Fun, food, and of course, fireworks! Obviously, I’m talking about the Fourth of July, and just because it falls on a Monday this year, doesn’t mean you can’t have a killer barbeque with friends and family. And why stop at the barbeque? There are endless ways to have festive Fourth of July meals all weekend long.
For example, start your Sunday, July 3rd with brunch, because Sundays are made for brunch. Nowadays, it’s out with the kale and in with the smoothie bowl. This patriotic smoothie bowl recipe will definetly help rev you up for the day’s festivities.
For a more traditional dish, these blueberry pancakes are just the fix for a star-spangled breakfast.
And there is always this red, white, and blueberry parfait.
Of course, no brunch is complete without a mimosa; make that a strawberry mimosa.
Hopefully that big brunch can hold you over until dinner, but if you find yourself with some midday cravings, go ahead and have a snack. (I promise, it’s not more berries.) Grab some friends, open up a bag of blue corn chips, and pass around the salsa. Mild, medium, or hot, anything will do. Need some more savory? How about barbeque chips and bleu cheese dipping sauce? (Alright, I know bleu cheese isn’t actually blue, but it has “blue” in the name, and that’s close enough.)
Time for dinner. You can’t go wrong with serving cheeseburgers, hamburgersand hot dogs.
There’s no need to get fancy with the fries. Go to Publix, buy a big frozen bag of fries (any type of cut will do), spread them out on a tray, and put them in the oven according to the directions on the bag. Also, grilled veggies make perfect side dishes for any barbeque dinner.
Next comes the best part of any day: dessert. If you have a sweet tooth like I do, then you know how important it is to serve some seriously mouth-watering treats. I bake a lot, but the easier the recipe the better, so I’ve categorized the desserts from simplest to not so simple.
This delicious dessert is probably the easiest to make and with these chocolate covered Oreos, you’ll fool your friends into thinking you’re a master chocolate confectioner. Pour on some sprinkles, so your Oreos will be colorful—like fireworks.
Don’t count out these peanut butter and M&M truffles. Just because they’re little doesn’t mean they aren’t full of flavor. Also, the truffles only need four yummy ingredients.
Did someone say shots? Jell-O Shots that is. Your guests are sure to love these red, white, and blue vodka Jell-O Shots. Although they require a little bit more prep, you won’t want to skip out on this dessert.
Red velvet cookies. Yes, I meant cookies, not cake. I take my cookies seriously, and trust me—you will definitely want to give this recipe a try. You can even frost them with blue icing and cut them into star shapes to be extra festive.
This no-bake raspberry cheesecake is a fun alternative to a traditional cake. Feel free to mix it up with some blueberries on top. These mini cheesecakes are the perfect bite-sized treat.
Last but not least is the classic red white and blue cake, which is really not that difficult to bake, but it can be time consuming. Don’t forget to be creative when it comes to decorating. After icing the cake, if you’re not “berried out,” go ahead and throw some fresh berries on top. You can also coat the cake in different types of M&Ms (the crunchy M&M’s make a great topping and add in some texture.) Or, you can just use red and blue icing to add some finishing touches to your delicious dessert.
