I love the summertime.  I love not having to wear a coat.  I love warm evenings when fireflies dance in the dark night sky and the relaxing chirp of crickets can be heard for miles.  I love pool parties and barbecues and summer picnic food.  I love all of the seasons but for me, summertime gets the prize.

As I am sure most of you already know, summers with kids can get extremely busy.  I swear, it seems like our family has a party or event almost every weekend!

If people are going to get together in the summer, you better believe they are going to want to eat yummy summer food.  So what’s a busy working mom to do when she has plans to go to a friends’ house for a family BBQ on a Friday evening after work but she couldn’t find the time to make that dessert she promised to bring?

Don’t fret because I’ve got you covered with 3 fast and easy crowd-pleasing treats that will not only get gobbled up, they will have people thinking that you’ve really got your act together!

1.  Chocolate Covered Fruit – when you want to bring more than a simple fruit salad, try melting chocolate chips (white, milk or dark chocolate all work fine) in a microwave safe bowl until melted smooth.  Heat the chocolate for 30 seconds at a time and then stir and repeat but do not overheat or the chocolate will start to thicken back up.  Dip fresh strawberries or any fruit of your choice in the chocolate using a kabob skewer and then allow to cool on wax paper.  Chill for about 10 minutes and arrange the fruit skewers on a platter.  Voila! You’ve just made your own edible arrangement!  Who doesn’t love those?  A platter of chocolate covered fruit can easily be made in less than 20 minutes.

2.  Mozzarella skewers – keep those kabob skewers handy and arrange mozzarella balls and grape tomatoes on the skewer to make a delightful and eye-pleasing appetizer.  You can also add olives or fresh basil leaves if you choose.  Serve with your favorite balsamic dressing either on the side for dipping or brush directly on the skewers just before serving.  Yum!

3.  Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches – If you are really strapped for time, pick up some store bought cookies and ice cream and make cookie ice cream sandwiches “on demand” for dessert.  Kids go crazy for ice cream and these frosty treats will be such a hit that nobody will even remember you didn’t bring the brownies or jello you had promised to make.

Do you have a favorite summertime food that is delicious and simple to make?  Please do share.