Celebrating Independence Day with Family and Food

The fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. It is all about feeling proud of your country, having family around, good food , fun and laughter. We live in a great nation and it is reason to celebrate.  I grew up in a military family. My dad was a Marine and we knew first hand the price of FREEDOM. We are were proud of our dads.  I also grew up in a small town in near the eastern coast of North Carolina.  The Fourth of July was special.  The town celebrated with a parade and a huge party in the park.  People brought food and family to celebrate.  There were pie eating contest, watermelon eating contest,  there was a mud pit for kids and every hour a gob of change was thrown in for the kids to jump in and search for.  There was also the greased pole to climb with cash at the top and the greased pig to catch.  It was so much fun.  

Late in the day we would go for a nap and then head on over to the military base or back to the park with our blankets all ready for the fireworks.  Yep, to me, it is one of the best holidays.

We have slowed our holiday way down but it is still filled with family, fun and food. Fireworks in our town are usually on the 3rd and some of the best around.So today  was filled with food and fun.

The "kids" learned to drive the tractor.

We played with bubbles and drones...

No hawks attacked the drones this time :-) 

We gardened just a bit.

Then the food. 

First up RED, WHITE AND BLUE SALAD.

Started with a spring mix and spinach, top with blueberries, strawberries, pecans, and goat cheese. 

Mom made the same salad yesterday and added chicken.

Serve with Raspberry Vinaigrette. 

Next up Veggie Impossible Pie. I used to make this for my kids alot because it is inexpensive and fast. 

It is two parts. First fill a pie plate that has been sprayed with cooking spray with veggies you like. This one has tomatoes, onions, olives, and collards.

Next top with cheese. I used my jalapeno goat cheese and cheddar. 

Mix 1 cup Bisquick, 1 cup milk (of course, I used goat milk), 3 eggs, salt and pepper. 

Pour over the top of your pie mixture. Bake 35 minutes at 400*. 

We top ours with sour cream and Tabasco. 

Next was Dill Pickle Pasta.

8 ounces of  cooked macaroni

1 cup chopped dill pickles

1/2 cup cut in half cherry tomatoes

1 cup cubed Irish cheddar cheese or your favorite cheese

1/2 cup of both mayo and sour cream

salt and pepper

Mix all up and serve.

We also had Cherry Poke Cake 

( I love Jello!)

Served with Hot Dogs and Alaskan Pollock Burgers.  

Hope everyone had a great day. Thank you to our Founding  Fathers , Happy Birthday USA!

peace, health and happiness