Sunday, July 4, 2010

Independence Day!



Happy 4th of July! I have such wonderful memories of this day. When we were young, we celebrated each 4th of July with a huge family reunion. All of the cousins on my Mom's side of the family gathered at one of the family farms for a full day of fun. We played hide and seek in the corn fields, which were knee high by the 4th of July, had volley ball tournaments, blew up firecrackers under the "supervision"  of our dads, had cold pop and watermelon iced in a big aluminum tank and ended the day with our own fireworks display,  supplied by one of our uncles.  And most importantly, we ate wonderful food, prepared by the moms and grandmas and great aunts. Fried chicken, baked beans, potato salad, garden lettuce salad and desserts, all made from scratch. The memories couldn't be better.  We always had so much fun.

It is no wonder I find myself focused on picnic recipes at this time of year. Updating my recipe collection with some of the cooking we've done in the past few weeks, I decided to feature a few dishes on my blog.

I'll start today with two "potluck" salads.

The first one is "Salad On The Wild Side", which has been one of our family favorites for years. It is a great main course addition to any picnic or summer time potluck dinner.


Paul surprised me last week when I arrived home after a full day of rehearsal with "BBQ Macaroni Salad".



He had found the recipe in a magazine we had checked out of the library. The salad is spicy and works really well with grilled steak. Next time I make the recipe, we will have to take our own photo to replace the one we borrowed from the internet. Try it, you will be surprised!

The smoker is working its magic outside right now. I will follow up tomorrow with the menu we have cooked up for our own little 4th of July party. Enjoy the day!!!



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