Memorial Day foods

We celebrated Memorial Day a few days late, but we tried several new recipes.  We spiralized and marinated hot dogs, made Mexican street corn casserole, and I made a ranch pasta salad.

Marinated Hot Dogs

1 package of beef hot dogs, usually 6 to a pack

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 package of hot dog buns

Place hot dog on cutting board and use a knife to cut the hot dog at an angle until the length has been cut into a spiral.

In a large resealable bag combine the marinade ingredients of ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce.  

Add hot dogs to marinade and keep in fridge a minimum of 20 minutes.  Can be kept overnight.

Grill hot dogs and place on buns with your favorite toppings.  

My favorite toppings are mustard and raw diced onion, but sometimes I do sauerkraut.  

Ranch Pasta Salad

1 lb prepared macaroni noodles

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

1/4 cup red onion (I used green onions)

2/3 cup frozen peas (I used blanched broccoli)

1 cup cubed ham

1 cup cubed cheddar cheese.  (No one liked the big blobs of cheese.  I'd use shredded next time)

1 packet of ranch seasoning 

1 1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup milk

salt and pepper

To make dressing, whisk together ranch packet, mayo and milk.

Add all the other ingredients to cooled pasta noodles.

Pour on dressing and combine.

Refrigerate 2 hours before serving.

Honestly this pasta was not as flavorful as I wanted it to be.  It won't be made again.  

Mexican Corn Casserole

4 cups frozen corn, about 24 ounces

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 diced red pepper

1 bunch of cilantro minced, a few leaves for garnish

1 diced jalapeno

1/2 large red onion, diced

2/3 cup cotija cheese (ours was grated)

Dressing: (This dressing is so good I want to put it on other things!  Burger topping, pasta maybe)

3 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons mayo

4 tablespoons lime juice (about 2 limes)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

In a large skillet heat olive oil then add corn, red pepper, jalapeno, and onion.  

Place corn mixture into a casserole dish.

Pour the dressing over the corn and mix together.

Top with the cojita cheese and cilantro.  

Loaded Baked Potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Scrub potatoes and place on a foil lined pan.

Pierce potatoes all over with a sharp knife or fork.

Drizzle olive oil all over the potato skins and rub it in so it's completely covered.

Use a nice chunky salt to salt the potatoes skins.

Cook for about an hour to an hour 10-20 mins.  This is completely based on how large your potatoes are!

They are done when a fork pierces them easily.

Cut a slit in the top and use your favorite toppings.

We used sour cream, cheddar, bacon this time. 

Lemon Cake

Krusteaz box mix!  Comes with the glaze and everything.  

Alcohol Free or Clean Margaritas

1 can frozen limeade

Clean Co tequila (fill up the empty limeade can halfway)

alcohol free triple sec (fill up the empty limeade can 1/4 of the way)

ice

salt for the rim (put salt on a plate, dip rim of glass into a bowl of water and then into the salt)

It lacks the bite of my favorite tequila, Sauza Silver, but you can beat a frozen drink on a hot day!