On The Menu The 1st Week Of July- Fouth Of July Dinners

Plan your week with 46 delicious summer dinner recipes including Fourth of July ideas, easy weeknight meals, and a sweet treat.

Every single day is worth celebrating, whether it is a quiet Monday at home with a slow cooker bubbling away on the counter or a sparkly Fourth of July filled with family, swimming, and fireworks. That is the philosophy behind every On The Menu post I write, and this week’s menu of 46 recipes is no exception.

From a deeply flavored slow cooker Bolognese on Monday to a festive family gathering on the Fourth, this week has something delicious for every single day. This menu is full of fresh summer flavors, easy weeknight dinners, and a few special recipes that are perfect for celebrating the season. Let’s make this week’s dinners something to look forward to!

There is something so satisfying about starting the week with a slow cooker meal. I have a day at home, and I cannot wait to let this rich, deeply flavored Bolognese sauce simmer away all day. It fills the whole house with the most wonderful aroma, and by dinnertime, it tastes like it has been lovingly tended for hours, because it has!

When I make Caesar salad for dinner, I make extra so I can have it for lunch the next day. Toss it alongside a bowl of spaghetti, and you have a dinner the whole family will love.

🌿 TIP BOX: Double or triple the homemade Caesar dressing and freeze it in silicone ice cube molds with lids. Once frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer bag. When you are ready to use it, just pop one or two cubes into the microwave to thaw, and your favorite salad dressing is ready in minutes.

Bolognese Slow Cooker Sauce

Spaghetti Pasta

Caesar Salad With Homemade Salad Dressing

---

I am making a real effort to eat more salmon, and grilled cedar plank salmon is one of my favorite ways to enjoy it. The cedar plank gives the fish a beautiful, subtle smokiness that you just cannot replicate any other way. The key is not to overcook it! I take my salmon off the grill at 140 degrees and let the carryover cooking bring it to a perfect 145.

The lemon arugula pasta salad looks so fresh and delicious, and arugula is another ingredient I am trying to work into my meals more often. It is just a little early for homegrown tomatoes here, but Mecks, my favorite farm market, carries hydroponic tomatoes that are the next best thing.

🌿 TIP BOX: Dress your sliced tomatoes simply and let them shine. A drizzle of good olive oil, a pinch of Maldon flaked salt, and a few fresh basil leaves are all you need.

Grilled Cedar Planked Salmon

Israeli Couscous Salad

Fresh Sliced Tomatoes

---

Did you know that a Cornish hen is just a very young chicken? Its meat is beautifully tender and cooks up so easily. Spatchcocking, which means removing the backbone and flattening the bird, allows the hen to cook more evenly and quickly, giving you crispy skin all over and juicy meat every time. I save the backbone, skin, and surrounding meat for homemade chicken stock. Nothing goes to waste!

I cannot wait to make the olive salad. We will pile it onto slices of my homemade no-knead artisan bread, which I have been making for years. The dough recipe makes enough for six loaves, and I keep the mother dough in my garage refrigerator, cutting off a chunk and baking it up whenever we want a fresh loaf. It is not sourdough, but it is wonderfully easy and absolutely delicious.

🌿 TIP BOX: When spatchcocking a Cornish hen or chicken, use sharp kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone for the cleanest cut. Save the backbone and trimmings in a zip-top bag in the freezer until you are ready to make a rich, flavorful homemade stock.

Spatchcock Cornish Game Hen

Perfect Rice Pilaf

New Orleans Style Briney Olive Salad

No-Knead Artisan Bread

---

I love when one great recipe carries over into the next few dinners! That leftover no-knead artisan bread from Wednesday is getting a second life tonight. I will grill the slices, rub them with a fresh garlic clove while they are still warm, and pile on the crockpot BBQ pulled beef for the most delicious open-faced sandwich. North Carolina corn is starting to show up now, and there is no better way to celebrate it than this fresh corn salad. Sweet summer corn deserves a recipe that lets it shine, and this one does exactly that.

🌿 TIP BOX: Rub a cut garlic clove over warm grilled bread the moment it comes off the grill. The heat opens up the bread’s surface and the garlic melts right in, adding wonderful flavor without being overpowering.

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Beef

Fresh Corn Salad

---

I will be honest, I do not usually pair cheese with fish, but one look at this Boston baked cod and I was completely won over. It looks absolutely scrumptious, and I cannot wait to try it!

And that leftover artisan bread from Wednesday? It is making its third appearance this week, this time as the star of a classic Panzanella salad. If you make just one thing from this week’s menu, please let it be this Tuscan bread salad. I could eat it every single summer day, and I truly think you and your family will love it too.

🌿 TIP BOX: Day-old or slightly stale bread is actually ideal for Panzanella. It soaks up the tomato juices and dressing without turning to mush, giving you the perfect chewy, flavorful bite every time.

Boston Baked Cod

Panzanella Salad (Tuscan Bread Salad)

---

Saturday is the Fourth of July, and we are celebrating with an extended family gathering! Everyone is bringing something to share, and I am contributing two crowd favorites, my dill pickle potato salad and an Asian ramen noodle salad. These are the kinds of dishes that disappear fast at a party, so I always make plenty.

It is going to be so wonderful to spend the day with family we only get to see a couple of times a year.

🌿 TIP BOX: When making potato salad for a crowd, cook your potatoes a day ahead and refrigerate them overnight. Cold potatoes hold their shape better when you mix in the dressing and give the flavors more time to develop.

The Best Dill Pickle Salad

Asian Ramen Noodle Salad

---

Tonight’s dinner is a delicious spin on the wildly popular bang bang shrimp, swapping the shrimp for beautiful salmon fillets. All that creamy, sweet, and spicy bang bang sauce works just as perfectly with salmon, and the whole dish comes together in just 15 minutes. It is a wonderful way to end the week with something a little special and completely effortless. The lemon arugula pasta salad alongside makes it feel like a real occasion without any extra fuss.

🌿 TIP BOX: Bang bang sauce comes together in minutes with just a few pantry staples. Make a double batch and keep it in the refrigerator for up to a week. It is wonderful as a dipping sauce, a salad dressing, or drizzled over grilled vegetables.

15-Minute Bang Bang Salmon

Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad

---

I was first introduced to icebox cake when I was dating my husband Bobby, and it was love at first bite! That classic version was made with chocolate cookies and whipped cream, simple and absolutely delicious. This blueberry lemon icebox cake is a far more sophisticated take on that nostalgic dessert, with bright, fresh flavors that feel perfectly suited for summer. It is the kind of treat that looks impressive but comes together without much fuss at all, and I have a feeling my family is going to absolutely love it.

🌿 TIP BOX: Icebox cake actually gets better the longer it chills. Make it the night before you plan to serve it so the cookies have plenty of time to soften into a gorgeous, cake-like texture.

Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake

---

The ultimate queso nacho recipe is the party appetizer everyone will be reaching for all night long.

Nothing says summer quite like easy strawberry cobbler from a box mix warm from the oven.

Ripe summer tomatoes have never looked so beautiful as they do in a rustic tomato galette.

You are going to fall in love with key lime pound cake the moment you take your first bite.

Every summer cookout needs a showstopping frozen dessert, and buster bar ice cream cake is just that.

A summer gathering simply is not complete without creamy pasta salad on the table.

Fire up the grill and reach for magic dust BBQ rub to make everything taste absolutely incredible.

A beloved family tradition, Grandma Lo Bianco’s famous meatballs are the kind of recipe that brings everyone running to the table.

Festive, charming, and completely delicious, mini cherry pies in mason jars with star crust tops are perfect for your Fourth of July table.

Weeknight dinner has never been easier or more delicious than air fryer garlic parmesan chicken.

Celebrate the best of summer fruit with a slice of gorgeous brown sugar peach cake.

Cheesy zucchini corn tomato bake is bubbling, golden, and packed with everything wonderful from the summer garden.

Your summer table will never be the same once you try southern tomato pie.

Tart, sweet, and impossible to resist, a slice of lemon raspberry cake with sugar crust is pure summer happiness.

Outback blue wedge salad brings all the drama and flavor of a steakhouse classic right to your own dinner table.

Dinner feels effortless and special when citrus Dijon grilled chicken is on the menu.

Tomato, peach, cherry, and burrata cheese salad is the kind of stunning summer salad that makes everyone stop and stare.

Nothing gets a backyard party going quite like a platter of firecracker hot dogs.

Trust me, once you make dill pickle juice potato salad, every other potato salad will pale in comparison.

Sweet summer corn has never tasted better than it does in summer Caesar salad with grilled sweet corn.

Delicate, charming, and utterly unique, Italian peach summer cookies are a treat your guests will be talking about.

Fresh, bright, and full of tropical flavor, you will want to make salmon with mango salsa on repeat all summer long.

Sweet cream cornbread with the help of a box mix is tender, slightly sweet, and the perfect side dish for so many summer meals.

Grab the best of your summer garden and make a pot of summer corn and zucchini soup tonight.

On a hot summer day, nothing refreshes quite like a big bowl of watermelon fruit salad.

Loaded chicken frito cowboy cabbage is hearty, bold, and packed with so much flavor it will become a new family favorite.

If you have ever craved that iconic fast food taco, Beef Tacos (Like Taco Bell) lets you recreate that beloved flavor right in your own kitchen.

Whether you are grilling out for the Fourth of July, gathering around the table with family on a regular Tuesday, or simply treating yourself to something delicious on a quiet evening at home, every day deserves a little something special.

I hope this week’s menu inspires you to get into the kitchen, try something new, and make every meal feel like a celebration. If you make any of these recipes, I would love to hear about it in the comments below. Wishing you a wonderful week filled with great food, good company, and a very happy Fourth of July!

Happy summer cooking, friend…