Dinner Ideas: Light Summer Dinner Recipes

The summer heat may not always be associated with illness, sweltering heat and exhaustion. In fact, this is the best time of the year to involve the whole family in your grocery shopping sprees and cooking escapades. There are many light summer dinner recipes that ensure the family sleeps tight and wakes up healthier each morning. Including fresh fruits and vegetables, and lean meat is so very important during summer. Light dinner ideas can be borrowed off dedicated resources on the internet or from real-time recipe books. Some recipes that beat the age and preference barriers include:

Easy Summer Dinner Vegetarian Recipes:

Cheese and Spinach Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 cups mozzarella cheese (shredded).
• 2 cups Cheddar cheese (diced).
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese (grated).
• 2 cups of chopped spinach.
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper.
• ¼ teaspoon powdered nutmeg.
• 2 unbaked pie crusts.
• Salt to taste.

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C.
• Press one pie crust along the bottom and sides of the glass pie dish.
• Mix together the mozzarella, Cheddar and Parmesan cheese, spinach, pepper, nutmeg and salt.
• Transfer the mixture into the pie crust at the base of the pie dish and place the second crust on top of the filling. Trim the edges for finesse.
• Bake for 40 minutes and cut into wedges, once cool.

Cherry Mania

You can wash the cheese and spinach casserole down with this wonderful fizzy favorite. The zingy taste is not something the kids readily miss out on.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of cherry juice concentrate.
• 4 cups ginger ale.
• 6 fresh cherries.
• 1 cup of fresh mint leaves.

Method:

• Place a little cherry concentrate in a champagne saucer.
• Slowly, stir in the ginger ale.
• Garnish the drink with a swizzle stick garnished with a fresh cherry and mint leaves.

Non-Vegetarian Summer Dinner Ideas:

Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken (around a kilogram in weight).
• 2 cups soy sauce.
• 2 cups brown sugar.
• 2 cups white sugar.
• 1 tablespoon ginger (juice).
• Salt to taste.

Method:

• Mix together soy sauce, brown and white sugar, and ginger juice.
• Pour the concoction over the chicken, and set aside overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C.
• Placed the marinated chicken into a greased baking dish.
• Bake for an hour, or until the juices run clear.
• Serve hot or at room temperature or even cold (shredded) in sandwiches!

Fruit Frolic

Watch the children and seniors relish the chicken with great fruit frolic. Lemonade, cherries, blueberries and vanilla ice cream, and you have a family falling head-over-heels in love with you...all over again!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of fresh cherries.
• 2 cups of fresh blueberries, or even strawberries.
• 4 tablespoons of strawberry or raspberry syrup.
• 4 cups of lemonade.
• Vanilla ice cream.

Method:

• Place 2 cherries and blueberries/strawberries in each champagne saucer.
• Pour in a tablespoon of raspberry/strawberry syrup into each glass.
• Top with lemonade and a generous dollop of vanilla ice cream.

Both, the vegetarian and the non-vegetarian meal, could do with a Strawberry shortcake! The eggs could exchanged for whipped fresh cream.

Strawberry Marshmallow Shortcake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of sliced strawberries in syrup.
• 1 cup marshmallows.
• 1 cup strawberry flavored gelatin.
• 2 cups all-purpose flour.
• 2 cups refined, ground sugar.
• 3 teaspoons baking powder.
• ½ cup shortening.
• 1 cup fresh milk.
• 3 eggs (2 cups fresh, whipped cream for those who wish to avoid eggs).
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C.
• Grease a baking pan and sprinkle the marshmallows evenly on the greased base.
• Whisk the strawberries, syrup and gelatin, and set aside.
• In a cake-mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar.
• Slowly, add the shortening, vanilla essence, milk and eggs (or the whipped cream).
• Blend the mixture for about 3 minutes.
• Pour the batter evenly over the marshmallows at the base of the baking dish.
• Bake for about 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

These summer dinner ideas are sure to make mom a star. The recipes are fun to put together with the whole family. These light summer dinner recipes are a hit with all age groups, and makes summer meals so much healthier.