Happy birthday, America! This summer marks 4 years since my naturalization ceremony and 10 years of Fourth of July celebrations. While Jeff and I rarely partake in big parties, we usually wear red, white and blue, and come up with some American-themed meal.
While it started with simple meals that took only a few minutes to prepare…
…I decided to start challenging myself. Since hotdogs are not something we usually allow in our regular diet, I thought “What if I make everything from scratch? Then it’s allowed, right?”…so that is how 4th of July hotdogs turned into a 2-day project!
First, I had to make the sausages. I ground a mixture of beef eye-round roast and pork loin roast. The seasoning is up to you. I went a bit all over the place: dried herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme), cumin, nutmeg, salt, pepper, paprika and ground mustard. The trick is to cook a small piece of the meat after seasoning it and adjusting if needed. That gives you all the freedom in the world to create the combinations of your choice. Stuffing the sausages was tricky but felt so rewarding as I saw the long tube continue to grow.
Then, I had to make my hotdog buns. I used this recipe by Food Wishes, and simply shaped the buns in a cylinder manner rather than a round. The results were very uneven but it’s perfect to prove they were homemade. 🙂
The last step (although not pictured), was to make a simple chili (such as this one from Taste of Home) because there is nothing better in life (at least when it comes to junk food), than a good chili dog.
Voilà! It might not have been the prettiest meal but it is one I am extremely proud of. I stuck to my idea, took the necessary time and made my favorite Fourth of July meal to date.
How do you like to celebrate Fourth of July? Which F-word is your favorite for that special day? Food? Family? Fireworks? 🙂
The Hungry Quebbie 