Celebrating the 4th of July with 10 different sides!

Celebrating the 4th of July with 10 different sides to take to a BBQ, picnic, backyard grill or reunion! Here are 10 of my favorite sides! Happy 4th of July Weekend! 

Mama's Slaw

Sweet Heat BBQ Baked Beans

Southern Cornbread Salad

Broccoli Salad

7 Layer Salad

Potato Salad

Deviled Eggs

Simple Pasta Salad

Simple Fresh Fruit Salad

Sweet Pea Salad

Hot Dog Chili

Hot Dog Chili

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 (15oz) Tomato Sauce

1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper

Cook hamburger, onion and garlic until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in tomato sauce, Worcestershire, chili powder and pepper. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. 

 

Mama's Slaw Dog with Chili! 

Click the highlighted link for Mama's Slaw recipe! 

Mama's Slaw

 

OK, this is as close as I can get to a recipe for Mama’s Slaw. I started watching Mama make this slaw when I was little and graduated to helping. She never measured. It was always a splash of this or a sprinkle of that. So, I hope this describes enough for you to follow. It just takes practice to get the taste right… 

Mama's Slaw

1 Head Cabbage, grated
2 Carrots, grated
Mayonnaise, 1/2 cup or more to bind
Lemon Juice, 1 teaspoon or so
Sugar, 1 teaspoon or so
Salt & Pepper to taste

Grate the cabbage, then grate the carrots. I usually look at the color to know how many carrots to use. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. (Probably about a teaspoon or so) Sprinkle with lemon juice. I usually put two fingers over the mouth of the bottle and sprinkle about three or four shakes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add enough mayo to bind it together. It will get soupier as it sits. Taste and adjust your seasonings.

Just For Fun ~ What it takes to make 15 Gallons of Mama's Slaw

30-32 large heads of Cabbage

5 lbs of Carrots

3 or 4 gallons of Mayonnaise

(Depends on the yield from the cabbage)

1 bottle Lemon Juice

1 bag Sugar

Salt and Pepper

Multiple Coolers and Zip-Loc Bags

3 stations:
Peeling and cutting Carrots and Cabbage
Grinding Carrots and Cabbage
Mixing (Notice that I had to use one of the babies' chairs
 as a stool because the bowl/tote was so big! LOL)

Elliott took the pictures, 

but he was on the Cutting and Peeling Station.
The hubby was grinding and I was mixing.

And, THIS is the look I get 

when I try to tell him how to do something! LOL

2nd Annual Adult Easter Egg Hunt Party

This pasted weekend, I hosted the 2nd Annual Adult Easter Egg Hunt. No... by "adult", I mean that this was an Egg Hunt for big "kids". Last year, I shared with my friends that the Hubby and I hide eggs for the kids as usual, but my son stared a tradition of them hiding eggs for the hubby and me. I got such response to that, that it wound up leading to the 1st Annual Egg Hunt for Adults! So we decided to make it a yearly event! :-)

Well, this year the weather turned on us! It turned windy, cold and rainy. Did we cancel or postpone? No way!!! We had good food, great friends and family, yummy desserts and even got in the egg hunt... slightly chilled and damp, but happy! :-)

I have included links to 8 of the recipes for the food pictured in these photos. Click on the links highlighted for the recipes! Enjoy! :-)

The food island...

Pulled pork Sammies, Ham and Swiss Sliders,

Italian Sausage, Onion and Mushroom Subs,

Stuffed Meatball Subs,

Chicken Salad Sammies, Potato Salad and Slaw!

(Click the links for the recipes.)

 Kendal was not to be left out!

 Elliott and Kendal hunting eggs.

 Elliott seems pleased with his finds.

 Granddaddy and Kendal hunting eggs.

Actually, Kendal's cheating because he and I hid the eggs! LOL

See! She's following his hints! LOL 

 KENDAL!!! You dropped something!

Uuuuhhhh Ooooooh!!! 

The other adults had been giving her their eggs too!

She's such a flirt!

 Granddaddy! Help!

Good thing they are plastic!

 Jack and Kendal playing...

It's hard to believe that Kendal will be 2 years old in June,

and Jack is only 17 months old!!!

Hi Marley! (2 1/2 months old! My big girl!)

Elliott's cuddled up with Kendal... Everyone's tuckered out!

 Pulled Pork for Sammies!
(Click link for the recipe.)

 Elliott's Easter Eggs that he colored...

 Easter Egg Bark and Hazelnut stuffed and dipped cookies.

(Click link for the recipe.)

 Ranch Crackers

(Click link for the recipe.)

 Snack table...

 Ham and Swiss Sliders

(Click link for the recipe.)

Slaw!

(Click link for the recipe.)

It's been a long hard day but very fun and exciting!

I wonder who put who to sleep? LOL 

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Mama's Slaw and Baked Beans... at the 1st Annual Adult Easter Egg Hunt!

This pasted weekend, I hosted the 1st Annual Adult Easter Egg Hunt. No... by "adult", I mean that this was an Egg Hunt for big "kids". Last year, I shared with my friends that the Hubby and I hide eggs for the kids as usual, but my son stared a tradition of them hiding eggs for the hubby and me. I got such response to that, that it wound up leading to the 1st Annual Egg Hunt for Adults! :-)

We had such fun! Not only did we have an egg hunt, we also had Redneck Golf, Carolina/Clemson Corn Hole Games and many egg games including Easter Egg Boccie Ball and the Spoon Race.

Everyone had fun! So much fun to get together and relax and play... even pulling out a blanket and chillin' out on the lawn!

BBQ Pulled Pork Sammies

Whole Boston Butt

1/2 Apple Cider Vinegar

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

Garlic Powder

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Pour about 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar over the pork, and then coat with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Bake  the Boston Butt at 250 degrees for about 6-8 hours uncovered... until the bone slides out easily and clean. I picked the fat off, and it actually fell apart easily... no fork shredding necessary! Then I added Daddy's BBQ Sauce to it. 

This time I used a Hamilton Beach Automatic Roasting Oven that Pixie gave me. Put the pork in it on 225 degrees and 12 midnight and Craig cut it off before he left for work. 

Mama's Slaw

Baked Beans*

2 cans Baked Beans, drain some of the juice

4 slices Bacon or salt pork, cooked and crumbled

1/4 cup ketsup

2 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar

Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking dish lightly with oil. In a large bowl, combine ingredients, then pour into the baking dish. Bake for 30-45 minutes uncovered.

* This time I used a crock pot to cook them and I added some of "Daddy's BBQ Sauce to them! YUM!