Fourth of July

We all know that when the fourth of July hits, summer is nearing its half way point. Big sigh... Oh well, we still had a good fourth of July and I hope you did too.  My favorite thing about holidays is that I have the opportunity to experiment with creativity and presentation.  I feel like that is key when you are the one preparing the meal.  I also like to get my siblings involved in the prep (and the clean up). I also like to use semi homemade when I can so that I can be a part of the holiday and not in the kitchen the whole time.  I will share with you some very easy techniques on doing just that.

 

 

No holiday is complete without a cupcake or two.  One of my favorite shows on the food network is Rachael Ray, not just because she has a cool name but she also has a lot of easy ways to enhance simple recipes.  One of my semi homemade recipes was my cupcakes.  Rachael Ray takes a simple box cupcake mix and substitutes a few ingredients.  This makes the cupcakes fluffier and tastier. I also decided to add a little color to my white cupcakes.  I reserved some of the cupcake mix and dropped a few drops of red or blue food coloring into it and swirled it with some of the white mix using a toothpick (I did this one at a time after they were already in the pan.)  I also scooped a hole out of the center after baking and while still warm, and placed a Lindt white chocolate truffle inside.  This really took them over the top! They were delicious.  Here is the recipe for the cupcakes: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/18513_cake_over_how_to_make_boxed_cake_mix_better/.

 

 

For the frosting I used a white chocolate buttercream recipe that I found on Pinterest.  Then I topped them with white chocolate designs. I simply melted red and blue melting chocolates and piped them into the designs that I wanted and let them harden in the freezer.  The recipe I used for the frosting is from Sally's Baking Addiction.  Here is the recipe for the frosting: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/08/08/chocolate-white-chocolate-cupcakes/.

I also think it is very important to support the local vendors... I hope to be one someday.  So we went to the farmers market in the morning for a few snacks.  They included fresh salsa, a jalapeno and artichoke dip, and pita chips.  Yummy!

One of the simple things we did for our meal was fruit kabobs.  My sister offered to help and I couldn't pass up because it is nice to have an extra pair of hands.  You may recognize these from Pinterest.  There are multiple ways to do them and of course my sister thought it would be a good idea to use marshmallows for the white.  I also like bananas for the white color.  Either way they were very good!

The other sweet recipe we had was ice cream sundae cookie cups.  Another Pinterest recipe, these ice cream sundaes were the perfect recipe for a hot summer day.  I added cookie dough ice cream and magic shell chocolate for a perfect treat.  It was a huge success. Here is the recipe for the cookie cups: http://lovelylittlekitchen.com/ice-cream-sundae-cookie-cups/.

The last thing we did before fireworks was visit a unique soda shop in Phoenix called MacAlpines Soda Fountain.  My dad and my sister and I had a chocolate egg cream soda, which were delicious.  My brothers tasted the best in my opinion and was a cherry and peach Italian soda.  It was soooo good. Katy had a cotton candy ice cream soda.   I love to explore new restaurants because they inspire me to continue towards my dream.

Last but not least is a little drink recipe in honor of Shark Week which was last week on the Discovery Channel.  This recipe was also found on Pinterest however we decided not to use their recipe and just bought blue Jones Soda and clear Jones Soda that we dyed blue.  They were very tasty and the Swedish fish tasted really good after they soaked up the fizz of the soda.  Here is the recipe for the soda: http://fakeginger.com/2013/08/08/ocean-water/.

 

That is it for this week.  I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend and my blog post.  Feel free to comment because I love the feedback!  Have a good week and don't forget to check out my next blog post. :)