10 Summer Recipes I Want to Try

Happy Thursday, friends! I’m taking tomorrow off because Emmett is off work for the holiday weekend and we’ll be tackling house projects (the shed and guest room), but before I sign off for the long weekend… I wanted to share 10 summer recipes I’ve been itching to try. If you’re looking for something special and seasonally appropriate to make this weekend, maybe some of the recipes I’ve saved will provide some inspiration. We haven’t quite nailed down what exactly is on our menu this weekend- after all, it’s just the two of us (unlike last year when we hosted a backyard BBQ), but I pretty much use every holiday as an excuse to eat good food and make cocktails. Click through for the 10 summer recipes I want to try this month!

I’ll begin by saying Emmett I don’t adhere to a special diet or anything. We pretty much eat anything and everything (excluding shellfish for me because I have a food allergy), but I’m sure many of these recipes could be modified to fit your specific dietary needs or preferences. I like to use recipes as a guideline anyway. Cooking is another opportunity to be creative! Emmett, on the other hand, sticks to the recipe EXACTLY. What is your cooking style? Creative or calculated?

#1 // Lemon Flatbread Pizza

On Fridays, we make homemade pizza- we even bought a beautiful pizza peel that hangs in our kitchen. This is the recipe we’re going to try tomorrow and I am SO excited. Burrata, mozzarella, roasted broccoli, lemon zest, bacon, and greens… all sprinkled with fresh parmesan. Doesn’t it sound like a dreamy combination? I’ll be sure to let you know what we think, but I’m assuming this is going to be a summertime favorite.

→  check it out  ←

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#2 // Rhubarb Crisp

Rhubarb reminds me of my grandma. She had a huge patch in front of the barn on her farm, and we’d harvest it and make rhubarb crisp, rhubarb pie, rhubarb jam, and alllll the tasty things. I even used to eat it straight from the stalk (not for everyone, I know). I have such fond memories of rhubarb and the summertime deserts are my favorite because of the flavor and nostalgia. Vallery’s recipe looks just like my grandma’s and I can’t wait to recreate it! Now… to find rhubarb. I’ve never purchased it from a grocery before. Any tips?

→  check it out  ←

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#3 // Homemade Pretzels with Cheese Dip

Homemade pretzels are a fan favorite in our house. When we lived in Ohio, I surprised Emmett with a culinary class (in an effort to shake up our weekly date nights). We took a series of classes from a prestigious cooking school that involved pretzel making and beer pairing. We made jalapeño stuffed pretzel bombs, rosemary pretzels, dessert pretzels sprinkled with cinnamon & drizzled in dark chocolate, and of course the classic version with cheese dip. I stumbled across this recipe and it inspired me to recreate our pretzel making, beer pairing days! It really is a fun summer activity, and since we can’t get our favorite soft pretzels at sporting events this summer (we love baseball games), we might as well make them at home.

→  check it out  ←

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#4 // Grilled Chili Chicken Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa

I truly haven’t met a taco I didn’t like… besides maybe a shrimp taco, because of said food allergy. These blackened chicken tacos look incredible! They also seem to be bursting with flavor and include so many delicious ingredients, like: pepper, lime, coconut, tomatillo, onion, cilantro, pineapple, jalapeño, avocado, and of course you can choose your favorite tortilla (my preference is corn tortillas).

→  check it out  ←

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#5 // Hot Honey Chicken

My family lives in Kentucky… I grew up in “the south”, if you consider it that (I do, Emmett does not). Anyway- given the close proximity to Tennessee, I LOVE some good, authentic hot honey chicken. That sticky, sweet, spicy sauce gets me every time. Is it really summertime if you don’t have fried chicken a time or two? This recipe is technically oven-fried, but I bet you could use an air frier too. Tieghan’s recipe calls for crispy corn flakes and honey butter sauce, so you know it’s going to be good. This is making me very hungry!

→  check it out  ←

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#6 // Melon and Cucumber Mint Feta Salad

I’m a big fan of eating melon in the summertime… for breakfast, for lunch, as a snack, basically whenever. Cantaloupe is my favorite, followed by watermelon and honeydew. This recipe makes a beautiful presentation! It looks so gorgeous on that serving platter. Well done, Naomi!

→  check it out  ←

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#7 // Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting

I have a major sweet tooth (if you haven’t noticed), so this banana cake is really calling to me. I’m pretty certain I could live on banana bread alone, but Jenna turned it into a cake and added chocolate peanut butter frosting for the ultimate dessert… or breakfast, if you like sweets in the morning like Emmett and myself.

→  check it out  ←

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#8 // Avocado Grapefruit Salad

I had to throw a salad in here for good measure. Haha! Fun fact… of all the fruits, grapefruit is my ultimate favorite. I eat them often, but never put them in my salad. No idea why… I think it’s time to change that! This salad looks refreshing and also includes avocado, shallot, balsamic, fennel, mustard, plenty of greens, and cheese. It seems like a winner I’ll be trying this weekend!

→  check it out  ←

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#9 // Mediterranean Nachos

Ahhh, nachos! I’m a super fan of nachos. I like the concept… how you can load them up, mix up the flavors each time, and how easy they are to pile onto a plate. These Mediterranean nachos look ideal for summer! Pita, chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes, olives, peppers, feta, onion, and parsley… sounds like a winning combo to me. I can’t wait to try them!

→  check it out  ←

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#10 // Spicy Grilled Pineapple Margarita

I know, I know… it’s not food, BUT- you know I love a good margarita (get my frozen recipe here and my pitcher recipe here). Since it’s a holiday weekend, you better believe we’ll be having celebratory cocktails. I’ve decided this will be the drink- spicy margaritas with grilled pineapple. I’ll report back, but I’m very excited to try these.

→  check it out  ←

Is there anything special you love eating during the summer season? I’d love to hear about it or your favorite summertime recipes in the comments below! If you’d like more food inspiration and recipes I’ve been saving, check out this Pinterest board. You can also find cocktails I’ve saving here. Everyone have an awesome holiday weekend! I’ll be sure to share BTS on IG stories of our house projects this weekend. See you back here on Monday for an easy DIY project!