Patriotic RWB recipes for Labor Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, US holiday lessons

For Labor Day Memorial Day, how about red white and blue recipes and creative American patriotic foods? Here's RWB appetizer-to-dessert menu. It's perfect for July 4th, BBQs, Father's Day and summer picnics and parties. Make these RWB recipes with kids for fun, hands-on learning. These healthy snacks work well for school holiday parties.

* Red White and Blue Chip Mixer. Make chips swing American. Blend any combination of blue corn chips, red corn chips (available at specialty and holiday food stores) red BBQ chips, pink taro chips (available in Terra's root vegetable chip blends), homemade parsnip chips (white) and beet chips. For white, use white corn chips, popcorn or white cheddar cheese puffs.

* Old Glory Veggie Platter: Use a tri-section platter for crudites (cut vegetables) or arrange them in stars and stripes. For red use red pepper strips, tomato wedges, radish roses. For blue, cut purple pepper strips, purple broccoflower, egg plant slices or shredded purple cabbage. For white veggies, use parsnip slices, cauliflower, water chestnuts. Cut some peppers and parsnips into star shapes (with star cookie cutter).

* Stars and Stripes Fruit Kebobs: On skewers, alternate any combination of watermelon chunks, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, strawberries, pale green honeydew, apple stars, banana slices (dash of pineapple or lemon juice prevents browning).

* Americana Lemonade Spritzer: Color lemonade blue with purple cabbage or blueberry juice. Or leave plain. Garnish by spearing strawberries or colored, star-shaped marshmallows on straws. Make star-shaped ice cubes with clear or grape soda or red pop. For clear ice cubes, put a blueberry in each.

* RBW Pinwheels:Flatten four pieces of white bread thin. Spread one with strawberry jam, another
with cream cheese and another with grape jam. Stack in alternate colors. Roll into log. Slice through all layers to make pinwheels.

* Patriotic Cole Slaw: Mix chopped purple cabbage, red peppers and radishes. Dress with vinegar, olive oil, salt, cracked pepper, horseradish and sugar. Cut peppers like stars if desired.

* American Flag Grill: Grill red smoked sausage, hotdogs, burgers (with beet juice added), or pink salmon. Garnish with purple cabbage shreds, purple and red pepper stars and mayonnaise. Poke tiny flag toothpicks in burgers.

* Festive American Fries: Julienne potatoes or use frozen French fries. Coat some in paprika or Louisiana red pepper and leave others white. Dye mayonnaise blue (naturalistas, use purple cabbage juice). Serve with red ketchup, plain and blue mayo. Dieters, use olive oil mayo.

* Lady Liberty Sundaes: Serve vanilla ice cream drizzled with strawberry and blueberry syrup. Mix colored gelatin for syrup. Decorate with blue and red candies (M&Ms, Nerds, Runts). Make fruit sundaes with blueberries and strawberries. Serve strawberry or spumoni ice cream topped with bluecolored topping. Serve Blue Moon ice cream with red and blue gummy worms, sprinkles, mini marshmallows and red fruit snacks. Or made a RWB ice cream buffet and let guest decorate their own.

* Star Cookies. Make star-shaped cookies easy using refrigerated sugar cookie dough. If you don't have star-shaped cookie cutter, cut into thin circles. Cut each circle into five pie-shaped wedges. Arrange in a circle, point side out. Place red or blue M&M or hard candy in the center. Hard candy will melt to clear "stained-glass" look. Or sprinkle with colored sugar. Or draw stars on cookie with colored spray frosting. Frost with strawberry cream cheese.

For more deliciously festive recipes, visit my blog Great Food 4U. For patriotic and other holiday printables, visit my blog Free Printable Holiday.