Taste of Summer A collection of summer recipes from the congregation at Table of Contents Sections Page Beverages 3 Appetizers 7 Soups 13 Salads 18 Eggs 31 Marinades 34 Butter 39 Pasta, Grains & Noodles 41 Breads 50 Main Dishes (Seafood, Chicken, Beef & Pork) 57 Vegetables 77 Desserts 80 © Dexter United Methodist Church, Summer 2020 7643 Huron River Dr., Dexter, MI 48130 734-426-8480 • dexterumc.org 2 Beverages Summertime Lemonade Kasischke’s Favorite Iced Tea Cold Brewed Coffee Sun Tea Sparkling Lavender Lemonade 3 Beverages Summertime Lemonade Weber’s Big Book of Grilling 8 cups water 2 cups sugar 1 ¼ cups lemon juice ½ tsp. kosher salt In a large saucepan over high heat, bring the water and sugar to a boil for 2 minutes. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature. Add the lemon juice and salt. Fill each glass with ice cubes. Pour lemonade over the ice and serve cold. Robin Woodard We literally make gallons of this throughout the summer. It has the right amount of tang and the hint of salt leaves you wanting more! You can adjust the amount of sugar to taste. Kasischke’s Favorite Iced Tea 2 Rooibos tea bags (we love Madagascar Vanilla Red) 2 quarts of boiling water (brew) Once done brewing add: one or more tablespoons of honey to taste Half squeezed lemon Whole squeezed orange or ½ cup orange juice. Chill and serve. Denise Kasischke This is the way my mother made iced tea and she learned it from her mother-in-law my Grandma Ropka from Pennsylvania. This is not like Southern sweet tea and not quite an Arnold Palmer, it has just a touch of sweetness that kids love without all the sugar. 4 Beverages Cold Brewed Coffee 8 cups water 1.5 cups your favorite coffee In a large container, pour in the water. Add the coffee grounds, seal the container well and shake vigorously until the water is dark. Store on counter or in fridge for about 14-18 hours. Longer can make it taste bitter. If you like, select coffee beans coarsely grind. Once fully brewed, take a fine mesh colander and place a nut milk bag, cheese cloth or coffee filter in colander. Carefully pour the brew through the colander into a pourable container. Finally, strain one more time into a container to store in fridge. Cold brewed coffee is less bitter than its hot counterpart. So you can make a smooth hot cup of coffee from cold brewed by pouring a cup and heating it in microwave. Serve your coffee black (my preference) or add some milk or cream. Also, try adding to the cream, a drizzle of honey with a pinch of pink salt for a sweeter coffee that tastes like an iced salted caramel latte. Tip: this recipe is more like a concentrate, add water to taste. Sun Tea 6-7 cups water and 6 tea bags (approximately) There’s nothing as easy or tasty as a tea brewed by the sun! Take a large mason jar – the 2 quart type, and fill with water. Add your favorite tea bags (herb, black, green, caffeine or de- caf). This is when I get to clean out my tea supplies built up over the winter! Set outside for a few hours or inside on your counter. I’ve even placed it the fridge right away and it turns out great every time. I like my tea without anything in it, but it’s easy to jazz it up with flavored sweeteners like Sweet Leaf stevia sweeteners or a simple syrup made from water and sugar. Add crushed mint, lemon, lime, or berries for a special enhancement. Tip: this recipe is more like a concentrate, add water to taste. Beth Snyder I drink a lot of beverages throughout the spring and summer and here are two of my favorite homemade brews: 5 Beverages Sparkling Lavender Lemonade by Oh So Delicioso 1 cup water 1 cup sugar 2 drops lavender essential oil (food grade) or 1 Tbsp dried lavender or 10 sprigs fresh lavender 1 cup lemon juice (about 6 lemons juiced) 3 cups cold sparkling water 1 drop purple food coloring (optional) Create a simple syrup by combining 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan. If using fresh or dried lavender, add to pan. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Let cool to room temperature. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain lavender from simple syrup. Combine lemon juice, water, and simple syrup in 1 quart pitcher. If using essential oil, add 2 drops. Add food coloring if desired. Serve with ice and lemon slices. Lauren Kramer My mother’s family lives in Poulsbo, Washington, also known as “Little Norway.” In this county, lavender grows everywhere - it is the preferred flavor and scent for many recipes and gifts. Before lavender became a little more popular here in Michigan, I would look forward to drinking it with everything when I went to visit family. It reminds me of times when I would sip it on the Bainbridge ferry or stroll in the gardens of the island’s Bloedel Reserve. To me, lavender is the flavor of home-away-from-home. 6 Appetizers Corn Bean and Feta Dip Race Cars Date and Bacon Appetizers Guacamole Black Bean and Corn Fresh Pico Texas Caviar Sausage and Pepper Stuffed Crimini Mushrooms 7 Appetizers Corn Bean and Feta Dip 1-can of whole kernel white sweet corn (drained and rinsed) 1-can of Black beans (drained and rinsed) 1-bunch of green onions (chopped) 1-small container of feta cheese crumbles 1-zesty lime vinaigrette (kraft) or other lime Vinaigrette salad dressing - added to taste (about 1/2 cup) Combine ingredients and add dressing until mixture is moistened, but not too soupy. Serve as a side dish with tortilla chips. Karis This is the simplest recipe to make and people love it! It’s best shared with friends at a tailgate or summer gathering with tortilla chips. Enjoy! Race Cars Celery Carrots Peanut Butter Raisins Toothpicks Wash celery and cut into 2 inch segments. Push toothpicks through celery at each end. Slice carrots into 1/4 inch slices and put 4 carrots on the ends of the toothpicks (wheels). Fill the celery with peanut butter and put a raisin in the peanut butter at one end for a driver’s head. Alister and Thomas Heydlauff Our dad submitted this recipe with his brothers to their church cook- book when they were growing up! 8 Appetizers Date and Bacon Appetizers dates bacon barbeque sauce toothpicks Place as many dates as you like in a casserole pan. Take raw bacon (or precooked from a package, and still soft) and cut in half or thirds, depending on size of dates and bacon. Wrap date with bacon and place in pan. Put a toothpick in each to hold together. Choose a barbe- que sauce of your choice and brush on top of each date. Cook for about 15 minutes if bacon is raw, or about 5 minutes if bacon is precooked. Watch to see if you need more time if bacon isn’t cooked well enough. Rachelle Casten This is an old standby appetizer that I’ve been cooking for about 15 years. It’s super simple and needs no recipe. It’s super fast, and perfect if you need to add another appetizer for your party, and it needs no utensils to eat, so great for a party where people are standing and mingling. Guacamole 2 avocados cubed 1 cup of frozen corn 2-3 tomatoes cubed juice of 3 limes 1 red onion diced fresh cilantro to taste 1-2 jalapeno peppers small dice salt and pepper to taste 1 can of black beans Mix it all together and enjoy with corn chips or on top of salad greens or rice. Kim Johnson Here is a recipe my friends and family love, in stepping up a guacamole recipe I got from a Texan, this has become a great vegan, gluten free recipe that everyone loves. 9 Appetizers Black Bean and Corn Fresh Pico 8-10 firm tomatoes, cored* 1 red onion 2 jalapenos pepper 1 poblano pepper 2 serrano peppers 2 hungarian hot wax peppers 1 bunch cilantro 1 can black beans 1 small bag frozen corn 2 limes, juice Kosher Salt Pull corn out of the freezer to thaw. Halve tomatoes and scoop out all seeds and dice into a large bowl. Finely dice red onion and add. Remove seeds from all peppers to control heat… or leave some in to taste. Dice all very small and as uniform as possible and add. Pick leaves off of cilantro and rough chop. Drain and rinse black beans, add to bowl. Add thawed corn to bowl. Halve limes and squeeze juice into bowl. Mix all together and salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips or pita chips. Perfect as any addition to any dish or as a side. Paula Palmer Burns This is my “summer is here” dish! It is required that I bring it to so many of our annual events we have even turned preparing it into a team effort for the group. People often are shocked at how much we are cutting up because we usually make enough for a long weekend at least.... then they try it and realize it doesn’t last long enough to make in small batches. I usually double the recipe, if not triple. :-) It is always great for a couple of days after though I typically drain the liquid out to keep it from getting mushy.