My Favorite Fourth of July Recipes

June 29, 2026June 29, 2026 RefreshHer2 Comments

Recently while I was having coffee with a friend, she asked if I had any recipes that I could suggest for her Fourth of July celebration. My mind went zooming to my blog recipes and came up with a list that I thought I’d share with you, too, just in case you need some ideas of what to serve at your barbecue this weekend! Loosen your belt and let’s go!!

If you need a little appetizer before the meal, these Cheese Straws are a good southern favorite! This Tex-Mex Black Bean Dip is a light appetizer that you can serve with whatever kind of tortilla chip you enjoy.

This S’mores Dip is so easy and delicious. It would make a great appetizer, but also a fantastic, quick dessert.

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salad · summertime

Summertime Salad

May 31, 2021May 29, 2021 RefreshHer2 Comments

With summertime comes light refreshing meals. I’m going to share a salad recipe that we LOVE. It calls for pears, which are really good in this, but blueberries, blackberries or strawberries are delicious additions; we’ve tried them all!. One great thing is that it only has 6.3 grams of fat. The dressing is so good, but made with only a small amount of oil. Try it and tell me what you think! This recipe came from Cooking Light

Pear, Walnut, and Blue Cheese Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

You can make and refrigerate the vinaigrette up to a week ahead.

Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup canned whole-berry cranberry sauce

3/4 cup orange juice (about one orange)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger (I didn’t have this and it was still good)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:

Salad greens of your choice (anything but head lettuce is good)

2 Cups sliced peeled pear

1 cup slices red onion, sliced into rings

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

6 teaspoons coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

1. To prepare vinaigrette, place first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl, stir well with a whisk.

2. To prepare salads, divide the lettuce evenly among 6 salad plates. Divide sliced pear and onions evenly among leaves. Top each serving with about 1 tablespoon cheese and 1 teaspoon walnuts. Drizzle each serving with about 2 1/2 tablespoons vinaigrette. Yield: 6 servings

Enjoy!

Cooking · Dinner · Main entree · Make-Ahead · Pasta · salad · Side dish

Summertime Pasta Salad

July 17, 2017July 17, 2017 RefreshHerLeave a comment

I tried a new recipe this week that I loved for several reasons:

I love a cold pasta salad in the summertime.
I served it alongside a BLT and it was a great side dish.
This would also be a great main dish by adding grilled chicken strips, or even shrimp or crab meat!
It’s also a great do-ahead dish. I made it the night before and it was so great to have it all ready to pull out and add to a simple summer meal like BLT’s!

Tortellini Caesar Pasta Salad

This recipe was found in a Community Table magazine.

INGREDIENTS

2 (9-oz) packages cheese tortellini

1 head broccoli, cut into small florets

3 ears corn – I used frozen corn kernels – You could use any fresh vegetable – cucumbers, zucchini or squash would all be delicious in this!

1 cup creamy Caesar salad dressing

Juice of 1 lemon

2 carrots, thinly

4 tomatoes, diced

Kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

Cook tortellini according to package directions; drain and cool.

Steam broccoli until tender, about 6 minutes; cool.

Cook corn in boiling water, 5 minutes; cool, then slice kernels off cob. I simply ran the frozen kernels under cold water and added it to the salad.

Toss tortellini, broccoli, and corn with dressing, lemon juice, carrots, tomatoes; salt to taste.

If you love pasta, you’ll love this recipe! I hope you’ll add it to your menu, either as a side or a main dish, and do it this summer!!

With love from my country kitchen,