What’s for Dinner?

SSPEND BEAUTIFUL SUMMER DAYS OUTSIDE instead of in the kitchen with these quick summer recipes perfect for a warm summer meal. This fresh salad is a great light side to pair with a burger. The Strawberry Crumb Bars are simple to put together and ready in under an hour and the easy lemonade tastes as if you spent hours squeezing fresh lemons! All combined, it’s the perfect answer to the never-ending question of “what’s for dinner?”

Berry Crunch Salad

Ingredients

• 10-12 ounces of spring mix

• ¾ cup crumbled goat cheese*

*If you are not a fan of goat cheese, feta cheese works well in this salad

• 1 cup sliced strawberries

• ⅓ cup sunflower seeds

• 1 cup blueberries

• Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette

• 1 cucumber, cut in slices

Instructions

In a large serving bowl combine the spring mix, berries, cucumber, goat cheese, and sunflower seeds. Toss with the vinaigrette just before serving, or serve it on the side.

Easy Lemonade

Ingredients

• 1 cup bottled lemon juice

• 6 cups water

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 lemon, sliced

• 1 cup water

• Ice

Instructions

Create a simple syrup by combining sugar and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Allow syrup to cool then pour into a 2-quart pitcher. Add lemon slices and then mix in lemon juice and remaining water. Stir well. Pour over ice. Feel free to reduce the amount of sugar if too sweet or replace the 6 cups of water with club soda to make a great fizzy drink.

Strawberry Crumb Bars

Ingredients

CRUMB

• ½ cup sugar

• 1-½ cups of all-purpose flour

• ½ tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• ½ cup of very cold butter

• 1 egg beaten

• 1 tsp vanilla

Backyard Burger

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef

• 1 tsp black pepper

• ¼ cup of your favorite barbeque sauce

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1 tsp salt

• Splash of Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients together. Don’t over mix! Overmixing causes the burger to be tough and chewy after cooking. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes so the beef absorbs the flavors. Divide in quarters and shape into patties. Try and make your patties larger than the bun – they will shrink on the grill. Start with 80/20 or 85/15 ground beef mix. Leaner mixes like 90/10 tend to dry out on the grill. Cook on a pre-heated and greased grill 4-6 minutes per side until done (internal temperature of 160°F.) Top with cheese and melt if desired. Serve on toasted buns (brioche buns pair well) and your favorite condiments.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Strawberry Filling

• 2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped

• ⅓ cup sugar

• 2 tsp cornstarch

Place parchment paper on the bottom of the 8x8 pan so that it hangs over the side of the pan. (This is to make it easier to remove the Strawberry Crumb Bars after cooking.) In a medium bowl, stir together ½ cup white sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Using a fork or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture. VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure the butter is very cold. Work with the dough until the pieces are very small. Dough will be crumbly. You can also pulse in a food processor until you get pea sized crumbs. In a separate measuring cup or small bowl, beat an egg with a fork then mix in the vanilla. Add the egg/vanilla mix to the flour mixture, and combine until you have a crumbly mixture. Pat half of the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together ⅓ cup sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the strawberries. Spoon the strawberry mixture evenly over the bottom crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the strawberry filling layer.

Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly golden brown.

Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Serve warm or cool. This dessert is great topped with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe courtesy of flavormosaic.com ●

FOR

Charming