Simple Watermelon Salad

Summer cook outs drive me nuts.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love being invited to cookouts, food, sun, fun...what's the problem?  I NEVER know what to contribute!  I get nervous when I cook for people, because not everyone has the same tastes.  I'm a great cook, but when it comes to contributing to pot-lucks, cookouts, etc, I totally turn into Susan from desperate housewives.  It's nerve-wracking.  

Then my mom started making this watermelon salad...so I stole the recipe, simplified it EVEN further, and it is my go-to from now on.  Everyone loves it and I can throw it together, even while the dog is barking, the kids are fighting, my father is falling, and chaos is breaking out (this happens regularly it seems).  But the salad is so easy that there's almost no way to mess it up.

I got it down to 4 ingredients:

1. Watermelon
2. Cucumber
3. Feta Cheese
4. Balsamic Vinaigrette (you could make your own, but I often have a bottle of organic vinaigrette in the fridge so I just use that)

Cube the watermelon and cucumber.  Prior to cubing the cucumber I like to peel strips to make it look "pretty," but totally optional.  You can leave the skin on or peel it all, whichever is most appealing to you.

Put them in a bowl.  Feel free to play with the ratios of ingredients.  It's pretty hard to go wrong, but you may find that you like it better one way or another.  The size of the cubes can also vary.  (For me it was varying on how lazy I was and how many cuts I felt like making, but I find now that I kind of enjoy the cubes bigger anyway.)

Throw some feta cheese on top.

Pour a bit of vinaigrette on.  You don't need a lot because there are a lot of juices in the salad already and also because it can sort of overpower the watermelon.  But the juxtaposition of the acid and sugar makes for an amazing flavor combination.

Voila!  Done!  Seriously. Super. Simple.

About Me

That’s me, Commander-in-Chief.  I’m a single mom of two really great kids.  And to be quite honest, I love every bit of it, but I can get super busy.  Instead of becoming overwhelmed, I'm always looking for ways to make life a little simpler while raising happy, healthy kids.

This beauty is my Little Princess.  She is absolutely amazing.  She is talented, smart, beautiful, and kind.  She is the kind of person who will remember you stubbed your toe two days ago and ask you how it's feeling.  She is thriving in 2nd grade, in the gifted program and advanced math.  LP is also quite the gymnast and loves doing handstands, cartwheels, round-offs, and anything that lands in the splits. She makes me so proud with everything she does and is.

This is the Big Man On Campus.  He has the most amazing laugh and incredible sense of humor to match it.  The twinkle in his eye lets you know that there's a little mischief swirling around in his noggin, but at the same time he is the sweetest, most loving boy. Or hmmm hmmm should I say Power Ranger?  Last year, just after Halloween, I somehow put an episode of Power Rangers on TV.  He was hooked and has been ever since.  So fighting monsters is a daily occurrence in my home.  This boy is so silly, smart, strong, and stubborn, he is just a total charmer.

We also have a dog. He is a 90 pound bundle of energy.  He loves playing fetch and eating anything and everything people will leave within tongue-distance.  He just recently had a few medical issues and we are dealing with glaucoma and a crazy pill schedule.  But he is still a great fetcher (we use a heavy ball that he can hear hit the ground), a great guard dog, and loves any and all attention he can get.

…and a lizard.  This is Blue, my daughter's bearded dragon.  We adopted her when she was an adult.  She makes a great pet for the kids because she is a desert lizard, not an arboreal lizard.  Therefore she 1) doesn't have the tail that whips...and really stings! 2) doesn't run away fast or try to go up walls.  She eats crickets, lettuce (not iceberg), carrots, etc, and loooooves some blueberries or melon for a treat.  She doesn't scratch or bite or any of that, but appears to be very intelligent and will nod her head to look at you, which the kids just adore because she is interactive.

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