Fourth of July Recipes/Meal Ideas
The fourth of July is such a wonderful time to get together with family and friends! It is the summer holiday filled with family, fun, friends, and food. If you’re hosting though, it could be a bit of a stressful time! But don’t worry, we have compiled a list of healthy recipes for you to try this fourth of July!
Appetizers
Caprese Skewers
Ingredients:
40 cherry tomatoes, cut in half (80 cherry tomatoes if using a small variety)
20 fresh Italian basil leaves, torn or cut in half
1 ball fresh mozzarella, cut into 40 small cubes
Balsamic vinegar, for serving
40 toothpicks
Directions:
- To make the skewers on each toothpick, skewer one half of a cherry tomato, one half a leaf of Italian basil, and one cube fresh mozzarella, and finish it with another half a cherry tomato. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Just before serving, drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Grilled Guacamole with Roasted Corn and Basil
Ingredients:
Vegetable oil
2 ears corn
3 small or 2 large Hass avocados, halved and pitted
½ red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 teaspoons salt
Pepper to taste
1 bunch basil, chopped
Directions:
- Bring grill to medium heat. When grill is heated, lightly oil grates. Grill corn until cooked and charred on all sides, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Grill avocado halve 5 minutes until nice grill marks appear, but avocado still holds its shape. Remove from heat.
- Scoop avocado flesh into a large bowl. Add red onion, garlic, lemon and lime juice, and jalapeno. Mash with a fork until combined but still chunky. Remove kernels from corn cobs and add to mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add basil and stir to combine.
Salads
Broccoli Slaw
Ingredients:
Slaw:
2 heads of broccoli
½ cup thinly sliced almonds, toasted
⅓ cup dried cranberries
½ small red onion, finely chopped
Buttermilk Dressing:
½ cup buttermilk, well shaken
⅓ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
Directions:
- Trim broccoli and cut it into large chunks. From here, chop the broccoli into smaller pieces.
- Toss the sliced broccoli with the almonds, cranberries and red onion in a large bowl. Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients in a smaller one, with a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Pour the dressing over the broccoli and toss it well. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.
Sun Gold Tomato Caprese Salad
Ingredients:
3 cups halved sun gold cherry tomatoes
1 cup halved young cherokee purple tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 ounces small fresh mozzarella balls
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients except basil in a large bowl; toss gently. Top with basil.
Entrees
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Coleslaw
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon chili powder
¾ cup finely chopped red onion
¾ cup unsalted tomato sauce
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 cups packaged cabbage-and-carrot coleslaw
1 whole-wheat hamburger buns
Directions:
- Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1 teaspoon chili powder. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; let stand 5 minutes. shred chicken into large pieces with 2 forks.
- While chicken cooks, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup onion; sauté 5 minutes. Add remaining 2 teaspoons chili powder, tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. stir in chicken; keep warm.
- Combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, remaining 1/4 cup onion, remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and coleslaw. top bottom halves of buns evenly with chicken mixture, slaw, and top halves of buns, or serve slaw on the side.
7-Up Chicken
Ingredients:
2 pounds chicken breast
2 cups 7-Up
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup soy sauce
Directions:
- Use a plastic container or plastic bag to marinate the chicken. These measurements are just estimates for the marinade. Make sure the chicken is covered. However, the marinade is two parts 7-up to one part vegetable oil and one part soy sauce. Poke the chicken a few times with a fork before marinating.
- Marinate for at least 4 hours.
- Grill chicken until cooked all the way through.
Desserts
Star-spangled Fruit Gelatin Cups
Ingredients:
¼ cup blueberries
¼ cup raspberries
1 3-ounce package of BaKol Jel Dessert (raspberry or strawberry flavor)
2 cups boiling water
Optional: ¼ cup whipped cream
Directions:
- Fill a 12-count muffin tin evenly with berries
- In a heat-proof bowl, stir together content of BaKol Jel Dessert and boiling water until the powder has completely dissolved
- Pour gel mixture over berries, being careful not to come to close to the top
- Let set in the fridge for at least 6 hours. Top with 1 teaspoon whipped cream.
Triple Melon Cream Pops
Ingredients:
2 cups cubed seedless watermelon
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 dashes kosher salt
2 cups cubed honeydew melon
2 cups cubed cantaloupe melon
16 craft sticks
Directions:
- Process watermelon, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoons yogurt, 1 teaspoon juice, and 1 dash salt in a blender until smooth. Pour into a pitcher; rinse blender. Repeat with honeydew; the same amounts of sugar, yogurt, juice, and salt; and a separate pitcher. Repeat with cantaloupe; remaining sugar, yogurt, juice, and salt; and a third pitcher.
- Fill bottom third of 16 ice-pop molds with watermelon mixture. Freeze 2 hours or until solid. Fill middle third of molds with honeydew mixture. Freeze 1 hour or until surface is frozen. Insert craft sticks in molds through honeydew layer; freeze 1 hour or until solid. Fill top third with cantaloupe mixture. Freeze until solid.