Gourmet Burgers with Chipotle Mayo

It’s not summertime without a fantastic burger recipe!  Plus today it’s Nation Burger Day!

Today I decided to play around with some gourmet burger toppings, pairing up homemade chipotle mayo/fry sauce with provolone on the burgers.

They’re so delicious and perfect for those hot summer grilling days!

Roasted Blueberry Gin & Tonic (aka Unicorn Blood G&T) #NationalBlueberryMonth

Did you know that July is National Blueberry month?  The ladies from Festive Foodies hosted by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm are getting together with an awesome blueberry bonanza!

I love tossing blueberries into my yogurt and I love me some blueberry pie, but they’re not something I cook with super often.

Luckily for me, I already had a recipe in the works for #PotterPotluck hosted by the Gingered Whisk for Fandom Foodies!  Because July 31^st, as Potterheads know, is Harry Potter’s birthday!

Ice Cream Stuffed Watermelon Wedges

This month’s Food ‘n Flix is hosted by Chef Sarah Elizabeth who chose the 80’s classic, Dirty Dancing.

Would you believe that I had never seen Dirty Dancing in its entirety until now?  I was somehow under the impression that it was about a dance competition (uh, no) and found that I quite enjoyed the movie!

I’m not going to rehash the movie here, because I’m guessing that most have seen it (or aren’t interested) plus I’m terrible at writing synopses. 

Anyhow, I was inspired by the iconic phase “I carried a watermelon”.

Honey Mustard Chicken

This is one of my favorite chicken marinades.

It strikes the perfect balance between honey, mustard, and a delicious smokiness from the paprika!

I especially love serving this chicken over giant dinner salads.  Such a perfect summertime meal!

Peppermint Patty No Churn Ice Cream

Yay!  I’m finally back to participate in this month’s Fantastical Food Fight, hosted by Sarah at a Fantastical Sharing of recipes.  I sat out the last two months, because a) graduate school started and I felt like I was running around like a headless chicken and b) the themes really weren’t in my wheelhouse.  I love a challenge, but I’m just not into fruity desserts (the themes were cherry cobbler & peaches & cream).

But this month, for National Ice Cream month, the theme is Ice Cream! Whoop!

Dude was especially excited about this one, because he was eager to create a “mint ice cream like the store, mom” and add some peppermint patties.  And I was pretty excited to try a no-churn ice cream since my ice cream maker (which wasn’t very good in the first place) when kaput as I made my Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Ice cream earlier this month.

“Ice cream like the store” means creamy (the first version was very crystalized due to ice cream maker issues) and minty, but not fresh mint minty, mint extract minty.  Oh, and plenty of green food coloring.

Chilled Borscht #SoupSwappers

Today’s recipe is filling two roles: first is Soup Saturday Swappers hosted by Paula at The Saucy Southerner, who chose the theme Chilled Soups.  The second is this month’s Cook the Books Club hosted by Simona from Briciole who chose the book Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing by Anya von Bremzen.

I have to tell you - I cringed immediately, anytime there's a title that  long, I nearly always find the book loathsome and pretentious. 

In the book, the author strives to meld a history lesson, memoir, and food into a seamless, touching story.

Instead, the book read like a dry textbook, followed by a memoir with too many people to keep track of.  I nearly quit reading a quarter of the way through.  I actually stopped about half way because I just did. not. care!

You can see my full review on GoodReads if you're interested.

However, I did get my foodie inspiration in the form of Borscht, which is mentioned several times as a warm winter meal and once as a light, chilled summer meal.

Huevos Rancheros Nachos

During the school year, I read the book, Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks with one of my 3^rd grade reading groups.  It was a great book about overcoming bullying and being the new kid and self-acceptance and my students absolutely loved it! 

Plus, it was a total foodie book!

It was split into 5 sections, based on the school lunches, plus there were other mentions of the main characters’ favorite foods, like Huevos Rancheros!

I’ve always wanted to make Huevos Rancheros, so I decided to give them a whirl!

Copycat Qdoba Chicken Quesadillas

My family loves going to Qdoba.

We love the queso (enough to make a couple versions at home – here and here) and the chicken quesadillas!

Spud recently got on a Qdoba tear and decided that we needed to go there twice in one week (we typically eat out every couple weeks or so unless we’re traveling).

Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

July is National Ice Cream month, so let’s kick things off with an ice cream social!

Spud and I love mint chocolate chip ice cream, so we decided to give that a whirl using the fresh mint we have growing in the backyard!

Things were going swimmingly until my ice cream maker (which is fickle at the best of times) decided to just plain old quit.  Dude (who wants to be an inventor when he grows up) dismantled it in the garage and found it riddled with cheap parts.  It’s a goner.

So I had to take my beautiful custard, toss it in the freezer, stir it every so often, and hope for the best!