Italian spaghetti and meatballs is as classic as classic can get, and here I go changing it up! The truth is, I get bored and restless, and either I vent out my creativity by repainting my whole house or I head to the kitchen to Greek up a recipe.

I know for sure that my husband is dang happy that I chose the kitchen instead of the paint can!

The recipe for the Greek-fied meatballs comes from morphing a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks that I acquired this year, How To Roast a Lamb: New Greek Classic Cooking by Michael Psilakis. The original recipe was for Greek-Style Hamburgers (you must make!) but it’s just as good rolled into meatballs.

Ground cumin and coriander are subbed for the normal Italian oregano. Feta cheese and fresh parsley stand in for parmesan.

The secret to this recipe is slowly sautéing the onions until soft ‘n sweet. Then mince!

 
 
 
You’ve got to mince them finely as they’ll need to be blended into the meat. See the difference between the right (chopped) and left (minced)?

 
 
 
To any type of meat that you want—ground chicken, turkey, beef, lamb or pork—add in the minced onion, salt, garlic, cumin, pepper, mustard, coriander and parsley. (Though if you only added the onion, garlic, salt and pepper, it’s just as good).

 
 
 
Roll ‘em into 1 1/2-inch meatballs. Try to keep them all even in size.

 
 
 
Brown them in a pan …

 
 
 
On all sides …

 
 
 
Then pour in your favorite tomato sauce. Your favorite marinara sauce from a jar will do just fine.

 
 
 
I’d love to know: how would you change up the regular ol’ spaghetti dish? Would you make it Moroccan? Swedish? Tex-Mex? Or would ya keep it as is—a classic untouchable!

 
 
—–
Spaghetti ‘n Greek Meatballs
Recipe adapted from How To Roast a Lamb: New Greek Classic Cooking by Michael Psilakis
Serves 4

 
1 pound dried pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 sweet onion, sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pound ground meat (choice of ground turkey, chicken, pork, beef or lamb)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cups your favorite marinara sauce
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

 
1. Cook pasta according package instructions. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. When hot, swirl in just 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the onions and cook until browned, soft and tender. The longer you cook, the sweeter the onion will taste. Remove from pan to a cutting board and finely mince the onions.

3. In a large bowl, combine the minced onions, salt, pepper, ground meat, Dijon mustard, coriander, garlic, cumin and 1 tablespoon of the parsley. Use your hands to mix thoroughly.

4. To form the meatballs, put a good handful of the meat onto the palm of your hand and shape into a tight ball. Try to keep all the meatballs 1 1/2 inches in diameter to make sure they cook evenly.

5. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When hot, swirl in the remaining olive oil. Add the meatballs (not touching) and cook for 2 minutes. Roll the meatballs and fry the other sides for 2 minutes each. When all sides are browned, pour the tomato sauce over the meatballs and bring to a simmer. Cook for an additional 5 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.

6. Serve over pasta topped with feta cheese and the remaining chopped parsley.

 
 
_______________________________________

Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!

It’s an absolutely impractical space-hogging small kitchen appliance that only people who have a popcorn fixation (moi) could justify. And so there it sits on my kitchen island, taking up 55% of the counter footprint, leaving no room for anything else.

Of course, my husband Scott just shakes his head and says, “We’ll see how long this popcorn thing lasts …” So what am I to do? Well, I make popcorn. Buckets of it. Every few hours.

Okay, so honestly, my addiction isn’t so much eating the popcorn but rather making it. And if I have to hang my head in shame, stand in the corner, and really, really dig down deep for the absolute truthful answer, the popcorn-making frenzy is all about warding off the “I told you it was a bad idea” thing from Scott!

C’mon, please tell me you do the same thing too?

Of the gazillion popcorn combos that I’ve made (and have sourced from Twitter friends!), my favorite is the Popcorn with Parmesan and Truffle Oil. It’s a great way to glam up the humble popcorn! (Though I think popcorn stopped being humble the moment I bought that fancy $80 popcorn maker.)

The first step is to pop yer corn. If you’re doing the microwave thing, make sure you get plain popcorn. If you want to make popcorn on your stove (like your grandma use to do), here’s a recipe from Elise.

Once it’s popped, put the popcorn in a large bowl and drizzle just 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of the truffle oil (truffle oil is very strong!). If you have an oil mister, even better.

 
 
 
Mix it all about. The oil goes first, so that it coats the popcorn and gives the salt and parmesan something to stick to.

 
 
 
Now add the sea salt. It’s gotta be good sea salt, like my favorite flaky Maldon sea salt. Hey, if you’re gonna use truffle oil and good parmesan, you might as well use good salt!

 
 
 
And then add a generous grating of good quality parmesan or pecorino.

 
 
 
To finish, just because this is glam popcorn, I use a vegetable peeler to add some nice shavings of parmesan on top.

 
 
 
What’s your favorite popcorn flavor? Got any creative ideas for me? I’ve got at least another 2 weeks of popcorn frenzy before I can safely retire the monster in my garage AND minimize the “I told you so’s.”

 
Hugs and kisses,
Jaden

 
 
_______________________________________

Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!

 
The best way to get my kids to eat something is to fill it in a dumpling or wrap ‘em in a tortilla. I could stuff wontons with pickled pigs feet and the boys would chomp it all up! Who can resist a cute little two-bite package? Especially if it looked like little fishies!

Rubber Slippers in Italy made these cute Chinese Goldfish Dumplings made these steamed dumplings that are very popular in Hong Kong dim sum restaurants. She even made the wrappers by hand (oh that woman’s got talent!)

 
 
 
But not all dumplings are Chinese. Let’s take tour around the world and start right here in our backyard (well, my backyard I mean) and head over the For the Love of Cooking’s classic American Chicken and Basil Dumplings. Technically, these babies aren’t filled dumplings, but rather a dough mixture dropped by the spoonful into good chicken broth. Best part of this recipe is that it’s from Cooking Light Magazine (read: I can eat 2 servings and still feel great!).

 
 
 
This gorgeous photo is from Asha of Fork Spoon Knife blog (love the contrasting colors!) and she made Meat Ravioli with Puttanesca Sauce. Instead of making her own pasta sheets for ravioli, she used Chinese dumpling wrappers to make the job easier. Just beautiful. Plus, I just love saying puttanesca. I feel so naughty!

 
 
 
Susan wins the creative healthy award with these Samosa Wraps. Instead of the traditional Indian deep-fried samosa dumplings, Susan wrapped the curried vegan filling in whole-grain tortillas. This would make a perfect lunch. Or breakfast. Or dinner. Or snack. Or midnight munchies. Oh wait. It’s supposed to be healthy, which means no midnight munchies for me.

 
 
 
Mehan of Mehan’s Kitchen shows us what Afgan dumplings are in this Aushak recipe. I haven’t really much explored the food of Afghanistan, and darn it, I think it’s about time! Mehan also took a shortcut with the dumpling dough and used Chinese dumpling wrappers. Her recipe is from Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires book (by the way, I highly recommend any of Ruth’s books in audio form, telling her stories in her own voice).

 
 
 
Lastly, I cannot talk about dumplings without mentioning one of my close friends. Bee of Rasa Malaysia makes Japanese Gyoza, which are pan-fried dumplings. The gyoza are first browned with a bit of cooking oil, then steamed by adding water or broth to the same pan and quickly covering. With a little spicy soy sauce dip, this is one of my favorites.

 
 
 
Tell me, what’s your favorite type of dumpling or dumpling filling?

 
 
_______________________________________

Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!

Yes, I know these games are bad for my kids; I’ve heard everything from symptoms of shortness of attention span, hypertension, ADHD and carpal tunnel. But honestly, the symptoms could be WD-40, small feet syndrome, stubby middle fingers or tongue flapping, I still love me my games.

My favorite, of course, are the food-related games. Here’s a rundown.

Cooking Mama

This is a fun one, especially on the Wii, where you get to actually make the motions of chopping, shaking the pan, pouring, cracking an egg with your Wii remote thingy. The boys love this game, from learning how to make spaghetti with meatballs to even the cute Japanese girl’s accent.

Farm Story

Plant, plow, wait. And wait. And wait. Harvest. Sell. Repeat. (Yawn.) Pretty cute chubby graphics for kids, but we all got bored of this game really quickly.

Zombie Farm

Oh no you didn’t download this!

Oh yessiree I did! Okay, technically this doesn’t count as a pure food game; you’re cultivating both crops and zombies. Amongst the red-ripe tomatoes that you’ll harvest, you’re also building a zombie army. What kid doesn’t like zombies?! BRRRRAAAAIIIINZZZZZZZZ.

Cake Mania

I tried so hard to like this game, but we only had it for the Nintendo DS and its ittty bitty screen. I’m getting old. Has anyone played this on the Wii or any screen larger than my thumb?

Farm Frenzy

This game started off reallllly slow, collecting eggs that the hens lay, but after a few levels, things speed up and you’re off managing a farm. Grow grass, get water, collect eggs, spin wool, transport produce, sell produce. Any money you make goes right back into the farm, buying more animals and upgrading your farm. (Hey! Just like a real farm!)

We Rule

This is my newest obsession, and when I say obsession, I really mean that. Last night, I woke up at 4 a.m. to harvest my beans (if you wait too long, they spoil). You’re building a kingdom, complete with a castle and options to build a tailor shop, fishing pond and gladiator training center. Yesterday, I gave a shoutout to the game and asked if anyone else was playing. I think Twitter went down for 5 minutes as all these people started tweeting me their player IDs! It’s a fun game, perfect for OCD-ishy people like me.

Star Wars Cantina

This game could have been soooo much more … especially for $4.99 on the iPad! Okay, so it’s LucasFilm-licensed and you hear the cantina music from the movie, and the Storm Troopers look so cute you want to hug ‘em. You’re a waitress managing the bar with impatient and thirsty customers. Your job is to seat customers, serve drinks and collect money. Yep, that’s it.

 
Have you played any food video games? Tell me about them! I have yet to play Farmville … I’m scared I’ll get addicted!

 
 
_______________________________________

Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!

 
When it comes to Fourth of July, are you a traditionalist or adventurous when it comes to the food? For our family, we’ve pretty much stuck to the traditional fare: grilling hot dogs, hamburgers and finishing off the meal with a swim in the pool and super-cold watermelon slices.

This year, I can’t decide between the classics or something totally new. My steady, solid, routine-lovin’ husband votes for the same ol’ same ol’. But hey, I’m craving for creativity. So I need your help to take “Burgers, Shakes, Fries and Don’t Forget the Apple Pie” in a new direction. I’ll take a few of your recipes and make it our Fourth of July meal.

My good friend Sarah of Tastespotting actually ground her own beef to make Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger. But wait, Sarah told me she doesn’t cook, which is why we’ve always dined at restaurants together. Oh, Sarah … so bleepin’ BUSTED!

 
 
 
My kids vote for this one! Andrew loves chocolate, Nathan loves cherries. We all win with Dine and Dish’s Chocolate Cherry Float.

 
 
 
You’d think these crisp fries would be massively fattening, but nope! Annie’s Eats’ skips the oil and makes Baked Oven Fries.

 
 
 
And finish the meal off with the most decadent apple pie my mouse has ever clicked on: Doughmesstic’s Candy Apple Pie.

 
 
 
Those are some great ideas to start with, just to get the creative juices flowin’! Send on over some fun twists to “Burgers, Shakes, Fries and Don’t Forget the Apple Pie!”

May your 4th be sparkling!

 
Jaden

 
 
_______________________________________

Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!

 
This week, I’d like to celebrate the bounty of produce in season this summer. Loads of colorful fruits and veggies means recipes that are vibrant and happy! I’ve joined a CSA for the first time, and am having fun cooking based on what’s delivered, not what’s on sale or catches my eye at the supermarket.

It’s certainly helped me spend less money on groceries. See, I have a bad habit of loading up the grocery cart with everything and anything that looks and smells good. I know what you’re gonna say: “Don’t go grocery shopping hungry!” But ladies and gents … I’m always hungry.

Let’s start with summer fruit! Blueberries, pineapple, mango and raspberries: Laurie of Simply Scratch shows us that when it comes to sweet, ripe fruit, simple is best. I love that Laurie adds lemon zest to this Summer Fruit Salad!

 
 
 
Apricot and cherries: Julie of Bananas for Bourbon makes a beautiful, boozy cake with her Brandy Buttermilk Apricot Cherry Upside Down Cake.

 
 
 
Eggplant and tomato: It’s not quite eggplant and tomato season here in too-hot Florida, but late June-July marks the beginning of the eggplant and tomato season in many other areas. Here’s a great twist to the Caprese Salad—add slices of eggplant! Inspired Taste makes Eggplant and Tomato Napoleons.

 
 
 
Summer squash: A Busy Nest makes a Lebanese Stuffed Squash that I can’t wait to make.

 
 
 
Corn: Siggy Spice reveals her secret to Best Corn Ever. Can you guess what she boils her corn in?

 
 
 
Basil and red pepper: Multiply Delicious makes these cutie Pesto Cheese Phyllo Bites. I love using the pre-made baby phyllo cups. They are simple to use and inexpensive as well. Find them in the freezer section, right where you’d normally find the regular frozen phyllo sheets.

 
 
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Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!

 
I have a problem.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a supermarket without adding a package of fatty porky goodness in my cart. Or approached a new menu without scanning first for a dish containing the “b” word. My weakness? An all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet.

Some might call it a obsession; my husband just accepts my problem and counts his blessings that my thrill is cheap. Because my fixation could have been diamonds, Gucci purses or something that would require a line of credit to fulfill.

But I think my addiction has rubbed off on a certain little someone who’s barely even tall enough to reach the goods at the buffet line.

 
 
 
And like any obsession … it starts with one.

 
 
 
But with enough focus, bravery, stretch and dexterity …

 
 
 
One can easily say, “Like mother, like son.”

 
 
 
What’s your food obsession? Come on—we all have one! Though I fully understand that yours may be healthier, like chickpeas or wheatgrass (which tastes like 5th grade phys-ed class field hockey rotation).

 
 
_______________________________________

Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!

 
It’s definitely lazy-by-the-pool time of the year, and what better to celebrate summer vacation than a collection of jewel-toned mojitos! Well, only made better if served by cute cabana boy, right? We went searching online for creative mojito recipes and came up with several beauties to share with you. You’ll have to source the cabana boy yourself, though.

Raspberry, mint, white rum: Icy-Cold Raspberry Mojito from A La Carte Kitchen is one of the prettiest mojitos I’ve ever laid eyes on.

 
 
 
Watermelon & Mint from Amy of Adventures of a Messy Chef. I made this recipe the other day and my guests thought I was the best host ever. See, dinner parties are easy with good booze!

 
 
 
In case it’s not 5 o’clock where you are, how about a Virgin Pom Mojito (pomegranate juice, mint and sparkling water) from blogger Mango and Tomato.

 
 
 
I’ve never had ice-envy before, but I do now. See this girly-pink Passionfruit Mojito below? The glass is made of ice! Yes, I want! Is it my birthday yet?

 
 
 
Blood Orange Mojitos from one of the cutest couples ever: Dhale and Pierre of Culinary Musings.

 
 
 
I found a satsuma orange mojito from Chow.com—Cochon’s Satsuma (Mandarin Orange) Mojito Recipe (you can substitute with a tangerine).

 
 
 
And I have one more for you, Shelisa’s Mango Mojito, which I know you’ll love! Happy lazy-by-the-pool day!

 
Shelisa’s Mango Mojito
Serves 2

Simple Syrup
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar

Bring water to a light boil in a small sauce pan, remove from heat and stir in sugar. Let cool.

Mango Mojito
2 large handfuls of fresh mint leaves
2 mangos, peeled and cubed into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup Bacardi Mango Rum
1/4 simple syrup
crushed ice
1 cup club soda

Add the mint leaves and mango to a shaker. Muddle together for 1 minute. Add in the rum, simple syrup and ice, cover and shake. Pour the mixed drink into a tall glass and add in the club soda.

 
 
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Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!

 
You might think I’m a little early for 4th of July, but there’s another holiday in between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Yes, it’s Flag Day! As if I needed an excuse, June 14th is another day to celebrate with food, though no chicken, pork chops or steak—just delicious desserts.

I figured you would be a bit concerned if my chicken was red, white or blue …

So let’s start with I pledge allegiance to Cookies and Cups who makes the most perfect stripes—that she hand-decorated! (I would have just used fruit roll-ups. Eeek!)

 
 
 
I remember my Mom used to make a cake just like this: in a pan, decorated with blueberries and sliced strawberries. I was so guilty of sneakin’ in the kitchen, plucking the fruit off. By the the time dessert was presented, it no longer resembled a cake, but rather more like a pock-marked (from my fat little kiddie fingers) tough-luck creation. This one is from Slashfood.

 
 
 
These next two are so perfect! Well, would you expect any less from a a site called Fabulous Foods and the other from Martha Stewart? (found on Yum Sugar)

 
 
 
Now these just win the prize for cuteness. Lollipop sticks as the flagpole! Genius! From The Celebration Shoppe.

 
 
 
Cupcakes galore! Big cupcakes for the grownups and the mini-cupcakes for the lil’ tots, found on Cupcakes Take The Cake.

 
 
 
Inn Cuisine creates a round flag cake! This one brings me joy (and so do the rest of the recipes on Inn Cuisine).

 
 
 
Ooohh, I’m so totally doing this! What a great way to not-cake! My kids would be all over this one, from Flickr member Randy Son of Robert and spotted on The Kitchn.

 
 
 
And I’ll finish with one of our own, Ree’s Fourth of July Cake, but shhhh … we won’t tell her we’re enjoying it a little early for Flag Day!

 
 
 
Pssst … if Flag Day is not your thing, that’s okay. Come back and make these creations for Fourth of July. It’s just a few weeks away! Don’tcha just wanna make that fruit-skewer thingy?

Do you remember celebrating Flag Day at elementary school? I do. Mom made me dress in a red skirt, white shirt and dotted blue ribbons all over my hair. I looked … like a dork.

 
 
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Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!

 
It’s Memorial Weekend, and do you know what that means? Time to lounge at the pool and hang out by the BBQ. We’re grilling this entire weekend; the weather is perfectly straddling between warm and hot (when it gets hot we jump in the pool … when it gets warm, we EAT!).

This week, I asked my friend, Steve, to share a grilling tip and recipe. He’s the publisher of Grilling Companion recipe site and developer of the brand new iPad app. Steve is sharing a recipe for a Grilled Whole Chicken with Balsamic Glaze and will show us how to spatchcock a chicken (i.e. flatten that sucker for even cooking!).

 
Grilled Whole Chicken with Balsamic Glaze

I have nothing against a whole chicken. It still cracks me up when I open the lid of the grill and see a bird perched up on a beer can. I just find it easier to handle a flattened chicken on the grill. A flat chicken cooks quicker and more evenly, and has the added benefit of not rolling off the platter on your way to the table (yeah, been there and cleaned up the mess). So today’s recipe is a bonus, with equal parts Chicken Butchering 101 and recipe for a delicious and simple honey balsamic glazed whole chicken. Grab a bird and a cutting board and let’s get started!

 
Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (around 4 – 5 pounds)
1/2 cup honey
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Let’s disassemble a bird. Lay the whole chicken breast side down on your cutting board.

2. Feel around his (or her) back until you feel the backbone running straight down the middle. I haven’t read about any cases of scoliosis in chickens, so it should be straight down the center of the back.

3. Using kitchen shears or a knife, cut down both sides of the backbone. The bones are pretty thin in this area, so you should be able to cut through with little effort.

4. Remove the backbone completely and trim off any excess fat around where the tail used to be.

5. Ok, here’s where it’s a little tricky the first time. Spread the chicken open and locate the white piece of grissel you see here just to the right of my finger? Cut through it with the knife.

6. There is a bone starting under that piece of grissel called the keel bone and it runs down the length of the breasts. If you bend the chicken back a little farther, you’ll start to see the keel bone poke out between the breasts.

7. Work your fingers down each side of the keel bone to loosen and then pull it out. See why they call it a keel bone (boat reference)?

8. Now you can either leave the chicken flat or cut all the way through where the keel bone used to be to form two half chickens. I prefer to work with two halves; they’re easier to move around the grill.

9. Light your grill for a two zone, indirect grilling session. If you are using gas, you’ve got it easy—just light half of your burners to medium high and leave the other half off (preferably the center burners should be off). For you charcoal folks, pile up a chimney full of charcoal on one side of the grill.

10. Combine the honey and balsamic vinegar in a bowl and whisk thoroughly to form our glaze.

11. Generously salt and pepper both sides of your chicken.

12. Once the grill is ready, place the chicken skin side down on the hot side of the grill. Stay close by, the fat from the skin is going to flare up! When it does, just move your chicken off the flame until the flare up goes out.

13. Sear the chicken for 5 – 10 minutes (depending on the temperature of your grill). We are looking to crisp up the skin and create a little char, but not burn the entire skin.

14. Once you are done searing, flip the chicken over skin side up and move the chicken to the cool side of the grill.

15. Using a mop or brush, baste the chicken with the honey balsamic glaze and close the grill’s lid.

16. We want to keep the grill at as close to 350 degrees as possible and only open the lid to baste the chicken. Just like your oven, the grill loses all of the heat each time you open the lid.

17. Continue to baste the chicken with the glaze every 10 minutes or so and keep the lid closed in between basting.

18. Grill the chicken until a thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast reads around 160 degrees and the outside skin has darkened.

19. Hit the chicken with a little more glaze and place on a platter to serve.

20. Allow the chicken to rest for about 10 minutes before you carve.

See? Told you this was easy! Sure, you can buy half chickens, but they are little more expensive and you won’t be able to impress your family with your new butchering skills. With a little practice, you’ll disassemble that bird in no time flat. (Get it?)

 
 
Along with that grilled chicken, I’d love to top it with some Fresh Watermelon Salsa from HowSweetEats.

 
 
 
And then we move on to BLT Bites from LanaAnn. How cute are these! I’ll take 4 of them please!

 
 
 
Another summery side perfect for this weekend is Karly’s Corn with Bacon and Green Onions. Because how can you have a celebration without bacon? Love it.

 
 
 
And for dessert, to top it all off, Mangiodasola’s Chocolate Crumb Cheesecake Bars. Truly decadent.

 
 
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Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!