I LOVE summer! I honestly do. However, I want to spend more of my time outdoors & less of it preparing & cooking meals. This is when the BBQ comes in super handy!
Things just seem so much more relaxed & laid back in the summer months. Most of our dinners consist of some type of Grilled Meat, a Grilled Vegetable & a Potato or Salad.
Here are some tips to keep summer meals easy & simple so that you can spend your time outside enjoying the weather instead of inside cooking!
Things just seem so much more relaxed & laid back in the summer months. Most of our dinners consist of some type of Grilled Meat, a Grilled Vegetable & a Potato or Salad.
Here are some tips to keep summer meals easy & simple so that you can spend your time outside enjoying the weather instead of inside cooking!
- When you buy your Meat, whether it be Pork, Beef or Chicken, marinate it when you first bring it home. You can then portion this out into freezer bags (meat & marinade) & toss them in the freezer until you are ready for that meal. Pull a bag out of the freezer in the morning before you go to work & by the time you come home the meat will have defrosted & will be marinated too!
- Corn on the Cob to me is such a special summer treat. We just don't get that sweet corn throughout the rest of the year. Grilled Corn is so easy to do. Just husk the Corn & toss it on the grill. You will notice a change in colour to a brighter more brilliant yellow, just the way it does when you boil it. I find it gets a sweeter taste this way too as the natural sugar in the corn tends to burn slightly giving it a great colour & taste. You can also make some flavoured butter or try some Parmesan on this corn. It's delicious.
- While I am big on making everything from scratch, sometimes we just don't have the time. Picking up a "bag" of Salad from the grocery store is perfectly fine and it's a huge time saver. Just open the bag, mix & serve. In our house we especially love the Kale Salad in a bag that you can purchase at Loblaws or Costco. It even had the dressing in a pouch in the bag. Another great option is the cold salads at the deli counter. Nothing says summer like a nice Potato Salad or a Coleslaw.
- Baked Potatoes are a life saver at this time of year. Just wash, wrap in foil & toss them on the grill. (You see my theme here with just tossing things on the grill, right?!!) However, they can take quite a while to cook. If you are in a rush, cut those potatoes up into cubes, put them in a bowl, drizzle it with a little cooking oil of your choosing, some seasonings - I use Seasoning Salt, Garlic Powder & Black Pepper - Mix it up & spread it out on a some aluminum foil. Now pull up the sides of the foil & fold them together to make a little pouch or packet, careful to leave a little opening. Take this to the grill & pour some water into the opening & then fold that closed as well. These will cook in less than half the time of the baked potatoes & be just as delicious
- Vegetables, I saved these till last. I have not yet met a vegetable that cannot be grilled. If you have please email me & I will find a way or I will make you dinner!!! You can do the same thing with Vegetables that we did with the Potatoes in the foil packet in the above tip or you can place the straight on the grill too. You can also make dry stir fry on your BBQ as well. By the time summer is over we would have gone through endless crops of fresh in season veggies such as Snap & Snow Peas, Green Beans, Carrots, Zucchini, Peppers, Celery, Tomatoes, Onions, Cauliflower, Broccoli... the list goes on & on. And who even says that the Vegetables have to be cooked?? You can just cut them up, wash them & serve with a great dip or even a Salad Dressing.
- Dessert - My Favourite part of any meal! Ice Cream is always a great go to in the summer. Sometimes you might even be lucky enough to catch the Ice Cream truck on your street right after dinner, but if not, a tub of ice cream or a box of ice cream sandwiches will keep in the freezer fr several meals over. And the best part about the Sandwiches? Eat them right out of the wrapper & there is no clean up at the end! Ice Cream options are endless these days, in bowl, on a cone, made into a Sundae, paired with slice of pie or cake or with a bowl of fresh fruits. Decisions, decisions. And, since the BBQ is already on, why not try grilling some fruit such as pineapple, peaches or nectarines. Those are the ones I have tried. Have you tried something different? Let me know.
If you try any of these let me know. I'd love to hear how it turns out. And if you have difficulty with any of these items also let me know . I'd love to help. For that matter, if you have trouble with any cooking techniques or questions about a meal, let us know. We'd be more than happy to help you figure it all out.
Until next time, Happy Grilling!!
- Corn on the Cob to me is such a special summer treat. We just don't get that sweet corn throughout the rest of the year. Grilled Corn is so easy to do. Just husk the Corn & toss it on the grill. You will notice a change in colour to a brighter more brilliant yellow, just the way it does when you boil it. I find it gets a sweeter taste this way too as the natural sugar in the corn tends to burn slightly giving it a great colour & taste. You can also make some flavoured butter or try some Parmesan on this corn. It's delicious.
- While I am big on making everything from scratch, sometimes we just don't have the time. Picking up a "bag" of Salad from the grocery store is perfectly fine and it's a huge time saver. Just open the bag, mix & serve. In our house we especially love the Kale Salad in a bag that you can purchase at Loblaws or Costco. It even had the dressing in a pouch in the bag. Another great option is the cold salads at the deli counter. Nothing says summer like a nice Potato Salad or a Coleslaw.
- Baked Potatoes are a life saver at this time of year. Just wash, wrap in foil & toss them on the grill. (You see my theme here with just tossing things on the grill, right?!!) However, they can take quite a while to cook. If you are in a rush, cut those potatoes up into cubes, put them in a bowl, drizzle it with a little cooking oil of your choosing, some seasonings - I use Seasoning Salt, Garlic Powder & Black Pepper - Mix it up & spread it out on a some aluminum foil. Now pull up the sides of the foil & fold them together to make a little pouch or packet, careful to leave a little opening. Take this to the grill & pour some water into the opening & then fold that closed as well. These will cook in less than half the time of the baked potatoes & be just as delicious
- Vegetables, I saved these till last. I have not yet met a vegetable that cannot be grilled. If you have please email me & I will find a way or I will make you dinner!!! You can do the same thing with Vegetables that we did with the Potatoes in the foil packet in the above tip or you can place the straight on the grill too. You can also make dry stir fry on your BBQ as well. By the time summer is over we would have gone through endless crops of fresh in season veggies such as Snap & Snow Peas, Green Beans, Carrots, Zucchini, Peppers, Celery, Tomatoes, Onions, Cauliflower, Broccoli... the list goes on & on. And who even says that the Vegetables have to be cooked?? You can just cut them up, wash them & serve with a great dip or even a Salad Dressing.
- Dessert - My Favourite part of any meal! Ice Cream is always a great go to in the summer. Sometimes you might even be lucky enough to catch the Ice Cream truck on your street right after dinner, but if not, a tub of ice cream or a box of ice cream sandwiches will keep in the freezer fr several meals over. And the best part about the Sandwiches? Eat them right out of the wrapper & there is no clean up at the end! Ice Cream options are endless these days, in bowl, on a cone, made into a Sundae, paired with slice of pie or cake or with a bowl of fresh fruits. Decisions, decisions. And, since the BBQ is already on, why not try grilling some fruit such as pineapple, peaches or nectarines. Those are the ones I have tried. Have you tried something different? Let me know.
If you try any of these let me know. I'd love to hear how it turns out. And if you have difficulty with any of these items also let me know . I'd love to help. For that matter, if you have trouble with any cooking techniques or questions about a meal, let us know. We'd be more than happy to help you figure it all out.
Until next time, Happy Grilling!!