Easy Summer Menu

My oldest graduated high school last week. The ceremony was scheduled for 7 p.m. Ds needed to leave by 5:30 and we needed to be there by 6. We had family coming from "out of town" (really only 30 min to 2 hours away) and knew we would need to feed them before we all headed out. I needed an easy but impressive meal to serve that could sit out for a while. We decided on fried chicken from the deli and make ahead side dishes.

First my husband made up his creamy and delicious potato salad. I found recipes for an easy coleslaw, a fruit salad, and a yummy cool dessert. All of these we made the night before so all we had to do on the big day was concentrate on family and friends. It turned out great. Here are the recipes.

Potato Salad (an old recipe adapted from a Betty Crocker cookbook)

2 pounds potatoes
1 1/2 cups mayo
1 tbs vinegar
1 tbs mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 tbs sweet pickle relish
paprika

Prepare and boil potatoes. Cool slightly and cube. Mix mayo, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add potatoes. Mix in relish. Top with eggs. Sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate before serving. Dh usually adds some chopped egg into the salad, and saves some sliced eggs for topping.

Mustard Coleslaw This comes from the current issue of Taste of Home magazine.

3/4 cup prepared mustard
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 medium heads cabbage (about 4 pounds), shredded
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 large carrot, shredded
1 celery rib, finely chopped


Directions: For dressing, in a bowl, combine the mustard, vinegar, sour cream, ketchup, mayonnaise, salt and cayenne. Stir in the sugar. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, onion, green pepper, carrot and celery. Add desired amount of dressing and toss until well coated. Refrigerate until serving. Refrigerate any leftover dressing. Serve with a slotted spoon. Yield: 24 servings. This makes a lot of dressing, you may want to cut down the proportions. I bought pre-packaged coleslaw mix to save time. This is really good!

Fruit Salad (From Allrecipes)

4 cups fresh strawberries, halved
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
2 bananas, sliced
2 cups seedless grapes, halved
1 (8 ounce) container plain or vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS
In a large salad bowl, combine strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, bananas and grapes. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, sugar and vanilla; mix well. Serve with fruit.
I cut up all the fruit except the bananas and made the dressing the night before. Right before I set this out to serve I cut up the bananas and added the dressing. Yum.

No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake (From current issue of Kraft Food & Family)

12 HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, finely crushed (about 2 cups crumbs)
6 Tbsp. margarine, melted
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar, divided
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup strawberry preserves
2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping, thawed

MIX graham crumbs, margarine and 1/4 cup of the sugar; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
BEAT Neufchatel cheese and 3/4 cup of the sugar in large bowl with electric mixer until well blended. Add preserves; mix well. Place strawberries and remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar in small bowl; mash with fork. Stir strawberry mixture and whipped topping into cheese mixture. Spoon over crust; cover.
REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Store in refrigerator.

This was delicious! Everyone wanted seconds for this. It's a keeper for sure!

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy summer menu.