As part of my Summer Entertaining Series I’ve asked several of my favorite bloggers to share tips, parties, recipes, and ideas for great Summer parties. Today I’ve got one of my FAVORITE bloggers  sharing her favorite Summer Recipes. Please welcome Rebekah of PDXfoodlove.com  to A Well Crafted Party!

Hi readers of A Well Crafted Party! My name is Rebekah and I write the food blog PDXfoodlove.com. I love to post about cooking and entertaining at home, and seeing just how much I can do myself instead of purchase ready-made. I like to highlight local produce and sustainable food products, and encourage my readers to vote with their dollars for products that are kind to the environment.

Today I’m taking on a subject that seems easy to think about now, but can cause a panic if you are unprepared: last minute sides and snacks. It’s happened to all of us- we find out another couple is coming to the party, even though they didn’t RSVP – and you need to expand your menu in short order.

Or maybe you totally forgot about your friend’s barbecue… until an hour beforehand.

Last Minute Sides and Snacks

Here are a few of my go-to recipes for when I want to bring more than a six-pack of my favorite microbrew, but am short on time. They are tasty treats that involve little or no cooking, and minimal assembly. You may not have to turn on the stove or run to the store. And what’s more, they’ll survive the trip to the neighbors’ yard just fine.

Hawaiian Pasta Salad –

This simple classic has just four ingredients – all of which you probably have on hand already!

Smashed Pea and Pesto Crostini 

This easy, no-cook crostini lets “basic” produce really shine!

Simple White Bean Salad with Dill 

This easy bean salad is friendly to a lot of dietary restrictions, and doesn’t require cooking! Ditch the feta and it’s vegan.

Garlic Rosemary Almonds

Possibly the easiest appetizer ever, but they look and taste like you planned it. These salty snacks take only five minutes to make.

Black Bean and Corn Dip/Salsa/You Name It

This tasty combo can be used for so many things, you can adapt it to what you already have at home to bring to the party. If you’ve got chips on hand, you can call it a dip. If you just want to spoon it as a salad, that is ok too!

A big THANK YOU to Rebekah! If you haven’t checked out her blog yet then hop on over and check out her awesome site. I love her “six ingredients or less” recipes  and awesome selection of brunch recipes. Rebekah is one of the leaders of the PDX Food Bloggers’ group and does great work connecting the area food bloggers.