Watermelon Cookies

Once every summer I make a batch of these watermelon cookies.  I think they're super cute and everyone else seems to like them as well.  They do take a little extra time to make - which is why they only get made once a year.  The recipe does make quite a few though so I freeze at least half of the batch to last us through the summer.

Watermelon Slice Cookies
¾ cup butter                                  ¼ teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup sugar                                  1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg                                             food coloring
½ teaspoon almond                       mini chocolate chips
2 cups flour                   









Cream butter and sugar.

Beat in egg and extract.













Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture.

















Set aside 1 cup of dough.





Tint remaining dough red.  Shape into a 3 1/2” log.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. 

 
Tint 1/3 cup of remaining dough green.  Wrap and refrigerate.  Wrap remaining dough and refrigerate all dough 2 hours.

 

Roll plain dough into an 8 ½ x 3 ½” rectangle.














Roll green dough into a 10 x 3 ½ “ rectangle.







Stack white dough on top of green dough.  Place red log on a short side of the rectangle and roll up. 

 

Wrap dough and refrigerate overnight.

 
Cut into thin slices and press mini chocolate chips into red dough.

 

Bake 9-11 minutes at 350. 

Immediately cut in half.

 

 
Cool completely so that chocolate chips set.

I promise you that kids AND adults will ooohh and ahhhh over these tiny little watermelon cookies.  They are just as sweet to eat as they are to look at. 

Just a warning that these mini chocolate chips melt REALLY quickly in the sun.  I have to be careful when I take them to the pool because the chocolate tends to end up all over my hands.

These watermelon cookies are sure to be a big hit at your next party. 

Ciao!

Walleye Dinner

If you didn't grow up around the great lakes, you may not be familiar with the fabulous fish know as the "walleye."  It's so highly regarded around Lake Erie that the locals honor it with an annual "Walleye Drop" every New Year's Eve.  (By the way, neither of the fish that my children are holding are actually walleye.)  In case you are wondering what a walleye looks like, this is a walleye pillow that we actually have in our house - please don't ask me why.

Walleye can be quite elusive and hard to catch but if you manage to get one, you're in for a real treat.   During our vacation at the lake this summer, Ben, my dad and my son all caught walleye and we completely forgot to take a picture of them.  (Sorry)








I did, however get a picture of the fish cleaning.







Once the walleye were fileted, my mom packed it up in Ziploc bags and put it in the freezer.  When we got ready to leave the lake to come home, we put our frozen walleye filets in a cooler to transport them back to Georgia.  They were about halfway defrosted after our 14 hour trip south so I put them in the refrigerator overnight. 

Ben and the kids were looking forward to fried walleye filets and I was more excited about a baked version - so I made both.

Directions for Fried Walleye

 





Pat the filets dry with paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt.







Prepare 3 bowls for breading.  One with flour, one with a beaten egg and another with panko bread crumbs. 

 






Dip each filet into flour.







 






Dip in beaten egg.

Coat with panko bread crumbs.


 





Pour canola oil into the bottom of a non stick skillet and heat to simmering.  Add filets and cook ntil browned on bottom.

Turn and finish cooking until flaky inside.

I served the walleye with roasted sweet potato wedges and a yeast roll.  When I started to take pictures of the plate, I realized that the entire meal was the same color - usually something that I try and avoid.  Regardless of the monochromatic color scheme - it was delicious. 

Directions for Baked Walleye











Pour a small amount of salsa into a baking dish.  Place salted fish on top and bake at 400 until light and flaky.











To serve this fish, I like to move the filet to my dinner plate and then spoon the salsa on top of the fish.

This recipe works with just about any kind of fish and any kind of salsa.  It's super simple and really good - especially with freshly caught walleye from Lake Erie.

Ciao!

Make your own pizza night

"Make your own pizza night" is always a big hit at our house.  The kids love it because they get to load their very own pizza with all of their favorite toppings.  I love it because it's a great way to use up all the vegetables in the refrigerator.  With that goal in mind, I planned our pizza night for the week before we were leaving on vacation.  This time of year when fresh vegetables are at their peak, we always have an abundance of vegetables in the house.  I pulled some bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and asparagus out of the frig and I added a tomato that had been ripening on the counter.  I also picked some fresh basil from my garden to add to the vegetable pizza toppings.  I sliced all of the fresh vegetables and put them on a cutting board - ready to adorn a pizza.

I made a batch of pizza dough and after it rose for an hour, I divided it into 4 small doughs so we could each have our own individual pizza. 

Once the toppings were prepared, all that was left was to put out the cheese and the sauce and call the kids to the kitchen to make their pizza.











My daughter did an excellent job on her pepperoni and cheese pizza.

My son also made a pepperoni and cheese pizza. (Where is their sense of adventure?)

I made Ben's pizza because he got held up at work.  Mushrooms and pepperoni on a super thin crust for him.

As you can imagine, my pizza was LOADED with vegetables. 

All of the vegetables that were left over got added to a bed of romaine lettuce - instant salad.

The pizza's came out beautifully.  The kids pepperoni pizzas were perfect.

Ben's mushroom and pepperoni pizza looked positively irresistible.

And of course, my veggie lovers pizza was divine.

We ditched the plates for this meal and we ate our pizza right off the cutting boards.

If you need some tips on grilling pizzas on the Big Green Egg you can check out my blog post from last August.  My pizza dough recipe is also on that blog post.  Even if you don't have an Egg,  you can still have homemade pizza night and bake your pizzas in the oven.  Enjoy!

Ciao!