Abandon Nest

Punch recipes for your Memorial Day celebration:
Remember that 8 oz is a serving size, but most cups now are super sized and hold 12-18 oz. You should figure each guest will have 2-3 drinks per hour.

Citrus Punch

• 12 oz frozen orange juice
• 12 oz frozen lemonade
• 48 oz water
• 6 oz lemon juice (preferably freshly squeezed)
• 96 oz Ginger Ale
• 12 oz Grenadine

makes 186 oz [a little shy of 1 1/2 gallons]

California Punch

• 64 oz Orange Juice
• 64 oz Pineapple Juice
• 64 oz Lime Juice
• 56 oz Ginger Ale
• 1/2 lb sugar
• optional: 56 oz light or dark rum

makes 248 oz [about 2 gallons]

Instead of using regular ice cubes that will water down your punch as they melt, make the punch in advance and pour the mixture into your ice trays to make frozen punch cubes! You might also just want to freeze cubes of 7-Up or Ginger Ale to keep your punch fizzy. Yet another option is to seal your ice in zipper bags or use specially made reusable “ice cubes”. They are plastic cubes filled with water you place in the freezer and they come in a variety of fun colors!

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!!

Continuing with the preparations for the upcoming Memorial Day festivities, here’s a quick, easy, and healthy recipe that’s a favorite among my friends and family.
(makes 4 servings)

Spray your grill with nonstick cooking spray and then light it up so it’s getting warm while you combine these ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (use dried flakes only if you must)
• 2 T mustard
• 2 T steak sauce
• 1 clove finely chopped garlic (use garlic poweder only if you must)
• 1 egg
• dash of salt and pepper
• 4 whole grain buns

Combine all the ingredients except for buns in a bowl. Get down and dirty with it and use your hands to mix everything. Shape into 4 one inch thick patties. Grill over medium heat for about 7 minutes on each side. Serve on buns and enjoy!

[Make tomato, onion, pickle, and cheese slices along with mustard and ketchup available to your guests so they can adorn their turkey burger as they please.]

After taking a look at yesterday’s post, you know what materials you need for you barbecue, but many claim it’s the sauce that can make or break your entire meal.

If you choose to marinade your meat beforehand and don’t want to get too fancy, you can simply sprinkle each side with salt and pepper, rub in some minced garlic (or use garlic powder), and then cover with A1 or whatever your favorite steak sauce is.

For poultry, you can do the same or try salt and pepper, a sprinkle of parsley flakes, followed by some Italian salad dressing. Cover tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour and at most, overnight.

For those of you daring enough to attempt making your own barbecue sauce, and willing to toss the bottle aside, try this recipe. (It will make about 1 quart or 32 oz of sauce.) Go wild and change the recipe to what you think will make the perfect sauce (just be sure to try it before you slather it all over your meat).

• 10 oz [1 1/4 cup] ketchup
• 4 oz [1/2 cup] chili sauce
• 4 oz [1/2 cup] red wine vinegar
• 2 oz lemon juice [1/4 cup] (preferably freshly squeezed, but the bottled kind works too)
• 2 T steak sauce (that’s Tablespoon for you non-cookers)
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T mustard
• 4 oz [1/2 cup] brown sugar
• 1 t soy sauce (that’s teaspoon aka the smaller one)
• 2 t olive oil (canola oil will also work)
• 1 t black pepper
• 1 crushed garlic clove (you can always use more garlic)
• optional: 4 oz [1/2 cup] beer

Mix all of the above ingredients with a whisk until smooth. Apply as liberally or sparingly as you wish to meat while cooking on the grill and/or after being fully cooked.