Past cooks share best recipes for 4th of July

By Published On: July 3, 2018

July 4th celebrations mean food and fireworks for family and friends. Grills filled with everything imaginable will be fired up everywhere. Side dishes galore will be spread, and desserts of every kind will finish off the feasts.
“The potato salad recipe serves a crowd. It is a cool, delicious side for the 4th,” said Cassie Ferguson.
Her favorite thing to eat it with is BBQ ribs, but “it’s great with grilled burgers also,” she said.
Erica Griffin makes her pasta salad recipe every July 4th, and “I’m gonna make it this year also!” for their family’s gathering.
“We usually have burgers and hot dogs, several different kinds of fruit salads, potato salad and the pasta salad,” she said.

“We have lots of cold foods to beat the heat,” she said, which also include homemade Wendy’s Frosty ice cream and watermelon for dessert.
Tawanna Shaw’s favorite July 4th dish is baked beans.
Using either Showboat Pork & Beans or Bush’s Baked Beans, she and her mom, Tammy Turner, add browned ground beef, brown sugar, peppers and onions.

Gathering at Tawanna’s this year, their menu consists of ribs, pork chops, beans, brats, hot dogs, chicken kabobs, corn salad and potato salad.
“Hot dogs are a must have for July 4th!” said Becky Wright who shared a homemade hot dog chili recipe she says is a favorite of Sandra Pope.
The annual Beckett family reunion is held the first Sunday of July.

Charlotte Beckett Oakley and daughter, Suzanne, named Aunt Mabel’s banana cake, Aunt Vee’s chicken and dressing, Aunt Lena’s chicken and dumplings and Nanny’s coconut cake, their personal favorite, as the top picks among those attending.
According to Charlotte, the banana cake is a recipe of her great-aunt Mabel Roane Beckett Dickenson, soon to be 102, who gave it to Viola Beckett years ago. A friend of Mabel’s enjoyed the cake at a restaurant and paid $100 for the recipe.

Pasta Salad
(Erica Griffin)
1 regular box vermicelli pasta noodles
One tomato, diced fine
1 bell pepper, diced fine
1 onion, diced fine
1 can diced black olives, drained
1 large bottle zesty Italian dressing
1 pack zesty Italian dressing mix
2 cups fresh Parmesan cheese
1 bottle McCormick Salad Supreme seasoning
Cook noodles al dente, then rinse in cold water and drain. Add all ingredients (reserving 1/2 cup cheese and 1/4 bottle of seasoning) and mix together. Refrigerate overnight. Add remaining cheese and seasoning and mix well. This salad is much better if you make it a day or two ahead so the noodles absorb the flavor.

Homemade Hot Dog Chili

(Becky Wright)
1 lb. lean ground beef
Water
Medium Vidalia or sweet onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups ketchup
1 Tbsp. prepared yellow mustard
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Place ground beef in bowl and cover with water. Use wooden spoon or your hands to break up beef. Set aside. Over medium heat, saute diced onion and garlic in olive oil in large saute pan or Dutch oven. Once onion and garlic are soft, add the ground beef and water to the pan. Cook about 5 minutes, until the beef is no longer pink on the outside. Add ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper, chili powder and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture has thickened and reduced and beef is cooked through.

Aunt Mabel’s
Banana Cake
(Charlotte & Suzanne Oakley)
Cake: 3 cups sugar
1 scant cup shortening
4 eggs
4 cups flour
8 tablespoons buttermilk
2 teaspoons soda
2 cups mashed bananas
2 teaspoons vanilla
Icing: 1·1/2 to 2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar
1·1/2 to 2 bananas, mashed
1 Tbsp. margarine
1 tsp. lemon juice
Cream sugar and shortening; add eggs, one at a time. Add soda to buttermilk. Add flour and milk alternately to the above mixture. Add bananas and vanilla. Bake at 350° in four greased and floured 9” pans for about 20 minutes Cool in pans for about 10 minutes; turn cake layers onto cooling racks to cool completely. Beat icing ingredients together and spread between cooled cake layers and on top and sides of cake. Keep refrigerated. Cake freezes well.

Oreo Ice Cream
(Celia Hillhouse)
Mix together one 8 oz. tub Oreo Cool Whip and one can sweetened condensed milk. Put in ice cream freezer and add whole white milk to fill line. Stir in a package of mini Oreo cookies, then freeze.

Loaded Potato Salad
(Cassie Ferguson)
5 lbs. red potatoes, peeled and cut in small pieces, and boiled until tender
2 cups Ranch dressing
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
1 bottle real bacon bits
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix together dressing, salt, pepper, cheese and bacon bits. Fold in drained potatoes. Chill and serve.

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