Perfect for a picnic or supper, these summer salads and sippers will fill you up and quench your thirst!
Ahhh, summertime. While I’m not a huge fan of the heat and humidity (I do live in the south), I do like the slower pace that it seems to usher in. Maybe the slower pace is because we’re hot?
Due to that heat, we like to eat lighter meals. We tend to eat these meals outside and on the front porch.
The easiest and most versatile salads that I know of are pasta salads. You can make so very many different combinations with the perfectly cooked Barilla pasta. I’d like to share two of our favorites with you. Maybe they’ll help you out of your menu-planning funk.
Super Easy Summer Salads and Sippers:
For the first salad, I took one of our favorite foods and turned it into a pasta salad.
Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta Salad-
I took a little inspiration from my Big Mac Salad dressing with this pasta salad. This one contains all of the components of a great bacon cheeseburger!
And our next yummy salad is the Hawaiian Pasta Salad:
The second salad is inspired by my daughter Rebecca’s love of all things Hawaiian. I stood at the grocery store and thought of all of the foods that say Hawaiian to me and bought them. At home, we just kept mixing in items until we thought it was perfect.
I love the noodles that we used in this salad. They are Barilla Cellentani. Their corkscrew shape is fun!
But, you choose the noodle shape that you love! There are so many to choose from.
Now, what would a meal be without a frosty glass of sweet tea? Remember, this is the south! While I make sweet tea myself, for ease of use, I like to keep Gold Peak bottled tea on hand, especially for a quick cool drink.
It’s just right, not too sweet, not too weak. It’s refreshing straight from the bottle, but it’s extra yummy when you add fruit syrup to it!
Fruit syrups are so very simple to make. I use fruit that I’ve frozen and can whip these syrups up any time we’re craving just a bit more for our tea.
Just mix equal parts of water and sugar to make a simple syrup. Add in double the amount of fruit as water. Bring to a slow boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for about 30 minutes. Let cool and strain. Pour into a jar and keep in the refrigerator. Any fruit of your choosing will do. This one is perfect for summertime, as the fruits are in season!
Ahhh, yummy! This one is blueberry tea!
A simple, full meal of a hearty pasta salad and refreshing fruit tea makes for an easy summer meal.
Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta Salad
All the flavors you love in a bacon cheeseburger in a tasty pasta salad!
Ingredients
- 1 box Barilla noodles, your choice
- 1 pound ground beef
- 6 strips bacon, diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1 dill pickle, diced
- 1 cup shredded cheese, your choice
- salt and pepper to taste
For the dressing:
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons mustard
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 2 teaspoons dill pickle juice
Instructions
- Boil the pasta according to package directions, strain, and cool.
- Fry bacon just until crispy, let cool.
- Fry ground beef until done, let cool.
- Mix dressing ingredients together.
- In a large bowl, combine salad ingredients- pasta, bacon, ground beef, onion, pickle, cheese, salt, and pepper. Add dressing mix and combine. Adjust salt and pepper seasoning to taste.
- Chill.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 724Total Fat: 65gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 44gCholesterol: 113mgSodium: 888mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 24g
Hawaiin Pasta Salad
A tasty Hawaiin twist on the easy-to-make pasta salad!
Ingredients
- 1 box Barilla pasta, your choice
- ½ pound of ham, diced
- ½ can diced pineapple
- 1/.2 red onion, diced
- 3 sweet peppers, diced
- ½ cup Macadamia nuts, chopped.
- For the dressing:
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup pineapple juice
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Boil pasta according to package instructions, strain, and let cool.
- Once pasta is cool, combine all salad ingredients.
- Mix the dressing, by combining all ingredients, then mix together with salad ingredients.
- Chill and enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1020Total Fat: 102gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 77gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 1070mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 2gSugar: 9gProtein: 11g
Simple Fruit Syrup
Add this simple fruit syrup to your iced tea for a new twist on the classic sweet tea!
Ingredients
- 1 cup water 1 cup sugar 2 cups fruit, your choice- blueberry, strawberry, cherry, peach, etc (or a combination!) (frozen is fine)
Instructions
- Combine all three ingredients in a saucepan.
- Bring to a slow boil, then turn down to a simmer.
- Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Cool and strain fruit.
- Store in refrigerator.
Need more entertaining ideas? Here you go!
Easy Summertime Entertaining Recipes
5 Easy Tips to Make Your Cookout a Success
Thanks to Collective Bias, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company for partnering with me to share these simple summer salads and sippers. All opinions are mine alone. #SummerTastes #CollectiveBias
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