Aug 29
Labor Day weekend is bitter sweet, being the last holiday of the summer. The Bear of Real Estate – Think Melissa Team has comprised a summer’s last hurrah menu.
Summer Fruit Salsa
Ingredients:
- 1 pint Strawberries
- 1 pint Blueberries
- 2 Apple
- ¼ c Sugar
- ½ of a Lemon
- Cinnamon Chips
- 6 Tortillas, flour
- ½ Stick Butter
- 1 c Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon (or more to taste)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Fruit Salsa
- Finely dice strawberries and apples.
- Mix apples and strawberries together in a large bowl with blueberries.
- Add ¼ c sugar and juice from half of a lemon and mix thoroughly.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This can be made a day ahead of time and refrigerated overnight.
- Cinnamon Chips
- Melt half a stick of butter in the microwave.
- Lay out 6 tortillas and brush butter over them, covering them completely.
- Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over tortilla covering completely.
- To make star-shaped chips use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut the tortillas. If not you can just cut the tortillas into wedges and arrange on the baking sheet.
- Bake for approximately 7 minutes or until crispy.
- Enjoy!
Cowboy Burgers with Homemade Onion Rings
Ingredients for Burgers:
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef or sirloin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- Cheddar cheese slices
- Barbecue Sauce {we like Sweet Baby Rays}
- Lettuce & Tomato
- Hamburger Buns
- Jalapeno Slices {optional}
Ingredients for Onion Rings:
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced 3/4 inch thick rings
- 1 cup flour, all-purpose or self-rising
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce {optional}
- 6-8 cup canola oil for frying
Instructions for Burgers:
- Combine beef, salt and pepper and form into patties
- Grill over medium-high heat {time will depend on thickness of burger}
- Spread barbecue sauce on bun, top with burger, lettuce, tomato, onion rings and jalapeno slices if desired
Instructions for Onion Rings:
- Clean and slice onion rings, separate into rings
- In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt and hot sauce {if desired}
- Add water and whisk until blended
- Add onion rings and toss gently
- Add oil to large skillet and heat to 350 degrees
- Fry onion rings until golden brown
- Remove to paper towel to drain
Red, White & Blueberry Popsicles
Ingredients:
- 1 heaping cup raspberries
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup vanilla flavored Greek yogurt
Instructions:
- Using a small 4 cup food processor, or blender, puree the raspberries until smooth. Set aside.
- Do the same with the blueberries. (If your blueberries are super purple, add a little blue food coloring.)
- Put the yogurt and each of the berry purees in small measuring cups with spouts. The goal is to thin them just a bit so they are pourable. Use water for the yogurt and the raspberries, and, depending on the color of your blueberries, you can use water, or yogurt if you need to brighten up your ‘blue’. Keep these cups chilling in the refrigerator when they are not being used.
- To layer your pops, start by pouring a little of the blueberry in the bottom of each mold. The only tricky part to these popsicles is getting the layers in without too much spillage to mar your stripes. Use my photos as a rough guide for how much blue you want. Don’t get too fussy, it should look rustic!
- Put the mold in the freezer and freeze till firm, at least an hour, or more.
- Layer a little bit of yogurt into each mold for the next stripe. You will be able to see through the side of the mold to check your progress. At this point, cover the top of the mold with foil, and insert the Popsicle sticks. Make sure to get the stick a little bit into the frozen layer so they will stand straight. Put back into the freezer until solid.
- Remove the foil at this stage, you won’t need it since the stick is in and you need to layer. Next comes your raspberry stripe, and so on until the molds are filled. Make sure to freeze each stripe until solid before adding the next. Don’t worry if the stripes are uneven, but do try to clean up any dribbles as you go. I used a Popsicle stick to scrape down the insides of the mold after each stripe.
- Once filled and completely frozen solid, you can un-mold your pops. Fill the sink with hot water. Remove the foil, and immerse the mold just up to the lip, being careful not to let any water splash onto the top. Hold it for 30 seconds, remove, and try to pull the pops out. If they don’t slide out, immerse again for just a few seconds.
- I recommend keeping the popsicles in the mold until you are ready to serve, or, if you are working in batches, wrap each pop quickly in waxed paper or put into a baggie and put back in the freezer. I don’t recommend making these more than a day in advance.
Thank you to www.homemadeinterest.com (Summer Fruit Salsa) www.hoosierhomemade.com (Cowboy Burgers) www.thegraciouswife.com (Red, White & Blueberry Popsicles) for these delicious recipes, as we prepare to celebrate Labor Day!