3 Easy Summer Recipes

Some of my favorite meals to cook (and eat) are warm, comforting meals I grew up eating. If it can be made in my Crock Pot, even better. But when summer rolls around, I’m not usually in the mood for comfort foods that tend to be heavy and overly filling. I prefer something lighter, colder, and even easier to put together.

Today I’m sharing with you three of my go-to summer food recipes that are all easy, light, and yummy. Plus, all three of these recipes feed a lot of people, so next time you’re planning a summer picnic or get-together, think about trying one, or all, of these recipes!

First up is Black Bean & Corn Salsa. What I like the most about this salsa is how fresh it tastes and smells. This is perfect for a party appetizer and is great served with tortilla chips. Another great thing about this salsa, is you can prepare it the day before your party and it will taste even better after the flavors have had time to mix overnight.

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Next, a simple Pasta Salad. This pasta salad is also very light and will feed an army. So, if you’re planning on making this just for your smaller family, you’ll definitely get lots of leftovers out of it! This recipe leaves room for a lot of experimenting. I like to make it with a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, and if I’m feeling extra lazy and don’t want to pull the meat off the chicken, I let the store do that for me and buy the containers of just the chicken meat. But you can use any source of protein you want: shrimp, crab meat, SPAM, turkey, ham, etc.

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Lastly, we can all cool down with an ice cold glass of Lime Slush. I have fond memories of eating these when I was kid! They really are very refreshing, although probably not the most healthy! The first time I made this recipe after moving to the IC area, I had a hard time finding lemon-lime Kool Aid mix. I think I eventually found some at Walmart and stocked up! One batch of this will last you all summer, so make it now and you’re good to go!

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What are some of your go-to, easy, summer recipes??

Becky
Becky is a Minnesota Native and Wisconsin Badger fan living in the heart of Hawkeye Country. Since graduating from high school, she has lived in Duluth, MN; Birmingham, UK; Minneapolis, MN; Louisville, KY; and Madison, WI, but is now happy to call Iowa City home. She and her husband have been married for ten years and have a spirited four-year-old daughter and a mischievous baby boy. Becky juggles working from home and keeping two kids happy each and every day. In her free time, she enjoys working her side business, spending time with friends, relaxing with a good book, and eating snacks.

4 COMMENTS

    • Robyn,

      I can’t remember now how many ounces the can had. But if you go to the juice aisle, they should have a giant can of pineapple juice. I’ve never seen anything larger than the large can most grocery stores carry. And, I don’t end up using quite all of the juice because it doesn’t usually fit into the icecream bucket I use (I pour the juice in last).

  1. I love to let the crockpot go ahead and do the work for me even for cold meals. I’ve recently learned that chicken in the crock pot with chicken stock or water and stock powder cooked on low 6-8 hours shreds beautifully and can be used for lots of different dishes. I prefer this since my boiled chicken is always a mess as is shredding a rotisserie!

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