In the warmer weather I am always on the look out for things to make for dinner which don’t require: a) lots of time spent in the kitchen, b) slaving away over a hot stove, and c) running out to the grocery store. Basically recipes that allow be to make something yummy in spite of my over all laziness.
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I have been using my grill a lot recently, in between making variations of easy pasta recipes. It is difficult to cook when you are not at home. At all. Ever. And need to serve dinner at 8:30pm.

We are in the playoffs of baseball season right now, which means the madness will slow down somewhat, or at least our snack bar visits will slow down. My 5 yr old daughter thinks that the snack bar is the latest and best restaurant in town. If I were a better mother I would probably feel guilty about that.

And this, has been the extent of my inspired “cooking” lately:

Why, yes, it is a snow cone. What? I’m just keeping it real for you. Also, my children think that snow cones are the best thing since sliced bread, or ice cream in a ziploc bag.

Here are some links to recipes other people are posting about that have made it to my short list.

Shannon, at Rocks in My Dryer, has posted an easy, family friendly recipe called Bruschetta Chicken Bake Doesn’t that sound all fancy? Like your neighbors and husband will be impressed when you just breezily announce what you are making for dinner. No need to tell them all how simple it is. We can keep that a secret.

Completely unrelated, Shannon and I are speaking together on a panel at BlogHer this summer. We are going to be talking about privacy and parenting. We are also going to be holding hands under the table because we are both nervous public speakers. But, shhhhh, that is a secret too. Are any of you going to be at BlogHer this summer?

Back to recipes…

Mary, at Owl Haven, posted a yummy sounding Beef Stroganoff recipe that seems easy enough and does not use canned creamed soup, a personal turn-off for me.

And not that she needs any more links, but Pioneer Woman has posted a fabulous sounding Green Bean Recipe. I love green beans and they are cheap, plentiful, and in season right now. My kids also love green beans which means they will be eaten and not just be a decorative green plate accent.

I love this recipe for a few reasons. It is easy to make. The kids love it, but seriously who doesn’t love ice cream. And it is a project that kills some time. Perfect for when the kids are driving you up the wall on those long summer days or when they have friends over and you hear the dreaded, “We’re bored.”

Aside from the rock salt, you probably already have everything you need at your house right now.

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Fire up your grill. Grab your slabs of meat. Summer is here.

Does that chicken make your mouth water? All you vegetarians can just pretend it is some sort of chicken shaped tofu.

You will need:

2 cans coconut milk
2T curry paste (I only had powder so I used that instead and it was fine)
4 tsp orange zest
1 1/2 cups of orange juice

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 mangos cut into 1 inch chunks (I cut up 4 mangos)
1 pineapple cut into 1 inch chunks (I used canned)
Mix of salad greens

Mix together the coconut milk, curry paste, orange zest, and orange juice together in a small bowl with a lid.

Take the chicken breast and fillet it. That means cut the thickness in half. If you don’t do this when you grill your chicken it will be raw on the inside and burned on the outside. When you reduce the thickness it will cook evenly and still be tender.

Put the chicken into a large ziploc bag. Pour about a third of the coconut milk mixture into the bag. Allow the chicken to marinade for at least 30 minutes. Mine actually sat in the marinade for over 24 hours since we had a huge thunderstorm roll through and I didn’t feel like standing out in the storm waving my grill tongs like a lightening rod.

The rest of the marinade you will reserve for dressing the salad. Cut up the mango and pineapple. Or open the can if you are also using canned. Dump these into the bowl with the marinade. The recipe I had followed suggested grilling the mango and pineapple and I tried that the first time I made this recipe and decided that it wasn’t really worth the effort.

Here is a fun trick for cutting up mango. Slice the mango in half to the pit and pull it part. Cut the mango in a criss cross pattern down to the peel, without going through the skin.

Then flip it inside out.

This is a great way to give mango to the kids to eat. They can eat it right off of the peel like watermelon. And doesn’t it look cute enough to serve at the breakfast table?

Cover the bowl and put it in the refrigerator.

When you are ready cook your chicken on the grill.

After it is done cooking, slice the chicken into strips.

Cut up the salad greens. Toss with the reserved dressing. Add the grilled chicken.

Delicious. The perfect combination of grilled meat and sweet fruit, perfect for summer. I serve this with a nice bread. My kids like to eat the chicken and lettuce on bread like a sandwich.

And best of all? The kitchen has not been heated up by using the stove.

Today I thought I would do something a little bit different. I have bookmarked a few recipes over the past week that sound so good, and so easy that I thought I would share the love today and point you in their direction. I haven’t made any of these myself yet, but they have all made my short list. If you don’t have a short list, start one with these.

The first three are perfect summer recipes. Nothing to warm up your house and make you get all sweaty before serving the meal. The last one is a good anytime of year meal. And you could use those bags of frozen vegetables to hold to the back of your neck and cool you off while you are standing at the stove. Or put them on top of your head, like a cooling hat. Not that I do that.

CityMama posted a recipe for Vegan Coconut-Chocolate Ice Cream. Oh sorry, I think I just fainted from the sheer unparalleled deliciousness of it. I don’t have an ice cream maker so we are going to use the ziploc bag method to make this tomorrow.

Foodmomiac posted a recipe for Chicken Salad that is as simple as it is delicious.

101 Cookbooks has a fabulous Broccoli Pesto and Fusilli Pasta recipe. Pasta is always an easy meal and I am constantly on the look out for new ways to dress it up.

Belinda of Ninja Poodles fame, posted a recipe on her other blog she called Some Kinda Crazy Chicken and Rice Thing that sounded yummy and easily adaptable. A one skillet type of meal made from things you probably already have in your freezer.

I’ll be back on Thursday with my own kinda crazy chicken recipe. So fire up your grill, or at least make sure your propane tank is full. You will be wanting to make this one.