Grilling on the 4th of July week

We had the intention to post this before the 4th, but too much going on! Hope you had a great holiday! These recipes are so great we could not miss posting them! Please comment if you try them!

Post By Vanessa!

Summer is officially here!!!! Around my house that means time to plan the 4^th of July party, a yearly tradition. We live on the parade route in our town, so that means most of our friends and family come to our house very early and spend most of the day!!! One of the many reasons we chose to live in this town was for the old fashioned small town feeling. My husband’s parents both grew up here as did my husband and his brothers. Now, with our children the next generations to be lucky enough to experience a real “home town” feeling.

 

We love the 4^th of July!!!! Not only because we get to see a lot of people that we usually don’t see very often, but we get to eat some of our favorite foods. It’s BBQ season, so many in the Charlotteville area head out to the best bbq restaurants Charlottesville has to offer, along with everyone else in the country heading out to their own local BBQ restaurants. We always have our staple July 4^th food, hot dogs, hamburgers etc… but there are times I like to kick it up a little! So, from my family to yours have a wonderful July 4^th no matter how you choose to celebrate!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches in the slow cooker

 

Ingredients:

1 large onion, sliced thin
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoon kosher salt
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (4-6 lb) boneless pork butt or shoulder
cup cider vinegar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoons sugar
teaspoons dry mustard
teaspoon garlic salt
teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Rinse pork roast under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Place onions in crock-pot. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, kosher salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Rub mixture all over roast and place the roast on top of the onions.

3. In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, Worcestershire, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne pepper; whisk to combine. Drizzle about 1/3 of vinegar mixture over roast. Cover and refrigerate remaining vinegar mixture.

4. Cover crockpot; cook on low for 10-12 hours. Drizzle about 1/3 of reserved vinegar mixture over roast during last hour of cooking.

5. Remove meat and onions; drain. Chop or shred meat and onions. Serve with remaining vinegar mixture or your favorite barbeque sauce.

 

Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 pound Uncooked Rotini Pasta

2 Tablespoons Grated Lime Peel

4 Tablespoons Lime Juice

1 cup Ranch Dressing

1 package (1 1/4 Oz. Packet) Taco Seasoning Mix

1 whole Large Avocado, Chopped

1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 can (3.8 Oz. Size) Sliced Olives

1 can (12 Oz. Size) Red Kidney Beans, Drained

3 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro

2 cups Cherry Tomatoes, Chopped

1 can (4 1/2 Oz. Size) Green Chiles, Chopped

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Rinse with cold water, drain.

Grate limes and place the peel in a bowl. Squeeze the juice from the limes and add to the bowl with the ranch dressing, taco seasoning, and chopped avocado. Stir.

In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the remaining ingredients: cheese, olives, beans, cilantro, tomatoes, and chilies. Right before serving, pour the dressing on top and mix well.

 

Potato Salad

 

Ingredients:

FOR THE DRESSING
15 oz. sour cream
1 Large clove garlic, minced
1 Small avocado, peeled, pitted, chopped
4 Tbsp. liquid from canned jalapenos
6 Green onions, chopped
1 Tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

FOR THE SALAD:
1 pounds Yukon gold or russet potatoes, peeled and quartered, held in cold water
8 Large radishes, each cut into 8 pieces
2 Ribs celery, sliced fine
1 Medium red onion, diced
Bunch cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Place potatoes in pot over medium heat with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and add tbsp. salt to water. Cook potatoes until just tender. (Knife will pierce potato easily) Drain potatoes, and set aside to cool. When cool, cut into inch dice.

2. Meanwhile, blend all dressing ingredients well in blender.

3. Place all salad ingredients in a bowl and toss well with dressing to taste. Chill salad for at least 2 hours.

 

Cucumber Salad:

 

Ingredients:

2 medium cucumber, chopped
2 (8.75 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 (16 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, drained and sliced
2 green bell pepper, chopped
2 red bell pepper, chopped
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, toss together the cucumber, corn, tomatoes, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and red wine vinegar.

Season with crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, cumin, cilantro, salt, and black pepper. Cover, and chill at least 30 minutes before serving.

Apple Pie with crumb topping

It’s un-American to celebrate the 4^th of July without some sort of apple dessert. I have to admit I’m not good at baking so when ever I can cut corners but still make something yummy I don’t mind baking. This recipe is with a store bought pie crust, but by all means if you make a mean pie crust do so (then come help me make one). This is definitely a go to dessert for me and so easy!

Ingredients: set oven to 375

9 inch pie crust (store bought or homemade)

Precook pie crust for about 3-5 minutes; this prevents crust from getting mushy when baked with the filling

Filling:

cup sugar

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

teaspoon salt

6 cups apples pealed and slices (6-8 medium size apples)

Mix together in a bowl, make crumb topping in a separate bowl!

 

Crumb top:

1 cup packed brown sugar

cup flour

quick oats

cup butter (cut into little chunks)

Combine ingredients in a small bowl

Directions:

1. After pre baking your pie crust put the filling ingredients in the crust
2. Top the filling with your crumb topping, making sure you get apples al covered.
3. Take some aluminum foil and cover around just the edges of the crust.
4. Bake pie for 25-30 minutes with the foil on the edges
5. Take foil off and bake for another 25-30 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Serving suggestions:

Most people would top this with vanilla ice cream! I on the other hand and not a big ice cream eater top mine with caramel sauce and pecans. If you’re going to splurge and you know you will, top it with all three!