Ahh, the chance to entertain again! It’s a treat for us to welcome people back into our homes and backyards this summer. Whether you’re hosting a socially distanced cookout with neighbors or simply offering your own family a healthy summer dish, ALDIUSA has all the summer spread essentials you love — for less.
If your entertaining skills are feeling a little rusty, we’re here to help with a few of our favorite family recipe ideas!
Let’s start with a Mediterranean-inspired appetizer: DIY Hummus Bar!
A great gathering tip is a “create your own” snack bar. This is a wonderful way to have your guests interact and have fun making something personalized. A food favorite of ours is hummus! This yummy protein-packed, plant-based food is a great base for creating your own snack. Some of our favorite hummus’ come from ALDI, where there are several flavors to choose from, hummus for our sweet-tooth friends!
For ingredient inspiration, we’ve come up with a few combinations that highlight the concept:
Roasted red pepper hummus topped with paprika, feta crumbles and served with for dipping
- Park Street Deli Red Pepper Hummus
- Stonemill Paprika
- Emporium Selection Feta Cheese Crumbles
- Fresh celery from ALDI
- Specially Selected Mini Naan
Roasted garlic hummus topped with paprika, for dipping
Roasted pine nut hummus topped with pumpkin seeds, sliced cucumbers and red bell pepper
- Park Street Deli Pine Nut Hummus
- Southern Grove Pumpkin Seeds
- Freshly sliced cucumbers and red bell pepper from ALDI
Cilantro jalapeño hummus topped with plain Greek yogurt, diced cherry tomatoes, lime wedge, and crushed tortilla chips
- Park Street Deli Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus
- Friendly Farms Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt
- Fresh diced cherry tomatoes and lime wedges from ALDI
- Clancy’s Big Dipper Tortilla Chips
Brownie batter hummus topped with strawberries, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and served with graham crackers or pretzels for dipping
- Park Street Deli Brownie Batter Hummus
- Fresh strawberries from ALDI
- Specially Selected Belgian Chocolate Semi Sweet Chunks
- Peanut Delight Creamy Peanut Butter
- Benton’s Graham Crackers
- Clancy’s Pretzel Slims
Next up! Produce-Forward Side Dishes
ALDI has all the fresh and organic produce you need for your outdoor feasts. We love summer salads to balance out the BBQ and incorporate the flavors of the season. ALDI sells fresh, high-quality produce that makes you feel like you’ve shopped straight from the farmer’s market with vine ripe tomatoes and peaches. Enjoy their award-winning Emporium Selection feta cheese to top off this dish!
Summer Panzanella Salad
- Prep Time: 30
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Recipe adapted from Love and Lemons.
Ingredients
- 3 T. Specially Selected Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, more for drizzling
- 3 T. fresh lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ t. Burman’s Dijon mustard
- ½ cup sliced red onion
- Kernels from 2 ears of fresh corn
- 10 small or 5 medium tomatoes, sliced into wedges
- 16 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 3 peaches, pitted and sliced
- 4 to 5 c. cubed crusty bread (Specially Selected French Baguette)
- 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1, 4 oz. container Emporium Selection Feta Cheese Crumbles
Instructions
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For the dressing, in a large bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, ½ teaspoon of salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Add the onion, and corn and toss until coated. Let sit for 10 minutes while you prep the rest of the salad.
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To the bowl, add the tomatoes, peaches, bread, and half the cilantro. Toss to combine, adding more olive oil if the bread is too dry, and more lemon, salt, and pepper, to taste. Let the salad sit for about 10 minutes so that the juices can soak into the bread. Give it a toss, then top with the remaining fresh herbs and feta cheese.
Notes
Tag @mcdanielnutrition on Instagram and hashtag it #mcdanielmeals
For a super simple side dish, fill ALDI Clancy’s Big Dipper Tortilla Chips with some ALDI Park Street Deli Guacamole and top with a sautéed or grilled shrimp using their Fremont Fish Market Argentine Red Shrimp, along with fresh cilantro and Emporium Selection Feta Crumbles! Your guests will love the ability to enjoy a healthy dip without having to worry about chip double-dip offenders!
You Can’t Entertain Without Dessert!
Who says adults can’t enjoy the playful popsicle?! Our Adult-Only Beet & Berry Popsicles are made with a lot of berries and a touch of earthy beet flavor, plus our favorite ingredient: Orange Mimosa! These refreshing, playful popsicles make it easy to cool off while pleasing the summer palate.
Adult Only Beet and Berry Popsicles
Ingredients
- 1/2 c. orange mimosa
- 2/3 c. friendly-farms strawberry yogurt
- 2 c. halved strawberries
- 2 Happy Harvest whole beets
- 3 T. Berryhill Honey
- 1 t. Stonemill pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in your blend and blend until creamy consistency.
- Pour into 6 traditional-sized popsicle molds.
- Freeze for 4-6 hours.
- To enjoy, run under hot water until popsicle can easily pop out!
Notes
Tag @mcdanielnutrition on Instagram and hashtag it #mcdanielmeals
ALDI makes summer shopping convenient!
Did you know that ALDI operates more than 40 stores in the St. Louis area, providing convenient access to fresh, high-quality groceries at unbeatable prices? For added convenience, curbside grocery pickup is now available for shoppers at more than 20 St. Louis stores. To find out which area stores offer curbside, shoppers can visit aldi.us.
Stay Connected and Share Your Successes!
Stay connected with ALDI by visiting ALDI.us, “Like” ALDI USA on Facebook and follow @ALDIUSA on Instagram and @ALDIUSA on Twitter. And, if you’re like me and want to share your own recipes, photos, tips and tricks, tag ALDI using the hashtag #ALDILove!
Check out the ALDI’s fan favorites post!