Fourth of July

#SundaySupper: Easy to Make Patriotic 4th of July Recipes

~ lk529 ~ 8 Comments

It’s July 3rd, the day my Firecracker turns two! (TWO!) It also happens to be the day before Independence Day – the 4th of July. Which is why #SundaySupper is celebrating with Easy to Make Patriotic Recipes.

To kick start a festive morning, might I suggest these stars? They’re a baked pancake, which I’m dubbing “breakfast cake.” It makes me think of that Jim Gaffigan skit:

You’re not having cake for breakfast; you’re having fried cake, with syrup on top!

I made this breakfast after returning from my brother’s wedding in FL last month from a bare pantry. I think that qualifies my recipe as being “easy to make.” I didn’t have any butter, so I used oil, and I didn’t have enough sugar for both the baked pancake and the syrup, so I decided to add vanilla to the batter and keep the sugar for the syrup.

I used a star cookie cutter to make the shapes and topped them with strawberry syrup and fresh blueberries. The leftover pieces of “cake” were handed to Treat, with no sugar I didn’t feel too guilty about it.

IMG_9217

The 4th of July is in my top three of favorite holidays. I love creating menus in my country’s colors. Three years ago I went all out with a Red, White, and Blue Spread: complete with colored star shaped ice cubes and dyed pasta! Two years ago was my first year (probably ever) missing the fireworks display, but I had a good reason. Last year I was on cloud 9 celebrating the holiday (and Firecracker’s 1st birthday) with my entire family where I spent my childhood Fourths.

IMG_1037
My 1 day old Firecracker – 2014

This year we will be experiencing our first California 4th of July. I am hoping for a fog-less, smog-less night so we can watch up to 3 Fireworks shows from our balcony. We’ll be grilling burgers, drinking sangria, and chowing down on rice krispie treats. (I can’t not have rice krispie treats!)

Breakfast Cake Stars with Strawberry Syrup

Ingredients for Breakfast Cake:

  • 1 1/2 C flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/4 C buttermilk
  • 1/4 C vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients for Strawberry Syrup:

  • 2 C diced strawberries
  • 1 C + 1 tsp water, divided use
  • 1/2 C sugar
  • 1 tsp corn starch

Steps:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ cake pan.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Combine the wet ingredients into the dry. Pour into the cake pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly.
  3. Make the syrup: Put strawberries in a saucepan with 1 C water and the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook 15 minutes, or until the syrup has started to thicken and the strawberries have broken down.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining teaspoon of water and the cornstarch. Add to the syrup. Allow syrup to thicken another 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain.
  5. Option: Using a cookie cutter, cut shapes out of the breakfast cake. Serve with strawberry syrup and fresh blueberries.

*This recipe is adapted from April at http://www.girlgonegourmet.com/2016/06/pancake-squares.html*

Breakfast Cake Stars with Strawberry Syrup for #SundaySupper from Sew You Think You Can Cook

All-American Appetizers

America the Beautiful Beverages

Raise the Flag Breakfasts

For the Red, White and Blue Salads and Main Dishes

Oh Say Can You See Desserts

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement

Old Glory – completed!

~ lk529 ~ 5 Comments

Last year I shared the plans for the Fourth of July quilt that was already underway.

Over two years later, my goal of completing this quilt by the Fourth did indeed happen.

American Flag Sampler Quilt | Sew You Think You Can Cook

In February of this year (2015) Old Glory was finally completed and ready to be taken to the quilters! On June 16th I got a call that Old Glory was ready for pick up (three days before I was expecting it) and on the 20th I had finally gotten the binding sewn on.

Getting the binding on the quilt ended up being a challenge as I was one strip short of having enough fabric to go all the way around the quilt. I had to do some finagling but I got it to work. Instead of sewing the binding strips on a bias to reduce bulk I simply sewed straight lines at a 1/4″ seam allowance. The last strip of “just too skiny” fabric was cut in half, sewn together lengthwise, and trimmed to 2 1/4″ before being attached to the long strip of binding. I am relieved to say that even knowing where the “awkward” location on the binding is, I struggle to find it. Phew!

All that’s left to do is create the tag for Old Glory and sew it on. But for this year, it’s as good as ready for our first family of three firework watching. (Here’s to hoping my now one-year-old enjoys the bright flashes of light and loud bangs…)

American Flag Sampler Quilt (details) | Sew You Think You Can Cook

I wish you all a safe and happy Fourth of July.

And God Bless America.

American Flag Sampler Quilt (front + back) | Sew You Think You Can Cook

#SundaySupper: Red, White, and Blue

~ lk529 ~ 25 Comments

Let the grilling season begin! Tomorrow is Memorial Day and to help you celebrate the #SundaySupper crew have just the menu to get you feeling festive. Everything is red, white, blue or any combination of the three! This clever concept is thanks to our host  DB aka Foodie Stuntman of Crazy Foodie Stunts.

I wanted to make a recipe from a cookbook I’ve had in my collection for a couple of years now. Southern Plate by Christy Jordan. My mother-in-law gave me an autographed copy! My MIL has quilted with Christy’s mom for over 20 years!

I figured southern food would fit in nicely with an American holiday. I don’t know why, but when I think “American” I think of southern-inspired decor and food. I picture mason jars, bandanas, burlap, and of course, the American flag. I didn’t grow up “southern” and “home-style cooking”, to me, is not southern food. Maybe Pinterest is to blame for this “country” vibe? Whatever the reason, I was determined to try one of Christy’s recipes!

I searched through the summer section of her book in search of something red, white, and blue. I found a couple salads that I could alter to fit in all three colors but then I went back and checked out the “rules” for today’s event. I didn’t have to have ALL colors in my dish – I could use just one or two. Perfect. I knew exactly what I wanted to make!

Alabama barbecue sauce. This sauce is unlike anything you’ve ever had (unless you’re from Northern Alabama). The first (and only) time I’d even seen this sauce was my senior year in college. I had a great group of friends in my major and we would study together almost daily. Once a month we’d get together for a “family dinner.” In November we put together a huge Thanksgiving spread and invited the significant others and roommates to join in the fun. One of the guys hosted the party and he made white barbecue sauce to go with a fried turkey! (I didn’t know that was a thing either!)

AUAE10It’s hard to believe that was over 5 years ago. I am eternally grateful for that group of friends, for without them I never would have made it through our aerospace classes without them! Our degree program was very competitive, a quality that isn’t my strongest, and finding 4 other friends who genuinely wanted to see each of us succeed was a great comfort. For that I am ever grateful.

Alabama Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1/8 C sugar
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 2 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 C mayonnaise

Steps:

  1. In a bowl whisk together sugar, pepper, salt, lemon juice, and vinegar until sugar dissolves. Whisk in the mayonnaise until smooth. Refrigerate a couple of hours before use.
  2. Use for dipping chicken, pork, french fries, etc.

*This recipe is adapted from Christy Jordan*

alabama bbq sauce | sew you think you can cook

Food Using One Color
Red Food

White Food

Blue Food

Food Using Two Colors
Red and White Food

Blue and White Food

Red, White and Blue Food

5 Tips for Potlucks by Sunday Supper Movement

8387592742_f6164fd5a8_oJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the#SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

Old Glory

~ lk529 ~ 5 Comments

One of my favorite things about the Fourth of July is laying out a blanket and watching the fireworks with family and friends.

Once I learned how to quilt it became a goal of mine to have at least one quilt per holiday, but the one I most wanted to complete was one to spread out underneath the fireworks.

This is the plan for Old Glory.

Old Glory

Old Glory is what is considered a sampler quilt. So you will notice that, with the exception of the stars, not one block is repeated. I wasn’t sure the mathematical side of me would be able to handle this style of quilting, but in limiting the fabric choices I was able to find a little order.

Over the next month I will share with you tutorials for most of the blocks featured in my quilt. So hop on board and expand your quilt block knowledge!