Easy July 4th Party Recipes & Tasty Summer Side Dishes

As you might imagine, we LOVE entertaining outdoors! And with summer in full swing – and July 4th around the corner – we thought you’d like some great ideas for tasty summer party recipes!

Aside from our own novice chefs, one of our favorite recipe sources is The Food Network! Here are several terrific summer recipes that would be perfect for July 4th & any summer gathering, because they are delicious AND easy to prepare …

Grandma Jean’s Potato Salad, courtesy of Down Home with the Neelys
Prep Time: 15 minutes.  Dish Setting (flavor marinating) time: 2 hours

Zucchini Gratin, courtesy of Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa
Prep time: 10 minutes.  Initial ingredient Cooking time: 30 minutes.
Finishing Baking time: 30 minutes

Garlic & Herb Grilled Sweet Potato Fries, courtesy of Bobby Flay, Boy Meets Grill
Prep time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ultimate BBQ Chicken, courtesy of Tyler Florence, Tyler’s Ultimate
Prep time: 15 minutes. Inactive (marinating time) 2 hours. Cook time 1 hour, 5 minutes.

We hope you have a terrific summer, filled with great times, amazing food and lots of outdoor entertaining!