Homemade Easter Egg Dye Recipes

Real Simple© offers ways to dye Easter eggs safely and naturally.  Need a refresher on how to create a perfectly hard-boiled egg?  Click here.

How to Make Blue

Photo by Real Simple©

Ingredients:

• 1 pound frozen blueberries (about 3½ cups)
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. On the stovetop, bring frozen blueberries and water to a boil in a pot. Boil for 5 minutes.
2. Pour colored liquid into a cup or bowl, straining out the blueberries with a strainer.
3. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

How to Make Yellow

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons turmeric
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

 

Directions:
1. On the stovetop, bring turmeric and water to a boil in a pot. Boil for 5 minutes.
2. Pour colored liquid into a cup or bowl.
3. Stir in 1 tablespoon vinegar.

How to Make Orange

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

 

Directions:
1. On the stovetop, bring paprika and water to a boil in a pot. Boil for 5 minutes.
2. Pour colored liquid into a cup or bowl.
3. Stir in 1 tablespoon vinegar.

How to Make Pink

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces frozen raspberries (about 3½ cups)
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:
1. On the stovetop, bring frozen raspberries and water to a boil in a pot. Boil for 5 minutes.
2. Pour colored liquid into a cup or bowl, straining out the raspberries with a strainer.
3. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

How to Make Brown

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup instant coffee granules
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

Directions:
1. In a cup or bowl, stir coffee granules and boiling water together.
2. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar.

 

How to Make Green

Directions:

•  In a bowl or cup, mix one part blue liquid with one part yellow liquid.

 

 

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National Watermelon Day – Aug. 3, 2018

NATIONAL WATERMELON DAY

Watermelon is the perfect fruit to enjoy on August 3rd.  It is also National Watermelon Day. Enjoyed by many, it is a favorite at summertime events such as picnics and fairs.  Watermelon is 92% water, which is why it is so refreshing.

To celebrate National Watermelon Day, check out the recipes at BH&G.com.

Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind (exocarp) and fleshy center (mesocarp and endocarp). Pepos are derived from an inferior ovary and are characteristic of the Cucurbitaceae. The watermelon fruit, loosely considered a type of melon – although not in the genus Cucumis – has a smooth exterior rind (usually green with dark green stripes or yellow spots) and a juicy, sweet interior flesh (usually deep red to pink, but sometimes orange, yellow, or white).

The fruit was likely first cultivated for its ability to hold plentiful water in a desert landscape, especially since the wild melon was bitter or tasteless.  Seeds and art found in tombs of Pharaohs are substantial evidence of the watermelon’s value. Cultivation and breeding brought out the better qualities of sweet and tender fruit we enjoy today.

Watermelons can grow enormous, and you will find competitions across the country which award prizes each year for the largest one.  The Guinness Book of World Records states that the heaviest watermelon weighed 262 pounds. To learn more refreshing watermelon facts, check out www.watermelon.org.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Enjoy a slice of Watermelon today and celebrate with the rest of the country! Post on social media using #NationalWatermelonDay.

Better Homes and Gardens™  has a variety of watermelon recipes.

Celebrate National Watermelon Day -Aug.3

This non-official American holiday’s beginnings are unknown however some believe it was created by watermelon farms while others suspect it was a creation of the National Watermelons Board.

According to Holidays Calendar, “Biologists and botanists believe that the modern watermelon can be traced all the way back to a vine like plant that grew wild in southern Africa. It has been cultivated by indigenous people since at least the second Millennium BC. From that auspicious beginning, the modern watermelon then spread all the way through Asia over the next thousand years, and eventually made its way into southern Europe by the tenth century. It was then introduced to the New World via European settlers and African slaves by the sixteenth century. By the seventeenth century, it was a commonly grown staple throughout much of the southern United States.

Today, watermelons are grown in almost every state in the U.S. In fact, there are only about 6 states where watermelons aren’t grown commercially. The states which produce the most watermelons are California, Arizona, Georgia, Texas and Florida.”

 

Watermelon Facts:

• Watermelons are mostly water. About 91% of the watermelon by volume is made up of water.
• The seeds and rind of the watermelon are edible.
• Watermelon is both a fruit and a vegetable.
• Seedless watermelons are NOT genetically engineered. They are a result of hybridization.
• Oklahoma’s official State vegetable since 2007.
• Watermelon has more lycopene than raw tomatoes.

Red, White & Blue Frozen Lemonade

This patriotic drink is as pretty as it is tasty. Layering cherries, blueberries and lemon juice, we created a striped lemonade that sings with Fourth of July pride. —Shawn Carleton, San Diego, California 

Yield: 4 Servings

Photo by Taste of Home©

Ingredients:

• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 cups ice cubes
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• Maraschino cherries

 

Directions:

Place lemon juice, sugar and ice in a blender; cover and process until slushy. Divide blueberries among four chilled glasses; muddle slightly. Add lemon slush; top with cherries.

 

 

Nutritional Facts
3/4 cup (calculated without cherries): 229 calories, trace fat (trace saturated fat), 0mg cholesterol, 1mg sodium, 60g carbohydrate (55g sugars, 1g fiber), trace protein
Originally published as Red, White and Blue Frozen Lemonade in Taste of Home June/July 2015

 

Hallmark’s Blackberry Slump Recipe

Recipe by Jennifer Fujita

A slump is a New England creation—halfway between a cobbler and a British steamed pudding. Biscuit dough is dropped atop simmering fruit and covered until cooked through.

Yield: about 6 to 8 servings

Photo by Hallmark©

 

Ingredients:

For the Berry Mixture:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 4 cups blackberries Juice of 1⁄2 lemon Zest of 1 lemon

 

For the Dumplings

• 1 cup flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1⁄2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 3⁄4 cup buttermilk or whipping cream 2 Tbsp. melted butter
• Ice cream, whipped cream or cold heavy cream for serving

 

Directions:

1. For the berry mixture, combine the sugar and flour and mix well. In a Dutch oven or skillet, combine berries, the sugar and flour mixture, lemon juice and zest.
2. Let rest for 15 minutes to allow juices to run. Then, bring berries to a simmer to dissolve the sugar. While berries are simmering, start on the dumplings.
3. For the dumplings, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Heat buttermilk or whipping cream and butter just until butter melts, and then add it to the flour mixture. Stir to combine.
4. Drop heaping teaspoons of dumpling batter onto the berry mixture. Place the lid back on the skillet and simmer without disturbing for 15 to 20 minutes. Dumplings should puff up and be dry inside.
5. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream, whipped cream or cold heavy cream.

 

For more recipes, click here on the Hallmark website.

Watermelon Feta Blackberry Skewers

Watermelon Feta Blackberry Skewers are the perfect easy patriotic fresh and healthy appetizer.

Photo by A Healthy Life For Me

 

Ingredients:

• 1 Blackberries, Fresh Ripe Firm
• 1 Watermelon, cut into 1″cubes, small seedless ripe
• 6 oz Feta cheese
• Small wooden skewers

Watermelon Shark Recipe

Photo by Taste of Home©

Is it safe to go into the kitchen?  Yes!  Take a bite out of this watermelon and leave satisfied.

(However, you might need a bigger bowl… while you watch television episodes during Shark Week on Discovery.)

 

Yield: 32 Servings

Ingredients: 

• 1 large watermelon
• 2 cups seedless red grapes
• 1 medium cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 2 medium oranges
• 1 jar (12 ounces) pineapple preserves
• Swedish Fish candies, optional

 

Directions:

1. Using a large sharp knife, cut off one end of the watermelon so that watermelon stands at an angle. Using a razor blade or small knife, score an opening for the mouth. With knife, cut out and remove mouth. Cut out triangles for teeth; remove rind from teeth.
2. For shark fin, cut a triangle from removed rind; attach to shark with toothpicks. For eyes, attach two grapes with toothpicks.
3. Remove fruit from inside watermelon; cut into cubes. In a large bowl, combine watermelon, cantaloupe, blueberries and remaining grapes. Finely grate peel from oranges and squeeze juice. In a small bowl, mix preserves, orange juice and peel; add to fruit and toss gently.
4. Stand shark on a platter. Fill opening with some of the fruit mixture; add a few Swedish Fish if desired. Serve with remaining fruit.

 

Nutritional Facts
3/4 cup (calculated without candies): 129 calories, 1g fat (trace saturated fat), 0mg cholesterol, 7mg sodium, 30g carbohydrate (28g sugars, 2g fiber), 2g protein Diabetic Exchanges:1/2 starch, 1-1/2 fruit

 
Originally published as Watermelon Shark in Simple & Delicious June/July 2012, p8

 

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Makes 20

Ingredients

• 4  ounces  semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1  pound  strawberries (about 20), washed and patted dry

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. In a microwave-safe glass bowl, microwave the chocolate, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.
2. Holding a strawberry by the stem end, dip it in the melted chocolate, letting the excess drip off, then transfer to the prepared baking sheet. As you set the strawberry down, slide it ½ inch to the side to prevent the formation of a chocolate “foot.” Repeat with the remaining berries.
3. Refrigerate the strawberries on the baking sheet until the chocolate is firm, at least 30 minutes.

Recipe and Photo from Real Simple.com

Layered Strawberry Cream Cake Recipe

Yield: 10 to 12 Servings

Photo by Taste of Home©

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 4 egg whites

FILLING:

• 2-1/4 cups chopped fresh strawberries
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Whole strawberries for garnish

Directions:

1. Line two greased 9-in. round baking pans with waxed paper and grease the paper; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Add egg yolks, vanilla and orange peel; mix well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk and orange juice.
2. In another bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks form. Fold into batter.
3. Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Gently peel off waxed paper and discard. Cool cakes completely.
4. In a bowl, combine the chopped strawberries and sugar; let stand for 30 minutes. In a bowl, beat cream and vanilla until cream begins to thicken. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar on high until stiff peaks form. Fold in sour cream.
   PLace one cake layer on a serving plate; top with chopped berries and half of the cream mixture. Top with the remaining cake and cream mixture. Garnish with whole berries.

Originally published as Strawberry Cream Cake in Reminisce May/June 2005, p49

Almond Strawberry Salad recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Photo by Taste of Home©

Ingredients:

• 3 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup sliced honey-roasted almonds
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, honey and sugar. Drizzle over salad and toss to coat.

Nutritional Facts
3/4 cup equals 74 calories, 4 g fat (trace saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 98 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 1/2 fat.
Originally published as Almond Strawberry Salad in Simple & Delicious March/April 2006, p17