The 4th of July holiday is fast approaching and there will be a lot of picnics and potlucks leading up to the holiday. I thought it would be fun to share some great summer recipes with you from Duncan Hines, Vlasic, Finlandia cheese and Frank’s Red Hot sauce.
Duncan Hines is my go-to brand when I want to bake a cake or make a dessert for my family. Here are two recipes that look delicious and that seem pretty easy to put together.
Flag Cake
Ingredients:
1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Classic White Cake Mix
1 (3 oz) pkg red flavor gelatin
1 (8 oz) container whipped topping
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 pint strawberries
1 cup blueberries
1 cup miniature marshmallows
aluminum foil/fancy foil – color of your choice
star shaped stickers
miniature American candy flags
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease and flour a 13×9-inch pan.
- Prepare, bake and cool cake according to package directions.
- Use a large fork to make holes in the cake about every 1/2-inch.
- Pour gelatin into a large bowl. Add boiling water and mix until gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Pour gelatin over the cake allowing it to run into the holes.
- Refrigerate cake for 3 to 4 hours before serving.
- Cover a cake tray with aluminum foil then place on tray to decorate.
- Frost the sides and top with whipped topping. Then arrange strawberries, blueberries and marshmallows on the cake to create a ‘stars & stripes’ pattern. Use the blueberries to create a blue background in the upper left hand corner.
- Take your foil stars and miniature American flags and decorate the sides of the cake. Once you have finished decorating the cake, place in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it.
Corn on the Cob
Makes 8 ears of corn: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 can (16 ounces) Vanilla Frosting, Yellow food coloring
About 3 ½ cups Small jelly beans (Jelly Bellys) in assorted yellow, cream, and white colors
4 pieces Yellow fruit chews (Laffy Taffys, Starbursts)
1 tablespoon each Black and white decorating sugars
(available at baking supply stores)
8 sets Corn Holders (optional)
Instructions:
- Tint the vanilla frosting pale yellow with the food coloring.
- Working with 3 cupcakes at a time, spread yellow frosting on top of each.
- Arrange about 5 rows of jelly beans, close together, on each cupcake. Place the 3 cupcakes side by side on a corn dish or a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes, frosting, and jelly beans.
- Cut the fruit chews into eight 1-inch squares, and soften the edges slightly by hand so that they look melted. Place 1 square on top of each group of 3 cupcakes. Sprinkle with the sugars. Insert 1 corn holder, if using, in each of the end cupcakes.
One thing that adults and kids both agree on is that pickles are a must-have summer food. Vlasic is one of my favorite brands of pickles! Here is a recipe from chef Kevin Roberts that sounds delicious.
PITA BURGERS with PICKLE RELISH
Makes 2 pita burgers
Ingredients:
1 pound Ground Meat shaped into burger
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Pitas, halved and toasted
2 tablespoons ketchup
4 Vlasic® Baby Sweets pickles, chopped
2 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
Directions:
1. Grill burgers to desired doneness. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Toast the pita halves until crispy.
3. Spread ketchup inside the pita halves.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the pickles and tomatoes.
5. Stuff the burger into the pita and add the pickle and tomato relish.
6. Serve while warm and enjoy
Everyone loves cheese! You can go wrong when adding cheese to most any lunch or dinner dish. Finlandia makes a wide variety of cheese that everyone is sure to love. Here is a recipe from Finlandia that sounds perfect for a summer cookout.
The Ultimate Cheeseburger
Ingredients
1 ¼ pounds lean ground beef
1 ¼ cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
Suggested Finlandia Cheese: Swiss, Muenster or Gouda
4 sesame seed buns or hard rolls
Directions:
Combine lean ground beef with onion, ketchup, horseradish, mustard, salt and pepper. Gently mix with hands till all ingredients are just blended. Shape into 4 patties about ½ inch thick. Grill or broil to desired doneness. Pile high with your favorite Finlandia cheese.
If you like things spicy hot then you can’t go wrong with this great recipe from Frank’s Hot Sauce.
SWEET CHILI GLAZED CHICKEN SANDWICHES
Ingredients
4 (5 oz.) boneless skinless chicken breasts
¾ cup FRANK’S® REDHOT® Sweet Heat BBQ Wings Sauce or FRANK’S® REDHOT® Sweet Chili Sauce, divided
4 kaiser or hamburger rolls, split and toasted
4 leaves lettuce
¼ cup sliced red onion (optional)
Directions
1. MARINATE chicken in ½ cup FRANK’S Sauce for 30 min. or up to 3 hours.
2. GRILL or broil chicken 10 min. or until no longer pink in center, basting with remaining ¼ cup Sweet Chili Sauce.
3. SERVE chicken on lettuce-lined rolls. Top with red onion slices, if desired.
If you are looking for something new and different to bring to a family gathering or cookout, you can’t go wrong with any of these delicious recipes!
Disclosure: I did not receive compensation for this post. I posted for the benefit of my readers.
