Summer Staple Recipes...

I’m dangerous in the kitchen... Meaning it could go either way. I have no real cooking abilities and wish that I had more patience and extra time to spare to really learn to cook. Every now and then I'll bust a move in the kitchen(dangerous part) but I always seem to fall back on those tried and true recipes that I have made for years that I know will keep me out of the danger zone.

So to keep things safe, I thought I would share with you some of our yummy summer staple recipes. These are just a few of our tried and true, easy and quick recipes that we seem to make all summer long. Since most of us live off of grilled chicken in the summer, I am also including a link for those of you who want to learn how to butterfly a chicken breast. I promise you, this super easy technique makes all of the difference when it comes to grilled chicken because the chicken is thinner, soaks up the marinade better and the chicken breast cooks more evenly.

Here are our summer staples:

Almond Tea

4 Tea Bags
¾ C. Sugar
1/3 C. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Almond Extract
2 qts. Water

Brew tea bags in the boiling water 3-5 minutes (use half of the 2 quarts). Add the next four ingredients, stir to dissolve the sugar and add remaining 1 quart of water. Chill and service on ice.

Salmon Ball/Dip

This recipe comes from The Georgia Homemakers Cookbook that was given to me by my in-laws when I got married. It has become my favorite cookbook and this appetizer is my summer staple that I take to almost every get together.

1 package of smoked salmon (not in the can but smoked salmon in the packet that you can usually find in the gourmet cheese section or the fresh fish area of your store)
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons onion (grated)
1 teaspoon horseradish
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon Liquid Smoke
¾ teaspoon dill seasoning
dash of salt

Mix all ingredients together in a mixer. Either roll into a ball shape and roll in parsley flakes and chill or serve as a dip. Serve with crackers.


Mexi-Corn Dip

This recipe comes from my friend Lisa who has made this recipe for more than 15 years. This is Lisa's staple appetizer that she brings to every gathering and we always know that if Lisa is coming to the party, we’ll get our yummy corn dip! It’s the best recipe and thank you Lisa for letting me share it.

2 11oz cans of Green Giant Mexi-corn
1 can of chopped green chilies (small)
1 bunch of scallions chopped
2 cups of shredded cheese (I use Mexican cheese blend)
8oz of sour cream
1/4 cup of mayo
Salt/pepper

Mix all ingredients together and chill for two hurs in refrigerator!
Serve with tortilla chips! The scoop ones are the best.



2010-Honey Mustard Marinade for Shrimp or Chicken

It seems like every year, we stumble on a new marinade based on doctoring up the dressings in our fridge. This marinade recipe is by far our favorite and it is absolutely amazing on grilled shrimp, especially if you can let it marinade overnight.

Equal parts of Ken’s Honey Mustard Dressing and Ken’s Northern Italian Dressing (use half of the dressing bottles for the below measurments).
4-6 chicken breasts (butterfly) or two pounds of peeled shrimp
2 teaspoons Fresh garlic
2 teaspoons dill seasoning
1 teaspoon ground pepper
½ teaspoon salt

Mix together in a ziploc bag and add desired chicken, shrimp or fish to marinade for at least 4 hours then grill.

2009 Zesty Marinade for Shrimp or Chicken

Again, we stumbled on this recipe by doctoring up the dressing we had in our fridge. This was our summer staple marinade last year and I used this marinade for grilled chicken breasts that I did for a large wedding brunch and people could not believe it was simply a combination of two salad dressings. I still get phone calls for this recipe.

Equal parts of Paul Newman Italian Dressing and Krafty Zesty Italian Dressing (use half of the dressing bottles for the measurements below).
4-6 chicken breasts (butterfly)
2 teaspoons of Fresh Garlic
2 teaspoons dill seasoning
1 teaspoon ground pepper

Mix together in a ziploc bag and let marinade for at least 4 hours- then grill.

How to Butterfly a Chicken Breast

Learn how to butterfly a chicken breast on youtube here

Well that's it for now. I hope to find some time to get back into my projects that I hope to be posting over the next couple of weeks. Thank you again for all of your comments and emails, I appreciate your feedback so much!

Cheers!

Cyndy

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