Some old fashioned 4th of July fare for celebrations

[Guest guest]

" Please remember our troops who are far away from home, fighting to keep our

Country free.

~HAPPY JULY 4-2005~

7-Up Lemon Cheesecake With Strawberry Glaze

CRUMB CRUST

2 cups Graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup Butter, melted

1/2 cup Powdered sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

7-UP FILLING

1 package Unflavored gelatin

1 1/2 cups 7-Up

1 package Lemon pudding mix, small; not instant

6 tablespoons Sugar

2 Eggs, beaten

3/4 cup Water

16 ounces cream cheese

STRAWBERRY GLAZE

1/2 cup Strawberry jelly, melted

Fresh strawberries

CRUST:

Combine well the graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and melted

butter

Press onto bottom and partway up sides of buttered 9 " springform pan; chill.

FILLING:

Soften unflavored gelatin in 1/4 cup 7-up for 4 minutes.

Combine pie filling, sugar, beaten eggs and water in a saucepan .

Blend well.

Add 1-1/4 cup 7-up and bring just to a boil over medium heat stirring

constantly; remove from heat.

Stir in softened gelatin; cool 3 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup of this warm mixture to softened cream cheese; mash together.

Mix together with remaining 7-up mixture and stir until well blended.

Turn into chilled crust and chill for at least 8 hours.

Remove from pan and add topping.

TOPPING:

Brush top of chilled cheesecake with melted jelly.

Arrange strawberries upright on cake and spoon any remaining melted jelly over

them.

Red, White and Blue Burgers

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 (1-ounce) envelope onion soup mix

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced or pressed

1 tsp dried Italian herbs

1/4 cup prepared roasted red bell pepper, drained and diced

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1 (3-ounce) pkg. cream cheese, softened

Cooking spray

Add 2 TBSP of the soup mix, the garlic, Italian herbs and bell pepper to ground

beef in large mixing bowl.

Mix well and divide into 8 portions.

Combine the blue cheese, cream cheese and remaining onion soup mix In medium

bowl,

Divide into 8 pieces.

Place a piece of mixture on each portion of beef, shaping the beef around the

cheese to form balls.

Flatten into burgers about 3/4-inch thick.

Refrigerate an hour or longer before cooking. (This will blend the flavors and

firm the cheese so it doesn't melt too quickly.)

Preheat oven to 375*.

Spray a broiling pan or rack set in a roasting pan lightly with cooking spray.

Set a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.

Sear the burgers for 1 minute on each side when it becomes hot.

Transfer to the prepared pan.

Bake about 10 to 12 minutes, or until cooked through in the center.

Serve immediately.

NOTE: The burgers can also be grilled over medium-hot coals about 5 to 6 minutes

per side, or until cooked through.

Makes 8 burgers.

Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

1 jar (1 pound 10 ounces) RAGÚ® Chunky Gardenstyle Pasta Sauce, divided

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (about 8 ounces)

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine ground beef, 1/3 cup Ragú Pasta Sauce, egg and bread crumbs In large

bowl.

Season, if desired, with salt and ground black pepper.

Shape into 12×8-inch rectangle In 13×9-inch baking or roasting pan.

Sprinkle 1-1/2 cups cheese and parsley down center leaving 3/4-inch border.

Roll, starting at long end, jelly-roll style.

Press ends together to seal.

Bake uncovered 45 minutes.

Pour remaining sauce over meat loaf and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

Bake an additional 15 minutes or until sauce is heated through and cheese is

melted.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Tip:

Molding the meat mixture onto waxed paper helps makecheese filling, then

carefully remove meat from paper.

Continue rolling in this manner until filling is enclosed in roll and meat is

off paper.

Lowfat Red, White and Blue Cheesecake Squares

Crust:

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (4 crackers, each 5 " x 2 1/1 " )

nonstick vegetable spray

Filling:

2 - 8 oz packages nonfat cream cheese (can also use lowfat or

Neufchatel)

1 cup nonfat cottage cheese

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping

1 1/2 cups nonfat sour cream

3T sugar

2 pints strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

1/2 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350°. (325* for dark pans).

Lightly spray bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish.

Sprinkle bottom with crumbs; set aside.

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, cottage cheese and sugar in large bowl

until smooth.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition.

Mix in vanilla extract.

Pour filling into crust.

Bake cheesecake for about 40 minutes or until mixture is almost set.

The cheesecake center will move only slightly when shaken.

Remove cheesecake from oven; maintain oven temperature.

Mix sour cream and sugar in a small bowl.

Spread topping evenly over hot cheesecake.

Bake 5 minutes.

Transfer cheesecake to a rack and cool a few minutes.

Arrange fruit on sour cream topping as desired.

To make the cheesecake look like an American flag, face the pan sideways (13

inches across).

Place blueberries in upper left hand corner, approximately 5 blueberries across

and 4 blueberries down.

This will create the blue background for the stars.

Place 5 single rows of strawberries across for the red stripes.

Cover and chill 6-8 hours.

Makes 30 squares - 67 calories per square

Firecracker Burgers

1 pound ground beef

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies, drained 1 teaspoon beef

bouillon

granules 4 slices Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil grate.

In a medium bowl, mix the beef, diced green chilies, and bouillon.

Shape into 4 patties.

Grill patties 3 to 8 minutes per side, or to desired doneness.

Top each patty with cheese about 2 minutes prior to removing from grill.

Yankee Noodle Dandy Cheese Bake

4 bacon slices, coarsely chopped

5 green onions chopped with some of green tops

6 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 cup finely crumbled farmer cheese

2 1/2 cups cooked egg noodles

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350*.

Cook bacon in a skillet until crispy.

Remove and drain the bacon.

In the skillet with bacon drippings, sauté green onions for two minutes.

Remove and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks.

Add three cheeses, green onions, bacon, noodles, cream, parsley, thyme, cayenne,

salt and pepper.

Set aside.

In another bowl or mixer, whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.

Pour the mixture into a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish that has been coated with

non-stick spray.

Bake the casserole for 30 to 45 minutes, until firm.

If the top starts to brown before the cooking time is finished, cover the dish

with a piece of aluminum foil.

Makes 4 servings.

Down Home Potato Salad

6 potatoes, cooked and cubed

4 hard boiled eggs peeled and chopped

1 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 2-oz jar chopped pimiento, drained

1/2 cup sweet pickle relish

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise or salad dressing

2 teaspoons prepared mustard

1 teaspoon seasoning salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix together potatoes, eggs, celery, onion, pimiento, and pickle relish in large

bowl.

Mix mayonnaise, mustard, seasoning salt, and pepper.

Pour mayonnaise mixture over potato mixture and gently toss potato mixture to

coat. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Yields 8 servings

Bread pudding- with lemon sauce

8-9 slices stale breads,torn into bite-size pieces

3/4 cup raisins

2 cups milk

3 eggs beaten

1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 to 1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup melted butter or oleo (old time name for margarine )

Toss bread and raisins into a large greased baking dish.

Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over breads and raisins.

Bake 50--60 minutes in moderate oven (350*) until puffed and golden brown on

top.

Serve with lemon sauce or milk on top.

lemon sauce

2/3 cup sugar

2 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tbsp. butter or oleo melted

1 egg

juice from 1/2 of lemon/some grated rind

dash of salt

Combine all ingredients in saucepan,cook until clear and slightly thick,add

butter or oleo

Southern Ambrosia

4 bananas, sliced

1/4 cup orange juice

2 cups orange sections, seeds removed

1 cup fresh strawberries, halved

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped

2 tablespoons flaked coconut

Toss bananas in orange juice, drain and reserve juice.

Layer orange sections, bananas and strawberries in bowl, cover and chill.

In a separate bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar and reserved orange juice; fold in

whipped cream.

When ready to serve, spoon mixture over fruit and sprinkle with coconut

~ " If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the

entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand. " ~ " Don't let anyone steal

your joy! " ~