My apologies to Alice Cooper for the title, but it’s true. School is, indeed, out for the summer. Has been for several weeks for some kids. Which brings me to the topic of this post: kid-friendly watermelon recipes.

And by “kid-friendly” I mean recipes that are either easy for kids to make or recipes that kids would enjoy eating… or both! The National Watermelon Promotion Board website has a whole list of kid-friendly watermelon recipes for you to sample from. And here’s a hint: Even if you’re not a kid or don’t have any kids, these recipes are still fun to make!

Below are five of my favorites, presented in picture format. Click on the title to view the recipe.

Snow Capped Mountains

Watermelon Pizza Supreme

Watermelon Cupcakes

Watermelon Kabobs

Watermelon Sandwich Cookies

Ever since I was a little kid, s’mores have always been one of my favorite camping snacks. What’s not to love about it? Graham crackers? Good. Marshmallows? Good. Chocolate? Great! My secret to the perfect s’more, which I’ll share with you here, (but you have to promise not to tell anyone) is to soften or melt the chocolate a little bit by putting the chocolate in the graham cracker and placing it on a rock near the campfire for a few minutes while you cook your marshmallow.

Even though the recipe below for watermelon s’mores isn’t quite the same as a traditional campfire s’more, it’s the perfect standby when you’re camped out at home with friends and family.

WATERMELON S’MORES

INGREDIENTS

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup chocolate fudge sauce

4  two-inch by four-inch by one-inch thick rectangles of seedless watermelon

1 cup mini marshmallows

DIRECTIONS

Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs over the center of 4 plates. Drizzle 1/3 of the fudge sauce over the crumbs. Place a watermelon rectangle over the crumbs and chocolate on each plate. Drizzle 1/3 of the chocolate fudge sauce over the watermelon. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the watermelon and drizzle the remaining chocolate fudge sauce over the marshmallows. Serves 4.

Happy New Year everyone! We’ve turned the corner into a new decade, which is always an exciting time. Unlike the ‘80s or ‘90s, I have no idea what to call the next ten years, but we should all be used to that by now. Even after the previous 10 years, we still haven’t come to a consensus about what to call the last decade.

One of the things I’m excited to announce here on What About Watermelon in January is my weekly recipe series called “Super Sunday Recipes.” Each Sunday in January (and there are five of them), I’ll feature a different watermelon-related recipe that you can put to use at your celebration of football’s “Big Game” on February 7. I’d call the event what it is – let’s just say it’s a BOWL and it’s SUPER – but the football league has strict rules against using the official name due to copyright issues.

Anyhow, if you’re not throwing a “Bowl which is Super” party, chances are you’ll be going to one, so take a look at the upcoming Super Sunday Recipes for some ideas about what to make for the big day. To give you a taste of things to come, on January 10, I’ll be featuring some watermelon glazed mini barbeque meatballs that are sure to make you the MVP of whatever party you attend.

As anyone who reads this blog knows, I’m a big fan of recipes that use watermelon, even if I’m not always adventurous enough to make them. And with Thanksgiving coming up at the end of the month (November 26), I thought I’d feature a series of recipes here on What About Watermelon designed to incorporate a little extra watermelon into your Turkey Day dinner.

I’ll feature five recipes to be exact, each featuring watermelon as an ingredient (truly adventurous chefs might try all five). The menu includes an appetizer (November 6), a sauce (November 11), a side dish (November 13), a salad (November 20) and, of course, a dessert (November 24).

As for specifics, I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I will say that I plan to make the appetizer you’ll be seeing this Friday. Mainly because it’s easy, but also because I’ll be dining at my family’s house this year and my mother only asked that I bring an appetizer.