Our 4th of July Celebration!

Our 4th of July was great! I wanted an old fashion picnic with everyone being invited and coming together, just to enjoy each other's company and have fun. I think those who came, did.
I started out with a budget, then a list of goodies and went from there. Since some had to work from the family I went ahead and invited my church friends.
Menu: Hot dogs, macaroni salad, peaches, applesauce, lemonade, and brownies. Each family brought there own food and we all shared what we had. No one went home hungry and there was leftovers.
Here is a good old recipe from the book, 1950's Cookbook for a macaroni salad:
 

Easy Macaroni Salad

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 ½ quarts boiling water

2 cups macaroni or tiny shells

1 teaspoon oil

2 teaspoons salt

¾ cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoon pimento, chopped

2 teaspoons green onion

2 teaspoons sweet pickle, chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon mustard, prepared

½ teaspoon seasoned salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon paprika

Directions:

In large uncovered dutch oven cook macaroni in boiling water, cooking oil, and salt until tender but firm, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Drain well again. Return macaroni to pot. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well. Add to macaroni. Toss together well. Place in a serving bowl. Chill for one hour or more. If you want it more moist, add a bit of milk.

This is the recipe I would have used if  I had all the ingredients, so I made with what I had and it turned out pretty close to this recipe. I don't care for mayonnaise, so I used plain yogurt and went from there, also added finely chopped cucumber. Didn't have the pimento or sweet pickles, but luckily someone brought some relish, so at the last minute I stirred some in. I also added a grated carrot.

Wanted to try out a new recipe for the brownies and found one from a old friend that are made in a jelly roll pan. This recipe reminded me of  Texas sheet cake, they were good. Also found a good recipe that you melt marshmallows on top before they come out of the oven. Will put both recipes on, so you can decide for yourself. Yummy!

As you can see I chose not to add the nuts. Really liked the flavor of this one.

Brownies  
by Anne Morgan

1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
1 can Hershey's chocolate syrup (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Bake in greased and floured jelly roll pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cover with frosting below.
Frosting:
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 stick butter or margarine
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound of powered sugar (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup nuts, chopped
Mix all ingredients together and frost brownies.

So sad you cannot see the brownies underneath.

Mom's Marshmallow Bars (from 1950's Cookbook)
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
16 large marshmallows
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease brownie pan (11 1/2x7"). Melt chocolate and butter and set aside. Cream sugar, eggs until light and fluffy. Add flour. Beat. Add melted chocolate and butter. Beat well. Mix in vanilla and nuts. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 18 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with marshmallows. Return to oven and bake until marshmallows are lightly browned. Cool slightly and cut into bars.
This recipe I left at home for the grandkids to eat, so they wouldn't be tempted to eat the others until the next day at the picnic.

so good!

We had such a great time and it was fun for me to watch all the little ones run and run, while they fathers ran after them! Notice the tablecloth, it was one of my current bargains at a garage sale, only a buck!
Here is a picture of the cookbook,  (by Barbara Stuart Peterson):

Got this off the internet, so the picture didn't copy to well.

Picnic Time Celebration

This is the place for the picnic of the summer of recipes!!! I ran across this web site and thought I would like to participate, so I sent it in to Louise. It is interesting that I just went to the library and checked out this cookbook and found a recipe and then this web site, pretty cool!

This summer I have been reading cookbooks instead of novels and have had some fun in doing so. The 1950's cookbook has been fun to not only look at the cool pictures but to read the recipes and image the days I grew up in. Yep, I was one who grew up in the 50's and 60's! So some of these recipes brings back memories to me. How interesting as we get older that we try and go back to our childhood days of sweet innocence. Fun times!
Back to the picnic!
Lousie from Months of Edible Celebrations is and has hosted this for the last few years. What good recipes have come from it and shows us what good things we can bring to picnics! Thanks Louise! This is the web site to go to and see what's there along with many of her other recipes.  http://monthsofediblecelebrations.blogspot.com/2011/06/its-international-picnic-day-time-to.html
Here are the letters before the letter 'H' in which I chose and their sites:

A-Apricot Cobbler (Mae)

http://maefood.blogspot.com/2011/06/picnic-game-from-louise.html

B-Banana Cream Pie (Marjie) 

http://moderndayozzieandharriet.blogspot.com/2011/06/banana-cream-pie.html

C-Cherry Bars in a Jar (Barbara)

http://moveablefeastscookbook.blogspot.com/2011/06/picnic-game-cherry-bars-in-jar.html

D-Diva Doggie Bites (Channon) 

http://chanknits.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/picnic-game/

E-Emeril's Strawberry Lemonade (Pattie)

http://pattietierney.blogspot.com/2011/06/emerils-strawberry-lemonade.html

 

F-Fingerling Potato Salad w/ Honey-Thyme Vinaigrette (Heather)

http://www.girlichef.com/2011/06/im-going-to-picnic-and-im-bringing.html

G-Gugelhopf Twister (Kristy)

http://kristygourmet.blogspot.com/2011/06/gugelhopf-twister.html

Dont' they all look great, thus far!

Ok, for the letter 'H', drum roll......

Honey Graham Roll-up!

 

 This recipe sounded so good, that I just had to try. Well, I have decided that yes, I would make it again but that I wouldn't put in as much lemon juice or better yet, try it with apple juice.

 Recipe:

Honey Graham Roll-up

Serves 6

1/2 pound honey grahams crackers (could buy and use graham cracker crumbs)

1/2 pound dates, pitted and chopped (could buy and use already chopped dates)

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/2 pound chopped marshmallows (could use small marshmallow and not have to chop them) 

3 tablespoons lemon juice I think next time I will try apple juice.)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Roll crackers with a rolling pin until crumbled fine.

Combine ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Add cream if too dry. (As you see the recipe doesn't call for cream, so I guess they mean if you have cream on hand.) Form in roll. Wrap in wax paper. Let stand overnight. Slice. Served with whip cream.

Alrighty, this is the recipe from the book. To me the lemon juice was over powering, so maybe use less if you want to taste lemon. That is why I am suggesting apple juice, I want to taste the dates, nuts and marshmallows more than lemon juice.   Also I should of cut the marshmallows much smaller, but that is what I had on hand. I could see bringing this to a picnic as you could slice thinner and add a scoop of home-made vanilla ice cream!!! I tried chocolate ice cream to see if it would taste like a-smore, but it didn't. Definitively, vanilla ice cream or whipped cream would set this recipe off just right! Yes, I will make this again, I did like it!!!

Next to the recipe it does have a recipe for making marshmallow cream, so instead of making I did try a spoonful already made, not bad, but too sweet for me.

Here's the two recipes from the book.

With marshmallow creme.

Can't wait to see what letters 'I through Z' are! Have fun picnicking this summer!