Summer Recipes

A Watermelon Summer Dinner: Keeping Cool Without Turning on the Oven

Is anybody else ready for summer to slow down just a little? Don’t get me wrong—I love summertime. I love the sunshine, the longer days, cookouts, fresh produce, and getting outside. But here in Oklahoma, August has a way of reminding you that summer isn’t quite finished with us yet!

When it’s this hot outside, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven and heat up the house. Sometimes a cold dinner, a refreshing drink, and maybe a little time outside is exactly what we need.

And lately I’ve been thinking about doing something a little different: themed summer dinners!

Since I live in an area known as the Watermelon Capital of the World, I think watermelon is the perfect place to start. We have watermelon stands all around us during the summer, and there is just something special about stopping at one and picking out a big, juicy local watermelon.

So I’m thinking about buying a couple of them and having a little Watermelon Summer Dinner.

Now, I realize I’m probably not the first person to ever think of this. 😂 But sometimes the simplest ideas are the most fun!

Imagine sitting outside on a hot summer evening with a cold watermelon drink, a fresh watermelon salad, and a bowl of pasta salad. No oven. No complicated cooking. Just easy food that tastes like summer.

And if I can get the grandbabies involved, even better!

🍉 Fresh Watermelon Cooler

This would be such an easy drink to make, and it would be perfect for a hot afternoon.

You’ll need:

• 4 cups seedless watermelon, cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1–2 tablespoons honey or sugar, depending on how sweet your watermelon is
• 1 cup cold water
• Ice
• Fresh mint or lime slices for garnish

Directions:

Add the watermelon, lime juice, sweetener, and water to a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour over ice and garnish with a little fresh mint or a lime slice.

You could even make this into a fun activity with the grandbabies and let them help pick the watermelon, add the ingredients, and decorate the glasses.

For the adults, you could make it a little fancy by serving it in a pretty glass with a watermelon wedge on the side.

🍓 Strawberry Lemonade

You can’t go wrong with strawberry lemonade on a hot summer day!

You’ll need:

• 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 cups cold water
• ½–¾ cup sugar, adjusted to taste
• Ice
• Fresh strawberries and lemon slices for garnish

Blend the strawberries with a little of the water until smooth. Pour the mixture into a pitcher and add the lemon juice, remaining water, and sugar. Stir well and chill.

Serve over plenty of ice with strawberry and lemon slices.

There is just something about strawberry lemonade that makes you feel like you should be sitting on a porch somewhere, isn’t there?

🍉 Easy Summer Watermelon Salad

Now let’s talk about the star of our dinner!

This watermelon salad is fresh, colorful, and requires absolutely no cooking.

You’ll need:

• 4 cups watermelon, cubed
• 1 cup cucumber, sliced or chopped
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• A handful of fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• A pinch of salt

Add the watermelon, cucumber, feta, and mint to a large bowl.

Whisk together the lime juice and honey and drizzle it over the salad. Give everything a gentle toss and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

The sweet watermelon, cool cucumber, salty feta, and fresh mint make such a good combination.

And look how pretty it is! Sometimes food really can be as pretty as it is delicious.

🥗 Easy Summer Pasta Salad

Of course, we need something a little more filling for dinner, so pasta salad is going on the menu too.

You’ll need:

• 12 ounces rotini or bow-tie pasta
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• ½ cup red onion, diced
• ½ cup black olives
• ½ cup mozzarella pearls or cubed cheese
• ½ cup Italian dressing
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: chopped pepperoni, chicken, or salami

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, then drain and rinse it under cold water.

Add the pasta, vegetables, olives, and cheese to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over everything and toss until well combined.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

And here’s the beauty of pasta salad: you can change it up depending on what you have in the refrigerator. Add some leftover grilled chicken, throw in some bell peppers, use whatever vegetables you have on hand, or make it completely meat-free.

That’s my kind of recipe!

🍉 A Little Summer Dinner Theme

Now I’m thinking this could actually become a fun little tradition around our house.

Imagine a table with a big bowl of watermelon salad, a colorful pasta salad, a pitcher of watermelon cooler, and maybe a pitcher of strawberry lemonade sitting right beside it.

Add some paper plates, a few outdoor games, and some grandbabies running around, and you’ve got yourself a pretty great summer evening.

And that’s what I love about the idea of themed dinners. They don’t have to be complicated or expensive. You can pick one ingredient or one theme and build a simple meal around it.

Maybe next time it could be a taco night, an ice cream night, a breakfast-for-dinner night, or even an old-fashioned picnic dinner.

I’m realizing that sometimes we get so caught up in our everyday routines that we forget to make ordinary evenings special.

Maybe that’s something I need to work on.

Instead of waiting for a holiday, birthday, or special occasion, why not make a random Tuesday night a little celebration?

Especially when it involves watermelon. 🍉

So now I’m curious…

Do you have any summer food traditions at your house?

Maybe it’s a particular recipe you make every summer, an annual cookout, homemade ice cream, a family picnic, or something completely unique to your family.

We don’t really have many food traditions around our house, but I’m thinking it might be time to start a few.

And if I can keep the oven turned off while I’m doing it, that’s even better!

Hey, thanks for stopping by my blog! Be sure and leave me some comments down below about what kind of summer food traditions you have.

Have a great day!

Karen