Bringing your family together for a meal that tastes like summer is what the season is all about. If you’re spending an evening firing up the grill, flipping on the oven, forming a homemade salad or anything in-between, the time spent together enjoying warm weather flavors is what everyone truly craves.
If hot weather means lighter fare is on the menu, this Mediterranean Orzo Salad can be ready in mere minutes. Just toss together a handful of tantalizing ingredients for a simple bite of summer that’s perfect as a meatless meal or al fresco side dish. Or, you can turn it into a quick weeknight dinner by adding cooked chicken, shrimp or a protein of your choice.
To deliver a delightfully bold and zesty flavor with every bite, try these Summer Shrimp and Squash Kebabs, an easy way to bring loved ones together both before and during the meal. Put an adult in charge of heating the grill while the entire family works together to marinate a concoction of shrimp, tomatoes, corn, red onion, squash and zucchini before threading onto skewers that are ready to hit the grates.
Find more summer meal solutions at NewmansOwn.com.
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked orzo
- 2 mini cucumbers thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes quartered
- 1/2 cup canned chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup arugula
- 1/4 cup pitted Kalamata and green olives cut in half
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/3 cup Newman’s Own Garlic Vinaigrette & Marinade
- plus additional for serving optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine orzo, cucumbers, tomatoes, chickpeas, arugula, olives and feta cheese.
- Toss with vinaigrette.
- Serve with additional vinaigrette, if desired.
Summer Shrimp and Squash Kebabs
Ingredients
- 8 wooden skewers 12 inches each
- 1 cup Newman’s Own Garlic Vinaigrette & Marinade
- plus additional for serving
- 16 large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 16 cherry tomatoes
- 2 ears fresh corn each cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large red onion cut into 1-inch wedges
- 2 yellow squash sliced 1/2-inch thick
- 2 zucchini sliced 1/2-inch thick
Instructions
- Soak skewers in water at least 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine vinaigrette, shrimp, cherry tomatoes, corn, red onion, yellow squash and zucchini; marinate 30 minutes-1 hour.
- Preheat grill to medium heat.
- Skewer pieces of cherry tomato, shrimp, corn, zucchini, red onion and yellow squash on wooden skewer.
- Repeat with remaining ingredients and skewers.
- Grill kebabs about 8 minutes, turning frequently until shrimp and veggies are cooked.
- Serve with additional vinaigrette.