Fourth of July Feast!

For the Fourth of July Luke and I were trying to keep it simple! So we decided to BBQ with our friends before heading to the baseball game. Here's our menu:

Watermelon- lemonade (see below for recipe)
Ranch style steak kabobs (see below for recipe)
Luke's favorite potato salad (see below for recipe) (I need to come up with a better name...)
Snicker salad (Riley and Brenda brought this I'll have to share the recipe when I get it.)

Watermelon- Lemonade
4 cups seedless watermelon chunks (I just guessed)
1 1/2 cups lemonade (I just guessed)
Some sugar (I added it to taste)

Mix in a blender.

Yep that's it. You can add mint (like the leaves) but I couldn't find any. You can strain the drink to get the rind out, but I liked it with the rind. It added something to the drink. We really like this drink! The lemonade adds a zane to the watermelon! It's nice! While I had it in the blender I added some ice at the end so the ice was crunched perfectly.


I found this recipe on this blog If you want the original recipe please check out her blog (she got it from the Kraft website. I'm going to just post "our" recipe here. (Please remember that my family didn't really ever eat meat and Luke's family had meat EVERY night. I'm learning... slowly how to cook meat so Luke did most of this recipe, I just found it and told him I wanted it.)

Ranch style steak kabobs

Some red potatoes (I'm sure any potatoes would work)
Some (kind of) meat (I'm told it was steak. See I told you, I even made him go buy it so I didn't
mess it up!)
An onion
Some ranch

The night before you make these you can marinate the meat in your choice of juice (Is that what it's called?). If not just cut up the meat the next day (I just had a thought... maybe everybody marinates the meat the night before. I'm going to have to check this out.) Cut up the potatoes and boil them for like 5 min (You want to start the cooking process but you want them to stay on the kabob while on the grill). Cut the onion in fourths then break each layer off of the onion (Yes Ogres are like onions they have layers) Then alternate meat, potatoes, onions until all the kabobs you want are full. Brush ranch on to the potatoes and onions, I asked Luke to do all of it but he said since we marinated the meat it wouldn't taste as good. Grill until meat is cooked to your liking. You can continue to brush with ranch while grilling, I think the flavor sets in better.

Everybody gave it a big thumbs up! I do believe we'll do it again!

My friend Adri told me about this recipe during one of our daily drives (we car pool an hour a day together). I was sooo excited to try it! I'm surprized I hadn't posted the recipe yet! My in laws ask for it all the time, Luke asks for it all the time, it's a keeper! In fact Luke won't let me add anything to it! I would like to try celery or red onions, but I think he'd chop off my hand if I tried! He wouldn't of course! This salad is good either hot or cold, I can't decide which way I like better. I like I said before I really need to come up with a better name.

Luke's favorite potato salad

Dry ranch mix
Red potatoes
Mayo
Sour Cream
Bacon
Some of the bacon grease

Cook the bacon to your liking, but the crispier the better! While your bacon is cooking you can boil your potatoes, to speed up the process I cut them in half if not thirds. While your bacon and potatoes are cooking mix together the dry ranch mix, mayo and sour cream in a bowl large enough to hold all of the salad. I'm sorry I can't tell you the measurements. I like find a recipe that sounds good then put my own flare on it (If you couldn't tell from the two above recipes). I add the mayo and sour cream to taste, but I think it's about a cup and a half of each. You can change the ratio if you don't like one of those ingredients. I'm not sure what will finish first for you, the bacon or the potatoes, but I like to add the bacon as it comes out of the pan. Just crumble it up and add it to the ranch mix. Save some of the bacon grease! Once the potatoes are soft enough that when you stick a fork in them they fall apart you can drain the water. Cut up the potatoes and add to the ranch mix. I usually burn my fingers cutting up the potatoes, so please be careful. Add about a tablespoon of the bacon grease. Stir all the ingredents together. Either enjoy now or place in fridge until you serve it.

I've already told you that this is Luke's favorite potato salad, so of course it's a keeper! If you add anything to this recipe and it works out please let me know! I'd love to hear about it!

Sorry there aren't any pictures, I'll try to do better next time and take some! Hope you enjoy these recipes!

Crock pot Shepherd's Pie

Crock pot Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:
3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
2 cloves of garlic
2 cup frozen veggies
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup water 2 cups shredded cheese

Directions:
Brown Meat & onion on stove, drain fat. Toss meat with the spices and garlic.

Spray the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray. Put the meat in the crock pot and stir in the veggies and a cup of water. Add two cups of cheese on top. Press the mashed potatoes down on top of the cheese and meat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for about 3 hours, then remove the lid and cook on high for 30 minutes to release condensation and allow the potatoes to brown a bit on top.

I've made this once because I had some left over potatoes. It was pretty good but I think I just had some broccoli and it really needed to be mixed veggies.

Ham & Cheese Brunch Squares

Ham & Cheese Brunch Squares

Ingredients:
2 cups (8 oz) grated Colby & Monterrey Jack cheese blend,
1 pkg (22.5 oz) frozen toaster hash brown patties, thawed (10 patties)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
12 eggs
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
8 oz thickly sliced deli ham
4-5 green onions with tops, divided (about 1 cup sliced)
3 plum tomatoes
Additional coarsely ground black pepper (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly brush Large Bar Pan with vegetable oil. Crumble hash browns over bar pan; press gently into an even layer. Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over hash browns. Bake 13-15 minutes or until crust starts to brown and cheese is melted.

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk cream cheese until smooth using a whisk. Gradually add eggs and black pepper; whisk until smooth. On a cutting board, coarsely chop ham. Slice green onions, reserving 1/4 cup of the tops for garnish. Place ham and remaining green onions into (8-in.) a sauté pan; cook and stir over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until hot. Stir ham mixture into egg mixture.

3. Remove bar pan from oven. Pour egg mixture over crust. Return bar pan to oven; bake 6-8 minutes or until center is set. Meanwhile, slice tomatoes in half lengthwise; scrape out seeds and dice. Remove bar pan from oven; top with remaining cheese, tomatoes and reserved green onions. Sprinkle with additional black pepper, if desired. Cut into squares and serve.

This is a Pampered Chef recipe that Diane Nichols showed me. It's really yummy and I love using my Large Stone Pan! Anyway, I've done this recipe without cream cheese, I didn't notice a difference. I also cut the egg count down to 10. For my family I did one half with ham and a half without it was really yummy! Mom thinks it tastes like funeral potatoes with ham!