Easy Recipes for Outdoor Entertaining
One of the best things about summer is being able to throw a party in the backyard. Whether it be a family BBQ, a graduation of Father’s day party of even a 4th of July festival, summer parties are awesome. I love stringing up tiki lights, dreaming up a theme and whipping up the food. Since I can fit more people in my outdoor space than inside my house, I can invite more people. Something about the sultry summer air just invites people to linger and chat.
For Father’s day, grill some steaks or ribs with a side or corn to show dad you love him. For a graduation party a stack of burgers will keep the young adult crown happy. For dessert, consider homemade ice cream on top of warm brownies. Top them with chocolate sauce and salty peanuts tin roof sundae style.
For 4th of July, how about slow roasting a brisket, or pork should for BBQ beef sandwiches or pulled pork sandwiches? I love a North Carolina style pork sandwich with vinegary BBQ sauce and a coll and crispy topping of coleslaw. For 4th of July, berries are on season so you can serve red white and blue ice cream sundaes with strawberry and blueberry sauces.
A luau is a great theme for a summer party. Serve mai tais with fruit spears and tiny umbrellas. Grill shrimp on skewers alternated with pineapple chunks. String up the tiki lights, put out some grass skirts and coconut tops ans see if anyone is brave enough to model. If you have plenty of time and space roast a pig, either in a pit in the ground kalua style or rent a rotisserie and cook it over hot coals. Be sure to allow enough time for this, because a party can get out of hand if the pig doesn’t get done in time to eat and too many mai tais were consumed while waiting.
A wine tasitng event is a really great outdoor mixer, because you can serve the wine in several locations throughout your entertaining space. Pair each wine with some cheese and fruit. Your local wine merchant or gourmet grocery store would be glad to help you with the pairing if you need help. Be sure to serve heartier fare to to balance the food and drink intput.
Poor parties are great family fun. Almost every child on the planet loves to swim in the summer time and even adults are drawn into the childhood remembrances of frolicking in the water. Crank up the grill and plan really big portions. There’s nothing like swimming to spark the appetite.
One of my favorite easy recipes for outdoor entertaining is grilled pizzas. They go with almost any theme (Hawaiian, Meat lover, gourmet, kid friendly, and even upscale with goat cheese and arugula). Most of the work is done in advance making the crust or you can simply use frozen bread dough and each guest can tailor make their own pizza (especially the kids). Grilled pizza works as an appetizer, a main course or a dessert topped with grilles fruit and drizzled with white and dark chocolate. And people of all ages enjoy it.
Easy Dinner Recipe - Grilled Pizza
Grilled Pizzas
This is a family favorite that kids love. Individual pizzas cooked on the grill or campfire cook up fast and can be tailored to individual tastes. You can choose to make basic pizza or choose more sophisticated toppings like brie and portabella.
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 ea Refrigerated pizza dough
2 Tb Olive oil
1 Can Pizza or spaghetti sauce
3 C Mozzarella cheese - grated
Assorted pizza toppings - sliced tomato - pepperoni
Instructions
Preheat the grill or campfire until hot. If it is raining, you can always use the broiler. Roll out the dough, stretch and form into individual size pizza crusts. Brush with olive oil to prevent sticking. Grill the crusts 2 minutes per side until firm. Remove and top with sauce, cheese and toppings. Grill until cheese is melted and toppings are heated through.
Note: You can also pre-grill vegetable toppings like peppers and portabellas.
For more great dinner ideas visit Easy Dinner Recipes - Dinners In A Flash
Wanting Easy Recipes? Think Chicken Recipes!
I am a stay at home mom, with a toddler and a pre-schooler; life is pretty crazy most of the time, to say the least. My husband drives truck and is gone several nights a week. So, you can add part-time single parent to my resume. Easy recipes and chicken recipes make my life so much easier at meal time. Days at our house are filled with baby dolls, games, and the occasional tea-party, and now that spring is finally here, we can play outside too. I don’t know how it is at your house, but after the day has taken so long to pass, it seems like my evenings go by in the blink of an eye. I know after dinner I have baths and bedtime stories, dishes and laundry. Worrying about what I am going to make for dinner and taking an hour to actually prepare the meal are things I just don’t have time for. That is why easy recipes are my *quick fix*.
In addition to easy recipes, there are other ways to shave some time of off your dinner preparation. Prepare your chicken recipe ahead of time. When it’s time to fix dinner, the easy recipe is already assembled, and you can move on to your next step! You can also cook an easy chicken recipe in your crockpot. Throw everything in that morning, and when you walk in the door, dinner is ready!
As a wife and mother, regardless of which easy method I choose, I try to fix my family easy recipes for healthy meals. Unfortunately, sometimes life gets in the way and healthy doesn’t always happen. If I left our menu up to the girls, we would have macaroni & cheese and hot dogs 7 days a week! On occasion they do get veto-ed. Because we are trying to be healthier, and I am on a time limit, I use easy chicken recipes a few times a week.
My 4 year old is at the age where she wants to help me in the kitchen, which means that her 2 year old sister also wants to help! So, this recipe is one of my favorites where the girls can get involved, and I don’t have to worry about them touching the raw chicken.
Easy Recipe - Breaded Chicken Cutlets
Kids and adults will love this dish. Easy and delicious. Serves 4
Ingredients
1/4 C Ketchup 1 Egg
1/4 C Mayonnaise 1/2 C Breadcrumbs - dry
1/4 C Flour 8 Chicken cutlets, about 1 1/2 pounds
Coarse Salt and pepper 4 Tb Olive oil
In a small bowl combine ketchup and mayonnaise and set sauce aside. In a shallow dish or plate, combine flour with a pinch of salt. In another dish, whisk egg and 1 tablespoon water and a pinch of salt. In a third dish mix together breadcrumbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Working with one cutlet at a time put cutlet in flour mixture, and coat completely then shake excess off. Dip the floured cutlet into the egg wash, making sure it is completely coated. Shake off excess. Next, put cutlet in the breadcrumbs, patting it in and making sure that all sides are coated. Shake off excess. In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium. Add four cutlets and cook until golden brown about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove and repeat with remaining cutlets. Serve.
You are probably thinking: How can the kids help with that? Pour the breadcrumbs into a Ziploc bag, and let the kids shake it up! It makes them feel important, and you get to spend quality time together talking about their day. Add a vegetable and some fresh fruit, and you have a well rounded easy recipe meal for those you love.
According to the USDA, we aren’t the only family trying to curb our red meat habit; chicken recipes are the number one easy recipes consumed by Americans today. It is so important that you handle raw chicken safely to prevent your family from becoming sick. Did you know that most food born illness outbreaks are the result of contamination by food preparers?
So, what do you need to know to make sure that your family stays safe from food born illnesses? It’s easy, really. When you bring your chicken home from the store, either freeze it immediately or store it in a refrigerator maintained at 40 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 2 days. When you prepare your chicken, first wash your hands, which is the most important step of all. When you cut your chicken up on your cutting board, make sure that you wash your cutting board with hot soapy water before using it to cut up the other things you need for your meal. It is recommended that you cook a whole chicken recipe to 165 degrees Fahrenheit as measured on a food thermometer.
I hope this has given you a light at the end of your mealtime tunnel. It doesn’t need to take an entire afternoon to prepare a healthy and chicken recipe meal for your family. There are so many easy recipes out there just waiting to be made. Help your family get healthy, and find those easy recipes with chicken!
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