Friday, August 17, 2012

Summer Menu Makeover

Summer Menu Makeover

Liven up a "lazy" summer menu with fresh and delicious seasonal recipes.
Have you considered that one of your favorite light summer recipes might be just what someone else needs to bust out of a menu rut? Or perhaps one of your fellow meeting members has an idea or cooking technique that can revive one of your once-loved summer classics? If you're like most members, chicken and mixed greens are in heavy rotation during the warm-weather months. But how many times can you prepare the same old grilled chicken breast recipe for dinner or eat a no-frills green salad for lunch?
Wake up your taste buds!
You don't have to reinvent the wheel to give summer classics a fresh twist. For example, something as simple as swapping a spice or an herb can make a difference. Or roasting and grilling to bring out the natural sugars in foods, rather than boiling or steaming. Seasoning food before cooking it, as well as properly salting water for rice or pasta can dramatically boost flavor. And using fresh seasonal produce is a great way to highlight different flavors and textures in your recipes.
What are some of the foods you look forward to eating this time of year? Salads? Jazz them up by topping your greens with meat, seafood or chicken leftovers. Corn? Roast and season kernels for a light and flavorful finger-food snack. Watermelon? Blend it into a frozen cocktail. And sure, grilling may be the unofficial cooking technique of the season because you can get food on the table quickly and keep the house cool, but using a toaster oven is a comparable alternative. And if your slow-cooker is on the shelf or in the closet gathering dust, pull it out, place it on the counter, and use it to create fuss-free weeknight dinners

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