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Hi friends. Today I am officially on vacation for a few weeks!!! I won’t be publishing another post until the beginning of August! Heartbreaking, I know!
The reason for this time off is that I am going on a week long family beach vacation followed by a few short days at home before I leave for a trip with my girlfriends from college. I’m so excited for all of this relaxing and adventurous time! WordPress has this lovely feature which allows me to schedule posts out to any date that I want – hence the reason I most often still have posts go up while I am away.
This time though, I really wanted to be present during my vacations. I didn’t want to have to rush to get recipe photographed, written, and scheduled before my trips and I didn’t want to have to take time out of my vacation to have to work. That’s the double edged sword of working remotely. You can do it anytime, anywhere (well the computer part anyways, not the photography lol) – but it can also be tempting to ALWAYS be working! Even bloggers need a break every so often.
And summer is the time to truly enjoy all that life has to offer. TBH when I made the decision to take this time off a few months ago I immediately felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, this just may become a tradition in July. I’m not mad about that!
Summer is also the time to eat ALL of the fresh foods and avoid turning on the oven! Before I sign off for a few weeks I thought I would leave you with a list of my favorite summer recipes that require no to little cooking. And by little cooking I mean, just the stove or grill is needed. NO OVEN!!! Cause you all know how I feel about turning on my oven during the summer – kitchen sauna!
The good news is that we got a small window a/c unit for our kitchen. OMG IT’S THE BEST THING EVER!!! It’s the first summer I am not sweating the moment I step into the kitchen. That being said, I still try to avoid turning on the oven because, $$$!
Now is the time to make the most of all that fresh produce, and refreshing summertime desserts. I hope you’re all having a great summer and find a way to truly take some time off work. You deserve it!
Without further ado: 14 summer recipes that are oven free! Let me know in the comments which recipe you want to make first. Or if you’re gonna be a superstar and make them all! That would be 100% okay with me…and probably your stomach! Just sayin!
1) healthy Greek yogurt dill dip
Greek yogurt dill dip is one of the most popular recipes on my blog. For good reason too, it’s a healthy replacement for traditional store bought dill dips. Plus, it only requires 7 simple ingredients and takes 5 minutes to whip up. I guarantee you’ll eat more fresh veggies if you make this dill dip – and that is a beautiful thing!
healthy Greek yogurt dill dip ->
2) easy gazpacho
AKA the most refreshing thing you will ever eat!!! Gazpacho is basically a bunch of raw veggies that are blended together until smooth and served cold…in soup form. It’s a great way to use up garden tomatoes or, cucumbers, and peppers. If you’ve never had gazpacho before, now is the time to give it a shot! Prepare to be refreshed.
3)Avocado tuna salad lettuce wraps
Lunch anyone?! Tuna salad that is elevated to the max – mashed avocado, instead of mayo + mashed chickpeas for extra bulk, all served in a lettuce wrap instead of on bread. Simple, clean summer eating at it’s best!
avocado tun salad lettuce wraps ->
4) no churn mango lassi frozen yogurt
Summer requires dessert, frozen desserts to be exact! This mango lassi frozen yogurt only requires a food processor and a freezer! Tropical, refreshing, easy, and so satisfying!
no churn mango lassi frozen yogurt ->
5) cornmeal pancakes with bacon
Savory pancakes?! Weird, right? But so surprisingly amazing! The cornmeal pancakes are savory, salty, and sweet all at once. The batter is made with cornmeal and they are topped with bacon, fresh corn, avocados, and of course maple syrup! I mean every weekend breakfast should include fresh summer corn, bacon, and maple syrup, right?!
Side note about this recipe: I wrote the recipe for the bacon to be made in the oven so that you have the stove top free for pancake making – I couldn’t’ resist including this recipe in the summer list because FRESH SWEET CORN!!! Solution: feel free to cook the bacon on the stove top if you want to keep all that heat out of your kitchen. You can do it!
cornmeal pancakes with bacon ->
6) best ever guacamole
It wouldn’t be summer without a big batch of guacamole and chips! Serve this guac outside with a margarita and you’ve got life made!
7) loaded caprese salad with shrimp
Caprese salad is one of my all time fave recipes to make during the summer! This loaded caprese salad takes that traditional salad to the next level! More veggies + a basil vinaigrette! Yum!
loaded caprese salad with shrimp ->
8) spicy refrigerator pickles
Did you know pickles could be so easy to make?! A few days in the refrigerator and you have the freshest pickles you’ve ever tasted! Anyone need to use up some garden cucumbers? This is the recipe for you!
9) the best chicken taco salad
I LOVE this salad so much! All the of the amazing ingredietns of a taco on top of a salad?! Dreams do come true! Best part is that the chicken is cooked using an instant pot or slow cooker – no heat released into your kitchen!
the best chicken taco salad ->
10) hummus
Just like the guacamole, summer isn’t complete without hummus. I literally run on 85% hummus and veggies during the summer. Again, another reason to eat more fresh veggies!
If you’re not into this hummus, I have plenty of flavors to chose from!
11) No bake hazelnut brownies
Do you ever feel like you miss brownies during the summer? I do, because I don’t want to turn on my oven for 30 minutes. Solution: no bake brownies. They’re made from dates, nuts, and cocoa powder! They’re pretty much an energy bar that tastes like a brownie. And the hazelnut with the chocolate is reminiscent of nutella. Yup, you want to make these!
12) Boozy fudgdicles
BOOZY FUDGSICLES!!! Yes, I know!!! These fudgsicles are vegan, easy to make, rich and chocolate-y and spiked with rum!!! Yes, rum, so good. No worries, if you want to make them for kids you can easily leave the rum out, no prob! But just between us adults, it may be worth making two batches of these babies. A kid friendly one and an adult friendly one!
13) anything you have homemade pesto
Summer = fresh herbs at your finger tips, which = homemade pesto all day long. I have some sort of pesto in my fridge at all times during the summer. Best part is you can make pesto using a variety of leafy herbs, nuts or seeds, and even some leafy greens. Pesto, here we come!
14) super green pineapple lime cilantro smoothie
Smoothie season! This is my fave green smoothie to date. It’s sweet, tangy, ginger-y, and cilantro-y. Don’t let the cilantro throw you off, it has adds a lovely taste to this smoothie and it’s not overpowering. Plus it’s good for you..SUPER GREEN!
super green pineapple lime cilantro smoothie ->
I hope you enjoy these recipes and that they help to make your summer extra delicious and healthy! Happy summering! See you soon. Much love, friends!
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