I’m so glad I ended up taking this Friday off from work. I’ve been needing a four-day weekend and 4th of July is the perfect excuse for one! I’ve mentioned before that Texas holds some great childhood Independence Day memories for me. Since moving to San Antonio almost eight years ago, I’ve been making wonderful adulthood memories as well. This year, we will be celebrating our great nation with family. I can hardly wait to watch my daughter play with cousins she hasn’t seen since Christmas. We’ll be hanging out poolside for most of the weekend which means I’m all about the easiest snacks I can make happen while still pulling off a patriotic theme. I’ve put together a short list of what you can make to keep things simple, mostly healthy, and definitely delicious.
Watermelon Salad
Honestly, you can further simply this easy recipe by skipping the dressing. Sure, it adds a little extra something to the dish but if you’re in a hurry, just stick to the basic salad.
Watermelon Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 8 cups watermelon, cut into 1" cubes
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled or cut into small cubes
- 1 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
For the Dressing
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss together all of the salad ingredients.
- In a blender, liquefy the dressing ingredients.
- Drizzle dressing over individual servings of salad, as desired.
Snack Tray
The key here is finding a variety of red and white snacks and adding in some blueberries. Use whatever snacks you like best. Here’s what I used: star fruit, blueberries, cherries, mini toast crackers, grape tomatoes, white cheddar cheese slices, yogurt covered pretzels, red bell peppers, white crackers, and pepperoni.
Fruit Bruschetta
Fruit Bruschetta One thing I love about this recipe is that you can change up the fruit toppings based on preference or what is seasonal. For 4th of July, I opted for blueberries and raspberries
Fruit Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 1 Ciabatta baguette
- 8 oz goat cheese
- 1 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup blackberries
- honey, for drizzling
Instructions
- Set oven to broil.
- Slice baguette diagonally into ½” thick slices. Lay out the slices of bread on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 1 minute or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven, flip each slice of bread over and place back in oven for 1 minute or until lightly golden. Remove cookie sheet from oven and let bread slices cool completely.
- In a bowl, combine goat cheese and chopped mint leaves. Spread goat cheese onto bread slices (be generous, it’s delicious!). Top with fruit as desired then drizzle with honey.
Notes
Infused Water
The key to infused water is to prepare it a couple of hours ahead of time. Place sliced fruits in a large pitcher and add water. Refrigerate until ready to serve. For this one, I used star fruit, strawberries and blueberries.
Stir-N-Drop Sugar Cookies
I found this recipe in my grandmother’s recipe box and I love using it for holidays. You can change up the colored decorating sugars to adjust for the right color theme.
Stir-N-Drop Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- zest of 1 lemon
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- additional colored sugars for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs with oil, vanilla, zest and sugar.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
- Stir flour mixture into egg mixture.
- Drop dough by the tablespoon full onto parchment paper covered cookie sheet.
- Grease the bottom of a glass with butter or cooking spray. Dip glass into colored sugar then gently press on ball of dough until dough is ¼-inch thick. Repeat on each ball of dough.
- Bake 5-6 minutes or until edges of cookies start to turn golden brown.
Chips & Pico de Gallo
Place a small white bowl of pico de gallo inside a larger white bowl. Fill remaining space in large bowl with blue corn chips.
Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
- 6 roma tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 white onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno, stemmed, cored and finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- juice of 1 lime
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- Stir before serving with tortilla chips.
Flag Cake
This is about the decorations more than following a recipe. Grab a box of white cake mix and bake as instructed on package. Once cooled, cover with cream cheese frosting or cool whip. Top with blueberries and sliced strawberries in the shape of an American flag.
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