Cool Salads for a Hot Fourth of July!!

Oh My Goodness!! It’s almost JULY!!! My Flag

Y’all need to stay cool on the 4th and I have some easy to make “cool” food ideas. They are cool and refreshing, fun and festive to serve up to your Fourth of July guests!

 

 

Red, White and Blue Cheese Salad

Combine 5 cups cubed watermelon, 2 cups sliced strawberries, 2 cups raspberries, 1 cup crumbled blue cheese and 2 tbsp. fresh, chopped mint in large bowl. Drizzle with ½ cup of raspberry vinaigrette. Serves about 6. EASY!!

Firecracker Macaroni Salad

Combine all of the following ingredients in a large salad bowl:

1 pkg. cooked shell macaroni
1  chopped green pepper
1 small can chopped pimiento
1 chopped onion
1 cup chopped sweet pickles
1/2  cup chopped celery
1/2  cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/4  cup sugar or sweetener equivalent

Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or chill for a couple of hours.

 

Fiesta Salad

Combine these ingredients to make the dressing:

3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne to taste
1 small clove garlic, mashed

 Add these ingredients to the dressing:

2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, diced medium
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2  red onion, finely chopped
4 green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

 Toss all ingredients together with the dressing.

 

Cool Veggie Salad

Combine the following ingredients together in a medium sauce pan, bring to a boil. Stirring until sugar dissolves.

3/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup sugar

 Combine the following veggies and mix together with the vinegar mixture above:

1 can (16 oz) French style green beans, drained
1 can (17 oz) English peas, drained
1 can (12 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 jar (2 oz) chopped pimento, drained
1 cup chopped celery
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Cover and place in refrigerator for 12 hours, stirring occasionally.

Hope y’all have a wonderful 4th!!

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MMMM-Xtra Special Grilled Ham and Cheese!

These grilled cheese sandwiches ROCK! They are great for lunch, dinner or a little snack. I serve them with deli style mustard and the tangy hot mustard mixed with the Swiss cheese is soYUMMY!! Now y’all know I have a big family and I am always cooking a ton of food! This recipe is for 6 sandwiches and it’s SO EASY!!

You could also use a Panini press for this recipe, too! Very COOL!

 Here’s what you need…

12 slices sourdough bread

6 slices of Swiss cheese (don’t you just LOVE Swiss cheese sandwiches?)

1/2 lb. deli turkey, sliced thin MMM!!

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 lb. deli ham, sliced thin

2 tbsp butter or margarine, room temperature (you could even use that butter spray if you are watching calories)

Place a piece of cheese and slices of turkey onto 6 pieces of bread.

Sprinkle the turkey with the garlic powder (don’t use too much!)

Put a couple of ham slices over the garlic powder.

Put the top bread on the sandwich.

Heat up a skillet over medium heat.

Spread butter on both outsides of each sandwich and place the sandwich in the skillet.

Grill the sandwich 4 minutes or until the bottom slice of bread is browned. Don’t squish!

Flip it over and continue grilling an additional 4 minutes or until both sides of the sandwich are browned.

Serve with Deli style hot mustard.

 

Enjoy!

 

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How ’bout some MEATBALLS???

These meatballs ROCK! Good appetizer food! 

Asian Sweet and Sour Meatballs

½ cup finely chopped water chestnuts (from a can in the Chinese Food section)

1 teaspoon peeled, finely chopped fresh ginger root, divided

1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions with tops

1 ¼ pounds lean ground beef (or turkey of you like)

1 ½ cups soft white bread crumbs

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 garlic clove, pressed

¾ cup plum preserves

¼ cup chili sauce

Preheat oven to 400F. Finely chop water chestnuts and slice ginger root. Slice green onions.

Combine ground beef (or turkey), bread crumbs, water chestnuts, ½ teaspoon of the ginger root, green onions, soy sauce and garlic in a bowl; mix gently but throughly.

Shape the meat mixture into balls; place in single layer baking dish. Bake for15 minutes, then remove from oven. Remove juices from baker using a baster and throw away.

Meanwhile, combine the preserves, chili sauce and remaining ½ teaspoon ginger root, evenly pour over meatballs. Put it back in the oven for about 15 more minutes. Give it a little stir before serving.

Should make about 40 meatballs

Little cooking tip on Ginger root…

Ginger root has a really thin, light brown skin that needs to be removed before use. Store it in a plastic food storage bag in the ice box for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months. To use frozen ginger root, just slice off as much as you need.

Hope y’all enjoy!

P.S. I always use a small food chopper to chop all my veggies and cooked meats. Makes my life easier!! You can find one here!! They are really helpful for small chores.

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Fab Finger Foods!

Summertime with friends and family is always fun! Y’all have cookouts, beach parties, lazy afternoons at the lake or even a living room picnic! Y’all ever trying to come up with easy ways to feed everyone?  How about some easy finger foods that you can serve at your next carpet party?

Pigs in a Blanket<—-LOVED these as a kid!!

Using refrigerated crescent rolls (have you seen the new ones that are just one sheet and you can cut them to size??) and hotdogs or those little smokies, roll each dog or smokie in an unbaked crescent roll. Place on a 9X13 pan(cookie sheet) and bake according to the crescent roll package directions. Serve with ketchup and mustard or ranch dressing. Smokies LOVE BBQ sauce! YUM!!

 

Taquitos (little tacos…..literally!)

Warm up some corn tortillas to soften them up. If they are cold, they will tear.(then you have to make chilaquiles(I’ll explain another day)) Place some already prepared taco meat (ground beef and seasonings) and shredded cheddar or jack cheese (shred your own cheese, please, pre-shredded cheese in the bag scares me!!) in each of them and roll them on up! Brush them with some veggie oil and bake on 350F until crispy. (about 10 min) Ole!

 

Fried Zucchini Great summer veggie!

Cut zucchini into ¼ inch slices. Heat ¼ inch oil (with a pat or two of butter for taste) in a skillet; sprinkle them with garlic powder, a little lemon juice, black pepper and parmesan cheese. Fry them until golden brown and flip. Repeat if needed. Make sure you wipe out the oil in the pan with paper towel after each batch of zucchini to avoid blackening. Blackened zucchini is not on the menu!! It’s hard enough to get folks to eat their veggies!!

 

Easy Nachos

Get ya some Tostitos Scoops, place a little bit of cooked taco meat (there’s that ground beef and seasonings again!) in each little scoop and top it with shredded cheddar or jack cheese(real cheese again! Maybe I have something here!!). Then load those little guys up with your favorite nacho toppings like sour cream, salsa, olives, jalapenos, chopped onions, etc. You can also put them on a cookie sheet in an oven at 350F for about 8-10 minutes to melt all that cheese!

 

Pizza Roll-Ups<– THESE are too COOL!! Make you own little hot pockets! (and you KNOW what’s in them!!)

Unroll refrigerated crescent rolls into triangles. Sprinkle each crescent roll with garlic and Italian seasonings. Place a few slices of pepperoni on each triangle. Place ½ a piece of string cheese in each triangle. Roll it up, sprinkle with garlic and Italian seasonings again and bake according to the crescent roll package directions or until brown. Dip in warm pizza sauce or if you are anything like me…..ranch!

 

Sweet Turkey Wraps

Soften ½ pkg. cream cheese (you know you can soften cream cheese in the microwave, just keep an eye on it and put it in there for about 20 seconds, stir and if it’s not soft enough, you can go another 10 sec or so, remember it will keep softening after you take it out) and mix with 2 tbs. applesauce and 1 tsp. dried thyme until smooth. Spread evenly onto big flour tortillas. Place a leaf of lettuce and thin sliced turkey on each tortilla and roll. Wrap each rollup in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours until firm. Cut into one inch slices (like cinnamon rolls) and serve. MMM-HMMM!

I have TONS of appetizer and finger food ideas but I am making me HUNGRY!!

Hope y’all enjoy!!

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