Summer recipes side dishes, main meal, desserts, snacks, and recipes from the garden. Canning garden foods.
Updated March 2026 Lemon Meringue Pie is sweet, fluffy, airy, and perfectly tangy, with bright layers of lemon filling and soft meringue that make it instantly inviting. It is the kind of dessert that makes people put down their forks and ask for the recipe before they even finish their slice. And here is the…
All summer long our family has made this Quick and Easy Summer Chicken Pasta Salad. Any shape of pasta, lots of veggies, fresh grilled chicken, and a favorite Italian salad dressing, make this a fast summer dinner. The perfect cold easy macaroni salad for a picnic, BBQ, cookout, or potluck. This is the best pasta salad…
Fresh corn on the cob is so delicious and versatile for making as a side dish for summer dinners. Starting with Cinco de Mayo and ending with the fresh crop of local harvest corn you can go wrong serving your family corn. From eating fresh bear corn to jazzing up an ear of corn Mexican…
There are so many different ways to make tuna salad. I know your family will love this healthy tuna salad recipe with Greek yogurt and relish. It is a twist of a classic tuna salad sandwich but turning this can of tuna into a healthy, family-friendly recipe. Serve it on nice slices of crusty bread,…
Light lemon chicken orzo chickpeas soup. The chicken cooked fast in the Instant Pot. Light bright flavors with fresh spinach and dill, loaded with veggies. Warm with the chicken, chickpeas, and orzo. This recipe is so delicious. So filling without being heavy. Add the egg and lemon to make the soup creamy add so much…
Summer is a time for playing outside, campfires & S’mores. But depending on the weather sometimes S’mores can be cupcakes. I am a S’mores fanatic, I love all things that are S’mores flavor, but where we live you can not always have a campfire. I have been looking for a cupcake recipe but all the…
Easy Spicy Frito Corn Salad with Cheese is a simply delicious fresh side dish that you and your guest will not be able to stop eating. A dump-and-mix and mix recipe perfect for picnics, barbecues, potlucks, and family parties but can be made year-round. When corn is in season you can make the recipe by…
Easy Instant Pot Shredded Barbecue Chicken is one of the first things I tried cooking when I purchased my Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker. This is the easiest chicken dinner that I make on a regular basis. It is a family favorite, easy to make for an unplanned dinner, as the supplies are always on…
A simple Garden pasta salad is a classic American tradition throughout the summer months for picnics, barbecues, potlucks, and summer graduation parties. One of the simplest side dishes you can make for any of your summer activities. Pasta salad is quick and easy to put together loaded with garden or farmer market vegetables, and can…
Simple Ranch Seasoned Movie Pretzels with Popcorn Oil are salty, crunchy and addictive. If you are having a fun family movie night after a long week or a little after school snack, your family will dig into a big bowl of movie-theater, popcorn and ranch seasoned pretzels. Quick & Easy to toss together. Seasoned with…
Make an easy Italian pasta salad side dish for any picnic or potluck, it is fast and simple to make ahead. A classic summer dish that is perfect for backyard barbecues at all your summer family parties. Make it your own with different kinds of pasta or vegetables. Leave out the meat for a vegetarian…
How to make a simple classic potato salad in the Instant Pot. A classic family favorite side dish made simple by using your Instant Pot. Traditional for all the summer picnic holidays. An old fashioned summer barbecue classic that will disappear as fast as you set it out. Easy to make the morning before with…
Making 8 minute Instant Pot baby potatoes with butter & parsley has been a favorite at the family table for years. Popular in the 50s and 60s, now you can make a fork tender fully parsley potato hands off in the instant pot. It is one of the simplest potato recipes, quick & easy…
With the start of Spring, we as parents all have a lot of activities to plan for, end of school parties, graduations, summer jobs, playground dates, long walks, bike trips and hikes. Adding all this activity along with keeping the home in order and everyone feed can be a frustrating job. However, taking a little…
In the summer we love to have people over and a Super Simple Summer Salsa is an easy appetizer to have at the ready. Whether you’re having neighbors, neighborhood kids, or graduation parties, Fourth of July parties, or just an evening out on the deck a super simple summer salsa is always a hit. With…
Homemade Corn Relish with an Electric Pressure Cooker If you grow corn in your garden or love to stock up at the farmers market, I have the perfect recipe for all that extra corn. This is our family’s sweet corn relish, and it is one of those recipes I look forward to making every single…
A basic Italian Spaghetti Sauce rich, savory, full of flavor and so easy to make. Simple basic ingredients, fresh tomatoes for your own homegrown canned tomatoes. A traditional basic Italian Spaghetti Sauce is perfect over your favorite pasta. Check out my recipe for Beginners Canning Homegrown Tomatoes. Even if you get your tomatoes at your…
Canning garden fresh tomatoes from our bumper crop of the Buonpane family’s heirloom pear Italian tomatoes is a 100-year-old tradition we are passing on to our family. Pictures and step by step instructions.
If you need a simple frozen dessert that the whole family will love, this 3-ingredient pineapple ice cream is it. You only need three things, and it comes together in about 20 minutes. The best part? It tastes so close to the Dole Whip you get at Disney. That creamy, sweet pineapple flavor you love…
Enjoy the vibrant flavors of Extra Lemon Pasta Salad with Basil Herb Vinaigrette, a perfect dish for dining al fresco. This pasta salad features fresh herbs, light and simple ingredients, and a zingy lemon kick that brings extra freshness to every bite of this easy pasta salad recipe. Everybody loves a good pasta salad and…