Summertime not only is consumed with fun-filled days by the pool and fireworks but it also can provide dinner slumps. It isn’t the easiest task to come up with dinner ideas because it is so hot, and you don’t want anything heavy! Daily Mom has put together 3 summer inspired dishes that are light on your tummy but full of flavor for your taste buds!
Feta and Dill Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- Package of boneless skinless chicken thighs (usually has 6-8 thighs in it)
- Bottle of OPA! Fetal Dill greek yogurt dressing by Litehouse®
How To:
1. Take about half a cup of dressing and put in a big bowl and toss thighs to coat.
2. Put thighs on a baking sheet. Take excess in bowl and put on top of thighs.
3. Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes or until center of thighs are heated to 165 for 1 minute.
4. Take out of oven and cover with tinfoil and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes.
Serve with any sides you would like and enjoy!
Black Bean Burgers
Adapted from Chocolate and Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 15 oz. cans of black beans – drained and divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 small or medium carrot (depending on how much “crunch” you want inside your burger) – chopped
- 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro (if you are using dried cilantro from your spice cabinet – use a little more)
- 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 4 tablespoons & 2 teaspoons of Olive Oil – divided
- 3/4 of a cup of Panko breadcrumbs
How To:
- In a large saucepan brown panko breadcrumbs in 2 teaspoons of Olive Oil over medium heat.
- In a large bowl take 2 1/2 cups of the black beans and roughly mash them with a fork.
- Add eggs, cumin, chili powder, chopped carrot, rest of the black beans, and browned panko breadcrumbs.
- Mix well and chill in fridge for 30 minutes to set the mixture.
- Shape into 6 patties and chill for another 10 minutes.
- In saucepan, cook 3 of the patties until done all the way through, approximately 5 to 6 minutes on each side.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the other 3 patties the same way.
- Adorn with favorite burger toppings!
Bonus: Make a quick balsamic ketchup to serve in your burger with 5 teaspoons ketchup, 4 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar, and a small drizzle of honey mixed together in a ramekin. Voila!
Turkey Asian Lettuce Wraps
Adapted from Damn Delicious
Ingredients
- 1 pound of ground turkey
- 1/4 cup of hoisin sauce
- 2 green onions – sliced thinly
- 2 cloves of minced garlic (1 teaspoon if you buy it already minced in a jar)
- 1 small white onion – minced
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of Sriracha
- 1 teaspoon of rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger (just a little bit more if you are using ground ginger from your spice cabinet)
- 1 8-oz can of sliced water chestnuts – roughly chopped
- 1 head of romaine hearts
How To:
- Brown turkey meat in a pan over medium heat. Make sure to crumble up turkey with spatula while browning.
- Add everything but the water chestnuts and green onions and cook until onion is almost see-through (about 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat).
- Mix in water chestnuts and green onions and cook for another minute or two.
- Serve on a lettuce leaf and enjoy!
Daily Mom Recipe Bonus!
Lavender & Lemonade Popsicle
Ingredients
- 2 lemons (should be about 1/2 cup of juice)
- water to match the amount of lemon juice
- 3/4 of a cup of water (for simple syrup)
- 3/4 of a cup of honey
- 4 tablespoons of dried lavender
How To:
- Juice lemons and drain pulp (if you don’t like pulp!).
- Add water to lemon juice and chill in fridge until simple syrup is ready to mix with it.
- Take honey and water and heat over the stove. Heat until boiling then stir mixture to dissolve honey and turn the heat off almost immediately.
- Cover with a clean dish towel and let sit. The longer you let it sit the stronger the lavender will be. So, if you can let it sit over night but if you can’t – let it sit for at least an hour.
- Once the simple syrup is cool and you’ve let it sit for however long – mix with lemon/water mixture. Fill molds like these fun Zoku Fish Pop Molds, and let freeze overnight.
Photo Credit: Ashley G. and The Art of Making a Baby
