Episode 098 July 4th Menu (republish)

Susie Weinrich: Hey. Hey everybody. Okay, we’re starting this one just a little bit differently today because if you’re listening to this in real time, you know that it’s just about the 4th of July. I decided to take just a little bit of time off to spend some time with my family in the sun and by the pool and to relax.

So we are going to republish the 4th of July episode from last year where we went over a whole bunch of different 4th of July menus. So I hope you enjoy this and get some yummy dinner ideas that you can make for the 4th of July and beyond honestly. These are great dinner recipes for any night of the week, so enjoy this episode and we will be back next week with a brand new episode for I believe Gochujang Meatballs. I’ll see you then.

4th of July Menu: So let’s get started on this menu. I’m going to go over the entire menu now, and then I’m going to talk about each individual item and give you some tips for that item, and also ways that you can make it ahead to make your 4th of July a little bit smoother.

So we’re starting with just a classic hamburger, potato salad, some type of corn. I have two different recipes to share with you. A broccoli bacon salad. A veggie pasta salad, fresh watermelon, and of course some chips. Then for dessert, we’re talking either a blueberry crumble or a no-bake chocolate pot de creme.

All right, starting with those classic burgers, you’re of course going to need whatever grilling situation you have set up. Get that already a couple of days ahead. Make sure you have charcoal, make sure you have propane, or whatever you need for your grill. For the burgers, you can absolutely make these a day ahead.

You’re going to make that burger patty mixture, form your patties, pop them onto a sheet pan, get them in the fridge, and let them just sit in there overnight. They’ll be good to go as soon as you have your grill already. Of course, you want to make sure that you have all of the toppings ready for your burgers. What I recommend is just getting a big platter or again, a sheet pan, laying out all of the toppings, covering it with plastic wrap, and putting it in the fridge. Here are the toppings that I recommend. Just a romaine or a green leaf, lettuce, pickles, or onions. Now slice your onions and then give them a nice little rinse under cool water. What that does, is it removes the enzyme that makes your onion flavor stick with you forever. Three hours later, you’re still tasting the onion. Once you rinse that enzyme away, you can still taste the onion, and it’s still delicious on your hamburger, but it’s not going to overpower the entire dish. Then you’ll also want to slice up some tomatoes. I actually recommend doing that the day of, because tomatoes should not be stored in the fridge. When they’re stored in the fridge, they actually break down and they lose flavor. So I recommend waiting to do your tomatoes and then right before you serve them, season them with some kosher salt, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. It makes all the difference on your burger, promise. Then just make sure you have ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise, and you’re good to go for your burgers.

Next, let’s talk about potato salad. Potato salad is better done the day before anyway. When potato salad has a little bit of time to sit in the fridge, the flavors kind of meld together and it’s so much better. It’s just like chili. So I have a recipe for Instant Pot Potato Salad or just a Classic Potato Salad, and I will link both of those in the show notes for you.

I said that I had two different corn options for you. You can of course do just your classic corn on the cob. You can boil it just in salted water for around eight minutes. Or you can make your corn on the cob in your instant pot. So if you are a pothead, get out that instant pot and cook it up in there. I have a great recipe, a complete how-to-make corn on the cob in your instant pot that I will link in the show notes for you. 

Now if you have that fresh corn, but you maybe don’t want to serve corn on the cob, I also have a killer recipe for homemade creamed corn. You can absolutely make that a day ahead. If you’re going to serve corn in the cab. I would do that the day of. But if you’re going to do the homemade creamed corn, make it up on the second or the third and just reheat it on the stovetop on the 4th of July. 

This next recipe is actually a family favorite. It’s the broccoli bacon salad. If you haven’t had this one, it’s like a raw broccoli salad that has bacon, onions, sunflower seeds, and raisins, and then it has this creamy kind of tangy mayonnaise-based dressing that you put on it and it’s delicious. You can absolutely make most of the components ahead of time for the salad. Chop up your broccoli. Measure out your raisins. Measure out your sunflower seeds, chop up the onions, get all that ready, pop that in the fridge, and then make up the dressing in a little mason jar and pop that in the refrigerator, separate from the salad. Then just like an hour before you serve, mix it all together and you’re good to go. 

With your veggie pasta salad, it is like potato salad, where it’s actually better if you can make it a day ahead because it kind of marinates everything. So I would completely make the veggie pasta salad a day or two ahead and let that sit in the fridge.

Of course, there’s watermelon and chips. Those are easy. Good to go the day of. For dessert, I have two different options for you. If you’re more of a berry type of person, you can go with a blueberry crumble. What I would do with that, is serve your blueberry crumble, sprinkle a couple of fresh raspberries on top, and then add a little bit of vanilla ice cream so you have your red, white, and blue for the 4th of July.

Now, if you’re more of a chocolate person, I would recommend doing these no-bake chocolate pot de creme. It is delicious. No baking is required. Basically, everything is made in your food processor or blender, and then it goes in the fridge and it’s a chocolate custard. It’s silky chocolate mousse. It’s delicious. Again, I would recommend topping it with maybe some fresh blueberries, fresh raspberries, and a little bit of whipped cream so you have your red, white, and blue for the 4th of July. 

I hope all of these tips and recipes help you have an amazing 4th of July and celebrate our beautiful country. I will place links to all the printable recipes right in the show notes so you can make them for the 4th of July and plan out exactly how and when you are going to make all the recipes.

If you are loving these episodes of Let’s Make Dinner, I would love to have you subscribe or follow on your preferred podcast player. 

Outro: Until next time, I hope this episode of Let’s Make Dinner makes your dinner time a little easier.