Summer Fresh Recipe Series: Watermelon Salad Mediterranean Style

Sweet juicy watermelon with salty feta and cool cucumbers make a great tasting Mediterranean style salad.  Mix in some fresh herbs and toss it with a honey vinaigrette and you have summer in a bowl!

We've been eating a lot of Mediterranean style dishes this summer and this side dish is a perfect addition.  One of my favorite bloggers is Suzy from The Mediterranean Dish and this is one of her wonderful recipes.  Truly, all of her recipes are amazing so head over there and take a look around.

WATERMELON SALAD MEDITERRANEAN STYLE

Watermelon Salad is one of those dishes that has that sweet and salty combo going on and it is fabulous!  This variation of the traditional salad is more sophisticated by including cool cucumbers and chopped basil and mint.  Both herbs bring out the sweetness of the watermelon and pair perfectly with the salad.  Cucumbers are cool and crispy and filled with water just as watermelon is.  They are a great match.  And then she goes a step further by dousing the whole salad in a tart honey lime vinaigrette.  Delishhhh!

This is the go-to dish this summer that pairs with any main dish you are serving.  Plus it's light and fresh and is so easy to throw together.  As my 13th installment in my Summer Fresh Recipe Series that focuses on easy, light dishes using fresh summer ingredients, you can't have a summer without watermelon, and this salad.  It's that good!

Enjoy!

Summer Fresh Recipe Series

• Chicken Fajita Kabobs
• Refreshing Melon Salad
• Peach Blueberry & Ginger Crisp
• Grilled Sirloin Steak with Garlic Herb Vinaigrette
• Grilled Vegetable Platter
• Sirloin Steak topped with Herb Salsa with Roasted Potatoes & Carrots
• Lemon Blueberry Scones
• Grilled Honey Ginger Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apricots & Brocollini
• Lemon Raspberry Dutch Baby
• Simple Mediterranean Salad
• Grilled Chicken Kofta
• Greek Cobb Salad

Watermelon Salad Mediterranean Style

serves 4-6

For the Honey Vinaigrette
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp lime juice
1 to 2 tbsp quality extra virgin olive oil 
pinch of salt

For the Watermelon Salad
1/2 mini watermelon, peeled, cut into cubes
1 English cucumber, cubed (about 2 cupfuls of cubed cucumbers)
15 fresh mint leaves, chopped
15 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, more to your liking

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, lime juice, olive oil and pinch of salt. Set aside for a moment.

In a large bowl or serving platter with sides, combine the watermelon, cucumbers, and fresh herbs.

Top the watermelon salad with the honey vinaigrette and gently toss to combine. Top with the feta cheese and serve!

source:  The Mediterranean Dish

Summer Fresh Recipe Series: Chicken Fajita Kabobs

Tender juicy chicken breasts coated with spicy Latin flavors mixed with bites of zesty onions and peppers all grilled to perfection.  Served with warm tortillas and some rice makes for one heck of a dinner. 

 

Summer is going strong and we are grilling a lot.  One of MGG favorite dishes is kabobs so we tend to make all sorts of variations of the traditional Persian kabobs.  This is my 12th installment of my Summer Fresh Recipe Series for easy recipes using summers fresh produce.   You can find additional recipes from this series down below.  

Today we are focusing on the abundance of peppers that are available right now, so on the menu is a a fun variation of the kabob using the flavors of Mexico.  We're making Chicken Fajita Kabobs!

Fajitas whether they are beef or chicken are a favorite around here and are typically made on the stove but also contain the perfect ingredients to turn into kabobs. All you need to do is thread chicken, onion, and peppers on a skewer and you are set.  Now my version of Chicken Fajta Kabobs bring a little zip to the dish by using a fajita seasoning paste on the chicken and spicing up the peppers by using both red bell pepper and zippy green poblanos.  Add in some red onion for good measure and you have an excellent kabob combination that will fill you with wonderful Latin flavors!

Imagine tender juicy chicken breasts coated with spicy Latin flavors accompanied by bites of onion and peppers all grilled to perfection.  Served with warm tortillas or even Lavash and some rice makes for one heck of a dinner.  I also served it with my Refreshing Melon Salad as a side dish and it was the perfect cool compliment to the spicy chicken dish.  This is dinner one to make over and over again.  Fire up that grill!

Enjoy!

Summer Fresh Recipe Series

• Refreshing Melon Salad
• Peach Blueberry & Ginger Crisp
• Grilled Sirloin Steak with Garlic Herb Vinaigrette
• Grilled Vegetable Platter
• Sirloin Steak topped with Herb Salsa with Roasted Potatoes & Carrots
• Lemon Blueberry Scones
• Grilled Honey Ginger Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apricots & Brocollini
• Lemon Raspberry Dutch Baby
• Simple Mediterranean Salad
• Grilled Chicken Kofta
• Greek Cobb Salad

Chicken Fajita Kabobs

yields: 4-6 skewers

3 chicken breasts, cut into chunks

olive oil

1 - 1 1/2 Tbsp fajita seasoning

1 red bell pepper

2 poblano pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 red onion

Optional sides

Lime wedges

Flour tortillas or Lavash Bread

cooked rice

Fajita Seasoning (place remainder in a jar - stores up to 6 months)

2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

NOTE:  If using wooden skewers - soak skewers in water for 20-30 minutes to prevent burning.

Preheat and outdoor grill to medium-high heat.

Place the chicken pieces in a medium bowl.  Set aside. 

In a medium bowl add all the spices for the fajita seasoning mix and blend well.  Add 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the seasoning mix to the chicken and pour about 2 tablespoons over the top.  Mix well to create a paste and make sure that the chicken is covered in the paste.  Set aside

Remove the seeds from all the peppers and cut them into large squarish pieces. (about 2x2) you want them big enough so they don't fall apart when you skewer them.   Peel the onion and remove some of the outer layers and cut them into large square chunks as well. 

Assemble the kabobs by adding a piece of chicken, yellow bell pepper, poblano pepper, red onion, and then the red bell pepper.  Repeat this order ending with a piece of chicken at the end of the skewer.  Continue making skewers with all the remaining ingredients. 

Place the skewers on a heated grill and cook  10 minutes (or until cooked through) turning once after 5 minutes.   Serve immediately with lime wedges, rice, and warm bread if desired.

Summer Fresh Recipe Series: Refreshing Melon Salad

Refreshingly cool, sweet melons mixed with onions and feta top a bed of baby spinach and doused with the most flavorful citrus garlic vinaigrette make one heck of a side dish!

In the summer when the heat has you beat and it's too hot to even think about cooking, I've got a solution to the side dish dilemma!  A nice, easy salad is in order.  But let's mix things up a bit and make this salad that is both tangy and sweet, cool and crisp, and oh soooo refreshing!

REFRESHING MELON SALAD

This dish is my 11th installment of my Summer Fresh Recipe Series and this one is another winner.  Quick and easy is the name of the game, and using summer's fresh produce it what it's all about with this recipe.  The feature here is fresh melon.  I used watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew, but you could use any melons you choose.  To give this a more "salad" feel I included a bed of baby spinach and sprinkled in some red onion and feta cheese. All this is doused with a wonderful citrus garlic vinaigrette  which is made from orange juice and lime juice with some added flavor from the garlic and sweetness from some honey.  Then we top off the entire salad with some torn mint leaves which brings out the fruit flavors so well.

This is a side dish that goes along with just about anything you like.  Fish, chicken, beef, and pork will all be perfect entrees.  This can be eaten cold or at room temperature.  You can make this ahead just leave off the dressing and the mint until you are ready to serve.  

Enjoy all the fruit that summer has to offer.  We just can't enough!  Take a look at my other installment from my Summer Fresh Recipe Series below.

Enjoy!  

Summer Fresh Recipe Series

• Peach Blueberry & Ginger Crisp
• Grilled Sirloin Steak with Garlic Herb Vinaigrette
• Grilled Vegetable Platter
• Sirloin Steak topped with Herb Salsa with Roasted Potatoes & Carrots
• Lemon Blueberry Scones
• Grilled Honey Ginger Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apricots & Brocollini
• Lemon Raspberry Dutch Baby
• Simple Mediterranean Salad
• Grilled Chicken Kofta
• Greek Cobb Salad

Refreshing Melon Salad

serves 4

Ingredient Checklist

2 cups baby spinach

1/4 cup red onion, sliced thinly 
1 cup watermelon, sliced

1 cup cantaloupe, sliced

1 cup honeydew, sliced
1/4 cup feta cheese (2 oz.), crumbled

1 Tbsp fresh mint, torn into small pieces

Dressing:

2 Tbsp. orange juice
1/2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 Tbsp. honey
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

On a small platter arrange spinach so that it forms a base and covers the platter.

In a small bowl add sliced onions and cover with water.  Allow to sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Arrange melon slices over the spinach.  To make the dressing:  Add to a small bowl, orange juice, lime juice, honey, garlic, salt & pepper, and olive oil.  Whisk until emulsified.  Set aside.

Remove onion from the water, draining off any excess moisture.  Add on top of the melon.  Spread around crumbled feta cheese.  Drizzle with dressing and then add the torn mint leaves.  Serve immediately.

adapted from:  Triple Melon Salad