Independence Day Menu Ideas and Recipes

I was fascinated to learn that George Washington ordered a double ration of rum for soldiers in celebration of July 4th in 1778, along with an artillery salute. I was equally interested to learn that John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, France.

Those efforts evolved today into using fireworks, food, and beverages plus family and friends to celebrate the most important event in American history.

Today, American families mark Independence Day with fireworks, parades, barbecues, beer, baseball games, and various other activities to celebrate our history, government, and traditions. The Fourth of July holiday often means taking advantage of a long weekend or day off of work to gather with friends and relatives to share a meal.

Outdoor barbecues seem to be the order of the day for people gathering on the Fourth of July. And barbecues most frequently involve hamburgers and hot dogs. But these food traditions really do not need to be common place. How about putting some "zip" and a little creativity into these traditional meals?

Here are a couple of ways to spice up those hotdogs and burgers.

The " Hot Belly Buster Burger " - so called because the ingredients include jalapeno peppers and Tabasco sauce and its size - 1/2 pound of beef! They really are entire meals.

The Hot Belly Buster Burger
Preparation time: 10 minutes. Makes 8 burgers, 1/2 pound each (or, as I do, 1/3 pound)

Ingredients:
4 pounds ground chuck
5 fresh jalapeno peppers
1 egg
1/4 cup Heinz 57 steak sauce
1/4 cup minced white onion
1 teaspoon Tabasco or your favorite hot pepper sauce
1 pinch dried oregano
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup Fritos corn chips, crushed
8 large hamburger buns
8 slices pepperjack cheese
Lettuce
Sliced tomato
Sliced onion
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Preheat a grill to high heat
When the grill is ready, roast the jalapeno peppers until blackened on all sides
Place the peppers in a plastic bag to sweat and loosen the blackened skin
Rub the skin off the peppers (use disposable latex gloves), then seed and dice (leaving seeds will increase the "heat" alot)
In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, salt, pepper, egg, steak sauce, onion, hot pepper sauce, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and Fritos
Divide meat mixture into 8 balls and flatten into patties
Grill patties for 10 to 15 minutes, turning once (burgers are done at 160 degrees F)
Butter the hamburger buns and either place on grill or warm in oven
Remove hamburger buns and dress with lettuce, sliced tomato and sliced onion
Top each burger just before removing from grill with a slice of pepperjack cheese allowing the cheese to melt slightly
Remove each of the burgers from the grill and place on buns

Instead of a plain hot dog with mustard and/or ketchup, try a Chili Dog.

Easy Chili Dogs for July 4th
Preparation time: 10 minutes. Makes 4 single chili dogs.

Ingredients:
4 all-beef or Kosher hot dogs
1 pound canned chili without beans (I use Nalley’s)
4 hot dog buns split in half lengthwise
1/4 cup onions, chopped

Instructions:
Fry hot dogs in a skillet (I prefer to fry or grill hot dogs but you can boil them if you want)
As the hot dogs are cooking, heat the chili in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat stirring frequently until piping hot
Reduce heat to low and hold hot until ready to serve stirring occasionally
Place hot dogs in buns and then cover with the chili
Top with chopped onion and serve with desired condiments

I sometimes like to add shredded cheddar cheese on the top. I also like to toast the buns on a grill or in the oven.

These are only two easy ways to add some great taste and fun to your 4th of July party. For many more you can click on the link below.

Click on Independence Day Menu for more great ideas and recipes.

Donna Hager has owned and operated an American-Style Restaurant for over two decades. Hundreds of real restaurant recipes can be found on her website that also features menu ideas, cooking tips, and much more at Real Restaurant Recipes

By Donna Hager Published: 6/25/2007

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Technorati Tags: BBQ steak, how to cook hamburger steak, How to grill best steak, Independence day, independence day celebrations, the perfect BBQ

Summer has began so clean off that magnificent cooking and entertaining machine that most people refer to as a grill and let’s get ready for some barbecuing.

Gas or charcoal, fish, steak, chicken or burgers, summer is here so time to get things started. So before you start the first flame of the season, you’ll want to think about these things before grilling.

Grill Size
If you do a lot of entertaining you want to make sure that you have enough grilling surface to cook many things at the same time. This will make your guests feel a little more comfortable if everyone eats at roughly the same time rather than in shifts.

Utensils
Do not fork your food while grilling. Piecing the food with a fork make those succulent juices escape from your steaks and will dry out your fish. Always use thongs or a spatula while grilling.

Lighter Fluid and Coals
It is okay to use a limited amount of lighter fluid to get the fire started. Some people say that lighter fluid will ruin the flavor but this is not true if you just use a limited amount to get the fire started. Briquettes made from charred wood is the best heat source. Because of their uniformed size and shape they will burn more evenly and slower.

Heat
Direct heat grilling you want your grill nice and hot. This will make cooking burgers and steaks a breeze. For indirect heat grilling low and slow is the way to go. This will take much longer to cook but the results are outstanding.

Steaks
Just about any steak tastes great off of the grill. You can try inexpensive cuts such as a juicy rib-eye or skirt steak. These have a great deal of flavor by themselves but if you smother them with BBQ sauce it will make for an outstanding BBQ experience.

BBQ Sauce is critical to your next BBQ impress your neighbors with some of these BBQ Sauce recipes.

Jack Daniel’s BBQ Sauce
1/2 cup Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Carolina-Style Barbecue Sauce
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
Salt and ground pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients, including salt and pepper, to taste, in medium bowl

Spicy BBQ Sauce

3 cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
juice of 3 lemons
3 large cloves garlic
1-2 tsp black pepper (or more to taste)
1 tbs salt (or less to taste)
1 tbs cayenne pepper
1 tbs hot red chile
1 tbs paprika
2-3 tsp Tabasco (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Combine everything in a double boiler, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is the thickness you want. Be sure not to let the mixture come to a boil, though, it ruins the flavor. To get it to a state where it sticks to the ribs without help usually takes me about 45-70 min over a gentle boil.

At InsaneChicken’s Hot Sauce Store Chris McCarthy will help you explore the world of gourmet hot sauce and bbq sauce from around the globe.

By Chris McCarthy Published: 5/27/2007

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Technorati Tags: barbeque, barbeque sauce, BBQ recipes, BBQ season, jack daniels, lighting, spicy, tips

Need a few delicious ways to cook ground beef, then this article will definitely peek your interest…

Looking for some healthy and easy ground beef recipes that do not require a lot of time to make? Below are 3 delicious ground beef recipes that are filling and real crowd pleases. Just because you are cooking with ground beef, does not mean it has to be unhealthy. Most of the ground beef you find in supermarkets today is loaded with fat, cholesterol and hormones, but more and more supermarkets are starting to provide healthy organic meats to consumers, so hopefully you should be able to find healthy ground beef in your area. To make the following recipes even healthier try and use all organic and low sodium ingredients. If you happen to live near a Trader Joe’s, by all means shop there. The prices are fantastic and they carry a variety of healthy organic meats and other fine products.

Recipes:

Easy Salisbury Steak Recipe

Here is a little tip to keep in mind as you are making this delicious ground beef recipe. There is a chance that your ground beef steaks can fall apart while cooking. To prevent this from happening, form your steak patties and put them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so before you start cooking. This will help hold your steaks stay together.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 egg
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove chopped
1 tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 small package of freshly sliced portobello mushrooms or by them whole and slice yourself
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups beef stock

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine the ground beef, egg, garlic, onion, steak seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands. From the mixture, make steak shaped patties that are about 2 inches thick.

2 Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef patties and cook about 4 minutes per side until the outside of the steaks are nicely browned and the juices run clear. Remove the steaks and cover with foil to keep them warm.

3 Add the rest of the olive oil along with the butter to the same pan. Add your mushrooms and then cook over medium heat until they are tender. Approximately 5 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add the flour to the mushrooms, mix and cook for about 2 minutes. Slowly add in your beef stock. Stir and cook until your sauce has thickened.

5. Pour gravy over steaks and serve.

Easy Italian Style Meatloaf Recipe

I grew up in an Italian Family and I cannot think of a better way to cook meatloaf. Enjoy this delicious ground beef recipe using fresh italian herbs and garlic.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
2 eggs
1 7 ounce jar roasted red peppers chopped
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 cup of bread crumbs
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 cups of prepared tomato sauce
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat a medium sized saute pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add your onion and garlic and saute until soft. Remove and set it aside on a plate to cool.

3. Grab yourself a large mixing bowl.

4. Add the cooled onions and garlic along with the the rest of your ingredients, except the tomato sauce, and combine. Mix together well with your hands and form into a loaf and add it to an oiled oven safe tray. Top the loaf with 1 cup of the prepared tomato sauce. Make certain that you spread the tomato sauce evenly over the top of the loaf.

5. Bake for about 1 hour or when the internal temperature of the meatloaf reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Slice it up and serve.

Heat the remaining tomato sauce if desired and use for dipping.

Greek Style Hamburger Recipe

For our last recipe why not make some delicious burgers? The preferred method for cooking these burgers is on the grill, but they will still be quite tasty if fried on the stovetop.

Greek Style Hamburger Ingredients:

1 pound of lean ground beef
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped Greek olives
1 small red onion chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 package of hamburger rolls or pita bread

Hamburger Sauce Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) container low-fat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves (more or less to suit your taste)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (more or less to suit your taste)
1 clove of garlic minced (add more or less to suit your taste)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and finely diced cucumber

Sauce Directions:

Prepare the sauce for your burgers first and put in the fridge until your burgers are done.

1. In a mixing bowl, combine your olive oil and lemon juice.

2. Now add in your yogurt making sure that you mix it well with the olive oil.

3. Add your garlic, cucumbers, parsley and mint leaves and stir well.

Burger Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the chopped red onions and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Put the onions aside into a large mixing bowl and allow them to cool.

2 To the same mixing bowl, add your ground beef, feta cheese, olives, oregano, salt and pepper and combine well.

3. Form hamburger patties to desired thickness.

4. Fry your burgers in the same skillet as the onions, or cook on the grill to desired doneness.

5. Spread the prepared sauce on the rolls or inside a pita.

6. Add burgers and enjoy!

There you have it. Three healthy and easy ground beef recipes that any home cook can prepare. I really hope you enjoy these recipes. Remember to use all organic ingredients if at all possible. Happy Cooking!

Easy Ground Beef Recipes
Easy Ground Beef Recipes

By Ralph Serpe Published: 4/23/2008

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Technorati Tags: greek hamburger, hamburger recipe, italian style meatloaf, salisbury steak recipe

While so much of steak grilling is subject to individual taste palates, some steaks lend themselves very well to barbequing endeavors. There are a number of factors to keep in mind when choosing cuts of beef for grilling. For example, one aspect to consider is the amount of marbling on the steak (i.e. how much fat the beef has running through it). While many people insist on avoiding the fat, it is actually this fat that contributes significantly to the flavor of the beef when its cooking. Some people instinctively choose top sirloin, because it is leaner and tends to be less expensive. However, because of its low fat content, sirloin steaks tend to also dry out faster and be less juicy, as well as a little tougher. On the other hand, porterhouse, T-bone, rib eye and rib steaks will have a healthy amount of fat, which will make the steak especially appetizing when grilled. In addition, the marbling on a steak helps to insulate the meat and keep it from overcooking.

In general, the most tender steaks available are tenderloin and strip (also called New York) steaks. But porterhouse and rib eye steaks can also be quite tender and flavorful, which means that you can have great-tasting grilled steaks for your guests without breaking the bank. Keep in mind that porterhouse steaks are especially flavorful, not only because of the level of fat, but because they also have a section of tenderloin on one side of the bone and a section of strip steak on the other side.

Another factor to keep in mind is the type of grade of the beef you are buying. The U.S. Department of Agriculture assigns specific grades to meat according the level of quality of the beef. Prime grades are considered the best, but these are widely used by restaurants and tend be bit a little harder to find in the average grocery store. However, many supermarkets have begun carrying some cuts of prime beef in small amounts, and you may be able to secure prime cuts from a local butcher as well. These cuts are a bit more expensive. They tend to have to most marbling in them, making them especially juicy. Alternatively, Choice grade steaks will work wonderfully for barbequing, as they still have a generous amount of marbling in them. Select grade beef will tend to be the least tender, they can dry out quickly, particularly if you are relatively inexperienced with your grill.

The thickness of the steak you choose will also determine the kind of results you will get when using the steak on a grill. A relatively thick steak will help to keep the meat from drying out too quickly or overcooking. As a guideline, you should always choose steaks that are at least of an inch thick. Ideally, you should shoot for steaks that are about one inch to an inch and a half. Finally, you should know how long the steaks have been aged. Beef cuts that have undergone some degree of aging are likely to have characteristics that is more tenderized and mellowed in flavor. Whenever possible, ask your butcher about the age of the steaks you intend to purchase.

Overall, it pays to know your cuts of beef and the quality of the beef. The more information you have about the steaks you intend to grill, the more effective choices you can make…

… and your guests will love you for it!

By: D Beart

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

David Beart is the owner of www.professorshouse.com. Our site covers such topics as www.professorshouse.com/food-beverage/food/food-meat.aspx">feeding a family, relationships, home care and other household issues.

Technorati Tags: grilling time for ribeye steak, how long do i grill a ribeye steak, how to cook a st, how to cook a steak on a gas grill, how to cook hamburger steak, How to grill best steak, tips on grilling a steak

When it comes to hamburgers, everybody prefers to visit the closest joint. However, with these homemade hamburger recipes, you can enjoy the flavor of homemade burgers!

We all know about the importance of a healthy diet. Yet, we often find ourselves being a victim to temptations! However much we may grumble about fast food the truth is that it’s difficult to resist such scrumptious food items. I know many women who avoid binging on such stuff during the week. On weekends, this is surely a different story. Whipping up something interesting for the weekend get-together or garden barbeque is something one looks forward to. Hamburgers are in demand amongst all kinds of fast food. The taste of a yummy, homemade hamburger cannot be compared to anything else! Are you interested in grilling some at home? Have you often wondered how to make a homemade hamburger? Well, here are some interesting homemade hamburger recipes.

Homemade Hamburger Recipe #1

Ingredients
Hamburger buns (4)
Lettuce leaves (8)
Kosher salt (2 teaspoons)
Medium tomatoes - thickly sliced (2)
Freshly ground black pepper (2 teaspoons)
Ground beef - preferably chuck (2 pounds)
Ketchup

Preparation
First, you need to preheat the grill to medium high. Then, you have to season the meat with some salt and pepper. Make sure you season it lightly. Now, shape this into 4 patties and place the patties onto the grill. Cook it for 6 minutes on each side or as desired. Place these patties on the buns. You can also toast the buns. Use lettuce and tomato as toppings. Add some ketchup as well.

Homemade Hamburger Recipe #2

Ingredients
Ground beef (1 pound)
Ketchup (1/2 cup)
Packed brown sugar (1/2 cup)
Egg (1)
Oats - quick cooking (1/2 cup)
Hamburger buns (4)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
Mix all these ingredients in a medium sized bowl - ketchup, chunky salsa, oats, egg, ground beef, brown sugar and diced onions. Sprinkle these ingredients with some salt and pepper. Once done, shape this into patties. Place a skillet over medium heat. Fry them both sides, for at least 4 minutes each or as required.

Homemade Hamburger Recipe #3

Ingredients
Pork sausage (1 lb.)
Bacon - 4 slices
Grated Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup)
Pepper (1/2 teaspoon)
Garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon)
Steak sauce (2 tablespoons)
Hamburger buns (8)
Onions - chopped (1/4th cup)
Lean ground beef (1 lb.)
Mushroom pieces - drained & diced (1 can)
Lettuce

Preparation
First, you need to cook the bacon, till it turns crisp. Once done, drain the bacon but place aside 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Now, saut the onions in this. Next, mix the bacon after crumbling it with mushrooms and put this mixture in a skillet. Place this aside. Take a large bowl and mix the following ingredients together - steak sauce, pepper, garlic powder, cheese, beef and pork. Now, shape this into patties, size can be decided as per your requirement. You can opt for around 16 patties. Place the bacon mixture over 8 patties. The remaining patties need to be placed on top of these. Gently press the patties to seal and grill evenly on both sides. Place between hot buns and serve.

Use these homemade hamburger and cheeseburger recipes to have a fun time cooking meals at home! Happy cooking!

Visit www.howtocooksteaks.net for a complete guide to cooking steak, bbq’ing burgers etc

By Kashmira Lad Published: 3/11/2009

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Technorati Tags: healthy bbq recipes, Homemade burger recipes, homemade cheeseburger, tips on how to bbq steak