GirlsGuideTo | Lazy Girl Recipes: 3 Easy Summer Meals with 6 Ingredients

In the summer, the last thing I want to do is cook. I spend all winter making heavy meals like stew and as I start to shed my layers of clothing, my meals get lighter too. It’s not only due to the heat outside, which just kills my desire to ever turn on the oven, but I just don’t want to spend my time inside! I’d so much rather spend my limited free time after work running or walking my dog or playing in the park! So, needless to say, I’m always on the lookout for quick, creative, and easy recipes I can whip up on the fly. Here are three of my favorite weeknight dishes for the summer!

Pesto Pasta with Lemon, Spinach, Edamame & Toasted Almonds
serves 4 to 6 (perfect for a picnic or leftovers!)

There’s no better combination than pesto and pasta (okay, maybe chocolate and peanut butter…) and this dish mixes them in a bright and elegant way, and the only time it takes is the time to boil water and cook the pasta. Easy peasy! This is a great option for an outdoor party or picnic as it doesn’t need to be refrigerated and is delicious room temp or chilled.

Ingredients

8 ounces spaghetti

1/2 cup pesto

8 ounces spinach

2 cups edamame (shelled and shucked, the peas, not entire pods)

juice from 2 lemons (plus fresh lemon wedges for serving)

3/4 cup almonds, crushed and lightly toasted

Directions

Heat a large pot of water to boiling, cook pasta until al dente. Remove from water, strain and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl, stir pasta, pesto and spinach until combined (some spinach will wilt, some will stay firm — this is a nice contrast of textures). Finally, stir in the edamame and squirt the lemon all over the finished dish. Reserve a few lemon slices for people to add more if they like. On a low heat, toast crushed almonds until just fragrant. Garnish pasta with the toasted almonds.

BBQ Chicken Pizza with Caramelized Onions
makes 2 thin crust pizzas, serves 4 to 6

Pizza is the ultimate in weeknight time-saving dinners. Everybody likes it and it only takes 15 minutes. To save time, you can pick up pre-made dough from the grocery store or pizza shop. And if you have a leftover piece of grilled chicken, you’re even closer to enjoying the yumminess of caramelized onions and BBQ chicken!

Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion, sliced

Olive oil

1 grilled chicken breast, chopped into bite-size pieces

1 lb ball fresh mozzarella, sliced

1 cup BBQ sauce

1 cup tomato sauce
1 ball pizza dough (approximately 22 oz or enough for a large pizza)

Flour for rolling out dough

Tomatoes, to garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Heat a heavy-bottom pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Add a tablespoon of water to the hot pan and scrape off any brown bits. Remove from heat.

Using flour as needed, roll out half of pizza dough until thin (thin enough so the dough isn't in danger of tearing). Place dough on pan or stone. Spoon 1/2 cup tomato sauce and 1/4 cup BBQ sauce onto dough. Add 1/2 pound sliced mozzarella and half of the chopped chicken. Repeat with remaining dough for second pizza.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until dough is crisp and cheese is melted. Add caramelized onions to cooked pizzas, and drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup BBQ sauce. Add thin sliced tomatoes for garnish.

Artichoke, Spinach & Ricotta Pie
serves 4 to 6

Whenever I have an egg-based dish for dinner, I feel very French. I don’t know why. But there’s something so elegant about quiches and the like…even though they are ridiculously easy! This egg and ricotta tart does takes awhile to cook, there’s no getting around that. But I promise it’s worth it!

Ingredients

Olive oil

4 eggs, beaten

8 ounces ricotta cheese

4 ounces Parmesan, grated

1 cup canned artichokes, chopped

1 bunch spinach (or arugula)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan lightly with olive oil.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, ricotta cheese, and Parmesan. Roughly chop the artichokes and thinly slice the kale leaves and add to the cheese and egg mixture. Season lightly with salt and generously with black pepper Stir until combined.

Pour contents of bowl into the greased cake pan and drizzle with olive oil. Cook until custard is set, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes and serve.

Adapted fromThe Kitchn.