Summer entertaining should be as easy as the day is long with little time in the kitchen and lots of time in the pool. Especially when you’ve got a pretty flamingo floatie like this fella to play with. I paired up with my friend Emily from The Best of This Life for a pool party earlier this week and really, the hardest part was choosing which recipes to make. Our inspiration:ย Lick Your Plate, the fun and colourful new cookbook with 160 family-friendly meals from Canadian sisters Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat of Bite Me More. It’s designed for busy bodies who want fresh and healthy (and sometimes healthy-adjacent) meals and desserts they can prepare in a flash. There’s everything under the sun from appetizers you can eat with your hands to quick and satisfying pasta, rice and grains and more salads and veggie dishes than you can shake a carrot stick at (‘tho I’m not sure why you’d do that). Julie and Lisa share tips for saving time, swapping ingredients and using leftovers and they’re funny too. (Funny ha-ha, not funny strange.) Today Emily and I are sharing two of Julie and Lisa’s recipes and a little decor inspo from the book. Let’s take the flamingo a go-go and get to it! Bonus: you won’t have to lift a finger, except maybe to scroll.
Photo credit: Emily from The Best of This Life
Splash out with every colour under the rainbow — it’s Summer! Lemonade is pretty in pink, and even prettier in glass bottles where you can see the bright hue shine through.
The Italian chopped salad with creamy parmesan dressing is a meal in itself with all kinds of veggies, chickpeas, dates, sunflower seeds and candied nuts (we swapped pistachios for pecans because we had them on hand). Keep the salad sun-safe by serving dressing on the side (and keep the dressing in the shade). You’ll find the recipe in Emily’s post.
Photo credit: Emily fromย The Best of This Life
You don’t have to make everything from scratch — this beauty’s from a gluten-free mix. Next time we’ll have to try some of the sisters’ be-all and end-all desserts: easy fudge brownie and toasted marshmallow pie, peanut butter and jam bars, golden apple crisp with salted caramel sauce — they all sound so good!
Photo credit: Emily fromย The Best of This Life
Thai turkey sliders with peanut slaw are made doubly delicious with a scrumptious peanut sauce and a delicious alternative to traditional burgers. And they cook super quick — 3 and a half to 4 minutes each side on the BBQ or the grill. I’ve got the recipe at the bottom of this post.
Miss Emily, fabulous in her sunnies and drinks at the ready.
Emily’s kiddos flocked to the flamingo straight away while my daughter helped herself to some chow. (My guy spent the evening with his dad.)
Photo credit: Emily fromย The Best of This Life
Indigoย supplied the adorable floats (both just $20 each!). Sadly, the flamingo and the popsicle are sold out and there was just two of the giant donuts (love the pink frosting!)ย and one black swanย available when I last checked. They had all kinds just a few weeks ago so be sure to snap ’em up next year as soon as you see them.
Books make great decorations and conversation starters, especially when they’re some of the hottest reads of the summer (thanks Indigo!). I’ll be reviewing these here on the blog before school’s back in.
What do you say? Can we fetch you something to eat? Don’t be surprised if you want to lick your plate (wink wink). Happy entertaining!
Thai turkey sliders with peanut slaw
Want to see your guests go nuts? Serve up these Thai Turkey Sliders, the appetizer equivalentย of potato chipsโthereโs noย such thing as eating just one. What makes these sliders-with-slaw so addictive to eat and fun to make? You donโt have toย work your buns off to whip up these juicy mini turkey burgersย bursting with flavor from peanut butter, ginger and parsley, slathered in a lip-smacking peanut sauce and surrounded byย crunchy Asian slaw. So delicious, this crowd-pleaser is boundย to become the life of your next party.
MAKES ย 12 sliders ย PREP 15 minutes ย COOK 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 small garlic clove, minced
2ย tbsp soy sauce
1ย tbsp brown sugar
1ย tbsp rice vinegar
1ย tbsp fresh lime juice
2ย tsp honey
1ย tsp Sriracha sauce
1ย tsp sesame oil
ยฝย tsp grated fresh ginger
Crunchy slaw
2ย cups shredded cabbage
1ย small carrot, peeled andย shredded
1ย tbsp chopped fresh flat-leafย parsley
Turkey burgers
1ย lb lean ground turkey
2ย tbsp smooth peanut butter
1ย small carrot, peeled andย shredded
1ย green onion, minced
1ย tbsp chopped fresh flat-leafย parsley
ยฝย tsp grated fresh ginger
ยฝย tspย Sriracha sauce
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
12 slider buns
DIRECTIONS
1. For the peanut sauce, in a blender combine peanut butter, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, lime juice, honey, Sriracha, sesame oil and ginger. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
2. For the slaw,ย in a medium bowl, toss cabbage, shredded carrots andย parsley with 3 tablespoons of peanut sauce. Reserve the remainingย peanut sauce to spread on slider buns.
3. For the turkey burger,ย in a medium bowl, combine ground turkey,ย peanut butter, shredded carrot, green onion, parsley, ginger and Sriracha.ย Stir to incorporate all ingredients. Form into 12 small slider patties.ย Lightly oil one side of the burgers and sprinkle with kosher salt. Heat aย grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook, turning once, until crusty andย cooked through, about 3ยฝโ4ยฝ minutes per side.
4. To assemble,ย spread both sides of each slider bun with a generousย amount of peanut sauce. Place coleslaw on the bottom bun, top withย turkey burger and finish with another small scoop of coleslaw. Place topย bun on top and serve.
Fromย Lick Your Plateย Copyright ยฉ 2016 Pinky Swear Press. Reprinted by permission of Appetite by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited.
try small things 
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