Having friends or family over? Need to bring an appetizer to a party? The following appetizer recipes are fairly easy, and have proven to be hits over and over.

Zippy Cheese Bites
5 eggs

Note: These recipes were submitted by the first grade classes at Indus School

Hunt for turkeys in the woods. Take the feathers off. Put on the stove and cook at 40 degrees for 70 hours.

Trophies were awarded to the winners of the “Chili Challenge or Throwdown at Backus” Saturday after voters made their selections.

Editor’s note: Joan Pearson’s first graders at West End Elementary recently shared with The Journal their ideas of how to cook a turkey.

Devin
I think you pick all the feathers off and then you, I don’t know what you do next. Then you cook it in the oven. You put it on a plate and then you put it in the oven. Then you take it out after five minutes. It beeps when it’s done. Then you eat it. Sometimes I have mashed potatoes and I think that is all I can know about. Oh yeah, sometimes we have coleslaw and that’s all.

Samuel

Delicious fresh blueberries are a favored summertime treat to many northern Minnesotans. Fresh blueberries are in their prime season during the summer months, and are available frozen year-round.
The blueberry was one of the imperative foods to Indians, settlers and wildlife, adding flavor and nutrition to the diet of people in North America’s early years. These luscious berries are one of the few fruits native to North America.

Strawberry salsa
Ingredients:
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and julienned
1/2 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and julienned
1/2 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and julienned
1/4 cup finely shredded fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 pint (1 cup) fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Many people who live in Borderland have probably cooked burgers and brats over an open fire.
Cooking over an open fire is a great way to experience another aspect of the great outdoors.
As the sun goes down, the stars come out, and the flames turn to coals. Now, it’s time to cook.
The smells and the sounds of cooking, added to the natural sounds of the outdoors, adds to the sensual experience.
And the experience can be in a backyard or miles away from civilization at a remote place on a lake.

There are probably a million and one different drink combinations out there for you to serve at your next party or barbeque. However, many of these beverages contain very little nutritional value. Now is a great time to introduce your friends and family to the wonderful world of soy with delicious, refreshing soy smoothies.

Did you know the word picnic comes from the French word pique-nique?
And did you also know that the first picnics in France took place after the French Revolution, when royal parks turned into public parks?
Well, today, Americans enjoy picnics with family and friends, during holidays, birthday celebrations or just when they want to enjoy the outdoors. RecipeMatcher encourages readers to take a traditional dish to the next picnic, but switch it up a little by trying one of the following recipes.
Also, check out the following tips to make your picnic more enjoyable:

Sometimes restaurant salads are such a hit and so good tasting, it pays to know how they’re put together to make larger, family quantities at home. And often, what is in a salad is easy to determine for recreating them later. But the following salads with unique tastes, are a bit more mysterious. They appeal to many and are really delicious. While the ingredient lists are long, making them really isn’t that time consuming. And the benefits of raw vegetables and lean protein are worth it.