#HotSummerEats ~ Watermelon Strawberry Slush

Welcome to another day of #HotSummerEats! Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla has rallied 18 bloggers together to share some AMAZING recipes with you to inspire your summer cooking over the course of this week. Make sure to click over to this kickoff post and enter the HUGE giveaway - so many amazing prizes from our sponsors!!

If you are looking for a delicious, refreshing, and summery (not to mention super easy) beverage to enjoy now that the summer has arrived, look no further!! I made a batch of the Orange Sour Mix for a sangria recipe I'll be sharing soon and had some leftover. I knew I wanted to make a drink with watermelon, but was debating which direction to go. I decided to throw a few recipes together and use the Sour Mix to come up with this amazingly creamy, sweet, refreshing, cool drink!

My 16 year old in particular LOVED this one - especially when it sat for a few minutes and separated. The top part was super creamy and he liked that texture. The flavor of this is just right, with touches of brightness from the citrus, and sweetness from the watermelon and strawberries. They work together to make a completely delicious drink to enjoy.

I am actually planning on making a large batch of this and throwing some frozen chunks of watermelon and strawberries in to keep it cold for a barbecue get together we're hosting this weekend - I can't wait to see if everyone else enjoys this drink as much as we did!

Watermelon Strawberry Slush inspired by AllRecipes

Ingredients
4 (generous) cups cubed seeded watermelon (use frozen for extra "slush")
1/2 cup fresh strawberries (rinsed and greens removed)
1 cup orange sour mix (recipe below)
1 cup ice cubes

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixer, blend until ice is incorporated and mixture is well combined and slightly slushy. Adjust ingredients as desired, re-blend if needed.
2. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Orange Sour Mix from Summer Cocktails by QuirkBooks

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar

3 TBS finely grated orange zest

3 TBS finely grated lemon zest

1 cup water

1 1/2 cups orange juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

Directions

1. Pulse sugar and zests together in a food processor until sugar is damp and no zest strands remain. Alternatively, rub zest into sugar with fingertips.
2. Combine sugar mixture and water in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Let syrup cool to room temperature and then stir in juices. Refrigerate in an air tight container for up to 1 month. Shake before using.

Disclaimer - Thank you to #HotSummerEats sponsors BenBella Vegan, Caribeque, Casabella, Gourmet Garden, Intensity Academy, Not Ketchup, Out of the Weeds. Pirate Jonny's, Quirk Books, Spicely Organics, T.Lish, and Voodoo Cheffor for providing prizes as well as samples and product to use for#HotSummerEats. No additional compensation was provided. All opinions stated are my own. 

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