Top Ten Summer Meals

With the weather getting warmer, it’s about time to change up the menu for your home cooking, which a lot of folks have gotten into for the past year. Here, I want to go over ten of my favorite summer meals.

Instead of offering in-depth recipes for each, I’ll give the idea, a description of what I do, and then let you take care of portions and seasoning for your own needs and tastes. Much of my cooking is for one or two, so general proportions will make a lot more sense than trying to make one-size-fits-all recipes.

With just a little cooking know-how, you can elevate your summer meals way beyond the typical burgers and hot dogs, though you won’t see me turning down either of those any time soon.

A lot of us are busy, and we like to eat well. These two things can sometimes conflict more than a little, which is where I came up with this chili recipe that is perfect for busy days.

For one person, I start with two pounds of ground beef or turkey ( I prefer the beef, but turkey can be a little lighter in taste), one large can of crushed tomatoes, one can of kidney beans, and a seasoning packet at your preferred heat level.

From there, I toss it all in a crockpot, stir it, and set it on low. Return after work or a day hiking, and enjoy: I typically try to get 8 hours of cooking time on low.

To elevate this a little bit, serve it with a thick toast, something like a sourdough that gets a good crust, top with cheese and sliced jalapenos, and serve with a lager beer or a white wine. I also hot sauce mine until it clears my sinuses, but season to your desires.

A lot of us have a favorite taco recipe, and I won’t try to dissuade you here. Instead, here are a few little tips that I’ve picked up over the years learning from some of my Mexican colleagues.

First, ditch the flour tortillas. Instead, get corn tortillas. You’ll have to toast them on a ripping hot pan for about two minutes aside (don’t leave the room and flip them often), but the result will be a crunchier shell with a lot more flavor of its own than the flour tortillas can offer.

Second, use fresh limes instead of the bottled stuff. Fresh lime juice is a lot more refined in its taste, and, bonus, you’ll have limes around for putting into your beer.

Finally, you might want to consider skipping the sour cream, and instead go for a more authentic cheese like queso blanco: it’ll deepen and add some nice salt to the flavor.

Now, apply these to your favorite beef tacos, and come back to thank me later.

This one is a refreshing interplay between sweet and salty that comes out wonderfully every time, although it doesn’t refrigerate that well, so make just enough for what you plan to consume immediately. Often, I’ll chop all of the ingredients at once and store them separately so I can whip up some of this at lunch.

To make this, you’ll need a watermelon, a block of feta cheese, some mint leaves, and red onions. This is an exercise in your knife work: cube the melon into about one-inch cubes, slice the red onion razor-thin, crumble the feta and rip the mint into little chunks.

Then place the watermelon in a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients to taste, and mix it around gently for a few seconds: you don’t want to bruise the watermelon.

That’s it: it takes about five minutes and is one of my favorite summer side dishes or lunches at home.

I opt for light, easy-to-make breakfasts. While my coffee is brewing, I add a few ounces of greek yogurt, some granola, and a few berries to a bowl. Currently, my favorite is local Florida strawberries, but go with what is in season. If you like things extra sweet, you can add a little honey or look for sweetened granola.

By the time your coffee is done, you’ll have breakfast made and likely eaten: this lets you start the day with something healthy that won’t take up much time. That’s why this one is my favorite for weekdays or before early morning fishing.

This one comes courtesy of my Argentine partner. These are popular, fried steaks that are a staple in Latin American cuisines. My recommendation is to make these in big batches, then freeze them, separated with parchment paper, and wrapped in tinfoil. Then, you can make as many as you need, when you need them and the mess is a one-time thing.

Milanesas are thin fried steaks, usually beef, but sometimes chicken or pork. So, start with a flattened cut of meat of your choice.

Then, dredge them first in eggs, then a mixture of breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and any other spices you like. I do them as is, so I can season them more after.

Do this to as many as you’d like, then freeze. When you’d like to have one of these awesome steaks, pull it out of the freezer, brush both sides with canola oil, and pop it into an air fryer at about 400 degrees for about ten minutes: your mileage will vary based on your machine, and you may need to flip.

I serve them with french fries, with some dijon mustard on the side, but folks put lots of different things, including mozzarella cheese, on these. This is a super hearty, but still not an overwhelmingly heavy meal.

Most of the time when you go hiking and bring a sandwich, they get all soggy by the time you want to eat. That’s no good, and we can improve.

So, to keep things from getting soggy, either use the packets of condiments you have sitting in a drawer or bring them separately: a little tupperware container is perfect to hold about an ounce of a pre-made mustard and mayo mix. Bring along a spoon as well, and you’re halfway to better trail sandwiches.

The other half is bread choice. Normal white bread just has too much moisture to do well in a cold lunch bag for long. Instead, get something heartier, like sourdough or rye, then toast it. This is the other half of the better sandwich occasion.

Sure, you’ll need to spend an extra moment prepping your sandwich on the trail, but slowing down and taking it all in isn’t a bad thing in my book.

The secret to better fried rice, as with a lot of cooking, is thinking ahead.

Here, I take some pork tenderloin, slice it into thin strips, then marinate it in a mixture of soy sauce, sriracha, lemon juice, and pepper. You can also add red pepper flakes for more color and a different kick. Then, when I’m doing that, I make some rice in the rice cooker. Both of those go in the fridge overnight.

The next day when you want to eat, finely slice some garlic and get some butter melting in a wok. Once the butter is bubbling, add in the garlic and keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn: it’ll only take a minute or so.

Now, add your pork and the marinade, stirring constantly with high heat. Once the pork is done, another five minutes, add in the rice. Once the rice is incorporated and hot, crack an egg or two into the hot mixture. Keep stirring until the egg is binding everything together, and you’re done.

Another one that takes some pre-planning, but worth the time. I do this with ribs mainly, but it’s also great for pork tenderloin and brisket.

In a bowl, mix 75% brown sugar to about 10% salt and the balance paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and chipotle if you like. Of course, feel free to adjust. Whisk this with a fork, then rub it on your ribs until the ribs cannot hold any more of the spice mixture.

Then, pop it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, take the ribs out and place them in your slow cooker all day on low. By the time you’re ready for dinner, the ribs will fall off the bone. Serve with barbecue sauce if you wish, but I usually prefer a dry rub.

This is the best chicken recipe I know for crisp, yet moist chicken. Starting with bone and skin-on chicken thighs, pat the skin dry and let the chicken heat up on a cutting board while a pan gets to medium-high heat. Then, place skin side down for 2 minutes: do not think about flipping yet. This will crisp up the skin.

Following, flip the chicken about every two minutes until the internal temperature gets to 160F. You may need to adjust the flipping times to your stovetop, but done right the thighs should be done in about ten total minutes, and come out moist with a crisp skin: leaving the bone in is a must on this one.


With these ten dishes, you’ll have the foundation for an excellent summer of cooking and eating. I hope you learned something or want to try a few of these yourself.

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