July 4th Plans and Recipes

For several years now, we spend July 4th at our cabin in the mountains. There is a sweet, homespun, Americana parade that goes by our driveway. Since the parade is heavily attended, getting a good viewing spot makes our driveway a very popular place. What started as a small parade-viewing get together, has grown into a large group of multi-generational attendees.

Before the parade, we host an open house brunch and I make the same recipes year after year. When I have the energy I may branch out and make an additional new item, but it’s nice to hear “I’m looking forward to that egg dish” or ” I love that coffee cake”. With comments like that, why not keep the traditional recipes.

Appetizers or Nibbles

I have a very nice piece of wood that is easy to fill up with appetizers including a charcuterie board, and/or a breakfast/fruit station. Since the number of children who attend is growing, it’s fun to have a place where they can help themselves to yogurt pretzels, berries and fruit, or red and blue M&Ms.

Croissants, muffins or donuts are an easy addition to this fruit board.

A vegetable and charcuterie board feels extra festive with star shaped cheese slices (easily done with a cookie cutter). I use my star cookie cutters for many reasons, not just for cookies.

To seem more about how I construct this charcuterie board, click here.

Main Courses

For years, I have made this egg casserole for many occasions. It feeds a crowd and tastes great either hot or cold, which is perfect for a buffet table. Cottage cheese, mild green chiles and Monterey Jack cheese are a few of the ingredients that make this so tasty.

See recipe here.

This coffee cake can be made with virtually any fruit. I’ve made it with blueberries, raspberries, apples, pears, peaches, you name it. So super easy and absolutely delicious.

See recipe here.

Desserts

I’ve been experimenting with zucchini cupcakes (because I still am picking zucchini from the garden!) and want to share this recipe from Taste of Home. Instead of making the suggested caramel icing, I did a cream cheese one, primarily since the caramel icing was a little too brown for a July 4th cupcake.

Aren’t these baking cups cute? I got them on Amazon and you can find them here.

For my trial batch, I sprinkle them with patriotic colors. When I make them at the cabin, I will use these patriotic cupcake toppers.

Flag Cake

The one and only time I made this cake was in 2017. This was my first time trying to bake a cake at high altitude (7500 ft.) and it was so stressful. However, the cake was a big hit and therefore I want to make it again this year. However, I will bake the cakes in Phoenix, freeze them and then assemble it up in the mountains.

This cake looks unassuming on the outside, but once you cut into it, what a surprise! Perhaps the most difficult part, is baking 5 cakes, but also assembling it so you get the flag pattern inside. If you like a challenge, here is the recipe.

My Husband’s Favorite

You can never go wrong with a cherry pie for July 4th. It’s one of my husband’s favorite but since I don’t make it frequently, the filling varies between fresh and canned cherries. If you make cherry pies, please let me know how you prepare the filling. Do you prefer fresh or canned cherries?

Here again I am using the star cookie cutters for the top crust.

Beverages

During a hot summer day there is nothing more refreshing that a glass of homemade lemonade. Since I first tasted basil lemonade, this is the only way I like to prepare it. For some reason, the addition of this herb takes this lemonade over the top. You can find the recipe here.

For a light and summery cocktail, one of my favorites is a Skinny Jalapeño Watermelon Margarita, recipe by Ambitious Kitchen. With all the freshness of summer watermelon and a bit of jalapeño spice, this is a winning drink.

Here are some more fun pictures from the annual Bullfrog Parade in Pinetop, Arizona. My friend, Tracy always has the most creative outfits!

And of course, we are always so grateful to our firefighters, especially in our mountains where the threat of fire is prevalent during the summer months.

Wishing you all the best holiday weekend, and let’s celebrate our country and our independence!

Cheers!

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