Spice Up Your Summer!
Hazy, hot summer days do not inspire me to cook. I want quick, tasty meals that I don’t have to fuss too much with. I don’t want to stand in front of a hot stove and tend to stay away from the oven in the hot months. So, we rely on lots of salads and it’s the perfect time to pair that with grilled proteins and veggies. Here are a few ideas of the quick meals that I make for my family on summer nights using my spice blends.. and scroll down to the bottom for downloadable recipe cards!
Adobo Spice Blend:
As a go-to marinade, I use my Mojo Sauce to coat my protein of choice. Most of the time, I pair my mojo with the adobo spice blend, especially if I’m making chicken, pork, beef, fish, or shrimp.
If I’m going to grill veggies, I’ll use my veggie blend with the mojo. The veggie blend also works well for white fish, chicken, and lean cuts of pork. A delicious way I like to enjoy corn is to keep the husks on (just open and clean, then either spoon mojo, or put in pats of butter, sprinkle the Veggie Blend liberally, close the husk, wrap in foil and grill.
Use the oil from the mojo and the BBQ dry rub on chicken, pork, veggies, or tofu. Grill them up and pair with a salad. One of my favorites is: sweet corn, black beans, diced onions and tomatoes, and chopped fresh cilantro. Dress it with lemon and the oil from the mojo (or with a spoonful of the garlic paste if you want it garlicky!), salt and pepper to taste! (You can also add diced peppers, jalapeños if you like it spicy!)
I also often use the Middle East 7 spice with the mojo- it changes up my chicken routine, and also pairs well with lamb. You can combine the ME7 spice blend with yogurt and lemon juice to chunks of lamb or chicken breast, as a marinade that will make these cuts tender and juicy. You can put these on skewers with veggies like onions, peppers, zucchini, or tomatoes between each chunk of meat. A lot of times, I will use ground lamb since that is usually available in my supermarket. I’ll season up the meat, add finely chopped onions and herbs like cilantro, dill, and parsley. You can make it into patties, or wrap it around a skewer… great for the grill! I’ll pair this with a favorite in our family: tomato, cucumber, and feta salad. I’m not a huge fan of raw onions, but if I add them to this salad, it will be red onions and I will soak them in cold water for a few minutes to get rid of the sharp bite. I love adding fresh herbs to this salad too. Fresh parsley, dill, cilantro, or even finely chopped scallions are a great addition. I will dress it simply with olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. (You can also add in garbanzo beans and black or Kalamata olives!)
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Salmon with Peach Caprese Salad
BBQ Chicken with Corn, Black Bean & Tomato Salad
Kebabs with Feta, Cucumber & Tomato Salad