Keenan licking the batter!

Happy 4th, everyone! I have always loved the 4th of July because it means barbecue, ice cream and swimming! In our family, it is a day of cooking, making ice cream, swimming, playing bocci ball and having good conversations. It is a nice day of relaxing and spending time together.

Today started out with Keenan and I baking the most moist and easiest peanut butter cookies to compliment my husband’s homemade vanilla ice cream with peanut butter chunks and fudge swirl (YUM!!). Keenan loves to be my “Baking Assistant” or “Sou Chef,” as I call him. He loves helping us in the kitchen (including setting the table). I love that he has taken an interest in cooking; maybe he will be a chef when he grows up! He enjoys helping me measure out the ingredients, pouring them into the bowl and adding spices. Once we are all finished, he absolutely LOVES to lick the batter when we are baking (only if the recipe does not include eggs, of course). The nice thing about this peanut butter cookie recipe is there are no eggs, so Keenan can lick away (as you can see from the picture!). He was in hog heaven, since one of his favorite foods is peanut butter! How do you involve your kids in the kitchen? Do you find that involving your kids in the kitchen helps them to eat better?

The finished product: yummy peanut butter cookies (some with Hershey kisses!)

After Keenan and I made the cookies, I started on my grilled corn salad (we grilled the corn last night to save time today) that consists of tomatoes, red onions, black beans, cotija cheese, avocado and cilantro. Once we are ready to eat, I’ll add the avocado and chopped cilantro (since they tend to brown if they sit out for a while). Before dinner, we will enjoy linguica (a 4th of July tradition in my family), cheese, crackers and guacamole with chips (my husband thinks it’s funny to see linguica and guacamole together, but that is how we roll!). For the rest of our dinner, we are having watermelon feta salad (my sister-in-law is preparing), ribs, tri-tip and bread. For dessert, we will be having cookies with my husband’s ice cream and homemade cherry ice cream that my dad is making (another 4th of July tradition, made with our own cherries!). It will be quite a feast, to say the least!

If you are interested in my salad recipe, I adapted it from one I saw in Cooking Light a couple of years ago. It is super-easy to make and it is always a crowd pleaser!

Grilled Corn Salad: (serves 10-12)

Ingredients:

– 8 ears of corn (my husband seasons them and wraps them in foil; grilled and kernels cut from cob)

– 1 red onion (medium dice)

– 2 cups cherry tomatoes (halved or quartered, depending on the size)

– 4 avocados (large dice)

– 3 cans black beans (low sodium, rinsed)

– 1 bunch cilantro (de-stem and finely chop 1/4 of bunch for dressing; repeat with the rest when finishing salad)

– 4-5 cans sweet corn (depending on the size of your ears of corn)

– 1 block of cotija cheese (cut into small cubes, or crumbled)

– 1/4 cup olive oil

-4-5 limes (juiced, to taste)

– 1/2 teaspoon of cumin (to taste)

– pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in large bowl, except for avocado and cilantro.

2. In a small container, mix lime juice, olive oil, cumin, salt, pepper and 1/4 of the chopped cilantro and whisk together.

3. Pour dressing over salad and mix well.

4. Put plastic wrap over salad and let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

5. After 2 hours, add diced avocado and the rest of the cilantro and mix. Serve and enjoy!

My Grilled Corn Salad before putting it in the fridge to sit for two hours.

Keenan will be waking-up from his nap soon, so it’s time to get ready for swimming and having some munchies, before digging into to our delicious dinner and later, dessert! Today, I am definitely not watching my food intake! I will be gladly enjoying a little bit of everything! Tomorrow, I will be getting back on track with eating and exercising!

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