With warm weather and summer grilling season upon us, we're thinking of new ways to heat up the backyard barbecue. And by heat, we mean giving your summer barbecue recipes a spicy kick. To get things sizzling, we searched the pantry and came across an old standby, Tabasco. Shaking in a few drops of the fiery sauce adds loads of spice to classic barbecue favorites, as well as to a few unexpected dishes.

Tabasco's uses go beyond a condiment for eggs or part of a Bloody Mary mix. The ubiquitous ingredient can be used to add extra spice to a variety of foods. Try adding a splash to take guacamole to a hot new level or throwing in a teaspoon to add a little kick to creamy onion dip. We're even a fan of pouring some into chicken marinades to give them extra punch. So put down the jalapeño and kick things up the Scoville scale with a bottle of Tabasco.

From appetizers like hot wings and bean dip to barbecue classics like potato salad and baked beans, we've rounded up our favorite summer dishes

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Looking for an ethnic recipe that is easy and that can be prepared faster than you can order it over the phone? With the right ingredients from your pantry, making ethnic food in your own kitchen doesn't have to be intimidating. Here's how to make quick and easy Pad Thai at home.

More on Shine: Very easy vegetarian Thai curry

Pad Thai prep:
From your pantry, you'll need Pad Thai noodles. These rice noodles are also perfect for cold noodle salads during summer. Prep your noodles by letting them soak in lukewarm water for 8-10 minutes until the noodles are pliable. You'll also need fish sauce, which has savory, salty notes often found in Thai food, chili powder, and Tamarind paste. Additionally, because Pad Thai is like stir fry, have the other ingredients, like minced garlic, thinly-sliced onion, bell pepper, chives, your choice of protein (shrimp, tofu, chicken, beef), and roasted peanuts, prepped and sliced before you turn the heat on the pan.

How to make Pad Thai sauce: 

Ingredients

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Ch-ch-ch-chia! We know, we know. We're all sick and tired of that one. But it's fun, yeah?

We all recall those crazy clay animals sprouting afros of green in the 80's right? Not only is chia a fun memory from our youth, but the seeds of those wigs and fur coats are super great to eat and are jam-packed full of nutritional neat-o! Chia is a member of the mint family and is a fast-growing herb, with white, blue, and purple flowers that produce these super-powered seeds that we now cultivate and devour. Gluten free and fiber-full, chia seeds boast the highest omega-3 content in nature, and also contain high levels of tryptophan, the amino acid precursor of serotonin (the happy chemical!). They're also a good source of iron, magnesium, calcium, and folic acid, and thanks to their ability to absorb liquid like a sponge, they make for a great vegan egg replacer and binder in baking, and also help flush toxins out of the body during digestion by adhering to the bad stuff in the digestive

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