It’s summer and all I want to do is grill and eat every meal al fresco.
This maybe has something to do with living in a house without air conditioning (though we did finally get a window unit for our living room and it’s been life-changing), but even if turning on the oven/stove didn’t cause the temperature in our house to skyrocket to 90°, I’d still want to eat every meal outside. Something about eating without the distraction of the TV, under a perfectly blue summer sky, AT AN ACTUAL TABLE (I’m so sad to say we are normally couch eaters) is just perfection to me.
Spinach Goat Cheese Turkey Burgers
I’ve made these twice now, but the first time, I grilled them up all by myself and um can we just talk about the confidence boost you get from successfully manning womanning the grill? Aside from that, these burgers are just phenomenal. Moist (sorry), juicy, flavorful and is there anything better than biting into a goat cheese pocket? Answer: NO. I straight up declared this the best burger I’d ever made, so there you go.
Roasted Carrots and Red Leaf Lettuce Salad with Buttermilk-Herb Dressing
Butter…milk makes everything better! And I wish I had a picture that did this salad justice but it was 8 PM and Joey was on the couch, waiting to press play on Zoolander (so much better but also way way worse than I remembered it being…) so I was short on natural lighting and time. Just know the carrots were perfectly caramelized, the mix-ins were on point and the buttermilk-herb dressing was straight up drinkable.
Not a picture of the recipe I’m talking about but let me distract you with this avocado.
California Turkey and Bacon Lettuce Wraps with Basil-Mayo
A lettuce wrap? Ugh, I know, but just hear me out. I was mesmerized by this recipe less because it was low-carb (so not into that) and more because: BACON! And BASIL-MAYO! And also that part where making it didn’t require turning the oven OR the stove on. WIN! I thought it was just gonna be okay, but I was shocked by how good it was and how much we loved the flavors. New summertime staple!
Not going to pretend this is the cheapest cut of meat but also not going to pretend it’s not 110% worth it because this recipe was SO EASY (I was kind of terrified I’d ruin a $40 piece of lamb!) and SO DELICIOUS. Beyond impressed/excited with how well this turned out. Definitely a showstopper meal, even if it was just for Joey and I.
I still remember making this for the first time because it was August 2014 and we were soclose to our wedding day and it felt like the sweetest summer to ever exist. Now, every time we remake this zucchini pie, I’m brought back to that time and it just makes me feel so happy. Even if you don’t have a wedding-memory connection with it, this pie is the best. Fresh and summery but also delightfully cheesy.
Tequila-Glazed Grilled Chicken Thighs
Apparently we made these last summer. I don’t remember it, yet there it is in my “Repeat Recipe” folder and there’s my review on the recipe page. After tasting it for a… second?? time, I have NO IDEA how I could forget something so good! The sauce is tropically sweet but surprisingly well balanced and you guys know how much I love chicken thighs. Also, Joey grilled these in the rain. My hero ♥
Banana Cream with Raw Chocolate Fudge
Guys…blended frozen bananas is NOT ice cream. But…it’s still really good. And I hadn’t made any in what I’m pretty sure was years, but I felt inspired this week and also I just really wanted to make that fudge sauce to drizzle over. It went all Magic Shell on us when it hit the cold banana cream, except thicker and fudgier. So so good and so so easy! Totally gonna make more next week!
In other news, it’s Friday, it’s summer, we’re going to the Rockies game tonight, I’m having a pre-Shakespeare Festival picnic with my mom and sister tomorrow and right this very minute I’m off to read this week’s Grub Street Diet. Happiness abound!
Have a good weekend!
Life as Lauren 