Hello hot, muggy and irrational Alabama springtime. We’d barely brought out the chowder and hot chocolate before “winter” turned into a high of 85 and 60 percent chance of rain. But with toasty weather comes tasty dishes, so if you’re looking for a break from the hot weather, try these recipes to cool you down.

Watermelon Tomato Salad with Basil (Courtesy of livlifetoo.blogspot.com)

Ingredients:

3 cups chopped watermelon

1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped onion (red, sweet or scallion)

2 tablespoons thinly sliced basil

2 1/2 tablespoons grape seed oil (or olive oil if you prefer)

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Feta to garnish

Directions: 1. Place watermelon, tomato, onion and basil in a large bowl. Gently mix to combine.

2. Drizzle with oil and vinegar and season lightly with salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings as desired.

3. Top with crumbled feta and serve.

Frozen yogurt covered fruit pops (Courtesy of Insockmonkeyslippers.com)

Makes 12 pops

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon honey

Large freezable fruit such as bananas, kiwi, strawberries, mango

12 cake-pop or thick lollipop sticks, 6 inches long

Toppings such as: chopped pecans, cashews, pistachios, mini chocolate chips and sprinkles

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine yogurt and honey. Place the bowl in the freezer for five minutes to thicken back up.

2. Slice fruit into large slices that will fit on a stick. Keep strawberries whole.

3. Prep the desired toppings by placing on a plate or in separate bowls. Insert sticks into fruit.

4. Dip fruit into yogurt using a spoon to help spread the yogurt over the fruit. Sprinkle desired topping over the yogurt covered fruit.

5. Place the dipped fruit pops on a baking sheet covered with wax paper or parchment paper. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for two hours or until the yogurt is frozen.

6. Remove from the freezer and serve. Store in freezer bags in the freezer. If stored for a day or more they are best served when defrosted for at room temperature for a minute or two.

Tilapia Peach Packets (Courtesy of Howsweeteats.com)

Makes 4 packets

Ingredients

4 tilapia filets

2 peaches, peeled and sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 medium red onion, sliced

Directions

1. In a food processor or blender, combine peaches, garlic, olive oil and parsley and blend until combined and pureed. Add tilapia filets to a baking dish or a freezer bag and cover with puree. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for 12 to 14 hours.

2. When ready to cook, heat the grill on the highest setting. Tear four squares of aluminum foil — mine were about 10 by 10 inches each. On the bottom of each pocket, lay three to four slices of red onion. Even if you don’t like onion this is a great way to flavor your fish! Remove tilapia from the marinade and lay each filet on top of the onion. Fold up the sides to close the packet and place on the grill onion-side down. Grill for 10 to 12 minutes or until fish is just flaky.

3. If you don’t want to use the grill, you can also do these in the oven — preheat to 425 degrees and bake in the packets for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes. Serve with grilled asparagus and rice

Frozen Grapesicles (Courtesy of Accidentalhostess.com)

Ingredients

Grapes

Powdered sugar, optional

Directions

1. Put grapes on a stick, freeze and enjoy.

2. For extra sweetness you can dust with powdered sugar.

Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad (Courtesy of Savorysweetlife.com)

Ingredients:

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

8 ounces fresh “mini” mozzarella pearls

4 tablespoons olive oil

18 basil leaves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Add the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese to a medium bowl. Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes and mozzarella. Add the basil, salt and pepper, and gently toss all the ingredients.

Nutella Ice Cream (Courtesy of Rumkhin.com)

Makes 16 1/3 cup servings

Ingredients

1 cup of Nutella

6 bananas

Cocoa powder, optional

Cinnamon, optional

Directions

1. Put your ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend till very smooth. 2. Pour into freezer safe container or popsicle forms and wait until they freeze. Each one-third cup serving is 140 calories.