4th of July

The fourth of July means two things are going to happen for us.  One we are going out of town for leisure (oh the horror), which means lists and house sitters and animal feed organization and so many other things.  We have 2 people helping out while we are gone.  One is feeding calves and the other is looking after the horses, donkey, chickens, turkey, cats, and the dog who will be staying at home (Slide will be joining us on our trip and Molly will be staying home to look after the house).  We will only be gone one night though. 


The second thing is that the fourth of July means cooking.  I am responsible for an appetizer or two, and a side dish.  I don't have to think hard about what I am going to make this year because requests have been sent in.  I will be making buffalo chicken dip, blueberry salsa, and white cheddar mac and cheese.  So here are the recipes in case you want to include these dishes in your 4h of July weekend.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

(this is a single recipe I double it)

What You Need:

• 2 (8oz) bricks cream cheese
• 2 (10-12 oz) cans chunk chicken (or you can use shredded fresh cooked chicken, the canned chicken is fast and easy though)
• 3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
• Ranch dressing (1/2 cup or more to taste)

What You Do:


1. In a skillet heat the chicken and wing sauce
2.  Add the cream cheese and stir this every so often until it is all melted and combined
3.  Pour this in a slow cooker (for a single recipe a 2 quart cooker is just right, but whatever you have)
4.  mix in your ranch, start with about 1/2 a cup and then taste it, if you like things hot this is probably fine, if you are more mild then add some more ranch to tone it down
5.  Turn this on low for about an hour, stir it at least once during this time so it does not dry out around the outside, then you can turn it down to warm.  Serve with chips, crackers, celery, or whatever you prefer.

Berry Salsa

What You Need:

• 1 cups coarsely chopper blueberries
• 1 cup coarsley chopped blackberries (you can use more blueberries or some raspberries if you want)
• 1 cup whole blueberries
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 seeded and finely chopped jalapeno
• 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

What You Do:
1. mix everythign together!!!
2.  Serve or cover and chill
this is best served the day you make it

White Cheddar Mac and Cheese

(this is a big recipe, you can half it for a smaller group)

What You Need:

• 24 oz shell pasta (a box and a half)
• 12 tablespoons flour
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 12 oz sharp vermont white cheddar cheese shredded
• 4 oz white american cheese shredded

What You Do:

1. Bring a bot of salted water to a simmer

2. Melt the butter in a skillet then add the flour

3. Cook over medium-ish for a few minutes to make a rue

4. Add the milk and cream and cook stirring regularly to make this thicker like a gravy consistency

5. Throw your noodles in sometime around now and turn the water up to a full boil, you want the noodles to be hot when you add the sauce.

6. Turn off the heat and add the cheese, you can substitute some of the white cheddar for more american if you don't want it to be too sharp.  The cheese should melt in completely

7.  Pout your hot noodles and sauce in serving dish or bowl and stir to combine.

Serve it up