Watermelon Salsa

 

About the only good thing has come out of our wet summer in North Carolina is the watermelons. Since we have had so much rain, the melons are large, sweet and full of juice.

 At the farmers market, I have been picking the smallest melons and it is taking us almost two weeks to eat it them.  With the abundance of fruit, I have been able to try different recipes that use watermelon. My favorite has been watermelon salsa that I found over at Eating Well dot com.

The first time I made this my husband grumbled about why would I waste good watermelon. I made chicken tacos that night and served the watermelon salsa and tortilla chips. After about the sixth time of my husband dipping the chips into the salsa, I said, “Honey, I didn’t think you were going to eat any.”  The reply back was “I did not want to like this, but it is too good to stop eating.” I just love proving him wrong!

So what does it taste like? Hmmm… spicy jalapeños biting at sweet watermelon mix in the sharpness of red onion, while limejuice and cilantro dance around all of them.

 You know I don’t usually add salt to my recipes, for this one you do need to add it.  We ate this on hard and soft tacos, beef and chicken. My favorite is with salty tortilla chips since the salt brings out the sweet of the melon… yummy!

The only thing I did not like about was removing the seeds from the watermelon. You can cheat and but the pre-cut watermelon in the containers at the store.

If you have a little chopper, mini-food processor or even gloves, I would use them for the jalapenos so you don’t have to touch them.

Ingredients:

3 cups finely diced seedless watermelon

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup minced red onion

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions:

Place watermelon, jalapenos, cilantro, limejuice, salt and onion in a medium bowl; stir well to combine. Chill in refrigerator half hour before serving. We actually like it better the second day since the flavors will have a chance to marry.

Oh and one more thing, this is ZERO fat and only about 26 calories per 1/2 cup serving.

 

Italian Beef Sandwiches

I saw a sign recently that stated “Cooking on low is for Sissies” and it made me laugh. I am sure if I took a show of hands many of you, me included, would say you have cranked the temperature up to get a dish done faster.  There are times when you need to cook food slow and longer to get the most taste and best texture. That is one reason we all cling to our crock-pots.

Over my break, I found several new recipes to try. One of the favorites was Italian Beef. I came across Italian Beef while looking for a new way to cook a chuck roast. The flavors in this were amazing.  What I really enjoyed was how juicy and tender the meat was not just the first night, but when we had leftovers.

So what does it taste like? Mildly spicy, but not a lot of heat, add in Italian spices and herbs. The meat is served on Italian bread rolls topped with your choice of sweet peppers, whole pepperoncinis, or giardiniera. The flavors burst in your mouth and your taste buds will think you have thrown them a party! We eat ours like a French dip, the broth or gravy that is left over is too amazing to leave in the pot.

Ingredients:

1 beef chuck roast, 3-5 pounds

4 cup water

4 beef bouillon cubes

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix

1 garlic clove, minced

1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

Directions:

In microwave able bowl combine water, bouillon cubes and soup mix. Cook on high for eight minutes or until the bouillon cubes have completely dissolved.  Stir in Italian salad dressing mix, garlic, basil and oregano. Set broth aside

In a 5 quart crock-pot add roast, vinegar and broth. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

 Remove roast. Shred or chop meat. Spoon shredded meat onto each roll, top with either sweet peppers, whole pepperoncinis, or giardiniera Serve juices as a dipping sauce. Yield: 10 servings.