No Fuss Ice Cream

No Fuss Ice Cream, featured in Women's Day (Aug 2012)

Amazing!  I didn't know you could make ice cream without an ice cream machine.

Plain Jane Vanilla

Fruit Swirled

Strawberry Ice Cream Cheesecake (all freezer; no bake!)

Watermelon - Yum!

Aaah, watermelon.

It is the absolute essence of summer.  Juicy, fresh, bursting with sweetness - watermelon is our family's favorite summer treat.  Up until this year, I had only ever served it as a slice of fruit, as a snack or alongside a grilled feast.  Sometimes, if I'm feeling adventurous, I even cut it into cubes so my family can devour it even faster.  This summer, though, it seems every magazine, cooking show and blog has something delicious and wonderful to do with watermelon, I had to break out of my fruit rut and give some a go.

Here's some of the best:

Watermelon Popsicles
Cool, icy and refreshing, these popsicles hit the spot on a hot summer day.  My two-year-old adores them!  Recipe found here at The Butterfly Mile.

Watermelon Limeade 

This refreshing drink recipe was found in a clipping I'd saved from Organic Gardening (Vol. 57.5).  It is a delicious treat - and if you like watermelon and lime, you're sure to love it.  A pdf of the recipe is downloadable from my MediaFire, it is not available on the internet.

pdf of Watermelon Limeade

Martha's Watermelon Limeade 
                 (p.s. There's vodka in this one)

And, finally, leave it to Martha to take the basic limeade above, and turn it into an amazing cocktail.  I bet her parties are kick ass.  Recipe here at Martha Stewart Living online.

There you have it, a collection of basically the same easy-peasy recipe, done three ways.  All were insanely refreshing and de-lish.  Plus, depending on if you add sugar, insanely good for you as well.  

If you're as much of a watermelon fanatic as I am, make sure to check out good old watermelon.org as well, for useful tips and tricks.  Did you know you were supposed to wash a watermelon before cutting into it?  I didn't, but I do now.  The site is enormous, and chock full of useful information, such as the following tips on how to pick out the best watermelon:

1. Look the watermelon over.
You are looking for a firm, symmetrical watermelon that is free from bruises, cuts or dents.

2. Lift it up.
The watermelon should be heavy for it's size. Watermelon is 92% water, most of the 
weight is water.

3. Turn it over.
The underside of the watermelon should have a creamy yellow spot from where it 
sat on the ground and ripened in the sun.

Whatever you do, have some melon this summer, kick back, and enjoy!

Martha Stewart Creamsicle Meringue Swirls

These Creamsicle-inspired meringue cookies look heavenly!

  Recipe here.

pdf here.

Easiest-Ever Peanut Butter Cookies

Claims to be the easiest ever cookie recipe with no flour - just 4 simple ingredients.  Will have to pick up some peanut butter and give it a whirl.

Recipe at Woman's Day website.

pdf of original magazine clipping here.

Kebob Recipes and Tips from Woman's Day

After the insane heat wave last week, I have become a big fan of the shish kebab.  It's a quick, easy, meal on a stick, that requires very little kitchen time.  Perfect for days when the A/C's not working.  ;)  So, here's a little collection of kebab inspirations from Women's Day.



Kebab Ideas from Women's Day print magazine - June 2012

Best Bits:

1.  Use two parallel skewers to help keep wide pieces of food secure as you turn.

2.  Soak a big batch of wood skewers, wrap in foil and freeze for instant use later.

Recipes in the article:
Pork, Nectarine & Scallion Kebabs
Chicken & Green Bean Kebabs
Beef, Potato & Red Onion Kebabs
Shrimp, Zucchini & Tomato Kebabs
Pork, Yellow Pepper & Jalapeno Kebabs
Beef, Orange & Broccoli Kebabs
Italian Sausage & Grape Kebabs
Chicken, Pineapple & Red Pepper Kebabs
Salmon & Scallion Kebabs

pdf of the article here

10 Easy Kebab Recipes at the Woman's Day website