5 Easy Summer Meal Ideas

Looking for five easy summer meal ideas? Summer is a tough time to prepare meals, since it's usually too hot to cook. You can prepare these summer meals quickly and easily, so they won't make you too hot and tired to enjoy your food.

Blueberry pasta salad

To make the easy summer meal idea blueberry pasta salad, you will need:

• 1/2 pound whole wheat rotini pasta
• one shallot, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• three tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup each chicken broth and feta
• three tablespoons lime juice
• one tablespoon each chopped thyme and lime zest
• one cup fresh blueberries

1. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
2. Sweat shallot in olive oil with salt until translucent. Add lime juice, chicken broth and feta and heat through.
3. Toss all ingredients together and serve warm.

Cold cucumber soup

To make the easy summer meal idea cold cucumber soup, you will need:

• 1 1/2 pounds cucumber, peeled, seeded and cubed
• four yellow tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• one yellow bell pepper, seeded and chunked
• 1/3 cup sweet white onion, chopped
• two tablespoons sherry vinegar
• four teaspoons each minced dill and parsley
• one teaspoon sugar
• one garlic clove, peeled
• croutons

1. Blend all but 1/4 cup each of the cucumber and tomatoes.
2. Add all other ingredients except croutons and blend until smooth.
3. Chill at least one hour. Serve topped with croutons and reserved vegetables.

Oysters on the half shell

To make the easy summer meal idea oysters on the half shell, you will need:

• three to four dozen oysters per person
• lemon wedges
• six tomatillos, grated
• one scallion, diced
• one serrano chile, seeded and diced
• salt

1. Combine tomatillos, scallion, chile and salt to taste into a salsa. Chill to let flavors combine.
2. Open each oyster by holding it on a flat surface, inserting a knife into the hinge and twisting it to pop the shell.
3. Discard the top shell and cut the oyster from the bottom shell. Rinse off any grit, replace the oyster in the shell and serve with salsa and lemon.

Vegetable tostadas

To make the easy summer meal idea vegetable tostadas, you will need:

• four eight-inch flour tortillas
• cooking spray
• one cup each corn, chopped red onion and chopped zucchini
• 1/2 cup salsa
• four ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• two tablespoons chopped cilantro

1. Lightly spray tortillas with cooking spray and broil until toasted.
2. Cook vegetables with salsa until the liquid evaporates.
3. Top tortillas with vegetable mixture and cheese. Broil until cheese melts and garnish with cilantro.

Strawberry spinach salad

To make the easy summer meal idea strawberry spinach salad, you will need:

• two bunches spinach, washed, dried and sliced
• one pint strawberries, stemmed and sliced
• half a red onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• two tablespoons each Dijon mustard and sugar
• three tablespoons honey
• one tablespoon minced ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• two teaspoons poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup toasted almonds

1. Toss spinach, strawberries and red onion.
2. Whisk together vinegar, mustard, sugar, honey, ginger, salt and pepper. Whisk in oil to emulsify.
3. Drizzle salad with dressing. Top with poppy seeds and almonds.