Memorial Day must-have menu: more than BBQ recipes to delight your family

Memorial Day weekend is finally here! Many families and friends will reunite after skipping the celebrations for the last two years. Finding the perfect menu for the occasion is not an easy task if you look for ideas on how to surprise your family and guests with more than a regular BBQ.

Find below recipes that will crown you the Queen or King of festivities.

Vegetarian Sweet Potato Tacos

© Mikey's

Ingredients

• 1 package Mikey’s Purple Power Tortillas
• 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 avocado
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 clove garlic
• Juice from 1 fresh lime
• 1 (15 ounces) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup pickled red onions
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, toss diced sweet potatoes, olive oil, chili powder, and salt.
3. Spread sweet potatoes on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 20-30 minutes until soft and slightly browned.
4. Meanwhile, scoop avocado into a food processor. Add sour cream, lime juice, garlic, and salt and blend until smooth.
5. When sweet potatoes are almost done baking, heat tortillas according to the directions on the package.
6. Assemble tacos by spreading the avocado cream on each tortilla. Then top with sweet potatoes, black beans, pickled red onions, and cilantro.

Carnitas and Corn Rigatoni

Ingredients

• 1 box of Barilla Blue Box Rigatoni
• 2 lbs. of shredded pulled pork
• 3 ears of fresh corn on the cob
• 2 tablespoons of canola oil
• 1 cup of roasted garlic tomato sauce
• 2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
• 8 dried poblano chilies
• 2 cups of water
• 1½ teaspoons of oregano
• ½ cup of green chilies, diced
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• ½ teaspoon of coriander
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ¼ cup of radish, thinly sliced
• 8 lime wedges
• ½ cup of queso fresco, crumbled

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. For authentic “al dente” pasta, boil uncovered, occasionally stirring for 12 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
2. Pull pork into approximately ½ oz. pieces.
3. Place pork on the baking pan and put in a 450°F oven for approximately 15 minutes to heat through and crisp the outside.
4. Rub corn on the cob with canola oil and season with salt and pepper if desired; cook corn on the grill, turning so as not to burn for approximately 10 minutes—cool corn and slice kernels off.
5. In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Cut dried chilies in half, remove stem and seeds. Chop dried chilies and soak in hot water for 10 minutes; drain water from the chilies.
6. In a blender, add tomato sauce, chicken broth, soaked chilies, oregano, diced green chilies, cumin, coriander, garlic cloves, and blend on high for 3 minutes or until sauce is smooth—season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. In a small pan, add roasted corn to the sauce mixture and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
8. In a large bowl, toss pasta with tomato green chili sauce and portion evenly in bowls.
9. Top with warm pork, sliced radish, queso fresco, and a lime wedge. Enjoy!

Salmon Cakes With Cilantro Lime Sauce

Ingredients

Salmon Cake Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup siggi’s 0% orange and ginger yogurt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 16 oz cooked salmon, flaked with a fork
• 2 Tbsp canola oil

Cilantro Lime Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 cup siggi’s 2% coconut yogurt
• Juice and zest of half a lime
• 2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preparation

1. In a medium bowl, whisk siggi’s orange and ginger yogurt and egg until smooth. Add breadcrumbs, onion, jalapeno, and remaining ingredients (except the salmon), and stir until combined. Gently stir in salmon and form into 8 patties.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Working in batches, cook salmon cakes on both sides until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes, adding additional oil as needed.
3. To prepare sauce, whisk together all the sauce ingredients until well combined.
4. Serve salmon cakes topped with a dollop of cilantro lime sauce.