Summertime Dinner Recipe

From Guest Blogger Ashley Smaldino 

Summer is a time when our lives get a much-needed dose of freedom, lightness and ease. When your days are filled with spending time with friends, days at the beach, traveling, exploring and carefree fun, the last thing you want to do is spend hours in the kitchen. At least that’s the case for me! That is why I created this easy and delicious summer recipe for you.

A majority of the time my meals take minutes to prepare. Don’t get me wrong, I love to make special meals every once in a while, but 99% of the time, my meals go as follows: breakfast smoothie, munching on fruit if I get hungry before lunch, a huge plate of fresh fruit for lunch or a salad filled with fruits and veggies and for dinner, a salad loaded with veggies (sometimes some fruit if I worked out heavily that day…to make sure I get enough healthy carbs in!) with a side of steamed veggies, baked or sweet potatoes.

Keeping things simple for almost all of my meals makes things even EASIER when traveling! I spent three weeks in Maui last month and all of my dinners, except for one or two, were huge salads with baked potatoes on the side topped with guac or tahini sauce. My favorite potatoes are Yukon Gold (make sure they’re organic!) and sweet potatoes (the bright orange ones)

But my ALL TIME favorite way to eat potatoes is what you see here… HERB POTATO WEDGES!!

Technically, I guess they’re “fries” but they’re baked not fried so I prefer calling them wedges. They sound fancier that way too. I actually learned this technique from Instagram! The recipe is oil-free, gluten-free, soy-free…but NOT taste-free! Feel free to use coconut oil if you prefer, but since I have a hard time digesting oils, I try to stay as oil-free as possible.

Herb Potato Wedges Recipe

Serves 3 – 4 

Ingredients: 

• 6 Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered then halved
• 1-2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt or to taste
• 1 tsp pepper or to taste

**You can use any fresh herbs that you like. I’ve been digging this recipe with fresh thyme added to it! I’ve also added turmeric before and love the taste!

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF
2. Wash and cut the potatoes into wedges. You can make them as large or small as you want, but make sure that whatever size you choose, all the wedges are relatively the same so they cook at the same rate.
3. Transfer the potato wedges into a large bowl. Add the rosemary, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
4. If you’re potatoes are really dry, you can add a splash of water so the spices stick, but Yukon Golds tend to be more moist then Russets which is why I love them, so I’ve never had to add any water before.
5. Transfer to two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat baking sheets. Bake for 20 mins then flip sheet around. Bake for 15-20 more minutes or until slightly browned (as shown in the picture above). Squeeze with lemon or lime, serve with guac and enjoy!

Guacamole Recipe

Ingredients: 

• 1 avocado
• 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
• juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
• salt + pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Mash everything together with a fork or potato masher
2. Top with fresh parsley or cilantro and serve!

Enjoy making these tasty dishes! If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Keep summertime dinners simple, friends!