4th of July Bash

Each year, we tend to host a big 4th of July bash, and this year was no exception. The house was filled with 49 friends and family members, which I loved. The more, the merrier! Not surprisingly, we never have a shortage of great food. I love these types of potlucks where all of us get to benefit from being around such good cooks. I also believe that since the publication of our first family cookbook, the bar has been raised. Now, there seems to be a renewed spirit to try new, amazing recipes while we still get to enjoy the tried-and-true traditional ones. Even my Aunt Marilyn sent out a plea to her Facebook family requesting a great recipe followed by, "I need to outdo my nieces!"

I love it! . . . at least until one of her friends suggested a fruit pizza, something that I make every year. Whoa! :D

For now, I'll just try to recall all that was served, but I hope to share some new recipes in future posts.

The appetizers included shrimp dip served with a variety of crackers, hot pepper peach dip served with pretzel crackers, sausage bites with pineapple and cherries, and meatballs. Mmmmm. Even Dad said, "I can make a meal just off of this stuff!" Notice some of the randomly-spaced missing cherries below. Jackie swears that Dad was the sneaky thief! :D

The main course included the requisite grilled hamburgers and hotdogs with a variety of toppings. Lots of people were talking about the burgers because they were HUGE! I'm embarrassed to admit that when I went to our local meat packing company, I got confused about a 6 oz patty vs. an 8 oz patty. For some crazy reason, I briefly thought a 6 oz patty was going to be like a quarter-pounder. That's why I went with the larger size, not thinking that what I ended up with was half-pound burgers! Oh my. Although there was a lot of talk and giggles making fun of a statistician who apparently doesn't know math, there were no complaints!

Now the sides: cole slaw, pepper slaw, baked beans, two different kinds of pasta salad, two different kinds of layered cornbread salad, corn on the cob, pineapple casserole, confetti salad, garden vegetable salad, watermelon feta salad, macaroni and cheese, blueberry congealed salad, and sawdust salad. Whew! Hopefully, I didn't leave a dish out of this list. They were all so wonderful!

Now for the best part:  the desserts! Blackberry cobbler; chocolate cookies with butterscotch chips; fruit pizza shaped into a flag (yes, mine, not Marilyn's); red, white, and blueberry trifle; patriotic cookies; mounds cake; no-bake strawberry icebox cake; stuffed strawberries; and a bouquet of lollipops for the kids. Thank God for us living in America, and thank God for Pinterest!  :)

Although there was plenty of good eatin', we did offer many other activities:  swimming, corn hole, horseshoes, basketball, ping pong, sidewalk chalk, etc.

Mostly, though, it was a day of relaxing, chillin', and just shootin' the bull, catching up with family and friends. Can't wait for next year!