5 Dinner Recipes to Eat Outdoors

Keep the kitchen cool by taking the cooking outside on the grill or for a family picnic in the backyard. This week’s meals include Carne Asada, Seafood Paella, and Lentil Salad with Summer Vegetables. Let’s get cooking!

By
Marta Rivera
Marta Rivera
Marta Rivera
Marta has 25 years of experience in the food service industry and has been developing recipes for 3 years. She is the author of Taste & See Cooks: Recipes to Inspire, Equip and Enjoy.
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Published July 11, 2020
Marta Rivera
"What's for Dinner?" with a photo of Seafood Paella

Light and lively is the name of the game for this week’s meal plan!

Streamlining the cooking process and cutting down on how much heat I generate in the house is my primary goal during the hot summer months.

Cooking outdoors not only cuts down on the heat inside, but it also gives me a nice change of scenery while working. There’s something primal about cooking over fire (even a propane-fueled fire) that makes me feel very free and light-spirited.

Plan to stop by your fishmonger (or the seafood section) midweek to pick up the ingredients for Friday night’s paella. And don’t forget the wine!

I hope you enjoy this week of amazing recipes!

  • Grilled Italian Sausage with Peppers, Onions and Arugula

    Grilled Italian Sausage with Peppers, Onions, and Arugula
    Elise Bauer

    Think outside of the box when it comes to how you prepare your meals. “Light” meals aren’t bird food! They often look like this: a bed of arugula and the accompanying onions and peppers will cover your veg for this meal. The sausage is a hearty protein and your well-balanced dinner is ready.

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  • Classic Chicken Salad

    Chicken Salad with celery and bell pepper in a serving bowl
    Elise Bauer

    Use Greek yogurt in place of the mayonnaise to make this salad even lighter! The added fruit element in the salad’s dressing, as well as the chopped apple, lend a sweet note to an otherwise savory dish. Serve it atop a bed of greens – leftover arugula from last night’s meal provides a peppery contrast – or as a sandwich filling.

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  • Carne Asada

    Carne Asada
    Elise Bauer

    This delicious steak shouldn’t be confined to tacos! Don’t get me wrong, a good carne asada taco is what a soul needs every once in a while. But, might I suggest something else? Serve tonight’s carne asada over a lightly-dressed jicama slaw or bed of greens. If it’s too much of a break from your norm (or if you’re really pining for tacos) you can always serve the warmed tortillas on the side.

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  • Lentil Salad with Summer Vegetables

    French Lentil Salad Recipe
    Sheryl Julian

    I keep this recipe in my back pocket for those meals I didn’t plan in advance. Nothing in this dish is fussy—in fact, it’s about as straightforward as recipes go. Easy-to-prepare lentils don’t require long periods of soaking. The veggies in this dish are those you may already have on hand. For bigger appetites, a few slices of last night’s carne asada will top this salad spectacularly.

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    Continue to 5 of 6 below.

  • Seafood Paella

    Finished seafood paella from the grill in a skillet ready to serve
    Sally Vargas

    I’ve saved the most extravagant meal to celebrate the beginning of the weekend! Don’t subscribe to the myth that paella is too hard or labor-intensive to make. Befriend your fishmonger, and they’ll do most of the work for you—scrubbing and peeling seafood. Purchase your vegetables pre-chopped in the produce section and your workload becomes even lighter. Copious amounts of bread to nosh on and good Spanish wine are all you need to close out this week’s dinners.

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  • Weekend Baking: Key Lime Pie

    Overhead shot of a homemade keylime pie, covered with whipped cream and with a linen beside
    Elise Bauer

    I’m pretty sure you can’t get any lighter and livelier than this dessert. Pucker factor aside, its refreshing flavor and ease of prep are on par to close out this week’s meal plan. If you want to streamline the process, use a premade graham cracker crust and prepare it the evening before.

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