Easy Watermelon Margaritas

There is nothing I love more on a steamy summer day than a nice cool wedge of sweet watermelon. Except for these delicious margaritas, of course! This recipe was born on a summer day much like today. I had some watermelon that was about to go bad so I tossed it in the freezer and decided to make margaritas. Not sure how this line of thought came to me...except to say that I was still in college and there are always half full bottles of alcohol in the cabinet. So naturally the last bit of tequila and my leftover watermelon were a match made in college kitchen heaven. Freezing the melon enhanced it's natural sweetness so I didn't add any additional sugar. I put in a bit of lemon juice for an extra little zing of tartness that really complements the sugary melon flavor. Thus one of my favorite summer beverage was born. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I have. Happy Cinco de Mayo and Cheers to summer! 

These are so easy to make and they're the perfect summer treat!  

Ingredients:

• 6 cups frozen watermelon
• 1/2 cup silver tequila
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• kiwi slices for garnish (optional)

This is a picture from the first time I ever made these delicious drinks. It was the summer Kelsey and I first started living together, right before WTF was born! 

Directions:

1. Put all your ingredients into a blender and pulse until well blended. 
2. Then pour into cups, garnish with kiwi slices and enjoy! Happy Cinco de Mayo! 

Fresh Friday: Lemon-Thyme Fried Green Tomatoes

It's been such an exciting (read: crazy) week! I just started a new job, and have been loving every minute of being 'the new girl.' To top it off May is finally here, summer has officially arrived my friends. All these new beginnings have lead me to ponder about all the freshness summer offers. Sometimes we get so caught up in the daily grind it gets hard to take time to appreciate the simple pleasures. This year I'm committing myself to taking the time to enjoy all the new beginnings as they come. I'm going to cook at least one meal a week that is made with fresh local produce! Here's my first installment in a series of Fresh Friday posts.

I saw these gorgeous green tomatoes at the farmers market last week and  just couldn't pass them by. I've never made my own fried green tomatoes, but I've wanted to ever since I saw the movie that shares the name. So I figured now is the perfect time to try something new! To me these crispy, tangy treats are the epitome of southern summer fare. I chose to do a lighter style of breading and mixed in some fresh thyme and lemon zest to balance out the flavor.

I hope you take some time this weekend to enjoy the new beginnings summer has to offer. What's on your produce list? What are your favorite fresh meals? Don't forget to have a margarita (or two...or three?) to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Hey it's summer, right?

Ingredients:

• 2 large green tomatoes (sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds)
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1T milk
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl mix together the fresh thyme, lemon zest, flour, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. In a second bowl beat together the egg and milk. Then set the two bowls together by your stove top forming a breading station. 
3. Put your olive oil in a large frying pan and heat over medium high until it begins to sizzle (about 3-5 minutes). Watch your oil carefully if it starts to get too hot (you'll know, it will stat to smoke!) turn the heat down a bit. 
4. Dip a slice of your tomato into the egg mixture then coat it in the flour mix and place in to the frying pan. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side until the breading turns golden brown. Then repeat for the rest of your tomato slices. Serve warm and enjoy!  

Meatless Monday: Green Eggs Sans Ham

If you are like me you probably got a bit carried a way with dying eggs for Easter with little regard to what you would do with said eggs after the holiday was over. This happens to me every year! And every year people recommend the same old deviled egg or egg salad recipes. If you follow this blog you know about my intense aversion to Mayo. So you can imagine my delight what I stumbled upon We Are Not Martha's Avocado Spinach Egg Salad recipe. It was truly serendipitous! I loved the idea of substituting Avocado and Greek yogurt (both things I love) for Mayo in a revamped version of egg salad. Inspired by Sues's version I used the same basic ingredients in my version with a couple new spices to amp up the flavor profile. It turned out delicious (and I  normally dislike egg salad) plus its healthy!

This egg salad tastes even better than it looks! The avocado/Greek yogurt mix creates a nice creamy texture and the celery gives the perfect amount of crunch. The cayenne and hot pepper flakes just send it over the top!

Ingredients:

• 8 hard boiled eggs, peeled 
• salt and pepper
• 1 7oz plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage, of course!)
• 2 avocados, pitted and fork mashed
• 1 cup baby spinach, coarsely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• 1T freshly chopped chives
• 1/8t cayenne pepper
• 1/2t red pepper flakes
• 1 clove minced garlic

Dying eggs is one of my favorite Easter traditions! These were so fun to make and turned out gorgeous. 

All that remains of my masterpiece. Turns out peeling hard boiled eggs is harder than it looks! I finally figured out that running cool water over the eggs helps.

I've been spending a tone of time in the garden lately. My herbs are thriving and I love getting to incorporate them into my recipes! Hence the chives in this egg salad. 

Directions: 

1. In a medium sized bowl fork mash the hard boiled eggs until no large chunks visible then season eggs with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Mix yogurt and avocado into your eggs until fully incorporated.
3. Mix in chopped spinach, celery and lime until evenly distributed. 
4. Finally stir in the chives, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and garlic. Transfer finished egg salad to an air tight container and store in refrigerator (the lime juice will keep your avocado fresh for up to three days). Serve on a bed of lettuce or as a sandwich on your bread of choice (I went with pumpernickel-rye swirl bread,YUM!). Enjoy!

Fork mashed Easter eggs from step 1. You can still see some spots of blue where the dye soaked into the egg!

The best part of this recipe is how quickly you can whip it together. Mix all the ingredients together and  

voilà its ready to serve! 

I got these picnic plates form Pier1! Aren't they just the cutest?