Fourth Of July Weekend Food

It's always great to have a long weekend because that means I have more time to be a little more creative with our food. Like with the Black Bean Salsa that I made. It was originally a recipe for Black Bean Salad but my husband loved to eat it like a salsa and asked for me to put in more onions and tomatoes the next time I made it. So, I changed some things from the original recipe and came up with this one.

Black Bean Salsa
2 cans (or 4 cups cooked) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon basil

Combine the beans, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, whisking together to combine. Pour over the vegetables and toss lightly to coat. Let sit for about an hour to allow the flavors to meld. Serve with tortilla chips.


On Friday evening I stopped at our local Farmer's Market and picked up some fruit and vegetables. And since we were cooking on the grill, I made a double recipe of the dressing ingredients from my Black Bean Salsa and marinaded some onions, yellow squash, baby portabella mushrooms, and red peppers for about half an hour. I then put them on skewers and my husband cooked them on the grill. We haven't had kebabs for a long time and these were a nice change of pace.

Although this isn't your typical Fourth of July food fare, I had some leftover mashed potatoes in the back of the refrigerator as well as a couple of leftover baked potatoes and decided to make some Potato Patties to round out one of our meals. This is my favorite way to use up cooked potatoes.

Potato Patties

1 1/2 cups cold mashed potatoes or scooped-out baked potatoes (mashed)

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon garlic

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

Salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients with a fork, mixing well. Heat a skillet on medium heat and place 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter, oil, or bacon. Form the potatoes into patties and place in hot fat. When golden brown on one side, flip and brown the other side.

I like to top these with just butter and salt or sour cream.

I'm participating in Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Delicious Dishes.