The Tasty Table – Happy Memorial Day!

By Guest Blogger Jenny Stauffer

Happy Grilling Everyone! Enjoy the day and more importantly, enjoy your SUMMER!!!! I hope you all enjoy these tasty summer recipes that our family loves during grilling season!

And on the flip side, if you don’t have too much time for prep work before friends gather for a cookout, check out this deal we heard about at Whole Foods today!  You can buy the Memorial Day Party Pack for $20, which includes 8 Hamburger Patties (1/4 lb), 8 Hamburger Buns (white or wheat), 8 Cabot Cheddar Slices (mild, sharp or reduced fat), 6 Sodas, (365 Everyday Value) and 2lbs Red Bliss Potato Salad!  Sounds like a win-win to me!

Chicken Teriyaki Sandwiches

It’s nice to have something different, yet easy, for our family or for company. This fits the bill!

I pkg of chicken cutlets
1 bottle of Soyaki marinade**
provolone cheese
sliced pineapple (canned)
red onions

** This is in a blue bottle with the marinades or with the Asian cuisine. It is called Soyaki at Trader Joe’s but I cannot remember the brand name at the other local groceries. It is very authentic tasting!

Marinade the chicken for 4-8 hours. Grill the chicken, discarding marinade. Meanwhile, place rings of onion on foil on the grill. Grill until tender. Also grill the pineapple rings on the foil, until browned and tender. Top the grilled chicken with the cheese to melt.

To assemble sandwiches, place chicken on the bun, top with pineapple and red onion and condiments of choice!

Portobello and Gouda Burgers

Tom and I love these burgers from a certain specialty store in town. I decided to use up some baby portobellos one night and these burgers turned out great. They are very moist and flavorful.

1 pkg ground sirloin
About ¼-1/2 pkg. baby bellas, chopped
1 block of Gouda cheese, diced small
Salt and pepper
Mix all ingredients, shape into burgers and grill. That’s it!

Oriental Slaw

This is very popular! And it makes a TON.

Salad:
1 pkg beef Ramen noodles
1 small pkg sunflower seeds
1 small pkg slivered almonds
1 16 oz pkg coleslaw

Dressing:
½ cup vegetable oil
2 T + 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
¼ cup sugar
½ T soy sauce Flavor packets from ramen noodles

Salad: Toast nuts in a med-low pan, watching carefully as not to burn and remove when brown. Next, add ramen noodles (I crush them up in the package first). Mix coleslaw and nuts/ramen noodles.

Dressing: Add all ingredients in a plastic or glass container. Shake. Keep in refrigerator until ready to use, or add if serving immediately.

Top salad with dressing, tossing to coat, when ready to serve. Yields 6-10 servings.

Patio Beans

This is a recipe my mom used to make in the summertime. It’s different than normal baked beans and not as sweet.
4 slices bacon
1 med onion, chopped
1 1 pound can pork and beans (I remove the pork)
1 1 pound can kidney beans
1 8.5 oz can butter beans
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dry mustard
½ tsp salt ¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
¼ cup vinegar
½ cup ketchup
½ tsp black pepper

Fry bacon until crispy, remove from pan. Saute onion in bacon drippings. Combine all ingredients except bacon and place in a 3 qt deep dish casserole. Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes. Top with crumbled bacon and bake 15 more minutes.