Watermelon-Mint Lemonade

Ingredients:

5 to 6 cups watermelon, cubed
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 sprigs mint
1/2 cup lemon juice

Mint to garnish

Lemon to garnish

Watermelon to garnish

Directions:

1. In a pot on high heat, bring sugar and water to a light boil until the sugar is completely dissolved and your mixture is clear. Turn off the fire, and throw in your sprigs of mint.
2. Allow mint to steep for at least 15 minutes, then remove it from your simple syrup and discard. Cool for about 10 minutes.
3. Pour cooled mint-infused syrup into your blender along with the watermelon. Blend until mixture is  is smooth and uniform.
4. Strain mixture into a pitcher using a screen to get rid of the fruit bits.
5. Add lemon juice to the pitcher, and stir.
6. Serve immediately, over ice.
7. Garnish with Mint, watermelon, and lemon

Prep: 20 min. Bake: 40 min. + standing
Yield: 6-8 Servings

No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Filling:

·        1 ½ cup Fresh Strawberries

·        ¼ cup Sugar

·        Pinch of Salt

Cheesecake:

·        2 cups Softened Cream Cheese

·        1 tsp Vanilla Extract

·        1 tsp Almond Extract

·        Juice of ½ a Lemon

·        ¼ cup Powdered Sugar

Crust:

·        1 cup Graham crackers

·        1/8 cup sugar

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, combine strawberries, sugar, and salt over med-low heat.  

Cook strawberries down until all combined and very pliable, then place in the refrigerator. 

Meanwhile, in a mixer, mix cream cheese, vanilla, almond and lemon. 

Slowly add the powdered sugar to the cream cheese mixture until well combined, and refrigerate.

In a food processor, mix graham crackers and sugar, blitz until mixture is a fine powder. 

Once strawberry and cream cheese mixture is chilled, add a ½ inch of strawberries to the bottom of a small/medium ramekin.

Using a spoon, add cream cheese mixture to top of strawberries filling up to the top of the ramekin. 

Dust the top of mixture with graham cracker dust, slightly patting it down to form a crust. 

Garnish with a fresh mint leaf. 

Cheesecake and strawberry mixtures can both be made a day prior and then assembled at time of use.     

An Easy Holiday Treat

White Bean and Prosciutto Bruschetta

Taste of the Wild Catering, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Bruschetta:

2/3 cup dry white or cannellini beans, cooked and cooled

1 small clove garlic, minced

 2 - 3 green onions, sliced

2 - 3 oz Prosciutto, sliced thin and pulled apart into smaller pieces

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Crostini:

 1 baguette, sliced thin, toasted and brushed lightly with extra virgin olive oil

Mix all of the Bruschetta ingredients in a bowl. Spoon those mixed ingredients on top of the Crostine and serve at your next Holiday party.