Fresh spring recipes

[MsSassyBaskets]

Anybody have any veggie-heavy, fresh tasting main dish recipes for spring and summer? Especially weeknight friendly. I need to liven up the meal rotation.

Lately we've been grilling more and last weekend made ancho chili rubbed steaks with grilled asparagus. I'm looking forward to basil season so I can make lots of garlicky pesto. I also love grilling shrimp for tacos with mango-avocado salsa. Other than those, I need some new ideas! Anyone?

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I usually start to use a lot of mint in the spring. Salsa with mint, peas with mint, etc.

We need to start grilling again, I love that!

[SuzySunshine]

This is supposed to just be a salad but it has quinoa in it so it's good for you, we LOVE it. http://iowagirleats.com/recipes/?recipe_id=6005715


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[Mrs. MD, Esq.]

Fresh spring recipes

We make this a lot when we can find good tomatoes...so maybe more summer but I saw some amazing heirloom tomatoes yesterday at the market:

Tomato Goat Cheese Tart

Serves 6

Calories: 292; Fat: 18g; Carbohydrates: 22.1; Fiber: 1.3; Protein 12.4

Ingredients

-1 homemade or store-bought pie crust (I use Pillsbury when I'm in a hurry)
-4 or 5 vine-ripened or heirloom tomatoes, sliced to medium thickness (pat with a paper towel to remove the excess pulp and seeds)
-8 oz of goat cheese
-2 large eggs, whisked
-1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried rosemary)
-1 teaspoon Kosher salt
-zest of one small Meyer lemon (regular is also fine if you can't find Meyer lemons)
-1 oz. of Gruyere cheese, shredded with a microplane fine grater.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 9″ pie dish with the pie crust. Use a fork to poke a few holes in the bottom of the crust.

In a small bowl mix goat cheese, eggs, rosemary, Kosher salt and lemon zest with a fork until homogeneous. Spread evenly over the pie crust.

Layer tomatoes over the cheese mixture until the pie is completely full. Very lightly, press the tomatoes into the cheese mixture.

Sprinkle Gruyere cheese over tomatoes (if a little lands on the crust, that's okay -- it makes it delightfully cheesy and crisp)!

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until crust is light brown and tomatoes are soft. If crust is browning too quickly, cover with a piece of aluminum foil. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes if crust appears doughy.

Remove from oven and let cool for at least 1 hour.

You can make ahead of time and eat this cold.

[MsSassyBaskets]

Great ideas so far! I think I'm going to hit up the Monday night farmers market this week.

[WolfpackWife]

Our favorite spring/summer recipe is chicken pasta salad. It's kind of a lot of work, but it's worth it. Full of veggies, whole wheat pasta, and grilled chicken. Dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette. The recipe yields a ton of servings, so we will make it when we have time and keep it in the fridge for lunches and dinners during the week. It feeds us for a week, at least.

If you're interested, I can give you the recipe for the dressing and marinade, but the short version is:

Chicken marinated in lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, EVOO, and sage. Grilled and cut into chunks

Veggies: carrots broccoli, red bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, celery, sometimes grilled corn, and sometimes we'll halve a poblano pepper and grill it. You can put pretty much whatever veggie you want in there, as long as it will hold up in the dressing/fridge for a few days.

Extras: I cube either monterey jack cheese or mozzarella cheese. Also turkey pepperoni.

Dressing: dijon mustard, garlic, shallots, balsamic vinegar, water, EVOO, and dried basil, oregano, thyme.

Then I boil a pound of penne (either regular or whole wheat, or sometimes a mix).

Then we mix it all together in a huge bowl and gradually add dressing and mix to coat to our liking. It's great right away, but even better when it's chilled and a day old.

One of our favorite warm weather meals.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

We do a lot of curried chicken salad. And watermelon, mint, and feta salads.

[MsSassyBaskets]

A little chilly today so I made this pea risotto: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/p...-bacon-risotto
Yum.

[spotty_dog]

So many great summer recipes! I love caprese for summer.

For spring, in our area all we are really getting so far are greens including braising mixes and pea shoots. We'll be getting green garlic soon, and overwintered sprouting broccoli is coming into its own, so stir-fries are the name of the game! Next up should be artichokes and favas and maybe asparagus, which can make nice casseroles and braised dishes (I still love warm food this time of year). Some slightly woody overwintered roots and their greens can make terrific soups this time of year, like turnips with turnip greens. Rhubarb desserts, we have rhubarb coming out our ears what with five plants on our property! Can. not. wait. for strawberries. Oh, and nettles are always one of the very first greens, we like them in nettle-sausage pie or just chopped up into marinara for pasta!

[SoonerTexan]

I love watermelon, mint, and feta too! Not a main dish, but grilled peaches and pineapple are amazing too

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

We've been in strawberries for a few weeks. So amazing after the long winter.

[spotty_dog]

Wow, that's what you get for living in a warm climate! Our earliest strawberry varieties hit during the first week of June.

[MAPPLEBUM]

Made this soup again last night and lloovveee it.

Its a really easy, healthy and delicious carrot soup. I do use the recommended amount of butter but im sure you can use less / substitute.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...ot-Soup-357911




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