I’m thrilled and honored to be a Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger! I’ll be blogging for Hormel Foods each month, starting with tips for incorporating Hormel Foods into your 4th of July celebrations.  Hormel Foods works to fight hunger both here in America and overseas. They’ve donated millions of dollars worth of product to local food banks and Feeding America, and developed a fortified, shelf-stable turkey spread to help nourish children in Guatemala through a partnership with Food for the Poor and Caritas Arquidiocesana. This is a company I’m proud to be representing!

With Independence Day right around the corner, how are you showing your patriotic support this summer?  Are you sending a care package to troops overseas? Do you host an annual 4thof July party with friends and family? Hormel and I want to know! Here are some tips and links to recipes to get you started:

Get the kids together to make cards and care packages for troops serving overseas. Not sure where to start? A hand-made card and care package with packaged snacks are always a good bet. Tip: Troops are sure to enjoy Hormel® pepperoni stix, Hormel® chili or Hormel® Snac*Cups™, which are filled with Hormel® pepperoni, Sargento cheese and Keebler crackers for a protein-rich snack or meal.

Invite neighbors, friends and family over for a backyard Independence Day party and invite each guest to bring an item to send in a care package to troops overseas. Invite everyone to bring their favorite summertime appetizers and desserts to share. Tip: At your party, spend more time catching up with friends by skipping the grill and serving BBQ Blue Sandwiches (recipe below) for the main course with an Applewood Bacon Spinach Salad!

Did you know Hormel Foods makes Chi-Chi’s Salsa?  For hungry guests, put out bowls of chips and salsa to snack on. It comes in jars and also in 3.5 ounce cups called Snackers.

So, what are your 4th of July plans? A barbecue, fireworks, a trip with your family? Tell me in the comments! And finally, here’s that recipe for the BBQ Blue Sandwiches featuring another Hormel Foods brand – Lloyd’s Barbecue, which is SO GOOD. It’s also a great summer recipe because all you use is the microwave, no turning on the hot stove. Plus, a recipe that only has TWO STEPS in the directions is my kind of recipe! Enjoy!

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Hormel Foods Recipes > BBQ Blue Sandwiches

Serves 4. Total time: under 15 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (12-ounce) package Lloyd’s Woodfire Barbeque™ Beef Brisket
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 4 Kaiser rolls, split and toasted
• 4 leaves lettuce
• 8 slices Hormel® Black Label® Fully Cooked Bacon, heated and slices cut in half
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• Barbecue sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare brisket according to package directions.
2. Spread mayonnaise on cut sides of each roll. Place 1 leaf lettuce on bottom half of each roll; top with brisket, bacon and cheese. Drizzle each sandwich with barbecue sauce.

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So, how are you spending 4th of July? A barbecue, fireworks, a trip with your family? Tell me in the comments!

disclosure: I received products and information fromHormel Foods as part of my participation in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Preferred Blogger Program. All opinions about the products are my own.