deesdeliciousdinners.com

Fourth of July marks the high point of summer but sometimes kids get left out of the party because there’s only grownup food around. Here are a few food ideas that are sure to please your little ones.

Children love bite size snacks they can carry with them. Just about every child loves macaroni and cheese. You can make it special and portable by hollowing out a small dinner roll and stuffing it with mac and cheese. They won’t even need a spoon.

Stuff cherry tomatoes with a mixture of one cup of cottage cheese mixed with one quarter cup of Parmesan cheese. Fill a plastic disposable container large enough to serve the stuffed tomatoes, half full of water, then freeze at least overnight. At party time serve the tomatoes on the lid of the container placed on the ice.

For a variation stuff the tomatoes with chicken salad or tuna salad.

Chicken wings are fun and easy. Cut a chicken wing in three pieces. Save the bony wing end for making chicken broth. Bake the wings at 350 degrees until done. Serve at room temperature with dipping sauces. Mix equal parts honey, lime juice and mustard for a tangy dip. Or try equal party ketchup and brown sugar for a BBQ like sauce. Each child gets their own little cup of dipping sauce.

Miniature hot dogs and buns are always a hit. Buy the little franks and refrigerator biscuits. Cut the biscuits in half. Place one little frank in the center and roll up. Bake as package directs.

Grill baby burgers and place in a cut dinner roll, top with a slice of tomato, a lettuce leaf, and favorite condiments like mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard.

Finally chop tomatoes, cucumbers, and celery. Defrost frozen peas. Shred lettuce and carrots. Layer the ingredients in a small 4 ounce, clear plastic glass. Place a tablespoons of Ranch salad dressing on the top. And you’ve got salad for kids on the go.

A variation of the salad to go is seven layer taco salad. Delete the peas and carrots and add taco meat, shredded cheese, and refried beans. Add a dollop of sour cream on top instead of salad dressing.

Peanut butter and jelly rollups are quick and fun. Spread a flour tortilla with peanut butter and jelly, then roll up tightly. Refrigerate for at least an hour so the peanut butter hardens a bit then cut the rolls into slices.

Keep portions tiny. Children are constantly being told to finish their food. Mini meals make it easy for them.

Beer should be very cold. Use iced glasses if possible. Pour ½ cup of ice cold tomato juice in a glass, top with one cup of beer. Add as much hot sauce as you can handle. Stir gently. Garnish with a lime wedge. For a change freeze the tomato juice in an ice cube tray. Add several ice cubes to a glass and pour beer over the cubes. Add the hot sauce and lime juice.

Marinating meat before grilling helps tenderize it and adds wonderful flavor. Tenderizing agents often used in marinades include acidic ingredients such as vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, yogurt and even wine. Fresh papaya, ginger and pineapple contain tenderizing enzymes, and they add exotic flavors as well. Marinades are wonderfully versatile flavor enhancers for the outdoor chef. The marinade recipes you can come up with are only limited by your imagination. You start by selecting your acid or tenderizing ingredients, and add additional ingredients. Popular choices include herbs (oregano, thyme), garlic, shallots, brown sugar or honey, soy sauce, cumin, black pepper, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and mustard.

You can also take something you already have in the refrigerator, such as standard Italian salad dressing, and build additional flavor through adding fresh herbs like cilantro, or spicing it up with chili powder.

Timing is important to get the most out flavor out of your marinade. Marinating for too brief a time doesn’t allow the flavor of the marinade to penetrate the meat. Overlong marinating time results in softening the texture of the meat too much. Here are some guidelines:

Tender beef cuts can be marinated for as short as 15 minutes, or up to 2 hours. These include Porterhouse, top loin, tenderloin, ribeyes, top sirloin. Less tender cuts need to be marinated at least 6 hours or as long as overnight. These include flank, skirt, top round, and chuck shoulder steaks. If you marinate longer than 24 hours, the surface texture of the meat can be softened more than you want. Meat with a mushy texture when you cut into it is not what you’re striving for.

For tender cuts of beef–Porterhouse, top loin, tenderloin, rib eyes, top sirloin-the marinade will do its job in as little as 15 minutes, or you can go as long as 2 hours with the marinating process. Less tender cuts need substantially more marinating time, at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. Flank steak, skirt steak, top round and chuck shoulder steaks all benefit from longer marinating.

You should marinate the food in the refrigerator, never at room temperature. Never reuse a marinade. It should be discarded after you remove the meat from it. Some marinades do make great sauces to serve with the dish. But do not use the marinade that has been in contact with the meat. Simply reserve some of the marinade for use in the sauce, and use the rest as the marinade.

The goal of marinating is to have the liquid in contact with as much of the surface of the meat as possible. If you are using a food-safe plastic bag for marinating, make sure that it is a fairly tight fit over the meat, so the marinade will be forced over more of the food’s surface. Similarly, it you prefer to use a nonreactive container like a glass dish, make sure it is large enough so the meat can lie flat, but again is a tight enough fit so the marinade will be in contact with as much of the meat as possible. It’s a good idea to turn the plastic bag over several times or turn the meat in the dish, in order to have uniform exposure to the marinade.

Pizza isn’t difficult even if you start from scratch. Pizza dough is hard to ruin. The most important factor, besides clean hands, is to proof the yeast. That’s easy enough to do. Take a package of yeast and add it to a 1/4 cup of very warm, but not hot water, to which you’ve added a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. In five to ten minutes the yeast should have dissolved and the water become foamy.

Here’s an easy recipe for pizza crust. It’s the crispy kind and makes enough for two 12 inch pizzas.

3 cups flour
3/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of the warm water the yeast has been dissolved in
2 tablespoon olive oil.

Add the oil to the water. Add the oil and water mixture to the flour. Stir with a spoon until too thick to stir. And here’s the part where you need clean hands. Using your hands incorporate the rest of the flour into the dough. The dough will probably be a little sticky, that’s okay. Dust a clean kitchen counter with a little flour. Place the dough on the flour and flatten it with the palms of your hands, pushing the dough away from you. Fold over the dough, give it a quarter turn and flatten it again. This is called kneading the dough. Kids love to help with this part of the process. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. That may seem like a long time so keep your eye on the clock. After the dough has been kneaded for 10 minutes it’s shouldn’t be sticky any more and be a bit elastic.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel and put in a warm place to rise. Get a good look at how big the ball of dough is because you want it to double in size. Depending on the temperature that will take from an hour to 2 hours. Don’t rush the rising by putting it in the oven.

When the dough has doubled in size divide it in half. Flour the counter so the dough doesn’t stick. Roll out two 12 inch circles. If you’re busy or don’t trust your dough making skills buy ready to use pizza dough. Place the circles on an oiled cookie sheet or pizza pan. Put back in a warm place while you ready the pizza toppings.

One trick for great pizza is to always cook the meat ahead of time thoroughly and leave the vegetables raw.

Top your pizza with a cup of tomato or pizza sauce, favorite meats such as pepperoni and sausage and veggies like mushrooms, onions, and green peppers, finish off with a generous sprinkling of cheese.

Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese melted