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Watermelon Mint Vodka Splash

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Everyone loves a cocktail that is crisp, refreshing, and oh so delicious. Watermelon Mint Vodka Splash is like that friend you’re always happy to see. It brings good vibes to an occasion!

The best part of sipping this cocktail? It delivers a light fruity flavor without that overpowering syrupy after-taste you get from cocktail recipes made with high sugar mixes. Smirnoff’s Zero Sugar Watermelon & Mint Vodka is infused with natural flavors and it’s gluten-free. It’s easy-drinking, so let this be your warning.

I grow fresh mint in my raised garden bed during spring and summer, so I always have it on hand for recipes like this one. Why not save money on buying herbs by growing them yourself? Consider ordering mint plant seeds online to add to your herb garden or a container pot for a sunny spot on your deck. Mint is a hardy plant that will continue to produce new leaves as long as you pinch it back now and then.

watermelon mint vodka cocktail

When you want to mix a cocktail for an afternoon by the pool or you’ve got your toes in the sand by the lake, Watermelon Mint Vodka Splash is your go-to drink. Oh, and consider the possibilities of blending the watermelon and ice together and then adding the rest of the ingredients. Irresistible!

If you’re ready to mix this cocktail recipe, you may also appreciate my recipe for its cousin cocktail, Cucumber Lime Vodka Splash. It’s the MOST POPULAR recipe on my blog hands-down. Grab a couple of glasses and make each one! Die-hard watermelon fans in search of bonus recipes also love my recipes for Watermelon Berry Slushie, Watermelon Blueberry Feta Salad with Mint, and Spiked Watermelon Lemon-Lime Cocktail.

Watermelon Mint Vodka Splash

This watermelon mint vodka cocktail is refreshing – perfect for drinking poolside or by the lake. Make it in less than 10 minutes!

10 minPrep Time

10 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 1.5 oz. Smirnoff Zero Infusions Watermelon & Mint vodka
  • Ice cubes
  • 1/2 can lime flavored sparkling water
  • Garnish with a watermelon slice and mint sprig

Instructions

  1. Add ice to glass.
  2. Add remaining ingredients.
  3. Stir gently.
  4. Garnish glass with a watermelon slice and mint sprig.
  5. Enjoy!

Notes

You could swap another flavor of sparkling water for a variation on this recipe.

7.8.1.2
98
https://onedelightfullife.com/watermelon-mint-vodka-splash/

Watermelon Mint Vodka Splash

 

5 Essential Cookbooks You Shouldn’t Live Without

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Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases from Amazon.com.

You open the refrigerator and half-opened containers, ripe fruit, and leftover chicken are staring back at you. You wonder, “What recipe can I make to use up these items?” I’ve been there. When time is of the essence and I need to get dinner on the table in a hurry, I rely on my trusty cookbook library to help me out.

I don’t want you to ever stand in your kitchen again wondering what meal to prepare for your family. Each one of these five cookbooks will inspire you to put on an apron! Here are five of my go-to favorite cookbooks that I highly recommend adding to your collection.

“Eating in the Middle: A Mostly Wholesome Cookbook” by Andie Mitchell

I love this cookbook because Mitchell includes wholesome, healthy recipes that are admittedly a bit decadent. Eating is about balance and when you know you need to eat a nutritious meal yet still crave certain ingredients, “Eating in the Middle” is a must-use cookbook. She has taught me better ways of preparing ingredients (baked sweet potatoes, anyone?) and has taught me to appreciate foods that cut the calories but not the flavor. I highly suggest preparing her Argula with Orange Segments, Spiced Walnuts & Goat Cheese salad.

What Can You Expect:

Recipes with big flavor using fresh ingredients perfect for weeknight meals or weekend celebrations. The book includes a chapter “For Sharing” with recipes ideal for large families or hosting friends.

Buy the cookbook here.

“The Pioneer Woman Cooks Dinnertime” by Ree Drummond

Ree does it again! Comfort classic, 16-minute meals, and supper solutions are exactly what every home cook needs when the family is breathing down your back asking, “What’s for dinner?” You’ll find yourself adding these recipes to a regular rotation. Each fool-proof recipe comes with step-by-step photos. The cookbook includes recipes like Pork Chops with Wine and Roasted Garlic, Mexican Tortilla Casserole, and Dessert Panini. As a Kansan, I appreciate the beautiful photos and prairie life commentary included within its pages. I recommend trying her Sausage, Kale, & Potato Soup recipe.

What Can You Expect:

Tips for make-ahead meals, ingredient variations for each recipe, conversion charts, and recommendations for complementary side dishes or bread recipes. Don’t skip pages 370-371! Ree has created recipe lists based on the type of eater you’re serving from Fancy Friends to Kid-Friendly and Meatless Wonders to Neighbors in Need.

Buy the cookbook here.

“New Cookbook” by Better Homes and Gardens

The internationally recognized cookbook is a staple for every home chef. It was the very first one that I owned and it was given to me by my mother just after I graduated high school.  First introduced in 1930, it continues to provide cooks with dishes made with easy-to-source ingredients. From comfort classics like roasted chicken to fancier fare such as Gingered Plum-Glazed Halibut, the cookbook is the ultimate resource for cooks from beginner to advanced. I recommend preparing the Ribeyes with Grilled Garlic recipe.

What Can You Expect:

Each recipe includes nutrition facts and daily vitamin values. Expect to learn the basics of how to select meat, how to prepare food using various cooking methods, and how to select the perfect serving dish.

Buy the cookbook here.

“Family Food: Kitchen Tested, Home Approved” by Guy Fieri

A fan of “Guy’s Ranch Kitchen,” a Food Network show that features fellow chefs cooking together at Guys’ home, I’ve learned a lot about how to elevate my cooking using smoked, grilled, and fresh ingredients. The cookbook includes 125 “real-deal recipes” that pay homage to his family’s love of food. The chapters are filled with recipes ranging from stacked sandwiches and savory noodle dishes to recipes that families can get involved in making like kabobs and home-baked pizza. I prepared Poutine French French Fries, a recipe that I’m still daydreaming about today.

What Can You Expect:

Quick tips for selecting the best ingredients, Flavortown favorites, and recipes using southwestern ingredients.

Buy the cookbook here.

“Home Cooking Basics: Great Food Made Simple” by Southern Living

Have you ever dined in the South and wished you could make the same recipes at home? “Home Cooking Basics” includes easy-to-follow Southern recipes that take the guesswork out of cooking. The book is written to improve your cooking skills while expanding your flavor palette. I highly recommend buying the cookbook if you or someone you know would appreciate having a virtual chef by your side walking you through each step of a recipe. Fancy up your appetizer spread with recipes like Baked Fig Crostini or Curried Shrimp Tarts. Dive into dinner entrees like Southern Stuffed Rosemary Chicken or Braised Beef Brisket. I recommend making Big Daddy’s Grilled Blue Cheese-and-Bacon Potato Salad when hosting a backyard party.

What Can You Expect:

The book is an illustrated guide to Southern cooking. If you follow the steps shown in each photo, you’ll achieve culinary greatness by the time you’re ready to serve a meal. They make it easy!

Buy the cookbook here.

I hope that you find one of these cookbooks the perfect addition to your kitchen library or best suited as a gift for a fellow foodie. I’d love to hear your recommendations for a must-have cookbook. Leave it in the comments below!

cookbooks

 

Dry Aged Smoked Prime Rib

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Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases from Amazon.com. 

This recipe is the BEST prime rib I’ve ever tasted! Also known as standing rib roast, this beef cut is tender and worth the price per pound. We treated ourselves to Dry Aged Smoked Prime Rib for the Christmas holiday. One bite and I was already planning when we would serve it again.

While a bit of preparation is required, it is worth the effort. The process of dry aging a bone-in prime rib is actually quite easy. After patting the meat dry with paper towels, wrap it in 2-3 layers of cheese cloth and secure with kitchen twine. Store the prime rib on a tray or cookie sheet in the refrigerator for seven days.

When you’re ready to cook it, remove the cheese cloth and apply a heavy coat of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to the outside of the prime rib. Lightly coat the meat with vegetable oil and use your hands to really press the seasoning into the flesh of the beef. The seasoning will form a thick bark or outside crust during the cooking process. (You don’t have to allow the meat to come to room temperature before cooking it.)

Smoked Prime Rib

To get the hickory flavor, prepare the prime rib on a Traeger grill or similar smoker using wood pellets. For this recipe, a 4 lb. bone-in prime rib required two hours of cooking time followed by 30 minutes of resting time before serving. The end result was a tender cut of beef with light smoke flavor. You’ll love the crusted bark!

Use a extremely sharp knife to cut about 3/4″ pieces and serve it alongside creamy horseradish and beef au jus. I suggest serving it to your guests with sautéed asparagus and smashed garlic potatoes.

Why wait until a special occasion to enjoy Dry Aged Smoked Prime Rib? Treat yourself!

4 servings

Serves 3/4" slice

Dry Aged Smoked Prime Rib

Dry Aged Smoked Prime Rib is the best way to serve this tender cut of meat to guarantee incredible flavor.

2 hrCook Time

2 hrTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 4 lb. bone-in prime rib
  • vegetable oil
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Bring your Traeger smoker or grill to 250 degrees.
  2. Smoke the prime rib roast for two hours or until the internal temperature reads 125 degrees.
  3. Remove the prime rib from the smoke or grill and allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minute before slicing to serve.

Notes

You may want to trim the excess fat from each slice prior to plating.

7.8.1.2
97
https://onedelightfullife.com/dry-aged-smoked-prime-rib/

Dry Aged Smoked Prime Rib

How to Make a Christmas Dessert Board

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One of the best parts of the Christmas holiday season is all of the delightful desserts! But what do you do with all of the cookies, candies, and baked goods that people give you? Before you know it, you have bags and boxes of them on your kitchen counter. A Christmas Dessert Board is the solution! A beautiful assortment of sweet treats, the board is the perfect way to bring winter cheer to any holiday happy hour or family gathering.

The brilliant part of assembling a Christmas dessert board is that it only requires opening packages and artfully arranging ingredients on a surface. Just as you would design a meat and cheese charcuterie board, you want to vary color, height, and textures as much as possible. I combined soft cocoa truffles alongside crunchy shortbread cookies and I let cinnamon gummy bears nestle up to a river of holiday popcorn.

Not sure what to include on your board? Use my list as a helpful shopping guide or gather your favorite sweet confections and just have a blast making your own desert board:

CHOCOLATE:

COOKIES:

  • Decked Out Tree Cookies (Trader Joe’s)
  • Peppermint Pretzel Slims (Trader Joe’s)

NUTS:

POPCORN:

COCOA BOMBS:

  • They were a fabulous gift from a friend, but you can find them at many bakeries and gift stores.

Other items you could include chocolate spreads, mini cupcakes, assorted berries, marshmallows, or gingerbread men cookies.  However, I should warn you about something. If you leave the dessert board on your kitchen counter, you will eat from it at EVERY passing. I highly recommend you gift this Christmas Dessert Board to someone or serve it at a party unless you don’t mind the holiday weight gain. ::laughing:: I didn’t!

Christmas is about showing kindness to others and I can’t think of a better way to bring the joy of the season to someone else than by serving them a gorgeous assortment of sweet treats! I hope you enjoy your Christmas Dessert Board as much as I had making mine.

Happy Holidays, friends!

How to Build a Savory Charcuterie Board

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Why is it that charcuterie boards are all the rage these days? They are trending in a big way on Pinterest and if you’ve glanced at any foodie’s Instagram feed, you’re likely to see a colorful board built of various finger foods.

The answer is simple — charcuterie boards are a fabulous way to serve others a beautifully assembled meal without cooking a single thing! Better yet, designing a charcuterie board is a blast because you’re literally playing with food to arrange it in an eye appealing way.

So, how do you know what items to source for your board? The key to building any savory charcuterie board is to think in categories when selecting the items to include: 1.) briny or acidic foods 2.) creamy and hard cheeses 3.) sliced deli meats. You want the items selected to complement each other in taste and texture. For example, pickles or artisan olives are a great follow to a rich cheese and cracker combination.

For my ultimate savory charcuterie board, I added another layer of interest. Some of my items are sourced from Kansas farmers or small food businesses while the others came mostly from Trader Joe’s. I’m passionate about supporting small business and several of the below mentioned companies were nice enough to gift me with their items.

What locally sourced gourmet foods could you add to your board?

I went BIG on this spread! The quantity of ingredients in this board could easily feed 2-4 people. We like to substitute a beautiful charcuterie platter for our usual dinner meal a couple Friday evenings a month because I don’t want to cook at the end of the week!

Here’s a rundown of the assorted items and where to buy them:

CRACKERS:

  • Brioche Toasts (Trader Joe’s) covered in roasted garlic from Orie’s Farm Fresh
  • Pita Bite Crackers (Trader Joe’s)
  • Golden Rounds (Trader Joe’s)
  • Great Value Rosemary Crackers (Walmart)

CHEESES:

  • Sliced Medium Cheddar (Walmart)
  • Cream Cheese Spread mixed with Cajun Marinade from Kansas Flavor
  • Honey Goat Cheese (Trader Joe’s) covered in Beesponsible Wildflower Honey
  • The Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb Cheese (Walmart) topped with fresh baby dill
  • Sliced White Cheddar (Private Selection from Kroger)

PROTEINS:

  • Smoked Salmon Slices (Walmart)
  • Salami (Trader Joe’s)
  • Prosciutto (Trader Joe’s)
  • Pepperoni (Trader Joe’s)

NUTS & CRUNCH:

FRUITS & VEGGIES:

  • Pickles Brussel Sprouts (Urban Prairie)
  • Sliced Tomatoes sprinkled with Smoked Garlic Salt (Orie’s Farm Fresh)
  • Jalapeño Mustard (Urban Prairie)
  • Fig Jam (Trader Joe’s)
  • Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives (Trader Joe’s)
  • Artichoke Hearts Segments (Trader Joe’s)
  • Clementine Orange Segments
  • Pink Lady Apple Slices
  • Dried Cranberries

I recommend a dry red wine to enjoy with it such as a Cabernet Sauvignon. We sipped on 2018 Happy Camper while nibbling on the delightful spread.

In the market for a serving board? I used a bamboo cutting board and a pizza board with a handle, which worked perfectly!

While the specific items chosen for our charcuterie board appeal to us, you should customize your selection to your taste. It’s really just an excuse to try new gourmet foods paired with your tried and true favorites.

Have a delightful time shopping for ingredients and designing an epic board of your own!

 

 

 

4 Small Kitchen Appliances Every Cook Needs

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Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases from Amazon.com. 

Getting a meal on the table is hard enough with all of life’s daily demands, so there is no shame in maximizing the convenience of small kitchen appliances to get the job done quickly. The four timesavers that I can’t live without are listed below and I really think you’ll find that they make preparing meals easier.

Alright, I’m breaking down this short list based on each piece of equipment’s affordability and efficiency. Let’s dive in.

BLACK AND DECKER TOASTER OVEN

Most people consider this counter appliance to be one used by college students or individuals who don’t cook much. A toaster oven is incredibly versatile and a HUGE timesaver when you want to cook or reheat a meal. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used it to prepare nachos, small pizzas, open-faced sandwiches, and even roasted garlic.

Life happens. You don’t always have the time or energy to prepare full meal and the Black and Decker Toaster Oven is the solution.

Cost $43

FOODSAVER VACUUM SEALER

If you’re like me and you want to buy extra steaks when they’re on sale for later use, using a Foodsaver Vacuum Sealer is the best option to freeze them and keep frostbite flavor at bay. I also use it to store airtight packages of  fresh items from garden tomatoes (great for sauces!) to soup leftovers.

You’ll find that even though you are initially spending money on it and the roll of sealer bags, you save money overall by purchasing groceries on sale and storing them for later use. Later, you can just shop your freezer instead of heading back to the store!

Cost $60

MAGIC BULLET BLENDER

When you want to blend a fruit smoothie, mix a batch of dressing, or finely chop vegetables, the Magic Bullet Blender is your go-to appliance. The beauty of it is that you tote your mixed beverage with you using the handle cup and drinkable lid or simply store it in the refrigerator for later use. I once thought tiny drink blenders were only for people who mixed their morning protein or muscle powder smoothies. Wrong. You’ll love it’s practicality for everyday use and its small size requires minimal storage.

Cost $39

CUISINART FOOD PROCESSOR 

The big daddy of all the small appliances, the Cuisinart Food Processor should be in every home cook’s kitchen. No matter the task, it delivers. I’ve used it to prep vegetables for a week’s recipes, mixed up fresh dough, and made large batches of sauces and dressings. If you’re committed to your kitchen and love donning an apron to prepare recipes, you deserve the functionality of a food processor.

Cost $150

These four small kitchen appliances are a food lover’s dream because they make preparing a meal a joy. Eliminate long hours standing over a hot oven or prepping ingredients and invest in kitchen gadget that simplifies the job. You’ll be happy you did.

While these are my favorite appliances, I’m eager to hear what appliance you think I should have included on the list. Comment below with your suggestion!