5-Ingredient Summer Recipes

Fresh Mozzarella, Heirloom Tomato, and Basil Pizza

Simple cooking brings real pleasure from a few good things. These summer-inspired recipes use only five fresh ingredients and a couple of pantry staples to create fantastically simple and simply fantastic entreés.

This is how the simple cook rolls: store-made dough, thin, with sweet tomatoes and chewy-melty mozzarella. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature before rolling it out. If it still shrinks back when you start to work with the dough, let it rest for another 10 minutes, and then try again. For a pretty finishing touch, save a few small basil leaves to sprinkle over the top after it cooks.

Pantry Checklist:

• Refrigerated fresh pizza dough
• Fresh basil leaves
• Garlic cloves
• Fresh mozzarella cheese
• Heirloom tomatoes

Halibut with Bacony Corn Sauté

Be sure to buy fresh, never-frozen fish, summer corn on the cob and in the husks, and your favorite bacon. Applewood-smoked bacon is more subtle than hickory or mesquite and won't clobber all of the other ingredients. Just a spritz of fresh lime juice brings the flavors into perfect balance.

Pantry Checklist

• Skinless halibut fillets
• Center-cut, applewood-smoked bacon
• Fresh corn kernels
• Green onions

• Lime wedges

Tomato Ravioli

Take plain cheese ravioli from boring to beautiful with a mix of cherry tomatoes, shallots, and basil.

Pantry Checklist:

• Cheese ravioli
• Chopped fresh basil
• Cherry tomatoes
• Shallots
• Balsamic vinegar

Spaghetti with Parsley Pesto and Sausage

A sprinkling of crumbled spicy sausage makes a salty-savory finishing touch to herb-drenched pasta. Some pestos tend to go drab, but this one stays a brilliant emerald green.

Pantry Checklist:

• Spaghetti
• Spicy pork Italian sausage, casings removed
• Garlic cloves
• Fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Hickory Pulled Pork

As many Southerners know, hickory wood chips offer an almost magical alchemy, yielding sublime flavor when combined with four simple ingredients. Serve with potato salad, coleslaw, and iced tea for a delicious summer supper.

Pantry Checklist:

• Hickory wood chips
• Dark brown sugar
• Garlic powder
• Chili powder
• Bone-in pork shoulder

Grilled Ham, Muenster, and Spinach Sandwiches

Mild Muenster cheese is too often overlooked; it’s great for sandwiches, burgers, omelets, or just plain snacking. It matches well with thinly sliced ham, fresh spinach, and sweet-and-tangy chowchow in these crusty-breaded sandwiches.

Pantry Checklist:

• Chicago-style Italian bread
• Deli ham
• Muenster cheese
• Baby spinach
• Mild chowchow

Smothered Pepper Steak

This classic American-Chinese dish is just incredibly easy. A dip in flour is the secret to nicely browned and crisp beef, and if you have fresh veggies on hand, you can use whatever you like in place of the frozen stir-fry mix.

Pantry Checklist:

• Ground sirloin patties (4 – 4-oz)
• All-purpose flour
• Frozen bell pepper stir-fry (16-oz)
• Diced tomatoes (14.5-oz)
• Low-sodium soy sauce

Skillet Barbecue Shrimp

Barbecue shrimp is usually prepared in the oven, but this recipe speeds things up with a stovetop approach. Serve with a citrusy salad and finish with a tropical sorbet.

Pantry Checklist:

• Shrimp (2 lbs)
• Fat-free Italian dressing
• Butter
• Lemons
• Dried rosemary

Grilled Chicken with Bourbon Peach Butter

Our hands-free oven method helps prevent the sugary fruit butter from scorching.

Pantry Checklist: 

• Peaches
• Lemon Juice
• Bourbon
• Brown Sugar
• Chicken Breast Halves

Sweet-Spiced Grilled Lamb Chops

There's no reason lamb shouldn't be a regular part of your menu planning with a dish as simple and delicious as this. It matches well with any sort of prepared grain: barley, couscous, quinoa, or even grits.

Pantry Checklist:

• Lamb loin chops (8-4 oz)
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground allspice
• Ground cumin
• Ground red pepper

Grilled Heirloom Tomato and Goat Cheese Pizza

Summer-sweet heirloom tomatoes are the star of this recipe, complemented by mild and tangy goat cheese atop a crispy char-grilled pizza crust. If heirlooms are out of season, substitute just about any tomato.

Pantry Checklist:

• Refrigerated pizza crust dough (1 can)
• Garlic
• Heirloom tomato
• Mozzarella cheese
• Herbed goat cheese

Sherried Pineapple Pork Tenderloin

A thick and glossy sauce makes any dish feel elegant, but this one takes all of five minutes to make. The Red Cabbage and Carrot Slaw shown is a great side, or try a carrot salad.

Pantry Checklist:
 

• Pork tenderloin (1 lb)
• Pineapple juice
• Sugar
• Dried sherry
• Low-sodium soy sauce

Summer Pea, Watermelon, and Farro Salad

This unusual yet delicious combination of flavors makes a good substitute for traditional pasta salad at your next cookout.

Pantry Checklist:

• Watermelon
• Farro
• Parsley
• Green Peas
• Pecorino Romano Cheese

Grilled Pork Sliders with Honey BBQ Sauce

Honey and rum intensify the complex sweetness of bottled barbecue sauce for an easy, filling, and delicious sandwich. Top with pickles, chowchow, or coleslaw for a more authentic barbecue experience.

Pantry Checklist:

• Barbecue sauce
• Dark rum
• Honey
• Pork tenderloin
• Hamburger buns

Halibut with Quick Lemon Pesto

While the halibut cooks on the grill (about 8 minutes), prepare the pesto sauce. Serve with grilled zucchini and red peppers (or whatever fresh veggies you have on hand).

Pantry Checklist:

• Halibut fillets (4 6-oz.)
• Basil leaves
• Fresh parmesan cheese
• Garlic cloves
• Lemon

Asiago Tortellini

This light but substantial vegetarian soup features a basil-infused broth that begs for dipping. Serve with your favorite crusty bread or with our Black Pepper-Garlic Flatbread, made from refrigerated pizza crust dough.

Pantry Checklist:

• Fresh three-cheese tortellini
• Vegetable broth (fat-free, less-sodium―use in place of chicken broth)
• Plum tomatoes
• Fresh basil
• Asiago cheese

Barbecue-Stuffed Potatoes

Cooked quickly in the microwave, this is a hearty one-dish meal that will satisfy a craving for comfort food. Follow with a classic comfort-food dessert (with a twist): Strawberry-Banana Pudding.

Pantry Checklist:

• Baking potatoes (6)
• Sour cream
• Green onions
• Shredded barbecue chicken
• Cheddar cheese

Grilled Salmon and Grapefruit Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette

The tart-and-sweet flavor combination in grapefruit matches the tender salmon's sweetness and elevates its flavor. Blood orange juice gives the dressing intense orange flavor, but any citrusy vinaigrette will do.

Pantry Checklist:

• Salmon fillets
• Vidalia or other sweet onion
• Mixed baby salad greens
• Jarred red grapefruit sections
• Blood Orange Vinaigrette