How To Lay Out A Buffet Dinner

Tips:

There will be a lot of us having buffet dinners and parties before and on Christmas. Have you ever been to a dinner or party where the buffet was just not laid out right? It took forever for everyone to get through the line and trying to juggle everything was a tremendous challenge.

Here is the proper way to lay out a buffet dinner so that things go quickly and easily for you and your guests.

If you have room, set the table up so that people can walk down both sides of the table and serve themselves. Regardless of whether they walk down one side or both sides, make sure that at the end of the table it is easy for them to go on to the room where they will be sitting or mingling. Try to arrange it so they don’t have to push their way back through the other people who are trying to make their way down the table to serve themselves.

This is the order in which to set things on the table:

• Plates, meats, side dishes, relish dishes, salads, desserts, napkin, silverware and then drinks.

  Some people put the drinks first. This is a no-no because then everyone has to juggle a plate and a glass while trying to serve himself. This is why it is better to put the salads and desserts at the end if you are using salad or dessert plates too.

• If at all possible, put the drinks and desserts at a separate table. This helps reduce the congestion. Guests can then set their plates down after they are filled and go back to get their drinks without having to stand in line again. You’ll also avoid problems with guests trying to hold two plates or a drink and a plate.
• If it is going to be an all day get-together, you can wait and put the desserts out a little later with a pot of coffee and some tea to make things easier.

Recipes:

Here are some "red and green" recipes to use for those holiday parties or Christmas dinners.

These first two are our favorite salads that we serve every year with Christmas dinner. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without them. Our readers love them too, requesting them again every year.

Red Salad

1/2 cup boiling water
1 small package cherry Jello
1/4 to 1/2 cup red hot candies
1 1/2 cups applesauce

Dissolve Jello and candies in boiling water. I usually do this in a small saucepan so I can reduce to low heat to keep it warm while dissolving the candies. When mostly dissolved, add the applesauce. Chill until set.

Here is a different and delicious side dish for Christmas that gives you a good variety of veggies for the dinner while keeping the Christmas color scheme.

Green Salad

4 cups broccoli, cut into pieces
4 cups cauliflower, cut into pieces
2 cups celery, sliced
1/2 cup green olives, sliced
1 avocado, cut into small cubes
1/4 to 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
Italian dressing

Put all ingredients into a bowl and sprinkle with Italian dressing to taste. You can prepare everything the previous day except the avocado and dressing.

Christmas Veggies

Take some of your favorite veggies like broccoli, green beans or cauliflower and cook them your favorite way. Add chopped green and red peppers.Toss it all with Italian dressing and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cranberry Rice Salad

4 cups wild rice, cooked
1 can (8 oz.) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup each of the following:
      celery, sliced
      green peppers, chopped
      frozen peas, thawed
      dried cranberries
1/4 cup green onions, sliced

Dressing:

1/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup cranberry juice
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper

Mix all the salad ingredients into a large bowl. Mix dressing ingredients into a small bowl and pour over salad. Refrigerate overnight. Sprinkle with pecans just before serving.

Red or Green Dessert

1 (3 oz.) package lime Jello
2 (6 oz.) package key lime pie yogurt
1 small container of whipped topping

Combine Jello powder and yogurt. Then fold in whipped topping. Chill for 20 minutes.

You could also pour this into a graham cracker crust. Choose other flavors if you want. For example strawberry or cherry Jello with strawberry or cherry yogurt. In the summer months, use orange flavored ingredients.

photo by: dominic-hallau_de

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Traditional Homemade Thanksgiving Recipes

For those of you just need just the basic side dishes and desserts for your Thanksgiving dinner, here they all are in one spot.

If you need a fantastic roast turkey recipe or you need to know how to roast a turkey, you can find it here!

Mashed Potatoes

5 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk

In a large saucepan, place potatoes and enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender (about 10-15 minutes depending on your altitude). Drain. Transfer potatoes to a mixing bowl and mash. I use a hand mixer for this but you can use a potato masher.  Add butter, milk, sugar and salt. Beat until smooth. Serves 5-6.

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups sweet potatoes, mashed
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Topping
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup butter, melted

Mix all the ingredients and put in a buttered 9×9 casserole dish. Sprinkle on topping. Bake uncovered at 350° for 20 minutes. This is a great dish for holiday dinners and potlucks because it can be made the day before and then baked the next day. Serves 8-9.

Homemade Stuffing

This is my Grandma Tatum’s stuffing recipe (Jill’s Mom). It has been in our family for years and is a family favorite! -Tawra

I have hesitated to include our stuffing recipe because it is one of those recipes where it is hard to give exact measurements. You can adjust any of these ingredients to suit your taste and if you want, you can add different things to the dish.

For example, you can replace some of the bread with cornbread or you can add mushrooms, celery, apples, or giblets and many other things according to your own taste. This is one of those recipes that looks complicated but is really easy once you make it.

For a drier stuffing, use less liquid and for a moister dressing, add more butter. Butter doesn’t evaporate and won’t make your dressing "soggy" instead of moist the way liquid will.You can also add a little milk if the stuffing seems too dry.

When you bake stuffing inside a turkey or if you cook it in a covered pan, it won’t dry out so keep this in mind when testing for moistness.

If you want your stuffing to be fluffier, beat the eggs in the recipe before adding.

Here is the basic recipe:

8-10 cups dried bread, cubed or torn (You can use anything including hot dog buns, dinner rolls or French bread.)
1/2-1 lb. pork sausage
1/2-1 onion (or onion powder to taste)
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups broth*
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4-1/2 cup margarine
3 heaping tsp. ground sage
salt and pepper
1 small bag or box of seasoned croutons

Cube and tear bread, place in a very large mixing bowl and let it set out overnight if not dry enough. Fry sausage and onion. I don’t like celery in my dressing but if you do you can add it at this time. Drain and add to the bowl of bread. Pour broth into a large measuring cup. Add margarine and bouillon cube and heat in the microwave to melt margarine and bouillon cubes. Pour this mixture and eggs over bread. Add sage, salt, pepper and onion powder if not using onions and croutons. Using your hands, mush it all together until well mixed. Place in a well greased casserole dish or pan. Cover. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

If you like your stuffing soft on the inside with a crispy crust, just remove the cover for the last 15 minutes. If your dressing seems too dry, add a little milk for more moisture.

*For broth, I simmer the neck and giblets in a pan of water for an hour or two as soon as I take them out of the turkey. Then I use this water and some broth from my turkey, which has been cooking, to make my 1 1/2 cups.

If you are baking your stuffing in the turkey and can’t tell if it is done, just test with a meat thermometer and it should be 165 degrees.

Turkey Gravy

3-4 cups turkey juices/drippings
1/4 cup flour
Salt, pepper to taste

Pour turkey juices/drippings into a sauce pan. Whisk in flour. Add salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring once in a while until it is the right consistency.

If the gravy is too strong or you need to stretch it just a little, you can add a small amount of water. Another way I used to make turkey gravy (either way works) is to dissolve the flour in 1/2 cup of cold water and then whisk it into the turkey juices.

Pie Crust

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/4 cups shortening, cold
1 egg, cold
1 Tbsp. vinegar, cold
5 Tbsp. water, cold
sugar

Mix flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knives (I use my fingers). Add egg, vinegar and 3 tablespoons water. Mix lightly. If dough is too dry, add more water. Mix with hands. Don’t over mix. Mix just until the dough sticks together.

Divide into thirds. Roll out to make 3 pies crusts. When using the crust for the top of the pie, sprinkle sugar on top and poke with a few steam holes. Crust can be frozen in balls and then defrosted and rolled out when ready to use. Makes 3 crusts.

Pumpkin Pie

1 pie crust
2 eggs
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

Bake pie crust at 350° for 1-2 minutes until crust starts to puff with small bubbles. Watch carefully. Then remove from oven. Blend all ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into pie crust and bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 350° for 45 minutes. When a knife is inserted into the center of the pie and comes out clean, it is done. Makes one pie.

Pecan Pie

1 stick butter
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt
1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped
1 (8-9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Brown butter in a pan until golden brown. Do not burn. Cool. Add other ingredients in order given in a separate bowl. Mix well. Blend in cooled butter well. Pour into pie crust. Bake 10 minutes at 425° and then 40 minutes at 325°. Makes one pie.

For more traditional homemade scratch recipes, check out our Dining On A Dime Cookbook.

Photo By: Cameron Nordholm

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Winter Vegetables and Squash

We have had some questions about how to cook squash, including spaghetti squash, acorn squash, butternut, Hubbard and pumpkin. I really haven’t done a whole lot with these so I will need your help to let us know how you cook them. If you have a recipe to use them in, post that, too!

With most squash, you can wash it off, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and strings and bake in an oven at 375 degrees until tender. You can also brush squash with oil before you bake it. When the squash is done, you can mash it, seasoning it with different seasonings or serve with various sauces.

Squash can be baked, boiled, roasted and even microwaved. It can be made into soups, lasagna, stuffed, etc.

The spaghetti squash is often baked and then the insides look like regular spaghetti noodles. You can scoop them out and serve with the same sauces you would use on regular spaghetti.

Please pop in and help me out by sharing any recipes or tips you might have for preparing squash!

Thanks, Jill

photo by: rudiriet

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Tips:

• Cool weather is on its way, which means yummy soups and stews. If your children’s soup is too hot for them, add a few frozen vegetables to it. The veggies cook and, at the same time, it cools down the soup.
• For a quick and different dessert, top a brownie with ice cream. Then top it with chocolate syrup mixed with chunky peanut butter. You can add as little or as much as you want.

Menu:

Potato Flake Chicken Tenders*
Easy Vegetables*
French Fries
Soda Cracker Pie*

With football season here, this recipe will come in handy to serve not only for dinner but while watching the game.

Potato Flake Chicken Tenders

1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 (7.6 oz) pkg instant garlic flavor potatoes
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 lbs. chicken tenders

While oil is heating in skillet on medium heat, beat egg and milk together in a bowl. On a piece of wax paper or a small plate, mix potatoes and seasonings. Dip chicken into milk mix; then roll in potato flakes. Fry 7-10 minutes, until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Note: You can add some Parmesan cheese or other seasonings you might like to the potato flakes. You can use regular instant potatoes and just add garlic powder to season them.

Easy Vegetables

Broccoli florets
Cauliflower florets
Green beans, with the ends trimmed
Red Pepper, cut into strips
Italian Dressing
Parmesan cheese, shredded

Take any amount of first three vegetables you want and drop into boiling water for 2 minutes or until they are bright in color and still crisp. Do not overcook. Drain immediately and rinse in cold water. Drain well. Add pepper strips, cover and chill. Before serving toss with dressing and cheese.

You can serve this pie with just whipped cream or you could leave out the nuts and top with lemon, blueberry, cherry or any other pie filling. You can also use Ritz, graham or saltine crackers in place of soda crackers or add chocolate chips. Someone suggested spreading it with jam and sprinkling with brown sugar.

Soda Cracker Pie

3  egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
20 soda crackers, finely crushed
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pecans or nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (165 degrees C). Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold in all the rest of ingredients. Spoon into a greased 9 inch pie pan and bake 25-30 minutes. Cool.

For lots more quick and easy home cooked recipes, check out our Dining On A Dime Cookbook.

Photo By: Robert Banh

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Tips:

• To keep French bread from going stale, slice it, place it back in the wrapper and freeze. Take out just the amount you need when you’re ready to use it. I especially like doing this because the frozen French bread is much easier to butter before placing in foil to warm in the oven.
• Add vanilla pudding to any cake mix (or chocolate pudding to chocolate cake mix) for a more homemade tasting cake.
• To stretch canned frosting, add a package of softened cream cheese. You can also add cream cheese to cut the sweetness of any frosting.

Menu:

Fillet Bundles*
French Bread
Bacon Wrapped Corn*
Easy Macaroons*

Recipes:

Fillet Bundles

4 (6 oz. each) fresh or frozen fish fillets, thawed
Parmesan cheese, grated
Cayenne pepper
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 small sweet red pepper, julienned
Salt

Place fish on heavy foil and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and cayenne pepper. Top with zucchini and pepper. Salt to taste. Seal up in foil. Grill covered over indirect heat for about 8-10 minutes until fish is flaky.

Bacon Wrapped Corn

Large ears of corn, husks removed
Bacon
Chili Powder

Wrap each ear of corn with bacon and sprinkle with chili powder. Wrap well in heavy foil. Grill uncovered for 20 minutes over medium heat until corn is tender and bacon is cooked. Turn once.

Easy Macaroons*

1 pint pineapple or orange sherbet, softened
2 tsp. almond extract
1 package (18 1/3 oz.) white cake mix
6 cups flaked coconut

Mix sherbet, almond extract and cake mix well. Stir in coconut. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. Makes about 6 dozen.

Photo By: Gudlyf

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Tips:

• Meat can be expensive. One great way to save and stretch it is to chop it and mix it with other things. We do this often with casseroles but today’s recipe is a different twist on the usual casserole and shows there are other ways to stretch it.
• The next time you bake potatoes or boil some water for something, wipe down the inside of your microwave. There is usually enough steam left in there so that it’s easy to wipe clean.
• If you use mayonnaise in a squeeze bottle or want to get every last bit out of the jar, add a little milk to the bottle and shake it. Then pour it on something like potato salad. You can do the same thing with ketchup except add water, shake and pour into your spaghetti sauce.

Menu:

Roast Beef Potato Salad*
Veggie Stir Fry*
Sliced Tomatoes
Banana Cream Dessert*

Recipes:

Today’s main dish recipe is a quick, easy and unusual way to use leftover roast beef and potatoes. This is a great way to stretch any meat when unexpected company shows up.

Roast Beef Potato Salad

2 cups roast beef, cooked and cubed
2 cups potatoes, peeled, cooked and cubed
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup celery, sliced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. pimentos, chopped (optional)

Dressing:

1/3 cup vegetable oil
2-3 Tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Mix dressing in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss with dressing. Chill 1 hour. Serve on lettuce leaves. Makes 4 servings.

Veggie Stir Fry

4 cups fresh broccoli florets
3/4 cup fresh baby carrots, quartered lengthwise
2 tsp. canola or vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a nonstick skillet, stir-fry broccoli and carrots in oil for 5 minutes. Add zucchini, salt and pepper. Stir-fry 5 more minutes or until vegetables are tender. Makes 4 servings.

Banana Cream Dessert

4 medium bananas, sliced
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding
1 carton (12 oz.) whipped topping
1/3 cup pecans or other nuts
1 graham cracker pie crust (9 inch)*

Toss bananas in lemon juice. Drain well. Set aside. Beat sour cream and pudding on low speed for 2 minutes. Fold in bananas and whipped topping. Pour into pie crust. Chill for at least 6 hours or over night. Sprinkle with pecans.

*Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Combine and press into a pan. Use a spring form pan if you have one. Alternatively, a 9 inch pie pan will work, too.

You might also try this recipe without the crust and drizzle it with a little chocolate sauce.Yummy!

Photo By: MinimalistPhotography101.com

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Tips:

• If you are out of food coloring, try adding a spoon of cherry or strawberry Jello (or whatever color you need) to your frosting to color it and make it extra tasty.
• For a cool summer treat or if you get a good deal on bananas and need to do something with them quickly, roll them in strawberry jam. Then roll or sprinkle with nuts and granola and put them in the freezer. This makes a great easy treat for both kids and adults.
• Here’s a delicious way to use leftover meatloaf - Place a slice of meatloaf and a slice of cheese between some bread. Then grill as you would grill a cheese sandwich.

Menu:

Layered Chicken Salad*
Potato Nachos*
Freezer Pickles*
Dinner Rolls
Watermelon and Cantaloupe Slices

Recipes:

Everyone is always looking for quick and easy chicken recipes and it doesn’t get much easier than this. This recipe is especially good if you need something to make the day before and just serve when you need it. If you are having company or a party or you just need something to make on Saturday and pull out after church for Sunday dinner, this recipe is a good one to use.

Layered Chicken Salad

4-5 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 medium cucumber, sliced
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 can (8 oz.) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
1 lb. fresh pea pods, halved
4 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
Cherry tomatoes

Dressing

2 cups mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. ginger

Mix dressing. Layer all other ingredients but the tomatoes in a large glass bowl. Spread the dressing over the top and garnish with tomatoes. Cover and chill several hours or overnight.

The next recipe can be used as a side dish or as an appetizer. It is a great way to use leftover boiled red potatoes. If you don’t like your food hot, just leave off the jalapenos. This recipe makes a huge amount but you can easily cut it down and just make the amount you want.

Potato Nachos

8 medium red potatoes, cooked in skin
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
1 jar (12 oz.) jalapeno pepper slices
2 cups (8 oz.) cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups (8 oz.) Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
2 cups (16 oz.) sour cream
6-8 green onions, chopped

Slice potatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place in single layers on three -15x10x1 inch pans. Top each slice with a pinch of dressing mix, a pepper slice and the cheeses. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and onions. Makes 12 servings.

Everyone’s gardens will be coming into full swing soon so here is a recipe to help you use all those cucumbers you have or will soon be getting. This recipe is especially good if you don’t want to have to can all of them or if you have lots of room in your freezer. You can also try this recipe with other veggies like peppers or okra or you can mix them with the cucumbers.

Try some of the onions from this recipe on your hot dogs.

Freezer Pickles

4 lbs. pickling cucumbers, sliced
8 cups thinly sliced onions
1/4 cup salt
3/4 cup water
4 cups sugar
2 cups apple cider vinegar (You can use white vinegar but the apple cider vinegar gives it a better flavor boost.)

Combine cucumbers, onions, salt and water in large bowls and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Add sugar and vinegar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Pack into 1 pint containers, cover and freeze. Keep for 6-8 weeks. Thaw at room temperature for 4 hours before serving. Makes 10 pints.

If you are busy, you can let them stand for a bit, stirring once in a while until the sugar dissolves.

Photo By: TheCulinaryGeek

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Tips:

• Cutting your salads or veggies into different shapes can quickly turn a "Ho hum" salad into an "Oh yum" salad.

  • Slice your carrots into coins or grate them.
  • Cut your peppers into strips instead of dicing them.
  • Slice cucumbers into circles or if that’s what you usually do, try dicing them.
  • If you normally tear your lettuce, try cutting it until it is finely shredded. I find that more people love my salad, which is very ordinary. I think they like it because I chop my lettuce very small and they enjoy eating it more because they don’t have to cut it or try stuffing huge pieces into their mouths.
• If your potato salad often seems dry, try mixing 2-4 Tbsp. of milk in with the mayo. You can do this with coleslaw or any salad that uses mayonnaise.

Menu:

Italian French Dip Sandwiches*
Easy Potato Salad*
Cinnamon Carrots*
No Bake Cheese Cake*

Recipes:

Italian French Dip Sandwiches

Dipping Sauce:

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Combine and simmer about 15 minutes.

Sandwiches

1 lb bulk (ground) Italian or country sausage
1 med. onion, thinly sliced and separated
8 slices mozzarella cheese
8 slices French bread, sliced
Margarine

Shape sausage into patties and fry. Remove from pan and saute onions in drippings. Place a slice of cheese on each of 4 pieces of bread, top with patties, onions and another slice of cheese each. Then place another piece of bread on top of each one. Spread outside of bread with margarine and grill.

Serve and dip in dipping sauce.

*To save money, you can use less meat, make smaller patties and use only 1 slice of cheese for each sandwich.

Easy Potato Salad

2 or 3 cans white potatoes (I like Aldi’s canned potatoes.) – Open and drain each can. Then rinse each can under cold water at least 3 times. It is important to get the water from the cans rinsed off.

1/2 medium onion
4 ribs of celery
4 sweet pickles
3 boiled eggs
1 large tsp. yellow mustard
4 heaping Tbsp. Miracle Whip (bought on sale, of course)

Chop up the potatoes. Dice everything else. Mix in mustard and Miracle Whip. Cover and chill over night or all day.

Sometimes you run out of fresh potatoes and sometimes you’re snowed in. We all love this. Hope you will too!

From Linda C. in Ohio:

Cinnamon Carrots

1 1/2 cups water
2 lbs. carrots, sliced 1/2inch thick
1-2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches each)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground ginger
5-6 Tbsp. honey
4 tsp. lemon juice

Bring water to a boil. Add next 4 ingredients. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add honey and lemon juice. Uncover and boil for a couple more minutes until water is evaporated and carrots are tender.

From Jane:

No Bake Cheesecake

1- 8 oz pkg. cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1- 8 oz. container whipped topping

Beat first 3 ingredients together. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into a graham cracker crust and chill.

Photo By: Ed Kwon

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Fourth of July Recipes

Most of us have our favorite dishes and traditions for the Fourth of July so, instead of giving you a menu, I thought I would give you some new dishes to add to our old standbys and favorites like hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, potato salad and baked beans.

• Don’t wait until Christmas to make pretzels rolled in chocolate. Roll pretzel sticks in melted white chocolate and then in red and blue sprinkles. Serve in a pretty glass or vase.
• Add a tablespoon of sugar to your deviled eggs for extra flavor.

Recipes

Pig and Cow Burgers

1 lb. hamburger
1/4 lb. Italian sausage (or any sausage)
1 egg
1/2 onion, chopped

Mix everything and make into patties. Chill for 30 minutes. Grill. Add a slice of pepper jack cheese and a dollop of barbecue sauce and serve on an onion bun.

Tomato Cucumber Salad

2-3 tomatoes, cubed
2-3 cucumbers, cubed
Fresh dill, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp. sour cream

Mix ingredients and serve.

Grilled Mixed Veggies

1 med. yellow squash, peeled and sliced
1 med. zucchini, peeled and sliced
6 fresh mushrooms
2 large tomatoes, cut in 6th’s
1 sweet red pepper, julienned
1 green pepper, julienned
1/2 cup baby carrots
1/4 cup prepared Ranch dressing
1/4 cup prepared Italian dressing

Mix veggies and divide onto 6 squares of heavy duty foil. Mix dressings and drizzle on veggies. Seal well. Grill on each side for 10-13 minutes.

I haven’t tried this recipe myself but these cookies sure sounded good. They seem perfect for the Fourth so I thought you might like to try them.

Independence Cookies

2 cups butter flavored shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
12 oz. white chocolate chips
12 oz. dried cranberries
12 oz. dried blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream shortening, sugars and eggs. Add flour, soda and salt. Fold in chips and berries. Chill until firm. Roll into balls about golf ball size and press to 1/2 inch thick. Bake 10-12 minutes.

linking to:

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Tips:

• Is my cantaloupe ripe? It is hard to tell when melons are ripe. Each person has his or her own special way. Here are two ways I have found that work for me:

  1. Smell the end where the stem was. If it smells like a cantaloupe, it is ripe.

  2. Gently shake the cantaloupe. If you hear the seeds sloshing around inside it is ripe. This is my favorite way to tell if a cantaloupe is ripe.

• Tuna can sometimes be messy in a sandwich so, for a different summer lunch, put tuna in ice cream cones for the kids. The flavor of the cone and the tuna really tastes good together.

• Need another way to use leftover mashed potatoes? Place leftover potatoes in a greased muffin tin and top with chopped onions, bacon or sausage, Parmesan cheese and a dab of butter. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.

Menu:

Barbecue Beef Sandwiches
Cottage Cheese Potato Salad*
Sliced Cantaloupe
S’More Bars*

Recipes:

Cottage Cheese Potato Salad

1 cup cottage cheese
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp. salt (to taste)
1/4 tsp. pepper, to taste
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
4 large potatoes, cooked and cubed
1 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup radishes, sliced
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup green onions, diced
2 Tbsp. sliced black olives

Mix first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. To make this go very quickly, slice and dice the veggies and hard boil the eggs the day before.

S’More Bars

8-10 whole graham crackers
1 package brownie mix
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup chopped peanuts

Arrange graham crackers in a 13×9 pan. Mix brownie batter according to directions on package. Pour over graham crackers. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with marshmallows, chocolate chips and peanuts. Bake five minutes longer until marshmallows are melted, puffy and golden. Cool before cutting.

Photo By: Steven Depolo

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