Here are some fun, out of the ordinary and oh so simple recipes to make your 4th of July table pop!
I'm diggin' these Rocket Dogs from Family Fun magazine. A ribbon on the stick and a triangle of cheese on top can turn a ordinary dough wrapped hot dog into a bottle rocket. How cool!
Also, from Familyfun Magazine, these OH SO SIMPLE Spangled Sandwich Pops. Just roll the edges of a mini ice cream sandwich in cake sprinkles, skewer them with a Popsicle stick and DONE! This is perfect for little helpers.
I had planned on sharing my own recipe for baked beans, but then I stumbled on this one from Taste of Home. Check out their spin on traditional baked beans with an added surprise. Cherry Baked Beans. I think i might try this with bacon rather than ground beef.
Grilled Corn on the Cob is a summer regular on our dinner table. To grill, simply peal off the first few layers of husk. Cut off the top and bottom of the corn slightly, then soak in cold water for around 15 minutes. Pop them on the grill and turn periodically until done. I love mine with the extra brown kernels.
Watermelon Salad – This Red, White and Blue Watermelon salad is a favorite on our table for our July celebrations. It cools you off, is simple to make and healthy too.
American Family and Food & Wine have teamed up and have an awesome FREE Grilling eBook. There's a nice recipe for Grilled Corn with Mango-Ha banero Butter and many other recipes. Grill lovers, it's worth checking out! NOTE: you'll need to scroll past 3 ads before you get to the download.
Like flavored butter? Check out Land ‘O Lakes website, where you'll find several easy ingredient recipes for Savory Butters. Or, try what I do, Mix some Taco Seasoning mix into butter. It's great on grilled corn.
We've all seen the traditional berry cake but how about a new spin. From FoodNetwook's Kitchen, comes this Fruit-Tart Flag. Fill premade tart shells with a mixture of mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar, top with fruit and arrange.
I'm going to add my own spin on this one for my Holiday table. Mascarpone cheese can be spendy, so you might try my recipe for cream cheese filling instead.
Simply mix together:
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest and juice of one lemon
Chill and fill your cups with that instead, NO baking necessary. If you don't have a cute square platter, cover a cookie sheet with the new Reynolds pan lining we just got on the cheap at Smith's. It's perfect for the job and you can re-use it later for a casserole.
I found this Barilla Pastina at Smith's. It's a little star shaped pasta meant for Chicken & Stars soup. I thought it would be super fun to use it in the Deen Brothers EASY Couscous Salad with Feta, Tomato, and Olives recipe, in place of the Couscous. I think the Kalamata Olives in this salad could be considered blue enough. Note: Since the Pastina Pasta is denser than Couscous, you will want to cook it a little longer.
I know I promised simple, but this one is so much fun that I could not resist sharing! Check out Betty Crocker's Red, White and Blue Layered Flag Cake. The reader ratings on this recipe are VERY high. What a fun surprise, when you cut into it.
And last but not least, the forth of July beverage. We found two, one with spirits and one without. The hard part here could be telling them apart. Check out Food.com's easy mix of Cranberry Juice, Blue Gatoraid and 7-up.
For the more spirited minded, of course it's Guy Fieri, with this Fourth of July Cocktail that he concocted of watermelon schnapps, blue curacao and jalapeno peppers. Yikes!
HAPPY MUNCHING THIS FOURTH OF JULY!
Do you have a favorite 4th of July recipe? Please feel free to leave a comment.
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