I LOVE the 4th of JULY! We are so blessed to have friends who own on an acreage who have a “party” every year. There are about eight families that get together – to eat, drink, socialize, and blow stuff up. Yep, we are fireworks luvin’, hope we don’t have to go the hospital, can’t believe you spent that much money, 4th of July Family.
As I was saying (before I got sidetracked on fireworks), we spend our 4th of July’s with a great group of friends who bring a great number of side dishes to go with the great number of hamburgers and hot dogs we eat.
So while I could have talked about the cheap hot dogs (at Price Chopper or Hy-Vee) or hamburger (at Price Chopper, Hen House or Hy-Vee) – I decided to let those stand on their own and talk about some great side dishes. These two side dishes contain items that are on sale, are tried and true picnic favorites, and won’t break the bank.
Stawberry Pretzel Salad (aka “Isn’t there any of that strawberry salad left?”)
2 2/3 cup crisp pretzels, nearly pulverized (type of pretzels is important, use either Aldi’s Brand or Rold Gold)
1 1/4 cup sugar or splenda
1/2 cup butter melted
8 oz. cream cheese, softened (on sale at Hy-Vee or Hen House)
8 oz. Cool Whip (on sale at Hy-Vee or Hen House)
2 cups boiling water
(1) 6 oz. or (2) 3 oz. Strawberry Jell-O (on sale at Hen House)
1 lb. of fresh strawberries, sliced (on sale at Aldi)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix pretzels, 1/4 cup of sugar or splenda, and melted butter. Spread into a 9×13 glass pan and bake for 10 minutes. Cool Thoroughly. Whip softened cream cheese with Cool-Whip. Add in 1 cup of sugar or splenda and whip thoroughly. Spread on top of pretzels. (It is important to make and “air tight” seal over the pretzels with the cream cheese mixture. Make sure it goes all the way to the sides of the glass pan.) Place sliced strawberries on top and chill for an hour. While salad is chilling, add boiling water to Jell-O and stir. Let sit till at room temperature and then pour GENTLY over cream cheese/strawberry layer. Stick salad into fridge (covered) until Jell-O is firm.
Doris’ Salsa
1 bunch green onions
4 Roma Tomatoes, chopped (on sale at Hy-Vee)
1 can chopped Black Olives (on sale at Hen House)
1 can chopped green chilis
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 T. Red Wine Vinegar
2 T Olive Oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Mix all the ingredients together. Chill OVERNIGHT. Serve with Tortilla Chips.
Guaranteed to be GONE at your party.
