Serve these potato dippers as a side dish or a fun appetizer at your next gathering!

Here’s a quick and easy backyard barbecue recipe from the United States Potato Board, that’s also a light and healthy alternative to fried potatoes and heavy high fat dips.

The dipping sauces all use fat-free Greek yogurt as a base and can be made up to 24 hours ahead and stored tightly covered in the refrigerator. I love summer party recipes that can be prepared ahead and pulled out at the last minute.

The best part is the whole dish is very low cost, but it looks fabulous on the table.

GRILLED POTATO DIPPERS WITH A TRIO OF SAUCES

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: about 30 minutes

Cost per serving: $1.71, including sauces

2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Sauces (see below)

Place potato wedges in a large bowl with olive oil; toss well to coat. Grill over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, turning once or twice, until lightly charred and cooked through. Season with salt and serve immediately with dippers.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Nutritional analysis per serving (potatoes only):

Calories: 140, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 0g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 95mg, Potassium: 713mg, Carbohydrates: 28g, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 1g, Protein: 3g, Vitamin A:  0%, Vitamin C: 30%, Calcium: 2%, Iron: 8%

Red Pepper Basil Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt

1/2 cup roasted red peppers, drained and patted dry

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup each: sliced green onions and basil leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Puree yogurt, peppers and garlic in a blender or small food processor. Add onions and basil and pulse on and off until finely chopped. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Nutritional analysis per serving:

Calories: 15, Fat: 0g, Saturated Fat: 0g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 105mg, Potassium: 20mg, Carbohydrates: 2g, Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 1g, Protein: 2g, Vitamin A: 15 %, Vitamin C: 15%, Calcium: 2%, Iron: 0%

Caramelized Onion and Chive Dipping Sauce

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced

1 cup fat-free Greek yogurt

1/4 cup sliced chives or green onion tops

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add onion and cook over low heat for 20 minutes stirring frequently; let cool. Puree onion and yogurt in a blender or small food processor until smooth. Add chives and rosemary and pulse on and off until finely chopped. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Nutritional analysis per serving:

Calories: 40, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 0g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 55mg, Potassium: 31mg, Carbohydrates: 3g, Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 2g, Protein: 3g, Vitamin A: 2%, Vitamin C: 4%, Calcium: 8%, Iron: 0%

Avocado Cilantro Dipping Sauce

3/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt

1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves

1/2 tablespoon lime juice

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Puree yogurt, avocado and garlic in a blender or small food processor until smooth. Add cilantro and lime juice and pulse on and off until finely chopped. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Nutritional analysis per serving:

Calories: 70, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 0.5g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 60mg, Potassium: 162mg, Carbohydrates: 4g, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g, Protein: 4g, Vitamin A: 6%, Vitamin C: 8%, Calcium: 4%, Iron: 2%

July is National Ice Cream Month, celebrate it with an ice cream party. There’s nothing better than some cool creamy ice cream on a hot July day. Here are a few ideas to get your ice cream party started!

• Set up an ice cream sundae bar and let everyone make their own ice cream sundae.
• Get some yummy ice cream party favors.
• Make some homemade ice cream, this Tropical Coconut Ice Cream sounds wonderful for a summer party.
• Make a simple berry sauce from some of those fresh in season berries you have on hand.

Bobby Flay helps you make some classic vanilla milk shakes. Yum!

Break out the ice cream and celebrate!

Image via stock.xpert.com

Christine Gooding, one of my co-bloggers here at Blisstree threw a Twilight Birthday party for her daughter recently, and it was a huge success.

For the cake she bought an edible Twilight image from ebay and had her decorator create a cake from that, check out all her Twilight cake details, and ideas.

The party decorations were fabulous, she set up a Twilight shrine, and used framed sayings from the movie with black and red balloons scattered around the room. Check out all the Twilight party decorating ideas Christine came up with to help you plan your own Twilight party.

Looks like a fabulous party!

Images courtesy of Mrs. Gooding

I have a healthy alternative to the grilled burger for your backyard barbecues this summer from Livestrong.com. Try grilled portobello mushrooms instead. They’re thick and meaty, but lighter on calories.

They’ll offer a great alternative for your party guests who are trying to watch what they eat this summer. Many guests will appreciate having a choice, especially one that looks as delicious as this.

Portobello Mushroom Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 4 Portobello mushroom caps, stems and gills removed
• 4 whole-wheat hamburger buns
• 1 cup sliced heirloom tomato
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup loosely packed mixed baby salad greens

Preparation:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high.
2. Mash garlic and salt on a cutting board with the side of a knife until it’s a smooth paste. Mix the paste with one tablespoon oil in a small dish.
3. Lightly brush the oil mixture over Portobellos and then on one side of each slice of burger bun.
4. Grill the mushroom caps until tender, about 4 minutes per side; grill the buns until crisp, about 1 minute per side.
5. Place the grilled mushrooms top-side down on 4 half-slices of the burger buns.
6. Top with the salad mixture, tomato and the remaining bun.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:

301 Calories, 9g Fat, 2g Saturated Fat, 7g Monounsaturated Fat, 3mg Cholesterol, 40g Carbohydrate, 10g Protein, 4g Fiber, 795mg Sodium, 691mg Potassium

I have a few more tips from Livestrong.com for creating a healthier barbecue featuring vegetables:

While it may seem odd, you can cook vegetables on your grill along with your meat, which makes barbecues healthier. Cut the vegetables into chunks that will cook evenly. Soak them in water for about half-hour and then lightly coat with oil.

Choose from the many different flavored oils available to have some fun with different flavors. Some people wrap vegetables in aluminum foil to keep juices close to the vegetables or put vegetables on a kabob.

Kabobs are fun to eat, easy to cook and the juices from the vegetables cook together to create an interesting flavor. Look up recipes so you know how long to barbecue specific vegetables.

Wow can you believe tomorrow is the first of July already? There are tons of reasons to celebrate in July, so break out the grill, and get a few friends together and tell them you’re celebrating one of these great events:

• July 1st Canada Day
• July 4th Independence Day in the United States
• July 9th National Sugar Cookie Day
• July 17 Anniversary of the opening of Disneyland in 1955
• July 20th International Chess Day~ Get some friends together for a chess tournament
• July 23rd National Hot Dog Day
• July 24th Amelia Earhart Day
• July 27th Bug Bunny made his first appearance in 1940

Celebrate the whole month for:

• National Baked Bean Month
• National Blueberry Month
• National Ice Cream Month
• National Hot Dog Month
• National Picnic Month
• National Pickle Month

Do you have a reason to celebrate in July? Feel free to share your July celebrations.

Image via sxc.hu

At the end of baseball season it’s fun to get the whole team together for one last fun gathering. You can play a last game of backyard baseball, let the kids challenge the parents to a showdown.

If you’re in charge of planning this years end of season baseball party, here are a few ideas to get you started:

(c) L Gerlach

• Baseball Cupcakes
• Have a baseball throw, to see who can lob the ball the furthest.
• Break into teams of two and have a baseball toss to see how far away from each other the kids can get and still catch the ball. Each time they toss and catch the ball, have them take a step back. The last team of two to catch every toss is the winner. Make it more interesting, and make it a water balloon toss.
• Serve up some baseball stadium favorites, hot dogs and brats on the grill.
• Show a slide show of photos from your season.
• Paint the kids faces with their team colors using vegetable oil based paints made for face painting.

What did you do for your end of the season baseball party?

There’s a new widget for wine lovers from Natalie MacLean, called NatDecants. You can add the new widget to your favorite social websites, like Facebook, MySpace, or your Blogger or Wordpress.com blog (and more). The widget is very simple to add, three clicks and you’re done.

The Drinks Matcher will help you discover mouth-watering pairings for your summer barbecues, 4th of July celebration, and dinner parties.

Here are some pairings that Natalie selected for her Top 10 comfort foods:

1. French onion soup with Chilean Chardonnay
2. Irish lamb stew with Irish Stout
3. Spaghetti and meat balls with a Bloody Mary
4. Roast chicken with Burgundian Pinot Noir
5. Shepherd’s pie with Australian Shiraz
6. Macaroni and cheese with Argentinian Malbec
7. Roast beef with Californian Cabernet Sauvignon
8. Pork chops and applesauce with Washington Late Harvest Riesling
9. Toffee pudding with Colombian Dark Roast Coffee
10. Chocolate cake with Kentucky Bourbon

This sounds like a wonderful widget to help you plan your parties, and share with friends.

Image via NatalieMaclean.com

Many Fourth of July Parties involve the whole family, if you’re the host it can be a challenge to entertain the children. Let them have time to just have fun and be kids, but if they’re looking bored you can plan some activities, foods, and beverages just for them. Here are a few ideas to help you out.

• 4th of July crafts for kids
• 4th of July activities for kids
• Fireworks safety
• Pretzel Sparklers

Pretzel Sparklers via Tasteofhome.com

4th of July cupcake Wilton.com

The most important thing is to keep it simple, and let the kids have time to just be kids and have some fun.

Do you have any 4th of July ideas for the kids?

I have a yummy frozen cocktail for your summer parties. You can use it to put the white in your red, white and blue for the 4th of July.

What is a batida? A Batida is a Brazilian fruit cocktail made with cachaça, a sugarcane liquor from Brazil. Batidas make wonderful cocktails for summer parties because they’re light, fruity, and frozen.

This recipe is courtesy of Leblon Cachaça.

Cashew Batida
2 oz. Leblon Cachaça
½ oz. Condensed milk
1 tsp. Cashew nut paste
Glass-Rocks
Method
Pour Leblon Cachaça and other ingredients into
a blender and blend until you have a smooth
consistency.
Pour into a glass of crushed ice.
Garnish with cashew nut on top of the drink.

Summer party centerpieces don’t have to be complicated. Just add water.

You can add colored or plain water to a vase, or small bowl then add a candle, some fruit or flowers to the bowl for a nice but simple, and low cost summer table centerpiece. Better yet combine flowers and candles, or fruit and flowers in the vase for a different look.

The centerpiece above combines a small glass candleholder, a floating candle, water, and a rose at the bottom of the candle holder. Very elegant for an evening dinner party.

Image via sxc.hu