Summer Time Snacks

Hello sweet SUMMER time! I am ready for fun days by the pool, grilling season, and lazy evenings at home (preferably with no mosquitoes). A girl can wish, right? I have said it before but who wants to cut an oven on in the summer? NOT ME! I am sharing a few recipes with you that are summer favorites. As always, enjoy and happy cooking. Every good Southern Baptist must have a go-to congealed salad. This Cherry Coke Salad is one my mother would make to take to pot lucks in the summer. To our family's dismay, she never brought any home! This salad is easy and a crowd-pleaser for sure. You will need to make this dish the night before so the jello has time to congeal.

Cherry Coke Salad

1 ½ cup water
½ cup sugar
1 can cherry pie filling

Bring these three ingredients to a boil and turn off the heat.
Add 2 (3oz.) packages of cherry jello along with 12 ounces of Coke. Place in a 13x9 to set overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

The next recipe is a new summer favorite! A local Mexican restaurant in Starkville has a new dish called Baja Chicken. This recipe is garnished with a mango salsa that does not disappoint. You will want to start with the Mexican rice recipe found below. Top the rice with your favorite protein (grilled shrimp is my favorite). Have you tried Pancho's queso dip? This is found by the sour cream at Kroger. Heat the dip for several seconds and pour a couple of tablespoons over your rice and meat. Lastly, garnish your entrée with fresh mango salsa and serve with several slices of avocado. Now listen to me, this entrée requires your yoga pants. This is not healthy at all, but the next day you can have some leftover grilled shrimp with your mango salsa and save a ton of calories!

Mexican Rice: from the kitchen of Leah Frances Eaton

3 Tablespoons oil
1 cup uncooked rice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cumin
½ cup tomato sauce
1 can of chicken broth

Heat oil on medium heat.
Add rice gently and stir until it begins to turn light brown.
Add garlic, salt, cumin, and stir until rice is golden.
Add tomato sauce and chicken broth and turn on the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, turn to low, and cover.
Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

Mango Salsa

4 to 5 mangoes
¼ cup fresh cilantro
3 Tablespoon lime juice
½ purple onion
1 jalapeno

Now listen, this is one of those recipes you just have to play with. Sometimes ½ a purple onion is plenty and sometimes it's not. If you love cilantro then I would double the amount that is called for. All you need for this recipe is a sharp chopping knife and cutting board. Chop all ingredients and toss in your fresh lime juice. So summery and refreshing. Note: clean all seeds out of your jalapeno before chopping. If you want more heat, leave the seeds. If you don't want any heat you can substitute the jalapeno for half a green bell pepper.

I love all kinds of granola! I love to put it in yogurt, throw it on top of an English Muffin smeared with peanut butter, or just enjoy it with an apple. This recipe came from Jonathan Eaton's mother, Libby Eaton. It is so yummy, makes enough to share, and is easy to assemble.

½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ t. allspice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 cup chopped almonds
2 cup chopped pecans
2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
½ cup raw sunflower seeds

Preheat over to 325 degrees. Whisk maple syrup, melted coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, salt, pepper, allspice, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add almonds, pecans, coconut, and sunflower seeds, and toss until coated. Transfer mix to a sheet pan and spread thin. Compress until compact. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, rotating half-way. Cool on a wire rack for about one hour. Enjoy!