Olympic Medal Popcorn Balls

Photo: A Beautiful Mess

If there was a gold medal for cookie consumption, call me an Olympic hopeful with these delights.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter

• 1 bag (10 oz.) marshmallows

• 4 oz popped popcorn, approximately 8 (0.5 oz) bags of popcorn

• Wax paper

• Nonstick cooking spray

• Gold and silver edible color mist

• Flexible wire

• Patriotic ribbon

Instructions

1. Before you begin, wash and cut the wire into 10 to 12 inch pieces. One piece for each medal you plan to make. This is going to go inside our popcorn ball, so that’s why we want to ensure it’s clean before use. The wire can be purchased from the jewelry section of a craft store. Just look for something bendable.

2. For the popcorn balls: Cut the butter into 4 pieces and place in a large pot, the larger the better. Melt over low/medium heat. Once the butter is nearly melted, add the marshmallows and stir with a wooden spoon until the marshmallows are nearly all melted.

3. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the popcorn. Take care to make sure the marshmallow mixture gets evenly distributed throughout. This is the glue that holds everything together, so make sure it gets on all of the popcorn pieces.

4. Pour all the popcorn onto a surface covered in wax paper.

5. As soon as it is cool enough to handle, remove about a cup of the mixture to a small piece of wax paper coated in nonstick cooking spray, add a piece of wire to the center and wrap the wax paper around the popcorn, pressing into a ball. (You can also butter your hands to form the ball).

6. Move to a cutting board covered in wax paper.

7. Now spray the popcorn balls with the gold or silver color mist. (Make sure to read the instructions).

8. Now wrap the wire around the back of the medal and loop it into place. Then, use the rest of the wire to create a small circle for your ribbon to go through. Cut your ribbons and assemble the medals. (Make sure to remove the wires before eating).

Kudos to A Beautiful Mess for this fun recipe idea. It’s great for the Olympics, but if you have festive ribbons, you can create them for any occasion.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Photo: AllRecipes

If there was a gold medal for cookie consumption, call me an Olympic hopeful with these delights.

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ cup butter, softened

• ½ cup white sugar

• ½ cup peanut butter

• ½ cup packed brown sugar

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons milk

• 40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.

2. Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk.

3. Add the flour mixture; mix well.

4. Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

Thanks to allrecipes for this recipe; it’s good no matter the time of year.

Kool-Aid Grapes

Photo: Bake It With Love

A new classic perfect for a poolside treat.

Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs green grapes (one bag, seedless)

• 6 oz Kool-Aid mix (2-3 flavors of Kool-Aid with 1 3-ounce packet per pound of grapes)

Instructions

1. To get started, freeze your grapes for 1 hour. After an hour, remove the stems by giving them a quick twist (it's much easier when they are frozen).

2. After the stems have been removed, add your grapes to a colander and rinse them with cool water.

3. Transfer the grapes to ziploc bags (one for each color/flavor), then add the Kool-Aid, seal, and shake them up.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the grapes onto it. Return to the freezer for 24 hours. After 24 hours, pull them out of the freezer and enjoy!

There are many variations of this recipe online, but we chose this one from Bake it with Love because the clear directions set you up for success. Check out the website for tips or more incredible recipes.

Watermelon Lemonade

PHOTO: Unsplash

Summer served up in a glass.

Ingredients

• A 6 lb watermelon, cleaned

• 4 lemons

Instructions

1. Half your watermelon and scoop the flesh into a blender.

2. Process until smooth and strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds.

3. After juicing the lemons, add the juice to the watermelon juice and a generous amount of ice cubes to a large pitcher.

4. Serve by adding a few slices of lemon and mint.

5. Should you want to make this a cocktail, add your favorite spirits.

Peanut Chicken Protein Bowl

PHOTO: DELISH/JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: BARRETT WASHBURNE

Summer weeknight meals made easy.

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut into 1/2" cubes

• 1 large red onion, finely chopped

• 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• Kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

• 1 small clove garlic, finely chopped

• Juice of 1 lime

• 2 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter

• 1 Tbsp. honey

• 1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce

• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil

• 4 c. cooked brown rice

• 1 avocado, thinly sliced

• 2 c. baby spinach

• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

• 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°. On a large baking sheet, toss potatoes and onion with 1 tablespoon olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Bake until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season chicken with garlic powder, ginger, salt, and pepper. Cook chicken, turning occasionally, until golden and no longer pink, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes, then thinly slice.

3. In a small bowl, whisk garlic, lime juice, peanut butter, honey, and soy sauce until combined. Whisk in sesame oil and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil until smooth.

4. Divide rice among bowls. Top with potato mixture, chicken, avocado, and spinach. Sprinkle with cilantro and sesame seeds. Drizzle with dressing.

Delish always has the best recipes. You can find tips and tricks for this recipe here and more delicious dishes on the website.

One-Pot Garlicky Shrimp & Broccoli

Photo: Unsplash

20 minutes to dinner destiny.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 6 medium cloves garlic, sliced, divided

• 4 cups small broccoli florets

• ½ cup diced red bell pepper

• ½ teaspoon salt, divided

• ½ teaspoon ground pepper, divided

• 1 pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp (21-30 count)

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice, plus more to taste

Instructions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium heat.

2. Add half the garlic and cook until beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add broccoli, bell pepper and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

3. Cover and cook, stirring once or twice and adding 1 tablespoon water if the pot is too dry until the vegetables are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm.

4. Increase heat to medium-high and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pot. Add the remaining garlic and cook until beginning to brown, about 1 minute.

5. Add shrimp and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until the shrimp are just cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes.

6. Return the broccoli mixture to the pot along with lemon juice and stir to combine.

7. Serve over rice or cauliflower rice. Or serve with a side salad.

Thanks to Eating Well for this delicious dish that’s in the dinner table rotation.

Healthy Chicken Salad

Photo: ifoodreal

Easy to make whether you're honoring mom or whipping up a midweek meal.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded (rotisserie chicken is always an option)

• 2 stalks celery, diced

• 1 cup red grapes, halved

• 1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds

• 3 green onions, sliced

• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 tsp celery seed

• 2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped

• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Instructions

1. Mix together the chicken, celery, grapes, almonds, green onions and parsley in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, dijon mustard, lemon juice, celery seed and salt/pepper.  Drizzle the yogurt blend over the chicken mixture and mix well until all combined.

3. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to enjoy. You can serve it over lettuce, on bread or with crackers.

This recipe is a Last Night’s Game office favorite that’s a blend of a few different recipes.

TikTok's Favorite Parmesan-Crusted Potatoes

These viral TikTok potatoes (thanks @lilyghodrati) are worth the hype.

Ingredients

• Olive oil

• Grated parmesan cheese

• 9 potatoes, ideally new potatoes, cut in half lengthwise

• Thyme

• Balsamic glaze (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Take a cookie sheet and layer it with parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil over the parchment paper and cover completely with grated Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle thyme across the Parmesan cheese.

2. Place your halved potatoes in a line directly over the Parmesan cheese, flat side facing down. Each potato’s open face should be completely covered by the Parmesan.

3. Place your cookie sheet of potatoes in the oven for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Drizzle with balsamic glaze for a finished touch, or eat as-is. Your potatoes should easily pull apart and have a gorgeous Parmesan-crusted bottom.