30 Simple Summer Suppers
Pineapple Chicken Stir-Fry [1]
Garden-fresh veggies and juicy pineapple give classic stir-fry a seasonal refresh. For an easy substitute, switch the chicken for thinly sliced boneless pork or peeled, deveined medium shrimp.
Bean-and-Rice-Stuffed Peppers [5]
With only five ingredients, these hearty stuffed peppers assemble in a snap. Team them with corn bread or whole wheat rolls, and dinner's done.
Super Simple Peachy Barbecue Chicken [9]
Just three ingredients produce a rich-flavored, sweet-tangy barbecue sauce for drumsticks.
North Woods Fish Tacos [13]
We trolled the lakes for this south-of-the-Canadian-border specialty. To give extra zip to the marinated whitefish, spoon on sweet-tart Midwest cherry salsa. Roll the chunks of fish in a tortilla along with the burgundy salsa, and finish it off with tangy sour cream.
Linguine in Fresh Tomato Sauce With Garlic-Basil Toast [17]
Kalamata olives add flavor to the homemade tomato sauce in this vegetarian pasta meal. And it's ready in 20 minutes!
Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas [21]
Bottled black bean and corn salsa spices up these quesadillas, ready in just 20 minutes.
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Hickory-Smoked Chicken [25]
Top spinach, strawberries, blueberries, cheese, mushrooms and smoked chicken with Orange-Balsamic Vinaigrette for a main-dish salad full of seasonal flavors.
Lemon-Herb Grilled Chicken and Sassy Baked Beans [29]
Herbed lemon marinade cooks down with honey to a glossy, gorgeous glaze in our Lemon-Herb Grilled Chicken recipe.
Three beans mix in Sassy Baked Beans, a chunky version of the potluck standby. A touch of heat from spicy barbecue sauce and salsa adds to the bold taste of this slow-cooked side dish.
Lemon-Herb Grilled Chicken [30]
Sassy Baked Beans [31]
Fresh Tomato Tart [34]
Geri Boesen, creative director of Midwest Living®, combines Midwest-grown tomatoes with fresh basil in a cheesy tart that uses refrigerated piecrust for easy prep.
Fresh Tomato Tart [35]
Salmon-Potato Cakes [38]
Bring a new flavor to salmon with our quick-cooking fish-and-potato cakes. Serve the cakes on a bed of lettuce with honey-Dijon salad dressing on the side.
Start to finish: 20 minutes
Salmon-Potato Cakes [39]
Short Ribs with Molasses-Beer Barbecue Sauce [42]
Molasses and mustard perk up bottled barbecue sauce for this beef main dish.
Potato Chips Meet Fish [46]
How do you get your family to eat fish? By serving them tilapia coated with potato chips, herbs and honey-mustard dressing.
Beefy Chili Dogs [50]
The all-American chili dog is a natural for summer suppers. Stewing the hot dogs in a seasoned meat mixture makes them extra juicy. Top with cheese.
Beefy Chili Dogs [51]
BBQ Chicken Grilled Pizza [54]
Barbecue-sauced pizza tops the favorites list at many pizzerias. Here's our quick and easy version, which uses boneless chicken breasts, purchased barbecue sauce, smoked cheese and bottled banana pepper rings.
Saucy Shrimp and Vegetables [58]
Zesty chili-garlic sauce, honey and orange juice flavor the shrimp, broccoli, carrots and tomatoes in this easy weeknight dinner.
Start to finish: 20 minutes
Mediterranean-Style Snapper [62]
Cook fresh snapper fillets or other firm-flesh white fish with an easy tomato-olive mixture and crumbled feta cheese. Serve with rice, pasta or couscous.
Start to finish: 15 minutes
Sara's Mom's Spinach Quiche [66]
When we asked our staffers for their favorite easy dishes that taste like they took all day, Sara Reimer thought of her mom's Spinach Quiche recipe. "I mix frozen spinach and a few other ingredients, then put it in a puff pastry crust," says Sara, Midwest Living® assistant home & garden editor. Serve with a tossed salad for a quick, light dinner.
Juicy Lucy Burger [70]
Southside Minneapolis is home to this three-napkin burger famous for its molten cheese center. Both Matt's Bar and the 5-8 Club claim its creation. No matter the lineage, it's burgerlicious.
Juicy Lucy Burger [71]
Colorful Kabobs [74]
Marinate cubed beef or chicken overnight in a mixture of barbecue sauce, vinegar, steak sauce and spices. Grill with onions, mushrooms, zucchini or peppers.
Colorful Kabobs [75]
Surdyk's Greek Orzo Salad [78]
Purple-black Kalamata olives and feta cheese blend with rice-shape orzo, fresh herbs and tomatoes for this Greek salad from Surdyk's Cheese Shop in Minneapolis. It's been a reader favorite since we first published it in June 2003.
Fast Paella [82]
Paella is a snap when you use precooked turkey sausage, precooked shrimp and pouch rice. Serve this delicious dish with warm, crusty bread to sop up the juices at the bottom of your bowl.
Fast Paella [83]
Shrimp Fusilli with Sweet-Pea Pesto [86]
Frozen seafood is the rushed cook's friend--here, peeled and deveined shrimp let you skip the prep work. Peas, garlic, mint, butter and vinegar form the pesto.
Chef's Garden Salad [90]
Prepare this layered salad a day ahead so the flavors blend. For a group, make the salad in a 3-quart clear bowl rather than individual glasses.
Chef's Garden Salad [91]
Oven-Roasted Salmon [94]
Pepper and a salt blend season the ready-to-cook salmon fillets. Use packaged broccoli slaw or cabbage slaw from the market produce section and fruit from the salad bar for an easy yet nutritious meal.
Oven-Roasted Salmon [95]
Fusilli Primavera [98]
This recipe tosses fun curly pasta with spring ("primavera") vegetables. We added almonds and a hint of cheese for a colorful stir-fry dish with crunch. A splash of vermouth adds some tang to the sauce.
Fusilli Primavera [99]
Pork Patties with Tangy-Sweet Barbecue Sauce [102]
Brush sweet homemade barbecue sauce on meats while grilling, or serve it as a condiment. The sauce recipe comes from Paul Bernhard of Bancroft, Iowa, who served grilled pork chops for years to hungry bicyclists crossing Iowa during RAGBRAI.
Chicken Veneto [106]
This variation of a classic Italian recipe comes from Salvatore's Ristorante in Indianapolis. Chicken cooks in a skillet then gets seasoned with a sauce of butter, garlic, artichoke hearts, pistachio nuts and white wine. The dish takes just 30 minutes from start to finish.
Chicken Veneto [107]
Easy Tortilla Casserole [110]
This cheese-and-vegetable casserole cooks on your stove top -- no oven required. The recipe is from renowned Chicago chef Rick Bayless.
Easy Tortilla Casserole [111]
Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce over Fettuccini [114]
This versatile recipe is delicious over any type of pasta. A classic tomato sauce gets extra flavor from 2 tablespoons of vodka and smoothness from whipped cream. You can leave out the vodka, if you like, and experiment with different flavors of canned stewed tomatoes.
Greek Pizza [118]
Fresh spinach, cooked chicken, cherry tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese top a whole wheat Italian bread shell in this Mediterranean-influenced pizza.
Greek Pizza [119]