The Fourth of July in my family means food, family, friends and more food! Each year we spend the entire week at the lake for the Fourth of July. It’s by far my favorite holiday of the entire year. We spend the actual 4th of July on the boat celebrating and eating in style. Fireworks and food are always in abundance with our crew at the lake. We have a group of about 20 people and each night of the week we rotate houses for dinner. This year I decided to make a few of my favorite simple summer salads for everyone to enjoy. Find the recipes below:

Roasted Corn and Avocado Salad

• 3 ears of corn (shucked)
• 1 large avocado
• 1 small can kidney beans
• 15 small cherry tomatoes
• 1 small white onion
• 1 lime
• cilantro

Grill the corn until slightly charred then cut corn off the cob into a medium bowl. Slice and dice the avocado, tomatoes and onion. Add to bowl with the corn and beans. Add cilantro and squeeze the lime over everything. Mix up and let sit over night.

Asparagus and Cheese Tortellini Pasta Salad

• 1 small bunch asparagus
• 1 package cheese tortellini
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 1 package prosciutto
• 1/2 block pepper jack cheese
• 2 tbs Italian dressing

Cook tortellini as directed on package and set aside. Cook asparagus about 5 minutes in boiling water then put in ice bath. Cut asparagus into quarters and dice the cherry tomatoes. Cut the cheese into cubs. Tear prosciutto into small bite size pieces. Mix everything together in a large bowl and add the 2 tablespoons of Italian dressing.

I hope you and your family enjoy these as much as mine does!