Chicken Patties with Black Bean, Corn & Pepper Relish | Salad with Green Goddess Dressing

Eat dinner outside. Do it. Tonight. You have one entire extra bonus second today, so waste it not. The trick to enjoying dinner al fresco is making food that isn’t too fussy. (Also, good weather; it is true.) This simple dinner will suit even fussy eaters, whether you prepare all from scratch or substitute some pre-prepped.

Love to Cook: This recipe for chicken patties is great; I fry the patties in a bit of oil instead of baking and add only half of the breadcrumbs to the mix, saving the other half to coat the finished patties. My children like them with ketchup (of course), my husband with sriracha, and I with Frank’s Hot Sauce. Pair with a simple Mexican-style black bean/corn/pepper salad and fresh lettuce tossed with Green Goddess dressing.

Weeknight Reality: This same chicken patty recipe (see my note, above, about alternative preparation) works just as well with ground turkey, which saves a bit of prep time. To make this black bean/corn salad, you can substitute frozen corn kernels to save some time – not as tasty, but just fine. For the green salad, substitute prepared dressing.

Need a Miracle: If you really must, you could always use frozen chicken patties. They are loaded with salt, however, among other things. An alternative would be some quickly pan-fried or grilled chicken strips. Most grocery salad bars have some version of a black bean slaw or relish; add a few other fresh ingredients to liven the flavor. For the green salad, look for a cold buttermilk dressing in the refrigerated section.