July Recipes

July

I love, love, LOVE the month of July. Summer is here, the pools are open and the barbeque parties are in full swing. Whether you're throwing one yourself, or bringing a side dish to someone elses', here are some easy recipes for you to throw together, so's you have more time for visitin' a spell. As William Shakespeare wrote: "Summer's lease hath all too short a date"

~~~~~~~~~~

When I was younger we didn't have a pool to swim in. Nope, every summer was spent with the cousins up at my Grandparents place on Stone Lake in Middlebury, IN. Our days were spent playing...hard. Us kids, all thirteen of us, slept out on the screened in porch lined up sleeping bag to sleeping bag, like sardines going third class. Breakfast was a bowl of cereal outside on the picnic table.

Really, it could've been a bowl of dirt for all you tasted as it was eaten with haste because that grand and glorious lake was beckoning you. A quick change into your swimming suit and you were water bound until lunch. This consisted of a quick sandwich and a glass of milk in which I was forever looking for ways to pour mine out instead of drinking it. It's still a major "YUCK" in my book. This was followed by an agonizing hour of ritualistic waiting (pacing) so you didn't cramp up after eating. I actually have never heard of someone cramping up for not waiting a full hour to swim and I believe it was even tested on "Myth Busters" (Added fact: as a Mother of four, I've never made any of my kiddies wait even five minutes and I haven't had to scrape anyone off the bottom of the pool yet. Just sayin' ;) However, all the adults watched us like hawks anyway. Believe me, that hour was torture, pure torture. We were only allowed to sit on the pier and swing our feet. We would have opted to pass the time away with watching a little television but we only received three stations. One came in clear, one looked like a continual blizzard and the other was evangelistic "say babeeeee" preaching. Besides, if you were caught sitting inside viewing the TV, some adult always took notice. This raised eyebrows and 9/10's of the time there was a hand slapped to the front of your forehead and a resounding, "Do you think she feels warm?". Well hell yes, I'm warm. It's 90* outside, I'm a kid and I've been playing hard but inevitably this triggered a chain of events that got you "the glare' from your 24 cousins because that smack to the forehead was never gentle and now you're seeing "two" of everything (heh, double the cousins double the fun!) and just like that everyone was under surveillance.
We didn't have video games either, or handheld games or IPod's. We actually used our imaginations and created our own play. Unless, of course, you were still feeling "warm". Then this bought you time inside watching the blizzard.

This type of fun in the sun went on until supper when my Grandfather would fire up the grill. There was always meat for dinner, but when he put this chicken on, people all around the lake would simultaneously lift their heads in our direction and take a deep breathe. We knew. They knew. It was wicked good stuff. This barbeque sauce made the man famous.

Grampa Mast's Bar-B-Que Sauce for One Chicken

1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
1 stick butter
1/8 cup salt

Set it on the top rack or over low coals to keep warm while basting your chicken.
Set extra plates and be prepared for "unexpected' guest to "drop" by :)

~~~~~~~~~~
Oh my, you can't just have one helping of theses. It's my Grama Mast's recipe and why, they're almost like candy! The house smells just heavenly in the morning from my slow cooking all night. My Grama passed away two years ago but she was on the go right p until the end. At 93, she even shot a commercial (her first!) for my brother's Biker Outlet. She was all decked out in full leather gear and sitting on a Harley. The commercial is hysterical and she was a character!

Georgia's Baked Beans

1 lb navy beans
1/2 lb bacon ends
1 medium onion (quartered)
1/4 c brown sugar
1/3 c molasses
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbs vinegar
2 c hot water

Soak beans over night in 6 cups of water; add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda if water is hard. Parboil beans for 20 minutes. Drain beans after parboiling: rinse with cold water. Dice bacons ends to 1 square inch, placing half in bottom of a 2 quart bean pot or casserole along with the quartered onion. Add beans. Mix remaining ingredients with hot water. Pour over top of beans. Top with remaining bacon ends. Cover and bake in a slow (250-300 degree) oven for about 6 hours, adding hot water as needed to keep beans moist. Serves 8-10 (I'd double the recipe, it goes fast).

~~~~~~~~~~
A cool dish for hot summer days. I left the title the way my Mother has it written on the recipe card. It's special to me because it's her handwriting and has a loving reference. My parents were very active in the Young Republicans and someone brought this dish to a political party they were attending. Dad really enjoyed the dish and Mother sought out the recipe to make it for him. So I thought I'd just leave it, you can omit the personalization if you decided to add it to your recipe collection :)

Cucumbers in Sour Cream (your Dad's favorite)

2 medium cucumbers, peeled
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 c sour cream
2 tbs vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp paprika
1 tbs parsley flakes

Draw tines of fork lengthwise down cucumbers, then cut in thin slices. Add onion and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Let stand 10 minutes, then press out excess liquid. Mix sour cream, remaining salt and other ingredients. Add to cucumbers mixing lightly with fork. Chill thoroughly. Makes about 2 cups.

~~~~~~~~~~
This dish has been on more tables during get together and holidays than I care to remember. I don't care for the beets so I'd just pick out the eggs to eat, which still gets me into trouble with my Mother for not taking some of both. Everyone loves this dish but me. I wouldn't want to be selfish now and not share the wealth just because I don't like them. Besides my Mother reads this and I'd probably never ever hear the end of it!

Pickled Eggs and Red Beets

1 1/2 c vinegar
1/2 c water (I used the red beet juice instead of water)
1/2 c white sugar

Heat until boiling then pour over hard boiled eggs and red beets.

~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, this is a keeper. It doesn't matter if you have an in ground, above ground, wading pool or your just sitting in the kids sprinkler, this stuff is awesome! I made it one afternoon when my sister and i got together with our combined eight kids. The wasn't any left by the time the afternoon was over. It's very addictive and I'm asked for this recipe all the time. If you have children, my sister Stacy invented a grand wizard of an idea.... she drained and chopped up a can of mixed vegetables and added it. The kids chowed down with gusto and never knew the difference. That was a beautiful thing ;)


Heidi's Pool Dip

2 pkg 16 oz cream cheese softened
1 pkg 1 oz Ranch style salad dressing mix
2 cans 4 1/2 oz ripe olives, chopped and drained
1 4 oz jar sliced green olives
1 cup 11 oz kernel corn, drained
1 can 4 oz green chilies, chopped, drained
1 med red bell pepper, chopped about 1 cup
tortilla chips or crackers

Beat cream cheese and the dressing mix, in a large bowl, until smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients (except chips...duh)
Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours until well chilled.