4th of July Recipes and "How-To's"

A couple of people expressed interest in the recipes for the deserts I made for the Fourth of July, so I thought I'd post them here.  They are super-simple and kid friendly too!

Revolutionary Strawberries
(from Family Fun magazine)

Ingredients:

• 12 oz white chocolate chips
• Blue sugar/sprinkles or edible glitter
• Strawberries

Instructions:
1) Melt 12 oz white chocolate chips in a microwave for approx. 1 min 15 seconds.
2) One at a time, dip strawberries into the chocolate and then into the blue sprinkles.
3) Set them to harden on waxed paper.
4) Makes approx. 35-45 strawberries.


Flag Cookie Cake

Ingredients:

• 12 oz softened cream cheese
• 3/4 c confectioners sugar
• 4 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 package sugar cookie dough
• Strawberries
• Blueberries

Instructions:
1) In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, confectioners sugar and lemon juice.  Set aside 1/4 cup.
2) Roll out cookie dough in a greased cookie sheet.
3) Spread cream cheese mixture over entire cake.
4) Trace out a rectangle in the upper-left hand corner for the "stars."
5) Place sliced strawberries in a row, making sure to leave space for the "stars."
6) Place blueberries in the rectangular space, leaving small gaps for the white "stars."
7) Use the remaining 1/4 cup cream cheese mixture by placing into a small sandwich bag, cutting off the tip of the bag, and squeezing out a small amount in between the blueberries.


Balloon Flip-Flops
This is a fun and easy-to-do craft project that I found on one of the many craft blogs I read.  Although the one I saw used multi-colored balloons, I thought it would be fun to do red/white/blue flip-flops for Emma.  However I had a hard time finding water balloons in red, white, and blue (I only went to Wal-Mart) so I opted to just do a blue/white combo instead.  I knew her pants were going to be red, so I thought the blue would balance it all out.  Such a thinker, I know!

I started with some plain white flip-flops.  Old Navy is the best.  They have every color under the sun, and the price can't be beat.  2 for $5!

I then placed the blue water balloons on the table, in a pattern where I alternated the openings from left side to right side.  This helps balance out the look of the balloons on the flip-flops.

Next, I just began tying the balloons in a simple knot until it was completely covered.  The process takes a while and my hands began to cramp after a while, but it's still a very simple and kid-friendly project!



Emma loved them, and she just looked too darn cute in her outfit!