Memorial Day — honoring soldiers
Memorial Day, which always falls on the last Monday in May, is for honoring women and men who died while serving in the military.
It just so happens that the day set aside for decorating graves and mourning the loss of individuals who died for our country falls right about when the weather is getting really good. So this day of mourning and remembrance generally takes the shape of barbecues, picnics and other outdoor activities.
Here are some recipes from $5 Dinners that will keep costs down for Memorial Day this year, so y9ou don’t have to get faxless payday loans to pay for groceries.
Cheeseburgers and Salad
Ingredients
4 Burger Patties
4 Buns
4 Cheese Slices
Ketchup/Mustard
“Almost Cobb” Side Salad
3 Corn ears
Watermelon Slices
Directions
1. Grill Burger patties and top with cheese as they finish grilling. Serve on “grill toasted” bun with condiments of your choice.
2. Boil or grill corncobs. Serve with salad, watermelon and burgers!
“Almost Cobb” Salad
Ingredients
Shredded chicken
Lettuce Head
3 hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 tomato, diced
1 cucumber, diced
Dressing
Grands Biscuits
Directions
1. Cook chicken, shred.
2. Cut lettuce with lettuce knife to prevent browning.
3. Dice tomatoes, cucumber and hard boiled eggs. Toss with the lettuce and chicken. Add dressing.
4. Serve with warm homemade rolls or biscuits
Raspberry Barbecue Chicken
This recipe, which is perfect for Memorial Day with its mixture of summery fruit flavors and grillable protein, is referenced on $5 Dinners, but the ingredients are posted on MyRecipes.com.
- 4 skinned and boned chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
- Vegetable cooking spray
- Raspberry-Barbecue Sauce
- Garnish: fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
Sprinkle chicken evenly with Creole seasoning.
Spray cold cooking grate of a grill with cooking spray. Place cooking grate on grill; grill chicken, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) 7 minutes on each side or until done, brushing Raspberry-Barbecue Sauce evenly on 1 side of chicken during the last 2 minutes of grilling. Serve with remaining sauce. Garnish, if desired.
Note: For testing purposes only, we used Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning.
Raspberry-Barbecue Sauce
- 1 (10-ounce) jar seedless raspberry preserves
- 1/3 cup bottled barbecue sauce
- 2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce
Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in hot sauce.
Note: For testing purposes only, we used KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce.
Honey Mustard: Stir together 1 cup mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons Creole mustard, and 2 tablespoons honey. Makes about 1 1/4 cups. Prep: 5 min.
Simple Creole Sauce: Stir together 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons Creole mustard, and 1 finely chopped green onion. Makes about 1 2/3 cups. Prep: 5 min.
Horseradish Sauce: Stir together 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon cream-style horseradish, and 1 tablespoon Creole mustard. Makes about 1 cup. Prep: 5 min.
Steak and Potatoes
Yep, sometimes you just can’t beat a classic. If you can find some steaks on sale buy them now, and freeze them until Memorial Day.
Ingredients
2 cuts steak
1/4 cup marinade
4 potatoes
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter
1 small eggplant
2 Tbsp EVOO
1/2 cup corn
Directions
1. Marinate steak at least 30 minutes in fridge. Grill as you wish!
2. Boil potatoes, quartered. When soft, mash with butter, garlic, and milk. Add S/P to taste.
3. Slice eggplant. Place on paper towel and sprinkle with salt to draw out moisture. After a few minutes, flip and salt other side. Saute on both sides in extra virgin olive oil until tender. Season if you wish!
Salsa Fresca
For appetizers on a warm day, nothing beats chips and homemade, fresh salsa.
6-8 tomatoes (enough to 3/4 fill the food processor)
1 green pepper
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
4 hot peppers
splash of vinegar
Put it all into the blender/food processor and go!
Salsa Verde
If you prefer to go green try this:
Step 1: Cut tomatillos in half, place face down in baking dish and roast at 450 for 10-15 minutes, until softened.
Step 2: Chop/grind/blend tomatillos with 2 hot peppers, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 t sugar, 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t lemon juice.
Step 3: Store salsa in fridge or freezer until Memorial Day.
Summer Pasta Salad
A light, simple summer “one bowl” dish!
Ingredients
1 Box Pasta (bowtie, rotini, ziti) ($1.25)
1 chicken breast, cooked and cubed or shredded ($1)
1 cucumber, diced ($.67)
1 cup cheese (chedd or mozz) ($.85)
1 can Italian style tomatoes ($.70)
1/2 cup Italian dressing ($.40 )
Directions
Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to bowl and add all other ingredients. Mix well and enjoy your Memorial Day.
Wow, the cooking method of this dish is great, I’ll try it later and I hope it tastes the way it look. Thanks for sharing!