Cooking Through Summer

Summer comes and our favorite winter meals and recipes disappear. It is hard , however, with sweltering temps and the lethargy that comes with muggy days to create elaborate dishes and sides. Plus it's just hard to commit to an hour or two of prep time when you and the family would rather be at the beach.Luckily there are short cuts to take to create those tasty cold weather dishes we  all love so well..

One of the most favorites that we all miss is the holiday dinner. Who doesn't enjoy a roast complete with homemade gravy and a savory stuffing? You can more or less have the same thing now. Instead of a roast, buy freshly sliced London Broil,  or turkey  at your supermarket's deli counter. Have ready  made gravy and Stove Top Stuffing. These last two only take five minutes each to create and heat up. Serve the already sliced meat with these , toss in a nice salad and voila, a summery version of a holiday meal. For veggies, get the steamed in the microwave kind. You can drizzle melted butter or heated cheddar cheese on them for that tasty holiday meal flavor.

Spaghetti is another cold weather dish that everyone misses now. Luckily pasta is easy to heat up, Just toss it  in a pot of boiling water, sprinkle in some sea salt and boil. However it's the sauce that's always considered labor intensive. You can add jarred sauces. Many do have that homemade flavor however they do have  a lot of preservatives in them. Another is putting an al fresco spin on your sauce..Ccreate a quick one by sauteing fresh plum tomatoes (these are the best and are used in longer cooking sauces) and  olive oil. Add garlic and oregano for flavor.  If you want to add meatballs buy them pre made , so it's less work for you.

Even though the temps are high, you can still have a tasty winter dish.  All you have to do is take short cuts to get that special taste you crave. It's easy, when you can use either your deli, or quick to make  dishes. and sides.