Try something new for the 4th of July

What about black bean burgers?

Independence Day, ah the perfect excuse to try something new on the grill or at the picnic. I wanted to pass along a few ideas. It really doesn’t take much to tweak basic recipes to give them just a little bit more pizzazz.

Add heat: Not from the grill but from chile peppers. Chop ‘em up to put in potato salads or add a few shakes of cayenne pepper to your burgers or kabobs.

Go for color: If you’re a regular reader you know I love my veggies in a rainbow of options–from yellow carrots to purple potatoes, peek around at the farmer’s market or your local grocers for something fun. Yellow tomato slices on burgers or orange cauliflower in the pasta salad.

Marinate your hotdogs. Check out this recipe from my blogger buddy, Casey at Good.Food.Stories. You score the hotdogs, then marinate before grilling. With the added flavor it won’t be just kids downing the hotdogs!

Make hamburger hotdogs. I found these at my local butchers but there’s no reason you couldn’t do these at home. I bought the “Black Angus beef–tastes like steak” variety and they were a hit. But you could mold ground round into the shape of a hotdog and grill it and offer it on hotdog or brat buns. Or, forget the meat altogether and try out black bean or salmon burgers.

Drink up. Add frozen fruit for ice cubes or pair different combinations–like watermelon limeade.

Stick to sweets. Make your goodies more mobile; try yogurt popsicles, fruitstickles. You could even make watermelon balls and serve them on popsicle sticks.

Your turn–are you trying anything different for your holiday celebrations this year?