I love a lot of things about summer: vacations, swimming, picnics in the park, going to the farmers market, etc. But my absolute favorite thing has to be watermelon. I love watermelon. I eat it almost every day during the summer and I never get sick of it. There is nothing better than cutting into a big, juicy, red watermelon. It is the perfect cool-down treat. 

I enjoy eating watermelon plain but when I saw Bev Weidner’s recipe for Watermelon Spritzers with Honey and Lemon, I knew I had to save some of our watermelon to make these pretty drinks. 

To make the watermelon spritzers, you will need: watermelon, lemons, honey, seltzer water, and fresh mint or lemon balm. We used mint because we have a forest of mint growing in our backyard!

First, juice the lemons. 

Next, cut up the watermelon into chunks. 

Place the watermelon, lemon juice and honey into a food processor. 

Process all of the ingredients together until smooth.

Strain the mixture into a large bowl, pressing the juice out of any seeds or pulp that remains in the strainer.

Pour the juice into a large pitcher and chill until you’re ready to drink.

Serve with a splash of seltzer water and mint or lemon balm. 

Sip away! 

If you are looking for an easy and refreshing summer drink, you have to try these. They are perfect for summer barbecues, pool parties, or everyday sipping. They are family-friendly, but if you want to get a little crazy, you can add a little alcohol to the mix. Adults only though! 

I love serving thesen. They are simple to make and I love the bright color. Plus, our guests always ask for the recipe. They want in on the drink of the summer! Well, good thing the recipe is not a secret! Thanks Bev for sharing your fabulous drink recipe! Watermelon Spritzers are going to be flowing at our house all summer long. Make sure you visit Bev’s blog, Bev Cooks, for other fresh, simple, and tasty recipes. Cheers! 

Printable Recipe

Watermelon Spritzers with Lemon and Honey

by Bev Weidner on May 25, 2012 in Drinks, Non-Alcoholic May 25, 2012 DrinksNon-Alcoholic

See post on Bev Weidner’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: -

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 6

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Make these as is, or add some alcohol! Yeah, do that.

Ingredients

• 2-½ pounds Fresh Watermelon (seedless If You Can Find It), Rind Removed And Cut Into Cubes
• 3 whole Lemons (seedless If You Can Find It), Juiced
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• 2 cups Chilled Seltzer Water (more Or Less)
• 6 sprigs Lemon Balm Or Mint, For Garnish (optional!)

Preparation Instructions

Place the watermelon, lemon juice and honey into a food processor. Process until smooth.

Strain the mixture into a large bowl, pressing the juice out of any seeds or pulp that remains in the strainer.

Pour the juice into a large pitcher and chill until you’re ready to drink.

Serve with a splash of seltzer water and lemon balm or mint, if using.

 
 
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Maria and her husband Josh (who she affectionately refers to as her “dough boy”) blog at Two Peas and Their Pod. They’ve been featured on Saveur, Eatocracy, Gourmet Live, Glamour, and the Los Angeles Times, to name just a few. They’d also just recently added a little pea to their pod. We’re so glad to have them here!

 
Seeing as I grew up with chickens roaming around the back yard, I eat eggs most mornings for breakfast. It’s just what I enjoy and I’m a creature of habit. So I’m always seeking new ways to prepare them in the mornings and these Onion Ring Eggs shared by kissmywhisk was one that I definitely had never tried before.

The recipe was inspired by a post on Apron Strings (mom Donna is a Tasty Kitchen member, too!) that used a sautéed onion as a ring mold for eggs (they’re Tasty Kitchen members too!), but Carrie added the extra crunch of panko. It was so delicious that I also made it for dinner one night.

You will need: a large onion, flour, panko bread crumbs, oil, milk, hot sauce (for garnish), eggs, salt and pepper.

Begin by distributing the flour, breadcrumbs and milk into three bowls. Season the flour with salt and pepper while you’re at it.

Cut an onion in half in the center where it is widest.

Then cut a thick slice, about ¼-inch.

Separate the rings and set aside the biggest ones.

Dust them in flour.

Then in some milk.

Then in some panko. You won’t get a full coating this way, but it doesn’t really need it. If you’re looking for more of a true onion ring style, you could combine flour, and a dash of salt, and then whisk in beer until you get a pancake batter consistency. That will give you a heavy-duty coating. But this was lovely for a breakfast.

Brown the onions on all sides in the pan. They will become soft.

Crack your eggs one at a time and drop them in the center of the onion ring.

Let them cook on one side until the whites firm up.

Then add a bit of salt and pepper to the top and cover them to help the tops finish cooking.

You could also go wild here and add cheese, herbs or anything else you’d like on the top.

Garnish with a few good dashes of your favorite hot sauce.

And dig in! This was heavenly. They are now officially in my breakfast repertoire. Check out all of Carrie’s fabulous recipes on her blog Kiss My Whisk!

Printable Recipe

Onion Ring Eggs

by Kiss My Whisk on May 14, 2012 in Breakfast, Eggs May 14, 2012 BreakfastEggs

See post on Kiss My Whisk’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 3 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 2

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A fun twist on egg-in-the-hole and a great excuse to have onion rings for breakfast!

Ingredients

• 2 whole Large Onion Rings, Sliced Thick From A Large Onion
• ½ cups Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt, Divided
• 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper, Divided
• ½ cups Milk Or Buttermilk
• ¾ cups Panko Crumbs
• ¾ cups Olive Oil
• 2 whole Eggs
• Hot Sauce, To Serve

Preparation Instructions

Use the largest 2 outside ring layers of a large onion.

Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper in a small bowl. Add milk to a second small bowl and panko to a third.

Add olive oil to non stick pan, so there is about 1/4 inch of oil in the pan and preheat over medium high to high heat.

Dredge onions in flour, then dip in milk and coat with panko. Add breaded onions to hot oil; once the bottom side browns, flip over. You can use tongs to brown thick sides of onions as well. Just do the best you can, that’s what I did!

Once onions are browned on all sides, reduce heat to medium and carefully crack eggs into the center of the onion. Sprinkle eggs with remaining salt and pepper and then cover. Cook for about 4 to 6 minutes, until egg is cooked and yolk is still runny (cook longer if you don’t want an over-easy egg).

Carefully use spatula to remove from pan and place on a plate. Garnish with a sprinkle or drizzle of hot sauce and enjoy!

Recipe inspired by Donna and Anne of Apron Strings.

 
 
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There’s so much to say about Georgia, we don’t know where to start. Leaving Wall Street for the French Culinary Institute, followed by a stint at the Gramercy Tavern and La Chassagnette in France, her passion for food and food traditions are evident and inspiring. Visit her site at Georgia Pellegrini, where you’ll find more recipes, photos, learn all about her wonderful books Girl Hunter and Food Heroes, and enjoy her latest adventures.

 
Are you ready for some smoky heat? Well, you have definitely come to the right place. This salad is filled with the flavors of summer: fresh lettuce, ripe avocado and tomatoes. Top that with herb and spice-infused rice, black beans and corn, plus some chipotle shrimp and you have one very satisfying meal.

These Chipotle Shrimp Salad Bowls from Tasty Kitchen member Bev Weidner can pack a punch of heat, but you have some control the level of heat by adjusting the amount of marinade you use to cook the shrimp. If you’re the kind of guy or gal that likes a good sweat-inducing amount of heat, then use every last drop of that marinade. If that’s not you, then scrape/shake most of the marinade and chipotle pepper from the shrimp before cooking them. It’s up to you.

Let’s get cooking.

Here’s everything you’re going to need for this recipe. Packed with flavor!

Using a rice cooker or a saucepan, combine the rice with water, chopped cilantro and the juice of a ½ lime. Bev recommends brown jasmine rice for this recipe, which would work beautifully. I only had regular brown rice on hand and it was a great substitute.

Cook the rice according to the package instructions, fluff and squeeze in more lime juice.

Puree the chipotle peppers and the adobo sauce in a food processor until smooth.

Pour the pureed chipotle peppers into a resealable plastic bag and add the shrimp.

Seal the bag and gently massage the shrimp (they like that) until they are coated with the sauce. Bev recommends sticking them in the fridge to marinate for “at least 2 Tom and Jerry episodes.” My kids are big Tom & Jerry fans, so I happen to know that two episodes last about 20 minutes.

In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the defrosted corn, black beans, ground cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Keep warm on low heat until you’re ready to assemble the salad.

Chop up a bunch of romaine lettuce for your salad.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Bev recommended a medium skillet, but I found the shrimp fit a little better in a large one. You really don’t need any oil to sauté with because there is plenty of liquid in the marinade. However, if you’re nervous about your pans, coat them with cooking spray first.

Okay, so here’s where you have to make a decision. If you want to go easy on the heat (which I suggest), shake and/or scrape a good deal of the marinade off of the shrimp. The shrimp will still have plenty of flavor and heat. How much of the marinade you use is completely up to you and your taste buds.

Sear the shrimp for 2 minutes, flip over and sear for 1 additional minute. Remove from the pan.

Divide the romaine lettuce between two large plates or bowls, followed by the rice, corn and bean mixture.

Top with the shrimp, avocados and tomatoes. Squeeze more lime over top and serve.

Thanks so much to Bev Weidner for this recipe. Be sure to check out Bev’s blog Bev Cooks. Not only does Bev take beautiful photos and come up with mouth-watering recipes, but she is completely nutty (I mean this as a compliment) and will give you a good chuckle with every one of her posts.

Printable Recipe

Chipotle Shrimp Salad Bowls

by Bev Weidner on April 2, 2012 in Main Dish Salads, Salads April 2, 2012 Main Dish SaladsSalads

See post on Bev Weidner’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 2 hrs

Cook Time: 10 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 2

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If you need to climb in, go right ahead.

Ingredients

• 1 can (7.5 Oz. Size) Chipotle Peppers In Their Adobo Sauce
• 1 pound Frozen Raw Shrimp, Thawed, Peeled And Deveined
• ½ cups Brown Jasmine Rice
• ½ cups Freshly Cilantro, Chopped
• 1 whole Lime, Divided
• 1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ cups Frozen Corn
• ½ cans (14.5 Oz. Size) Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed.
• 1 pinch Coarse Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 2 heads Romaine Hearts, Sliced Into Thin Ribbons And Chopped
• 1 whole Avocado, diced
• ½ cups Cherry Tomatoes

Preparation Instructions

Puree the chipotle peppers and their sauce in a small food processor until smooth. Pour into a small baggy. Dump the shrimp into the baggy and squish the sauce all around them, getting everything all coated. Stick in the fridge and marinate as long as you want, at least 2 Tom and Jerry episodes.

In the meantime, cook the rice in a rice cooker (or the traditional way) with the cilantro and the juice from 1/2 the lime. Once cooked, give another squeeze of lime juice into it.

Heat the oil in a small saucepan and add the corn and beans. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, along with the cumin and chili powder. Keep heated on low until you’re ready to assemble.

Layer the shrimp in a medium skillet (you don’t need any oil as the marinade is plenty liquidy) and sear the shrimp one on side for 2 minutes. Flip and sear another minute.

Evenly divide the romaine over 2 large plates or dinner bowls. Top with rice, corn and beans, shrimp, avocado and tomatoes.

Garnish with more lime and another giant squeeze of lime juice!

 
 
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Dara Michalski is a doll and a sweetheart who clearly knows her way around the kitchen. She blogs at Cookin’ Canuck, where she shares her flavor-packed recipes and fun, engaging writing. The photography’s pretty incredible, too.

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