Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Mint: My Favorite Summer Grilling Side Dish

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kenmore Elite Grills. All content and opinions are my own. 

We love to cook on the grill year-round, but the summer is when the real grilling happens. Nothing says summer like cooking outside and you can’t have an amazing grilled meal without the perfect summer side dish as a companion to your favorite grilled recipes. For me, that side dish is a tomato cucumber mint salad. It’s so light and easy to make and I almost guarantee that if you make this salad you will agree. 

The ingredients are simple and you probably already have them in the house: grape tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, fresh mint (dried works in a pinch, too), red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic powder, sugar, salt, pepper. 

First you’re going to combine 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar, one tablespoon white sugar, one teaspoon salt, and two large cucumbers, peeled and seeded. Let the cucumbers marinate in the vinegar for a little while; I usually let them sit for about a half hour while I prep the meat for the grill. 

After your cucumbers have marinated for a little while, add a pint of grape tomatoes cut into halves, a half of a small red onion, two tablespoons of olive oil, a half cup of chopped fresh mint, about 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. If using dried mint I start with 1/4 cup and adjust to your taste from there. I usually end up using between 1/4 and a 1/2 cup.

It’s best if you make it ahead and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours, but it’s delicious even if you eat it right away.

That’s it! Really easy and so good! It’s the perfect companion to any meat that you may grilling from barbecued ribs to marinated chicken or pork chops. Not sure what to pair with this salad? Cookmore has great grilling recipe ideas to give you some inspiration. 

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Cucumber Tomato Mint Salad

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Ingredients

• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint, or between 1/4 - 1/2 cup dried mint
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, and salt. Mix in cucumbers, and marinate at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Gently toss tomatoes, onion, mint, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and olive oil with the marinated cucumbers.

Notes

Adapted from allrecipes.com http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tomato-Cucumber-Salad-with-Mint/

With Father’s Day coming up now, might be the perfect time to buy him a grill if you don’t have one or upgrade your existing one. After moving into our new house, we have been talking about upgrading our existing grill and we have been seriously considering a new Kenmore Elite grill. kenmore.com/grills. Since an outdoor grill is an investment that will be with us for a long time, we want to make sure we get the most bang for our buck and the features fo the Kenmore Elite grills have us sold. 

• larger cooking surface
• more power and higher BTUs
• even heat distribution
• versatile accessories such as a rotisserie, burners, steamers, smokers, even a refrigerator! (accessories vary by model)
• interior lights and exterior LED control panels for night grilling
• stainless steel grates to prevent rust

They’re also not half bad to look at. I’d love to see this bad boy on my deck!

Now through July 4 your local Sears store has great offers on Kenmore Elite grills so now is the perfect time to consider purchasing that new grill of your dreams. kenmore.com/grills

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kenmore Elite Grills.