July Fourth>

Three cheers for the Red, White and Blue! July 4th., is probably the biggest summer holiday we have here. The birthday of our nation, festivities abound! Some will be going to the beach, picnics or backyard bar-b-ques. We'll be attending a Bar~B~Q here...let's see how we'll plan our Independence Day celebration!

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Table Setting

There are plenty of paper goods to be found with patriotic designs such as stars & stripes, flags, etc. I like to create my own color scheme. Generally, I'll obtain a white table cloth that has a stars & stripes border..but solid white in the center. We're going to use solid blue plates. Purchase 3 sets of napkins in solids..red..white and blue. See if you can obtain Uncle Sam type top hats at your local party or paper goods store. For our utensils, we'll want a set in white and a set in red. We're expecting 15 people, so I'll wrap a contrasting napkin around a knife and fork and tie off with a contrasting ribbon, so I have 5 sets in each color...red..white...and blue! Stand these in the top hat and place at the end of the table next to the plates. For our centerpiece, we have two variations here...fresh flowers or flags! I'm doing both.

For the flower arrangement, you'll need 15 carnations...5 red and 10 white, and some baby's breath. Take 5 of the white carnations and dye them blue using food coloring. I have a 5 inch vase, with a wide mouth, that I'm going to use....but a jar with these dimensions will do just fine. Line the inside of your Uncle Sam top hat with 3 sheets of tissue paper (1 red, 1 blue and 1 white) so that they overlap and come up over the brim of the hat. This will fill in any gaps between the flowers and the wall of the hat. Fill the vase or jar with water and place inside the hat. Cut the stems on the flowers, short enough, so that the heads are visible, without showing much stem. This is where your tissue paper can help. If you need to ,you can elevate the jar by standing it on a tuna can.
An alternative to flowers would be flags. You can obtain these from many sources this time of year. Ideally, you'll want ones that are 10" and 12" in height. Use a fish bowl or a large glass jar. I'm going to layer in the jar, white, red and blue pebbles, like you would use in a fish tank. Then stick the flags in the jar...the 10" ones on the outside and the 12" ones on the inside for a tiered effect. Now this alone can be your centerpiece, or you can use 2 smaller versions to flank the Uncle Sam flower arrangement. Either piece or both, will make for a festive July 4th table. Let's see what's on the menu, shall we?

Menu The 4th. of July menu is simply American. Franks will be in order, as will burgers.
Some of our recipes can be found at other parties at this site. There will be a link wherever recipes are provided.
Burgers & franks
Bar~B~Qued chicken*
Patriotic Pasta Salad*
Eileen's Potato Salad(go to recipe page)
Broccoli Salad(go to recipe page)
Grand Old Flag Cake*
*recipe to follow
Bar~B~Q Chicken
Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce and grill :0)
Patriotic Pasta Salad
2 lbs. rotelli pasta cooked, drained
2 red delicious apples diced (skin on)
8 oz. of bleu or gorgonzola cheese(crumbled)
1 small red onion diced
1 bottle of Raspberry Walnut Vinegarette dressing
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss well. Serve chilled.
Grand Old Flag Cake
Not only is this cake easy, refreshing and festive..it's FAT FREE! It can be found on the side of an Entenmanns' Light Loaf cake, but I'll provide it here. :0)
2 pints strawberries
1 pk. Entenmann's Light Loaf Cake, cut into 10 slices.
1 1/2 cups blueberries, divided.
1 Tub Fat Free Cool Whip (regular or lite Cool Whip may be used..your preference!)
Slice 1 cup of strawberries and set aside. Halve remaining strawberries and set aside. Line bottom of 12x8 inch baking dish with loaf cake slices. Combine half of the blueberries with the sliced strawberries and spead over cake slices. Top fruit mixture with Cool Whip. Arrange remaining strawberries and blueberries in a flag design, as pictured below. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

No matter what you do, have a happy and safe holiday!

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