I don’t know about you guys, but I love a good cookout. There’s something about the smell of a grill, burgers, and a cold beer in my hand that I really like. But, something I don’t like? Going to a cookout where the hosts serve basic frozen burger patties on Wonder bread white rolls and have tattered bags of soggy chips laying all over the table for guests to “help themselves.” Believe it or not, there are EASY ways to combat this. A few friends and I had a gathering last week at my place and experimented with new takes on the basic classics. Let’s take a look at a few simple (and sort of healthy!) ideas that can really class up your summer holiday outdoor gatherings.
Ditch the out-of-the box pasta salad.
Nothing says “I am uncreative” like a box of Kraft pasta salad (you know, the one that you mix the packet of ‘flavor dust’ with the pasta…) nor does anything taste as bad. There are a few super easy things you can throw together instead, even if its just making some pasta and adding some fun new dressing. I opted to take a healthier approach and go with a Summer Quinoa Salad with mangoes, black beans and avocados. Here’s what you will need:
Summer Quinoa Salad
1 cup of quinoa (I used tri-color)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 avocados
2 mangos
1 bunch of fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup olive oil (I just eye it up)
Lime juice and salt to taste
This recipe is so easy, because all you have to do is chop of the avocados and mangos and mix everything together. Just make sure you refrigerate it for 20-30 minutes before you serve so it’s not warm.
Take your burgers to the next level.
Frozen burger patties on potato roll are cool if you’re trying to please your kids, but it just doesn’t cut it for a classy cookout. Try these Italian-inspired pesto turkey burgers with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto and arugula.
Pesto Turkey Burgers with Mozzarella, Prosciutto & Arugula
Ground turkey
1 jar of pesto (store bought works well)
1/3 pound of thick-cut prosciutto
Sliced mozzarella
Fresh arugula
Balsamic glaze
Onion focaccia
Mix the jar of pesto into the ground turkey, form them, grill them and stack everything up. Drizzle some balsamic glaze on top.
A summer drink to pair.
Everyone loves a good summer cocktail. For me, a summer cocktail should be light and refreshing, and not packed full of sugar. I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about using frozen watermelon as ice cubes, so I thought it’d give it a try with one of my all-time favorite low-calorie drinks, a vodka soda.
What you’ll need:
Fresh watermelon, cut into cubes
Wax paper
Club soda
Cherry vodka
Low ball tumblers
Cut the watermelon into cubes and freeze them (on wax paper) over night. Put them in a low tumbler, add vodka and splash with club soda! Perfect 100 calorie drink for summer.
