Some Summer Recipes from a Fort Benning Wife and Mother

With summer in full swing and the Fourth of July just around the corner, I thought I would raid my recipes to find my family’s favorite summer recipes. I do not have exact recipes for most of these so I will do the best I can in telling you how to make them. These recipes are my favorite that my mother passed on to me.
Pasta salad
1 box of Rotini pasta (tri color looks nice)
1 bottle of your favorite Italian dressing (If you are feeling ambitious you can make your own)
2 small cans of diced black olive
1 package of feta cheese (If you don’t like feta it is great with provolone as well)
1 package of sliced pepperoni ( I cut the pepperoni rounds in half)
1 green peeper diced (optional)
1 red onion diced (optional)
All you do to make this is cook the pasta and then toss with the other ingredients. I have noticed that this tastes better if you make it the day before and let everything marinate overnight but it is great the same day as well. (The last time I made this I added diced pastrami and salami and everyone loved it)

Fruit Salad
1 large can of chunk pineapple
1 large can of mandarin oranges drained
1 bag of grapes (I like to cut the grapes in half)
3 bananas sliced thin
1 container of cool whip
1 Package of mini marshmallows
1 large package of instant pudding (I use vanilla but you can use other flavors if you like)
To make this you take the pineapple, not drained, and stir in the package of instant pudding. Allow to set and then add the rest of the fruit. Fold in cool whip and marshmallows. If you want to make this a day ahead wait to add the bananas and cool whip or it may get soggy.
Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip
2 cups of Diced cooked chicken (you can cook it yourself or if you are in a hurry buy precooked chicken)
1 package of shredded mild cheddar ( Colby jack is good as well)
2 packages of softened cream cheese
1 bottle of chicken wing sauce (I use Nancy’s)
1 bottle of blue cheese or ranch dressing (or you can make your own)
1 packet of Italian dressing mix
To make take the cooked chicken, Italian dressing mix, and chicken wing sauce in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until warm. While this is heating take a 13x9 inch pan and spread the cream cheese on the bottom of the pan. Then pour chicken mixture over the cream cheese. Next pour the ranch or blue cheese on the top of the chicken mixture. Finally top with the shredded cheese. Place in a preheated 375 degree oven until cheese is melted on top and dip is heated through. You can serve this with tortilla chips or bread.
I hope you enjoy these recipes these are great to bring to pot lucks, Family Group Readiness events, or just a summer picnic.

The Perspective of a Fort Benning Military Wife and Mother-Summer in Georgia

Summertime is upon us. Along with the scorching heat comes the fun of block leave and summer vacations. If you are looking for a vacation that is within driving distance then a nice family beach vacation idea is Tybee Island on the Eastern Georgia Coast. It is about a four and a half hour drive through the beautiful Georgia countryside. We made the drive in our Mercury Sable on about three quarters of a tank of gas.
For those who are unfamiliar with where Tybee Island is located, it is the coastal area right near Savannah, Georgia. The beach is absolutely beautiful and it is very family friendly. We rented a three bedroom condo with our family right on the beach and it was about $300 per family for the week which we considered very affordable. There are other options for lodging here as well such a multitude of hotels as well as rental houses. As for the atmosphere the beach is not overly touristy but there are many things to do.
One family outing that we took was to the downtown area on the island. On that end of the island you can find souvenir shops, ice cream stores, lots of restaurants, and the pier. The pier was our favorite spot. On the pier there was an ice cream shop, a hot dog stand, and a bar. There is a covered pavilion that has ample seating. At the end of the pier there is a smaller pavilion that had benches and a beautiful view of the rolling waves.
Another day we went on a Dolphin Cruise. My stepdaughter is an animal fanatic so no vacation is complete without some sort of animal excursion. The dolphin cruise was a ninety minute boat ride. It cost $15 per adult and $7 per child. We were somewhat nervous that after paying for the boat ride we may not see dolphins but as it turned out we could not believe how many dolphins we saw. We even got to see two baby dolphins which the children loved.
My favorite part of the trip was the beach. The beach was a good combination or soft sand and hard packed sand closer to the water. This gave us option of lying out and building sand castles in the soft sand and taking walks or riding bikes on the packed sand. The water this time of year was perfect not too cold but yet not to hot as to not be refreshing. We enjoyed many hours on the beach playing in the water either boogie boarding in the waves and looking for hermit crabs in the tide pools.
My husband’s favorite part of the trip was the lighthouse and the Military forts. My husband was a history teacher before he came into the army so anytime that we vacation we usually visit the local historical land marks. The lighthouse was our favorite part of the day because it had a beautiful view.
The last thing that we did while on vacation was eat. We ate, and ate, and ate but with all of the fresh seafood how could you not. Our favorite place to eat was the crab shack. This restaurant is awesome. There is seating indoors or out depending on the weather, awesome décor, an even an alligator pit that you can feed the alligators. The portions here were huge and the food was good. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone who comes to the area.
We were so busy the whole time that we were on vacation and with Savannah so close there is so much more that we could have done. I highly recommend Tybee Island to anyone looking for a great beach getaway.
CJ