Watermelon Salad

Printable Recipe

Ok.  I know what you’re going to say…”That doesn’t sound good.”  But I’m telling you…it is a-mazing.  It’s got that special combination of sweet and savory and it tastes out-of-this-world! 

We ended up with 2 whole watermelons at our Fourth of July cookout…for only 7 people!  We have watermelon out the ying-yang!  So I’ve been eating it for breakfast and lunch pretty much everyday, and I was looking for something different for it. 

And Paula Deen to the rescue! 

I just kind of eye-balled the ingredients, but this is approximately how much I used.

Ingredients:

6 cups watermelon, chopped into 1 inch cubes
½ red or white onion, thinly sliced
2-3 Tbsp. feta cheese
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Toss watermelon, onion, and cheese in a medium bowl.
2. Pour vinegar and oil over and toss again.  Season with salt and pepper.

 

Go make this now with all your extra watermelon!

Vidalia Onion Casserole

From the kitchen of: Mom

(it’s the round dish in the back of the photo)

I have no idea where this recipe originally came from, but it has been in our family for a really long time.  It’s one of my favorites!  It almost tastes like a Bloomin’ Onion from Outback!

This is really easy to make, except it takes FOREVER to slice the onions.   Slicing them is the longest part, but then it’s a snap to put together.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

5-6 Vidalia onions, sliced very thin

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup melted butter

1 tube Ritz crackers, crushed

¼ cup milk

 

Directions:

1. Place onions and a couple tablespoons of water in a large bowl and microwave for 5-6 minutes, to partially cook them.  Drain.
2. Mix onions, cheese and butter and put in casserole dish.  Sprinkle crushed Ritz on top and pour milk all over the top.
3. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
4. OMG YUM!

Orzo Salad

This is a copy cat recipe for J. Alexander’s Orzo and Wild Rice Salad.  I’ve never had the restaurant version, but everyone who has said it tastes just like J. Alexander’s.

This serves a LOT!  I recommend halving this recipe if you’re not feeding an army.  That’s a 4.5 quart bowl in the picture and that doesn’t include the other container in my fridge.  I made an extra large batch so I would have some to take to a cookout Sunday night and some for our family cookout Monday afternoon.  I still have a good amount leftover, so guess what I’ll be having for lunch all week!

Adapted from AllRecipes and cdkitchen.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 boxes Orzo

2 packages Wild Rice

½ medium red onion

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 can corn kernels, drained

3 green onions, chopped

½ cup currants (omitted because I couldn’t find them in the store)

2-3 garlic cloves, chopped

 

Dressing:

½ cup white balsamic vinegar

4 Tbsp. lemon juice

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¾ cup canola oil

4 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 Tbsp. dried basil

S&P

 

1. Cook orzo and wild rice according to package directions.  Cool in refrigerator.
2. For the dressing:  Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, mustard, garlic, basil, s&p. Slowly whisk in the oils.
3. Place all ingredients in a large bowl (including dressing) and toss well.