4th of July Recipe Round-Up!

Is everyone ready for a fun-packed day tomorrow?

Well I’ll be honest. For me, just an evening, mostly. With two little ones and one “baking”, I tend to wear out quickly right now. Also, I just like to keep things low key so I don’t pass out by the end of it all.

For me, it’s all about the food and the fireworks. As Apu once said, “Celebrate the independence of your country by blowing up a small part of it.”

But no, really. I’m not a crazy borderline illegal fireworks person. I just think they’re beautiful and majestic (don’t you like that word?). Growing up, we always had a little fireworks celebration over the reservoir in my hometown. We’d go out with my extended family to our private piece of land, cook up a lot of good eats, and then wait for dark for the magic to start. The celebration was mild, but beautiful. It has since gotten ramped up quite a bit and Blanding, Utah, the little town of about 3,500 is quite famous for its 4th of July Celebration and has people coming back for more every year.

I think when I really started appreciating Independence Day more though, was my summer out in Washington, D.C. I met up with some friends at the Iwo Jima monument. Although I couldn’t hear the orchestra that was playing on The Mall from that far away with all of their patriotic songs, just the scenery, the lit sky, and the hug mass of proud Americans was enough to really tug at my heartstrings. I will always remember that event with fondness. I love this country.

And I’ve just come to appreciate it more and more over the years. As I’ve visited other countries, as my husband has served overseas with the military, as I’ve learned more about my ancestors and their sacrifices, and as I’ve seen others now dedicate their lives (and very literally at times) to preserve the freedoms of this nation, I am simply grateful. I think often we forget how good we really have it. Do we have our problems here? Yes, of course. But we are amazingly blessed, and hopefully, we can take pause to remember that, more than just on this one day.

Well, I said recipe roundup so here it is! In case you are still floundering on a few last minute menu items, I just thought I’d throw out a few easy ideas to round things out for you while you are celebrating.

Drinks:

Lemonade anyone? Go berry style with or sans slush.