Make some delicious summer recipes straight from ingredients found in your own garden.
Time to put the bounty of your garden to work with these dishes made with fresh-from-your-garden veggies. Bonus? They can be whipped together in as little as 30 minutes!
Grilled pizza with greens and tomatoes
from Taste of Home
Get your greens in (and still feel like you’re treating yourself) with this grilled homemade pizza.
Ingredients
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cups warm water
Toppings
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 10 cups beet greens, coarsely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup prepared pesto
• 3/4 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 medium heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
Directions
1. Place flour, salt and yeast in a food processor; pulse until blended. While processing, add 2 tablespoons oil and enough water in a steady stream for dough to form a ball. Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes.
2. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
3. Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into 2 portions. Press or roll each portion into a 10-in. circle; place each on a piece of greased foil (about 12 in. square). Brush tops with remaining oil; cover and let rest 10 minutes.
4. For topping, in a 6-qt. stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beet greens; cook and stir until tender, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds longer. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar.
5. Carefully invert pizza crusts onto oiled grill rack; remove foil. Grill, covered, over medium heat until bottoms are lightly browned, 3-5 minutes. Turn; grill until second side begins to brown, 1-2 minutes.
6. Remove from grill. Spread with pesto; top with beet greens, cheeses and tomatoes. Return pizzas to grill. Cook, covered, over medium heat until cheese is melted, 2-4 minutes. Sprinkle with basil.
Summer Squash Casserole
from The Food Network
Ingredients
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 4 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• Half medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 large eggs
• 8 ounces shredded Cheddar (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves (from 10 sprigs)
• 4 sprigs fresh chives, chopped
• 1 sleeve buttery crackers, such as Ritz (about 30 crackers), crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put a large colander inside a large bowl.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add a third of the squash to the skillet, arrange in a single layer and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the squash begins to soften and are golden brown spots, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the colander. Repeat 2 more times using 2 tablespoons of butter for each batch and sprinkling with 1/2 teaspoon salt and few grinds of pepper. Transfer each batch to the colander.
3. Add 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet along with the pepper and onion and cook, stirring occasionally scraping up any brown bits, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Let cool for 5 minutes then fold into the squash. Transfer the mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish.
4. Whisk together the sour cream, eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a large bowl. Fold in the Cheddar, thyme and chives. Pour over the squash making sure that some of the mixture sinks down to the bottom.
5. Microwave the remaining tablespoon of butter in a medium bowl until melted. Fold in the crackers and hot sauce. Sprinkle evenly over the squash. Bake until the eggs are cooked through and the crackers are golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Tomato Cobbler
from The Food Network
What an ingenious idea! Who says cobbler always has to be sweet?
Ingredients
For the filling:
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 large tomatoes (about 1 3/4 pounds), cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
• Kosher salt
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
For the topping:
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup milk, plus more for brushing
• 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the filling: Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and cayenne and cook 1 more minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, brown sugar and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the tomatoes just begin to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, then gently stir in the cherry tomatoes and flour. Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish and dot with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter.
2. Make the topping: Whisk the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Add the butter and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse meal with pea-size pieces of butter. Add the milk, mustard and thyme and gently mix with a fork just until a sticky dough forms, being careful not to overwork the dough.
3. Drop balls of dough over the tomato filling and brush the dough with milk. Place the cobbler on a baking sheet and bake until golden and bubbling, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.
Zucchini Fritters
from Damn Delicious
What an ingenious idea! Who says cobbler always has to be sweet?
If you have plenty of zucchini (and we always do because we plant too much) these delectable fried fritters are a tasty and fast appetizer.
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, grated (about 3 cups)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
1. Place grated zucchini in a colander over the sink. Add salt and gently toss to combine; let sit for 10 minutes. Using a clean dish towel or cheese cloth, drain zucchini completely.
2. In a large bowl, combine zucchini, flour, Parmesan, garlic and egg; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Scoop tablespoons of batter for each fritter, flattening with a spatula, and cook until the underside is nicely golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, about 1-2 minutes longer.
4. Serve immediately.