July 4th Food!

Independence day is just a few days away and one of the best ways to celebrate is with food. This is the time to BBQ and be creative with some fun recipes. Here some easy and tasty ones I have found.

Ingredients

Deselect All 18 small purple potatoes (about 1 pound) Kosher salt 1 pound herbed cheese spread, at room temperature 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped 26 cherry tomatoes, halved (about 2 pounds) 24 1-inch mozzarella balls in brine, drained well and halved

Directions

.Special equipment:

12- by -17 1/2-inch wooden cutting board, pastry bag fitted with a small star tip

1. Cook the potatoes in generously salted boiling water until fork-tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. Drain well and allow to cool completely. Cut in half crosswise.

2. Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a small star tip, with the herbed cheese spread. Cut a piece of parchment large enough to fit a 12- by -17 1/2-inch wooden cutting board. Put a dab of cheese spread on the underside of each corner of the parchment to help it adhere to the cutting board.

3. Pipe and spread a thin layer of cheese spread in to a 6 1/2- by -9 1/2-inch rectangle in the upper left corner of the parchment. Arrange the potatoes in rows, cut-side-up, on top of the cheese. Pipe the remaining cheese in between the potatoes to make stars for the flag.

4. Drizzle the remaining empty portion of parchment with half of the oil then sprinkle all over with the basil. Starting from the top, make a line of tomato halves, cut-side-up, followed by a line of mozzarella halves, cut-side-down. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes and mozzarella. Drizzle everything with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Ingredients

Deselect All Nonstick cooking spray, for the baking dish 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons One 10-ounce bag mini marshmallows 5 1/4 cups crispy rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies 1/2 teaspoon blue gel food coloring (see Cook's Note) 1/2 teaspoon red gel food coloring 1/4 cup mixed red, white and blue sprinkles

Directions

1. Line a 9-by-9-inch baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two opposite sides. Spray the foil lightly with cooking spray.

2. Divide the butter and marshmallows among 3 medium microwave-safe bowls (1 tablespoon of butter and about 2 cups of marshmallows per bowl). Microwave 1 bowl until the butter has melted and the marshmallows have puffed, about 60 seconds. Stir in the blue gel food coloring until the mixture is smooth and no streaks of food coloring remain.

3. Working quickly, add 1 3/4 cups of the rice cereal to the bowl and stir with a rubber spatula until evenly coated. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and press into an even, compact layer. (Spray your hands with a little cooking spray to keep them from sticking when pressing the cereal mixture into the pan). Set aside.

4. Microwave another bowl of butter and marshmallows in the same manner. Stir together until smooth and combined (this will be the "white" layer). Stir in another 1 3/4 cups of rice cereal until evenly coated. Place on top of the blue cereal treat layer, pressing until even and compact.

5. Repeat with the remaining bowl of butter and marshmallows, microwaving until melted and smooth. Stir in the red gel food coloring until the mixture is smooth and no streaks of food coloring remain. Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups rice cereal to the bowl and stir until evenly coated. Place on top of the white cereal treat layer, pressing into an even, compact layer. While still warm, top evenly with the sprinkles, pressing gently so they adhere.

6. Let sit at room temperature until firm, about 30 minutes. Cut into 16 squares. Store the cereal treats at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

What you’ll need:

• 12 ounces Melting Candy Wafers (White or Blue)

• Strawberries

• 2 Pouches Red Popping Candies

How to:

1. Follow package instructions to melt the Melting Candy Wafers, stir until smooth.

2. Dip strawberries into the melted candy.

3. Dip tip of the strawberry into red popping candies.

4. Place on parchment lined baking sheet to dry and harden.

4th of July Firecracker Dogs Ingredients

• 1 can refridgerated breadstick dough

• 2 packages -16 hot dogs

• 16 thick slices colby cheese

• 16 skewers

Cooking Directions

1. First take your skewers and stick them all the way through your hot dogs leaving about an inch and a half exposed out of the top of each hot dog. Then take a piece of breadstick dough and carefully wrap it around the hot dog until you get to the top. Place the wrapped dogs on a silpat (non stick baking liner) or parchment paper and bake according to the package directions for the breadstick dough. It took us about 20 minutes at 350. (Read all about why I love my Silpat HERE)

2. While the hot dogs are cooking take out your cheese slices, the key to this step is to go to your grocers deli counter and ask for them to slice you pieces of cheese that are 1/4″-3/8″ thick. Then using a small star cookie cutter cut out your stars. Depending on how big or small your cookie cutter is will determine how many stars you get out of each slice of cheese. We could only get one star out of each slice.

3. After your dogs have cooled for 2-3 minutes stick the star through the skewer at the top.

4. We used a pail with a styrofoam ball hidden by crinkly papers to display them here, which would also be a great way to display them at a gathering. You can also just layer them on top of each other on a plate. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• ▢2.5 cups Fresh Berries I used blueberries, raspberries, and sliced strawberries

• ▢40 oz Coconut Water I used Amy and Brian's Coconut Juice

Instructions

• Drop beries into popsicle molds (smaller pieces will go to the bottom, others will have to be gently nudged into the mold using a butter knife or extra popsicle stick).

• Pour coconut water over the berries to fill the popsicle mold, then insert popsicle sticks.

• Cover and chill for several hours.

• Allow to sit on counter at room temperature for a few minutes for easy release from the molds.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe July 4th weekend. Hope that a few of you will try out these yummy recipes and let me know how it went. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!