, flour, baking powder and remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut the remaining 3 tablespoons butter into the flour until pea-size lumps form. Stir in the milk to form a soft dough. Drop dough over the berry filling like drop biscuits.

Transfer the skillets to a baking sheet and place in the oven and bake 10 minutes, then cover with foil so the biscuit topping does not burn and continue to bake another 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.  

Quick and Easy Strawberry Lemonade

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I've been making this Quick and Easy Strawberry Lemonade all summer long and we absolutely love it!

With the Labor Day holiday and all the festivities coming up I think that this is a good time to share this recipe with you.  With a few simple ingredients you'll be sitting outside, sipping strawberry lemonade, in no time!

QUICK AND EASY STRAWBERRY LEMONADE

A pint of strawberries, your favorite jarred lemonade, and a little sugar is really all you need to make this thirst quenching drink.  It's a semi-homemade thing and there is nothing wrong with that!  Especially if you are short on time and dying of thirst.  NOTE:  you may not need any sugar if your strawberries are really ripe and sweet, as the jarred lemonade will already have sugar in it.  Our strawberries were juicy sweet and I didn't have to use any sugar, but you will need to taste test to see.

I blended the strawberries until they were a puree and added that to my bottle of lemonade.  Tasted it for sweetness and it was perfect as is. 

Next thing I know, is we are sitting by the pool drinking Quick and Easy Strawberry Lemonade, listening to the birds sing, and savoring the last days of summer!  Man that's good....

Enjoy!





Quick and Easy Strawberry Lemonade

4 cups of jarred Lemonade (any brand)
1 pint of strawberries, cleaned and hulled
sugar or simple syrup (optional for sweetness)

Pour ready made lemonade in a bottle or pitcher.  In a blender puree the strawberries.  Pour in to a mason jar.  (This will keep for about 1 week in the refrigerator.)  Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of strawberry puree to the bottle or pitcher.  Stir and taste for sweetness.  Add sugar or simple syrup to adjust sweetness to your liking. (You may not need any sugar, so be sure to taste.)  Stir vigorously and then serve over ice.

Tropical Sunset Smoothie

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Last year for our anniversary we took a wonderful trip to Hawaii.  I'm a beach lover at heart and love all the wonderful things that Hawaii has to offer such as tropical weather, hiking, flowers, beaches, and food.

More specifically I love all the tropical flavors you can get there but one of my all time favorite fruits is the pineapple.

Since it's a hot, hot summer and I'm missing Hawaii I thought I would make a Tropical Sunset Smoothie to bring me back.  We had a smoothie bar in our resort and we loved to stop by there and grab a smoothie made with fresh fruit and sipping on it while watching the waves crash on the lava rocks.  

This is my ode to Hawaii, made with juicy sweet pineapple, and plump strawberries which give it that sunset feel.  This Tropical Sunset Smoothie completely reminds me of Hawaii.  I can feel the trade winds blowing and total relaxation is not far away!

Smoothies are simple to make.  All you need is a blender, (I use this one) fresh fruit, yogurt, and some ice.  Poof!  Take yourself virtually to the tropics with my Tropical Sunset Smoothie.  It's a perfectly refreshing drink made for hot summers.

Enjoy!

Tropical Sunset Smoothie

serves 2


1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
6 whole strawberries
6 oz light vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1 cup ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth.  Pour into glasses and serve with a straw.

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