Continuing our theme from last week’s Cold Sandwiches post, this week we’ll be featuring some of the amazing cold dips you’ve submitted. Because when it’s been hot all day and evening starts to roll in, sometimes there’s nothing better than a nice cold drink and something yummy to nibble on that’s quick, easy, and more likely calls for the food processor rather than the stove.

Note: You won’t be seeing any salsa and guacamole recipes in here because, let’s face it, they deserve their own post. (And they’ll get one, too. Trust me.)

Let’s start off with one of the most popular dips around: hummus. It’s healthy, extremely customizable, and all it calls for is a food processor and a few minutes of your time. We’ve even got a white bean version for those who don’t like chickpeas.

Clockwise from top left: PW’s Classic Hummus, Spinach and Feta Hummus from whatsgabycooking, White Bean Dip from stickycook, Homemade Hummus from ThreeManyCooks, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus from Heather, and Beet Hummus submitted by elanaspantry (courtesy of Elise of Simply Recipes).

 
 
 
If you’d rather skip the beans altogether, try one of these other dips. They’re all cool and creamy, and some of them can also double as a burger topping if someone’s manning the grill for dinner. (Notice that I didn’t say that you were manning the grill. You’re welcome.)

Clockwise from top left: Ree’s Baba Ghanoush, Baby!, Edamame Dip from foodwoolf, (Almost) Chuy’s Creamy Jalapeno Dip from ruth, Rosemary and Thyme Spread from ericalea, Lemon Asparagus Cheese Dip from jodiemo, Caramelized Onion Dip from jenniferperillo, and Smoked Tuna Dip from rolltidegrl26.

 
 
 
For those who want a chunkier, less-smooth dip, or something that just smacks of down home comfort, any one of the recipes below would be an excellent choice. Hmmm. I wonder if I can pull off an all-dip dinner and pass it off as healthy because it has vegetables.

Clockwise from top left: Mexican Dip from Java Girl, Deviled Egg Dip from Karly Campbell, Mexican Layer Dip from Ree, Southwest Corn Dip from Karenpie, Taco Dip from Michelle (Brown Eyed Baker), BLT Dip from aliwicious, and Pimento Cheese from barefootbelle.

 
 
 
And finally, we’ve got a few sweet dips for you to enjoy. Because not all dips have to be savory, and a nice Nutella, caramel, or peanut butter dip and some fruit make an excellent snack for the kids to enjoy. You can also sneak a taste or two without feeling guilty, because hey, you just want to make sure it tastes good, right? You’re just looking out for them.

 
Ah. The sacrifices we parents make for our kids. Just look at what we have to sample for their sake.

Clockwise from top left: Creamy Peanut Butter Dip from mcmom, Fat Free Cheesecake Dip from misshospitality, Nutella Cream Cheese Fruit Dip from jamieanne, Vanilla-Mint Yogurt Dip from Briana, and Healthy “Caramel” Dip from jmjacques.

 
 
 
Whether it’s something to enjoy along with your evening drink, or a snack to munch on during the day, Cold Dips are a great way to get a delicious dish ready in mere minutes without having to fire up the stove. Which is especially helpful if you’ve already started on that drink and the sangria might have gone to your head a bit. Although, on second thought, you might not want to handle the food processor either. You know, heavy machinery and all.

 
I’m just watching out for you. Because I love you like you were all my kids. Now march yourselves into the kitchen and help me clean up.

 
Anyone fall for that? Anyone?

 
Summer is upon us, and for many folks, that means heat … kids home all day … more heat … kids playing and constantly getting hungry … and even more heat. Between the soaring temperatures, chasing active children around (where in tarnation do they get all that energy?) and the increased demands on laundry caused by copious amounts of sweat and grime, often the last thing you want to do is make something hot to eat. What you need is something that doesn’t require firing up the stove or the oven, but also manages to be more nutritious and less guilt-inducing than serving ice cream for lunch and flavored ice cubes for dessert.

Sandwiches make excellent summer fare. They’re easy to make, and kids love them. They can be made into wraps, or served on a salad for a healthier, lower-carb option. You can make them ahead, too, which means you might actually have some time to catch your breath and put your feet up before getting a meal ready.

Our collection today features cold sandwiches, and the most heating you’ll have to do for these is toasting the bread. Which you don’t even have to do if you don’t want to. We’ll save the grilled sandwiches and paninis for another time. This post is all about keeping things cool, man. Let’s get started!

First up, chicken salad sandwiches. You can make these with leftover chicken (or turkey) or even rotisserie chicken, which adds a nice roasted flavor to the salad.

Clockwise from top left: Chicken Salad Sandwiches from callimakesdo, Curry Apple and Leftover Turkey Salad Sandwich from steamykitchen, Tarragon Chicken Salad with Pecans and Cranberries from theparsleythief, Fancy Chicken Salad from golokitchen, Chicken Salad with Peas and Herb Mustard Vinaigrette from multiplydelicious, and Crunchy Chicken Salad from ConContwin2.

 
 
 
We also have a few egg salad sandwiches to show you. And okay, I realize you’ll have to boil the eggs, but you can do that in the evening and have them ready to go the next day. There’s even a mayo-free version for those trying to stay away from the white stuff, and a grown-up version with olives and oregano. If you want to skip the eggs altogether, have a look at the mock egg salad below, made with tofu.

Clockwise from top left: Egg Salad with Kalamatas, Red Onion, and Fresh Oregano from ThreeManyCooks, Curry Egg Salad Sandwich from A Cozy Kitchen, Ella’s Egg Salad from Chez Us, an egg-less Mock Egg Salad with Cashew Mayo from myrecessionkitchen, Mini Cranberry Egg Salad Pitas from jillscleankitchen, and Mayo-Free Egg Salad from Natalie (Perry’s Plate).

 
 
 
Rounding out the big trio of salad sandwiches, here are some tuna salad options you might like, including one that also uses shrimp to pack some extra punch.

Clockwise from top left: Garden Tuna Salad with Olives from Angie McGowan, Mediterranean Tuna Salad from polwig,a mayo-free Mediterranean Tuna Salad from bringingupboys, and Tuna and Shrimp Sandwich from hellosal.

 
 
 
To change things up a bit, here are some other cold sandwich choices that depart from the traditional meat salad filling. Take a look at the fancy yet incredibly simple fig and brie sandwich that you can whip up for unexpected company, or to send to that lovely mom next door whose geraniums your son accidentally trampled on while playing tag the other day.

 
Figs and brie can often cover a multitude of sins. And sneaker tracks.

Clockwise from top left: Hearty Apple Sandwich from houndymama, Summer Veggie Sandwich from tamilovinglife, Summertime Tomato Sandwich from daxphillips, Fig, Brie, and Spinach Sandwiches from Laura Zolnoski, and Turkey and Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich from starcrossedb.

 
 
 
How about you? How do you keep cool in the summer? Around these parts, we’ve got about two more months of this heat, so we’ll take all the suggestions we can get!

 
This weekend, many folks will be celebrating America with friends, family, food and fireworks. If you’re looking for some new ideas for the grill, we featured 44 different grill recipes in our recent Grilled Food theme post. For today, we’ll stick to a theme that’s … well, that’s as American as apple pie. Can you guess what it is?

(It actually was a choice between Apple Pie and Chevrolet, but I couldn’t find any Chevy recipes here.)

Let’s start with actual apple pie recipes, shall we? Different folks have different ideas of what a traditional pie should be. Be it a double crust pie, or a crumble pie, or topped with decadent caramel, you’re sure to find one here that’s just right for you.

Clockwise from top left: Eva’s Apple Pie from callimakesdo, Classic Apple Pie from thescentofvanilla, Ree’s Scrumptious Apple Pie, Southern Apple Pie from Mommy’s Kitchen, Apple Cranberry Streusel Pie from Susan, and another one from thescentofvanilla, Apple Crumble Pie.

 
 
 
If you want to break from tradition and do a different version of apple pie, we’ve got a few alternatives for you too. Whether you want cupcakes, squares, crustless crisps, muffins or tarts, who says you can’t celebrate America’s favorite dessert in a non-pie form?

Clockwise from top left: American Pie Cupcakes from Rachymommy@MommyTopics, Caramel Apple Crumb from monstermama, Apple Pie Squares from julip1882, Apple Pie Muffins from holderman1325, Apple Pie Cupcakes from nakiaandkaleb, Rustic Skillet Apple Tart from sprinklebakes, and Apple Pear Crisp from ceegee.

 
 
 
Now, warm apple pie on an even warmer July day often feels naked without some cool and creamy vanilla ice cream. Not that naked isn’t good, especially when it’s hot, but you know what I mean. (As least, I hope you do, else you’d be giving me a funny look and slowly backing away from me right now.)

 
You can certainly get creative and go a different route, and if you want to do that, our recent Ice Cream theme post can point you in the right direction. But we’re not going to go all fancy here. Usually, the best friend a good apple pie can have is a nice big scoop of simple vanilla ice cream.

 
Okay, maybe I’ll throw in a little extra one with some cinnamon spice.

Clockwise from top left: Vanilla Bean Gelato from Food for My Family, Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream from sweetpeachef, Cashiers Farmer’s Market Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream from bunkycooks, Easy Vanilla Bean Ice Cream from missinthekitchen, Delicious Vanilla Bean Ice Cream from Ree, and something just a little bit different that’ll go well with the flavor of apple pie, Cinnamon Spice Ice Cream from Tracy (sugarcrafter).

 
 
 
And finally, to top it all off, how about some caramel sauce? Because, truth be told, if you run out of time or energy, you can simply get your pie and ice cream from the store or your favorite bakery. Top it with some good homemade caramel sauce, and you’re good to go.

Homemade Caramel Sauce from europegirl87 on the left, and Vegan Caramel Sauce from tonijean on the right.

 
 
 
Last but not least, I know it has nothing to do with apple pie, but I just had to show you these adorable little Blackberry & Strawberry Lemon Cakes from cookincanuck that celebrate both the upcoming 4th of July holiday as well as yesterday’s Canada Day. How cute are these?

 
 
 
And there you have it, Tasty Kitchen’s little piece of Americana, with a nod to our northern neighbor as well.

 
So, how about you? What does the phrase “as American as …” mean to you and your family? How would you finish that phrase? We’d love to hear all your different answers! And if you’re Canadian, gives us a holler and tell us how you celebrated Canada Day. We’d love to hear from you too! (Even if you’re not, don’t let that stop you from hollering anyway. I, for one, celebrated Make Enchiladas Out Of Leftovers Day yesterday. Can you guess what I did?)

A long time ago, Ree posted the recipe for her Homemade Ranch Dressing that you see above. It was a recipe born of necessity, considering the vast distance she’d have to drive just to get a packet of ranch dressing mix.

The result was not only yummy but undoubtedly healthier to boot. No benzopropenoleumfragillistic acid in it—just good ol’ herbs, garlic, sour cream, and mayonnaise. And the recipe has saved me a few trips to the (in)convenience store myself.

Which brings us to today’s theme. Tasty Kitchen has a wealth of incredible recipes for all kinds of dishes, and we love that it’s becoming a regular resource for recipe ideas and meal planning. But we also have a number of homemade ingredient recipes that members have shared, just for those emergency situations when you’re out of something that you need. Or maybe you just want a homemade alternative, which often is also the healthier alternative.

Let’s start with baking. To give you an idea of what we have in here, take a look at these:

We’ve got Homemade Baking Mix (Bisquick, anyone?) from Noshings, Homemade Butter from Jerseycook, Homemade Brown Sugar from damselindisdress (who knew it was so simple?), and bell’alimento’s Homemade Vanilla Extract.

(I think I’ll stop typing the “homemade” part of the recipe titles now, since that is the theme for today.)

All we have to do now is throw in some baking powder and powdered sugar and you pretty much have all you need to make something yummy in the oven.

What if you’re making lunch or dinner, and need something for your dish? Some ricotta cheese maybe? Or perhaps pizza sauce? Maybe you want to make some pasta but don’t have any of those boxes of noodles. Yep, we’ve got you covered there too.

Clockwise from the left: ericalea’s awesome-looking Pizza Sauce, Ricotta Cheese from whatsgabycooking, and Pastor Ryan’s incredibly easy and amazingly yummy Pasta.

 
Oh, and if you’re like me and you never have wonton wrappers around when you need them, we’ve got those too. (Thanks, Bob.)

Doing Mexican night instead? Now there’s no need to fret anymore if you run out of taco seasoning, hot sauce, refried beans, or even flour tortillas. (You can even take those flour tortillas and make your own tortilla chips. Then dip them in your homemade sour cream. Which would add mucho, mucho points to your awesomeness factor.)

What if your missing ingredient is a bit harder to find, and the problem isn’t so much the distance to the store but whether or not you can actually find what you need? From marzipan to mascarpone, Nutella to Kahlua, you may be surprised at the list of ingredients you can make at home.

Clockwise from top left: Garam Masala from ilikemonkeys, Ree’s Cranberry Sauce, Nutella from elanaspantry, and Birgit Kerr’s Mascarpone Cheese.

 
 
 
So whether it’s marshmallows that you need, or mayonnaise, or even yogurt, next time you think you might have to make a quick trip to the store just for one item, come visit here first! You just may save yourself that extra drive.

Now it’s your turn. Do you have any ingredient substitutions to share? Any secret tips that you don’t mind making not-so-secret anymore? We’d love to hear them all!

 
 
Update: We have a new Homemade Ingredients category at Tasty Kitchen! Check back for new additions from time to time. Keep those suggestions and tips coming!

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