It's Fourth Of July! Itz celebration time for America. So try out these mouth watering recipes on this great day for USA and ennnjoyyy!!!
All recipes are sure to make you lick your fingers.

July 4th  4th of July Recipes

SALADS» Red, White and Blue Fruit Salad
1 pint of fresh blueberries
1 pound of fresh red seedless grapes
1 8 oz container of fat free sour cream
Equal to taste. 
Wash fruit. Pat dry. Mix together. Fold in sour cream and add Equal to taste (I usually use 3 to 4 packets). Chill and serve.
Middle Eastern Cucumber Salad
4 large cucumbers
1 cup non-fat plain yogurt
1 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard Dill
dash of salt 
Combine yogurt, mustard, salt and dill. Slice cucumbers into thin chips. Put them in a mixing bowl and mix in onions and dressing. Makes 8 servings.
Sour Cream Shrimp Salad
2 pints sour cream
1 brick Roquefort cheese, crumbled
1 head iceberg lettuce, washed and chilled
Fresh bay shrimp
garlic salt
paprika
saltine crackers 
Mix sour cream with crumbled brick of Roquefort cheese. Place in a glass or plastic container in refrigerator and chill. Cut lettuce head into wedges and place each on chilled salad plates. Put a generous dollop of dressing on each wedge of lettuce. Then sprinkle each with tiny chilled bay shrimp. Garnish each wedge with a touch of garlic salt and paprika Serve with saltine crackers. 
ENTREES» 4th of July Meat Casserole
2 pounds of any kind of chopped steak.
2 cans of Golden Mushroom Soup
8 ounces of Cooking wine (optional)
8 ounces of Water (unless using the wine)
Mix and put all ingredients in a baking dish. Cover. Heat at 325 degrees for 3 hours. Serve over noodles, potatoes, etc. 
Sloppy Joes
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon red pepper sauce
6 hamburger buns, split and toasted 
Cook and stir ground beef and onion in 10-inch skillet until beef is brown. Drain. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and cook over low heat 10 to 15 minutes or just until vegetables are tender. Fill buns with mixture. Makes 6 sandwiches.
DESSERTS» Peach Basket Turnover
2 egg yolks
1 cup Sugar
1/3 cup hot water
2 egg whites
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Crisco
1 large can sliced peaches, drained 
Beat egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar together until light. Add hot water and remaining sugar and beat 5 min. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Mix and sift flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add to first mixture and mix well. Add vanilla. Cream brown sugar and Crisco. Add peaches and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Put in a shallow greased baking pan. Pour cake batter over mixture and bake in hot oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Turn out on a platter and serve with fruit juice and whipped cream. 
American Apple Pie
Pastry for 9-inch two-crust pie
1/3 to 2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of salt
8 cups thinly sliced pared tart apples (about 8 medium apples)
2 tablespoons margarine or butter 
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix sugar flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Stir in apples. Turn into a pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with margarine. Cover with top crust that has been cut with slits. Seal and flute. Cover edge with a 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning (remove during last 15 minutes of baking.) Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice beings to bubble through slits in crust. Serves 8.
Cool Lemon Ice Cream
(Requires an ice cream maker) 
8 lemons
3 cups sugar
1/2 gallon milk, 2 percent
ice and rock salt for ice cream maker 
Squeeze juice from lemons into bowl. Thinly slice up 4 of lemons. Add them to juice in bowl. Add sugar and mix. Put mixture into ice cream tin. Stir in milk. Put ice and rock salt in container surrounding tin. (DON'T put ice and rock salt into juice mixture!) Let ice cream maker mix and freeze mixture. In 25-30 minutes, ice cream is ready. Serves at least 10. 
Blueberry & Custard Filled Star Puffs
1 sheet (from a 17 oz. package) frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 package (3 3/8 oz.) instant vanilla pudding and pie filling mix
1 cup milk
8 oz. sour cream
2 cups fresh blueberries (1 pint)
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
1 T chopped fresh mint (optional)
confectioner's sugar 

Pre-heat oven to 400°F.

To prepare stars
Carefully unfold puff pastry on a work surface. With a rolling pin, roll pastry out 1/2" wider than its original dimension. Using a 3" star shaped cookie cutter, cut out 12 stars. With a spatula place stars 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer stars to a wire rack, cool slightly. Using a sharp knife, cut stars in half, horizontally, cool completely.

To prepare sauce
In a medium bowl place pudding mix and milk. Using an electric mixer, beat until mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Fold in sour cream. Cover and refrigerate until thickened, about 15 minutes.

In another medium bowl combine blueberries, sugar, mint and orange zest. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Using a small strainer sprinkle tops of stars with confectioner's sugar, set aside.

To serve
On each dessert plate place 2 star bottoms, spoon 1/3 cup sauce and 1/3 cup blueberries onto stars and top with reserved star tops.
DRINKS» 4th Float
Fruit punch
Vanilla ice cream
Blue food coloring
Pureed blueberries 
Mix fruit punch with vanilla ice cream. You can even mixed blue food coloring or pureed blueberries to some of the ice cream to make it a red, white, and blue drink. 
Pink Lemonade
3 cups cold water
1 cup lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons grenadine syrup, if desired
2 or 3 drops red food coloring 
Mix all ingredients. Serve over ice. Serves 6.
CONDIMENTS» Homemade Pickles
4 quarts cucumbers
8 medium onions
1/2 cup salt
1 quart white vinegar
2 tablespoons mustard seed
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon celery seed
5 cups sugar
Slice cucumbers into disks and slice onions. Cover with water and ice. Mix in salt. Place in refrigerator overnight. The next day, drain. Add remaining ingredients. Heat ALMOST to a boil. Place in jars. Store in refrigerator. Makes 6 to 7 pint-sized jars.
101 July 4th.com
101 July 4th.com