This time of year is one marked by transitions. For kids and teens, another school year is drawing to a close as they prepare themselves for summer life with retail jobs, internships, camps, and more. Television shows reach their exciting (or starkly disappointing) conclusions for the season as baseball games take over the airwaves. Calendars fill up with camping trips, barbecues, beach excursions, and vacations. 

The summer lifestyle is sweet and fleeting, which means you need to take full advantage of your favorite seasonal dishes while you can! 

Peak strawberry season is in June, so we included seven strawberry recipes in this issue of RecipeLion Magazine to help you put those extra pints to use. If you can’t get enough of those campfire s’mores, we have an array of s’more-flavored treats you need to try. And for the potlucks and barbecues in store for your weekends, we have grilling recipes and bring-along casseroles, so you’ll always be prepared. 

Plus, we have an extra-special section with five secrets to help you make any recipe your own. 

Here’s what you can look forward to in the May/June 2019 edition of RecipeLion Magazine.

1 Fruit, 7 Recipes

This section is all about that loveliest of spring fruits: the strawberry.

• Lightened-Up Strawberry Breakfast Bars: It’s hard to find a better breakfast combination than strawberries and oats. These bars are simple to make and perfect for grabbing and enjoying while you’re on the go. The dark brown sugar adds a hint of caramel-like flavor to give this dish some extra sweetness without extra granulated sugar.
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies: Part cheesecake and part cookie, this dessert defies definition. The secret to this recipe is in the cake mix, which cuts way back on the prep time to ensure you can have homemade cookies in under an hour.
• Heavenly Chocolate-Strawberry Mousse Cake: This is one of those fancy cakes you see on book covers and can’t believe it’s real. And while it takes a bit of patience, all you need to do is follow it one step at a time, and you’ll be able to make yourself a strawberry dessert that looks just as incredible as the one on the cover.

Please, Sir, May I Have S’more?

Love s’mores? Me, too! I don’t know if it’s the smell of a campfire or the tasted of melting marshmallow and chocolate, but s’mores will always hold a place in my heart.

• Peanut Butter S’mores: The only combination better than chocolate and marshmallows might be chocolate and peanut butter. And when all three are mixed together, you have perfection.
• Homemade S’mores Cookies: Ready to be the star of your neighborhood bake sale? Not only do these cookies have a unique look with the giant marshmallow on top, but they’re also super tasty to boot! While scorching the top is optional, it really helps to add an authentic, open-fire touch.

Bring Along Casseroles

You can feel confident going into all of your summer barbecues with potluck dishes your friends and family will love! Whether or not you share the recipe is up to you!

• Salad for a Crowd:— What’s a salad doing in the potluck casserole feature? Well, you prep this entire dish inside of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish! Not only does it make it super easy to travel with, but it’s also simple to store and serve.
• Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese: The only thing that can make macaroni and cheese even more enticing is when it’s loaded up with bacon. This recipe calls for two different kinds of cheese, creating a richer, more complex flavor than any kind of powdered cheese packet and is topped off with crunchy, salty bacon.
• Ravioli Pizza Bake: It’s a beautiful thing when comfort foods collide. This recipe combines stuffed ravioli with your favorite pizza fix-ins like tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and red pepper flakes. If you want to make this dish even more fun, feel free to add in your favorite pizza topping, such as pepperoni, green peppers, or onions!

Fire Up the Grill

One of my favorite things about these days of late spring and early summer is cooking outdoors. Fire up the grill for some new summertime favorites.

• Midwest Street Corn: Beware! This might be your new barbecue favorite! With a slight char and a creamy, cheesy topping, this is one dish you’ll be glad to make anytime the grill is open.
• Beer-Soaked Steak Kabobs: From the fairs at public parks to your own patio, outdoor cooking is a must on summer days, and you can’t go wrong with kebabs. The beer marinade on these kebobs adds a slightly sweet, slightly spicy flavor that you can’t miss.
• Grilled Personal Pizzas: Pizza on the grill is one of those dishes that seems almost too mythical to be true. Luckily, it is true. Are you ready to enjoy the crisp, smoky taste of pizza on the grill?

I hope you enjoy the latest issue of RecipeLion Magazine as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together. We’re so happy to be here cooking with you and we’re looking forward to many more recipes, dishes, and meals to share. 

Happy cooking—and happy eating!

Kim Mateus

Editor & Publisher

P.S. Please enjoy this issue of RecipeLion Magazine, and let me know what you think about it by commenting below with your feedback! Your input is valuable to us and can help us make improvements.