An Uncomplicated Life Blog: Eating Local on Independence Day with Ozarka

Monday, July 4, 2016

Eating Local on Independence Day with Ozarka

Eating local has become wide spread and popular throughout the country. This July 4th, we're enjoying all things Texas!


This post is sponsored by Ozarka. All opinions, messaging and images are my own.

I've mentioned before that we're transplants to Texas. I'll be real honest with you: Before we moved here, I kinda laughed at Texas. From Minneapolis, it was one of those states that "thought it was so great" and what was with the cowboy hats and boots, right?! Not even a year into living here, I figured out why Texans love Texas so much. From the kind people to the wonderful weather to the AMAZING food, Texans really have something to boast about. This Independence Day, we got the opportunity to cookout like many other Americans, but also to add a little Texas pride into our July 4th holiday!

Eating locally is one of the hottest trends

Our plans include heading out to our community 4th of July parade. I bought the boys some American pride apparel and little flags to wave. We'll see how long we last! Last year it was 104 by 10am, and this year it's looking to be about the same. I'll be packing plenty of Ozarka® Natural Spring Water to chug as we go. Did you know their water is bottled from three real Texas springs? Yup. Check one of our local flavors for Independence Day!

After the parade, we'll head home and enjoy some AC. They boys will take a nap, which gives me some time to prepare an early dinner. Like most Americans, we love to cookout on national holidays, no matter how hot it is! Hubs will man the grill, the boys will swim in our classy blow up pool (Otto likes to kick it in the bumbo since he's not quite solid at sitting up yet, and laugh at big bro who points out every single plane that flies overhead) and I'll keep one eye on the boys, one eye on getting the table set, and one eye on my cold glass of wine. When you're a mom, you grow as many eyes as you need. It's amazing.



I wanted to do something a little different this July 4th, so I came up with this locally inspired take on the classic American burger: The Texas BBQ Burger!

- 1lb local grass fed beef (Texas beef is SO good!)
- Spice Kings "The Juicy Steak" rub
- Snow's BBQ Sauce
- buns, toasted
- tomato slices
- pickles
- lettuce leaves
- Yellowbird hot sauce if you dare!

Form your burger patties and sprinkle with Spice Kings rub. Grill meat; when you have about 2-3 minutes left, smear a healthy amount of Snow's BBQ sauce on the burgers. This sauce was voted best in Texas by Texas Monthly Magazine y'all, so you know it's good! Then remove the burgers and let sit for about 5 mins to allow the juices to set in the meat (never eat meat directly off the grill - always let it rest!). Dress up your burger with your desired fixin's and if you're really in the mood for the heat of Texas, add a few drops of Yellowbird's jalapeno hot sauce! You can always cool it down with a nice Texas craft brew. That's how we roll in our house, anyway.



Pair your Texas BBQ Burger with other local flavors. Chips and salsa/queso are a huge crowd favorite in our house, especially these locally made Paqui chips. You gotta keep an eye on Henry; he'll rob all the chips off your plate if you let him! That apple didn't fall far from his mama's tree, because I'd pull something like that too... If it were socially acceptable adult behavior.


I'm so happy to see local eating become a big, widespread thing across the county. In Texas, we have so many great flavors to enjoy and experiment with! The beef is the best in the country and spicy food is taken to new heights here. Thank goodness we have Ozarka spring water to drink to cool us down! Happy Independence Day y'all! I hope your day is bursting with local flavor too.

3 comments:

  1. Those burgers look SOOO tasty! We did nothing for the 4th. I feel like such a bad American. I had to work on blog stuff all day, so I totally missed out. I'm living vicariously through you!

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  2. Well I'm straight up starving now - that burger looks amazing and I actually love adding BBQ sauce to my burgers - it's a great taste! xo, biana -BlovedBoston

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  3. oh my gosh you know i've been craving burgers lol these look SO good. i am not gonna lie, big ol wimp here with the spicy food but it sounds like KC would love texas (except for the heat of course) purely for that.

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