Summer Party Menu Ideas

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Summer parties and entertaining are in full swing. Here are some great menu ideas for your next summer shindig. If you want your BBQ’d meat to be incredibly tasty with minimal stress, start planning now!

Marinating your meat overnight is the best way to go and your friends and family will be humming over your juicy grilled meat and veggies, while you’re free to focus on the details since all of your ingredients are primed and ready to hit the grill! P.S. If you aren’t grilling, I’ve included plenty of non-grilling options just for you.

My husbands birthday falls on the 4th of July and he gets fireworks every year! 😉 I’m so thankful I’m off this 4th. We’re planning a 4th of July BBQ at mom’s house tomorrow followed by cannon balls in the pool, which will be a welcome site when it’s nearly 100˚F out! I’ll keep you posted on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter of course.

 

For Recipes, click on the links or on the pictures below: 

APPETIZERS:

We’ll start with appetizers to get your party rolling. These options will make people happy from the get-go.

1. Easy Chicken sandwich melts (go ahead and put this spread on smaller canape-sliced bread)

2. Spicy Guacamole (we make this all the time and can’t get enough of this guac!)

SIDES/ VEGGIES/SALAD

1. Keep things easy and healthy with this simple 15-minute corn on the cob, buttered up; naturally.

2. Moroccan Veggie Skewers (uhm, yeah..):

If you want a Moroccan themed BBQ, try the Moroccan Chicken and Tzatziki sauce to go with the veggies and chicken. So so good!

3. Every party deserves this healthy Greek Salad with an easy zestly lime dressing. Once you try it, you’ll make it again, and again, and again, and again….

4. Oven roasted baby red potatoes. These will go really well with your BBQ’d meats and veggies.

MEAT

(a.k.a. the show stopper; what folks will remember most).

1. Juicy BBQ’d chicken thighs – you’ll want to marinate these overnight for optimal flavor. Your mom marinates overnight (Did you know I’m really good at “your mom” jokes? Stick with me and I’ll toss out a few more)

2. Spice-rubbed sirloin (please don’t laugh at these uglier pictures. We’ll be updating soon. We’ve made this recipe a gazillion times (which is food blogger lingo for “about 25”).

3. Grilled Moroccan Chicken. Be sure to pair this with Tzatziki Sauce!

4. Beef Kabobs for the grown ups. Or are they Kebobs, or Kebabs. The last one sounds the funniest so I’ll stick with it. Kebabs.

5. If you aren’t grilling, these breaded chicken skewers are a great option to feed a crowd:

or these baked breaded chicken drumsticks (easier and somewhat healthier).

DESSERT:

1. The berry trifle. I could totally see this with strawberry and blueberry for the red, white and blue theme. It’s so yummy and comes together in 30 minutes #nobakedessert.

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2. Another make-ahead dessert, the raspberry pretzel jello should be made the day before. Have you tried it? You’ll be running sprinting back for seconds.

3. If you have a little more time on your hands, you should try this (or pin it for later because you have to try this berry cake! It was my husbands birthday cake last year. Oh snap! I need to make a birthday cake for tomorrow :-O!!

DRINKS:

1. Ofcourse I’m starting my list with iced coffee! This recipe makes enough for a crowd in just 15 minutes (of course you’ll want to chill it after it’s made and be sure to serve with sweetened condensed milk).

2. Minus the dorky pictures (an umbrella, really?), this party punch is so easy and delicious, I can’t not share it! (your mom uses double negatives)

3. If you’re out of fresh cherries, frozen will do just fine in this sparkling cherry lemonade:

With over 450 recipes on this blog (wow that’s kind of ridiculous eh?), you’ll find plenty more inspiration in our full photo recipe index.

What are your plans for the fourth of july?