Here's a barBQ chicken recipe that I've developed. Low fat and pretty good:

5 lbs chicken breast (cut into small pieces, easier when semi-frozen)
3 cups BQ sauce (use something good without the high fructose syrup)
Hot chili sauce (the Vietnamese variety)
Hoisin sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Jamaican jerk marinade
Chili powder
Black pepper
meat masala (2 tsp)
3 onions (chopped and sauteed or fried beforehand)
Cook on low heat, in an open frye pan or similar (to allow evaporation) for 5 to 8 hrs, turning over and breaking up large pieces of chicken with a spatula until it looks as if shredded.

Add 1 more cup BQ sauce toward the end of cooking time.
Experiment with spices to individual taste.
Feeds lots of people!

My favorite summer salad:
torn romaine
sliced cucumbers
fuji apple slices
crumbled or chunked spicey cheese (jalapeno cheese curds are the best)
grape tomatoes
baby carrots
cut up smoked ham
fresh ground pepper
raspberry vinaigrette dressing
and a fork
...and some iced tea

eating it right now!

You need to find a place with good Mexican food. I know they're difficult to come by. :)

Mine is a drink:
1 part Hendricks Gin
1 part St Germain liquor
Grapefuit juice to taste (depending on how many you want to drink)

Just an awesome refreshing drink!

This is good + easy.
Buy a graham cracker pie crust
Two instant chocolate pudding mix, two cups of milk, half a container of Cool Whip. Mix, pour into pie crust. Let sit until mixture sets. Refrigerate to taste. Top with remaining Cool Whip or whipped cream. Cool, delicious, quick.

here ya go -- check this one out!!!

MIKE'S ORIGINAL COWBOY BEANS

1-2 LBS LEAN GROUND BEEF
1 SM ONION, CHOPPED
¼ CUP CATSUP
¼ CUP BBQ SAUCE
1/3 CUP WHITE SUGAR
1/3 CUP BROWN SUGAR
2 TSP SORGUM OR MOLASSES
1 TBSP CHILI POWDER
1 TSP SALT
1 TSP BLACK PEPPER, PREFERABLY FRESH GROUND
2 TBSP YELLOW MUSTARD
1 CAN PORK & BEANS
1 CAN BUTTER BEANS
1 CAN KIDNEY BEANS
1 CAN PINTO BEANS
½ LB BACON, COOKED AND CRUMBLED


COOK HAMBURGER UNTIL BROWN. ADD ONION AND COOK TIL TENDER.
ADD ALL OTHER INGREDIENTS EXCEPT BACON. PUT IN CASSEROLE
AND TOP WITH BACON CRUMBS AND BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR ONE HOUR.
CAN BE COOKED IN A CROCK POT. HEAT ON HIGH FOR ONE HOUR AND
REDUCE HEAT FOR 2-3 HOURS MORE BEFORE SERVING.

sorry -- didn't mean to yell ....... he did, though -- he's a little deef! -- j
.

PUMPKIN CRUNCH

1 Large Can Pumpkin
1 Can Pet Milk (no substitute)
2 Eggs
2 Sticks Butter (melted)
2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Walnuts (diced)
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix (Do Not Substitute)
Combine Pumpkin, Eggs, Sugar, Cinnamon and Milk
Pour and spread evenly into greased floured pan.
Sprinkle dry Cake mix evenly on top
Sprinkle diced Walnuts or Pecans over cake mix.
Drizzle melted Butter over Walnuts.
Bake in preheated oven 350ø for 1 hour.
Cool and serve with whipped topping.


Apple Cobbler

3 Cans Apple Pie filling
1 Teaspoon Cream of Tarter
1 Tablespoon of Lemon Extract
1-5 Tablespoons Cinnamon (to taste)
1 Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix

Sprinkle dry Cake mix evenly on top
Sprinkle diced Walnuts or Pecans over cake mix.
Drizzle melted Butter over Walnuts.
Bake in preheated oven 350ø for 1 hour.

Serve hot with scoop of Vanilla IceCream

I always like a good gazpacho... Not a bad recipe...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/al...

Add either a fresh Caesar salad or maybe a Caprese, with a loaf of fresh French bread and some olive oil for dipping.

A good side with this is Medusa Antipasti di Mare... one of my favorites from Italy. You can (sometimes) find it already made in a local market, or, if you feel adventurous..

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/mixed...

I found this recipe of Rand's online a few years ago ... it was really very good and could truly be enjoyed year-round with a nice salad on the side!

Beef Strogonoff
Serves 4

1 ½ lbs round steak, cut in thin strips
3 T flour
1/8 lb butter
1 onion, grated
1 tsp mustard
Juice of ½ lemon
1 lb fresh mushrooms
½ pint sour cream
1 small can tomato sauce
2 T sugar
2 T ketchup
Salt

Place meat in slightly buttered skillet and fry for 2 minutes on each side. Turn off element, and let meat stand in covered skillet while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Cut mushrooms and boil them in ½ cup water for half an hour. Melt butter. Remove pan from heat and add the flour, grated onion, and the rest of the ingredients except for the mushrooms. Stir. Pour the mixture over the meat in the skillet and cook for 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms at the last minute.

This was one of Ayn Rand’s favorites, easy to make and delicious, a recipe she brought with her from Russia in 1926.

I just made these on Saturday:
http://www.food.com/recipe/watermelon...
Planning to make a variation on this today (but I won't be using a food processor, just slicing the ingredients following a friend's family recipe:)
http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2009/07/...

Frozen yogurt pie is a good one. I found it when I was a kid on the underside of a Cool Whip lid. Quick and easy, too.

Here's our favorite hot weather recipe:
Marinate your favorite type of London-Broil steak [something not suitable for broiling unless sliced very thin] in a mix of soy sauce, Worcestershire garlic, pepper, a little red wine vinegar - or a bit of the wine itself - for a while. a couple of hours, at least. Make a big salad - be sure to include tomatoes, red onion and peppers. Broil the steak quickly - we like medium rare. While the steak is broiling, mix another batch of the marinade. When the steak is done, let it rest, slice thinly, and lay out on top of salad artistically. Serve with the second batch of marinade [now called dressing] and French bread to sop up any juices which threaten to escape.

I have made my first batch of Balela this weekend: The short version is to make Tabouli, but substitute garbanzo and black beans for the grain.

In a bit more detail:
chopped parsley, chopped tomato, chopped green onions, garlic, olive oil, chopped mint, pepper, balsamic vinegar, cooked garbanzos, cooked black beans

Combine all of these together. There should be about twice as many garbanzos as black beans and about half as many beans (combined) as the rest of the parsley/tomato/onion mix. (Except I ate a lot and then added more beans...)

Yum.

Jan

We like pasta salad. We typically fix it ahead of time and stick it in the fridge, then eat it cold. Box mixes are available, or:

tricolor rotini pasta
low-fat italian dressing
(real or imitation bacon bits if desired)

The other thing we like especially in summer is cooking burgers out (turkey burger for me, "real" hamburger for the wife). Baked beans and/or new potatoes on the side.

Hope that helps ...
VG

Today I made chicken satays:

Chicken tenders, marinated in:

Soy sauce
coconut oil
chili flakes
fresh lime juice
red curry paste (optional)
brown sugar
cilantro
Jalapeno, finely chopped

Grill on skewers on high heat

Take smooth peanut butter, hoisin sauce, coconut oil, mix together with freshly chopped cilantro to make a dipping sauce.

Enjoy with some chilled white wine.

This is what I do on Sundays..

I like chile relleno stuffed with shrimp. Also, beef fajitas with chimichurri. But when I think of summer, I really go for sweet, grilled corn.