Fourth of July Fun!

Mary hosted Recipe Club this month in our traditional way - everyone was to choose a recipe around a theme of her choice. What was her choice? Nothing more appropriate than the Fourth of July (something you would bring to a potluck cookout). Everything was DE.LISH!

Blueberry Walnut Salad
(Lauren)

1 (10-oz) package of mixed salad greens
1 pint fresh blueberries
1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

In a large bowl, toss teh salad greens with the blueberries, walnuts, and raspberry vinaigrette. Top with feta cheese to serve.

Blueberry Crisp
(Ashley)

3 cups blueberries
1 large can crushed pineapple, undrained
1/2 cup sugar
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick margarine, melted
1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place berries and pineapple in a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar. In a medium bowl, combine cake mix and margarine. Sprinkle over fruit. Top with pecans. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Best served warm with either ice cream or whipped cream.

Marion's Baked Beans
(Mary Colleen)

1 large can baked beans
1 regular-sized can lima beans or butter beans (Marion uses butter beans)
1 regular-sized can kidney beans
4-6 slices bacon, chopped and fried
1 onion
1/4 pound Velveta Cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

Drain beans, leaving just a little of the baked bean juice. Brown the bacon and drain. Saute the onion until clear. Mix brown sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire Sauce and add all of the beans. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes to an hour or until bubbly.

Paula Deen's Italian Pasta Salad
(Meghan)

1/2 tsp salt, plus more for seasoning
1 pound bow tie pasta
1 cup store-bought balsamic vinaigrette
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp sugar
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 (4-oz) can sliced mushrooms
2/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan, for topping

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add the pasta and cook it according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, in a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinaigrette, mayonnaise and sugar. Drain the pasta well and transfer it to a serving bowl and let cool. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, bell pepper, pepper, and salt (to taste). Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and toss gently. Serve chilled.

Marinated Pork Tenderloin
(Caron)

1 pork tenderloin
1/2 cup peanut or canola oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp dry mustard
1/5 tsp pepper

Mix ingredients well. Pour over tenderloin and cover. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Before cooking, pour off majority of marinade. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Magic's Corn Salad
(Rhonda)

2 (12 oz) cans Green Giant Shoe Peg Corn, drained
2 tomatoes, seeded, drained, and chopped but not peeled
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 purple onion, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
4 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp white ninegar
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt

Mix all vegetables. Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, and seasonings. Pour over vegetables. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Good with barbeque, hamburgers, or stuffed in a tomato. Recipe can easily be doubled. Use a box of cherry tomatoes, cut in half, in place of regular tomatoes.

Marinated Green Beans
(Melanie)

3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup Wesson oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 cans Blue Lake whole green beans, drained
2 large red onions, sliced (I only used 1)

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate three days in advance. Serves 12.


Chocolate Chess Pie
(Virginia)

1.5 cups sugar
3 1/4 tbsp cocoa
1 stick margarine, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 (5.33 oz) can evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
deep-dish pie shell

Preheat oven to 325. Mix together all ingredients and pour into pie shell. Bake 45-50 minutes. Refrigerate for 4 hours to set. Do not slice warm.

Pickled Okra-Ham Rolls
(Anna Kate)

1/2 lb thinly sliced Virginia ham (easier if the square, packaged ham is used)
1 (8 oz) container whipped cream cheese with chives (or use fresh chives)
1 (12 oz) jar pickled okra (she used mild)

Lay ham pieces flat. Spread cream cheese mixture onto ham. Trim ends of okra. Lay okra end to end across one side of ham. Roll up so there will be several layers of ham. Chill until ingredients are firm. Slice into 1/2 inch pieces, and serve.

Black Bean Corn Dip
(Anna Kate)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can white shoepeg corn, drained
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
5 green onions, chopped
Feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together. Best if prepared the night before.

Wild Rice Cranberry Pecan Salad
(Liz)

1 cup brown rice/wild rice mix
2 1/3 cups water (see package instructions)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp butter
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans (toasted or un-toasted, your choice)
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp grated orange peel
salt and freshly ground pepper

Use the amount of water for the rice according to instructions on the rice package. Typically straight brown rice is a 1:2 ratio of rice to water. Straight wild rice is a ratio of 1:3 of wild rice to water. For this brown rice/wild rice mix that Liz got from a bin (no package), she used a ratio of 1 cup of rice to 2 1/3 cups of water. Bring rice, 1/2 tsp salt, butter, and water to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 50 minutes. Do not stir. Do not uncover. Remove from stove and let sit, covered for 10 minutes. Then uncover, fluff up with a fork, and let cool to almost room temperature. In a medium sized serving bowl, mix the rice, cranberries, pecans, and green onions together. In a separate jar, mix the lemon juice, olive oil, orange peel, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving mix dressing in with the rice mixture. Serve warm, chilled, or room temperature.