July 4th Plans and Recipes - Life at Bella Terra

July 4th Plans and Recipes
For several years now, we spend July 4th at our cabin in the
mountains. There is a sweet, homespun, Americana parade that
goes by our driveway. Since the parade is heavily attended,
getting a good viewing spot makes our driveway a very popular
place. What started as a small parade-viewing get together,
has grown into a large group of multi-generational attendees.

Bullfrog Loop Parade

Fun, creative participants
Before the parade, we host an open house brunch and I make the
same recipes year after year. When I have the energy I may
branch out and make an additional new item, but it’s nice to
hear “I’m looking forward to that egg dish” or ” I love that
coffee cake”. With comments like that, why not keep the

traditional recipes.

Appetizers or Nibbles

Breakfast fruit/croissant tray
I have a very nice piece of wood that is easy to fill up with
appetizers including a charcuterie board, and/or a
breakfast/fruit station. Since the number of children who
attend is growing, it’s fun to have a place where they can
help themselves to yogurt pretzels, berries and fruit, or red
and blue M&Ms.

Croissants, muffins or donuts are an easy addition to this
fruit board.

Star shaped cheese adds to the patriotic theme
A vegetable and charcuterie board feels extra festive with
star shaped cheese slices (easily done with a cookie cutter).
I use my star cookie cutters for many reasons, not just for
cookies.

To seem more about how I construct this charcuterie board,
click here.

Main Courses

Tried and True Egg Casserole
For years, I have made this egg casserole for many occasions.
It feeds a crowd and tastes great either hot or cold, which is
perfect for a buffet table. Cottage cheese, mild green chiles
and Monterey Jack cheese are a few of the ingredients that
make this so tasty.

See recipe here.

Best coffee cake
This coffee cake can be made with virtually any fruit. I’ve
made it with blueberries, raspberries, apples, pears, peaches,
you name it. So super easy and absolutely delicious.

See recipe here.

Desserts

I’ve been experimenting with zucchini cupcakes (because I
still am picking zucchini from the garden!) and want to share

this recipe from Taste of Home. Instead of making the
suggested caramel icing, I did a cream cheese one, primarily
since the caramel icing was a little too brown for a July 4th
cupcake.

Aren’t these baking cups cute? I got them on Amazon and you

can find them here.

For my trial batch, I sprinkle them with patriotic colors.
When I make them at the cabin, I will use these patriotic
cupcake toppers.

Flag Cake
The one and only time I made this cake was in 2017. This was
my first time trying to bake a cake at high altitude (7500
ft.) and it was so stressful. However, the cake was a big hit
and therefore I want to make it again this year. However, I
will bake the cakes in Phoenix, freeze them and then assemble
it up in the mountains.

American Flag Cake
This cake looks unassuming on the outside, but once you cut
into it, what a surprise! Perhaps the most difficult part, is
baking 5 cakes, but also assembling it so you get the flag
pattern inside. If you like a challenge, here is the recipe.

Surprise on the inside

My Husband’s Favorite

You can never go wrong with a cherry pie for July 4th. It’s
one of my husband’s favorite but since I don’t make it
frequently, the filling varies between fresh and canned
cherries. If you make cherry pies, please let me know how you
prepare the filling. Do you prefer fresh or canned cherries?

Here again I am using the star cookie cutters for the top
crust.

Beverages

During a hot summer day there is nothing more refreshing that
a glass of homemade lemonade. Since I first tasted basil
lemonade, this is the only way I like to prepare it. For some
reason, the addition of this herb takes this lemonade over the
top. You can find the recipe here.

Skinny Jalapeño Watermelon Margaritas
For a light and summery cocktail, one of my favorites is a
Skinny Jalapeño Watermelon Margarita, recipe by Ambitious
Kitchen. With all the freshness of summer watermelon and a bit
of jalapeño spice, this is a winning drink.

Here are some more fun pictures from the annual Bullfrog
Parade in Pinetop, Arizona. My friend, Tracy always has the
most creative outfits!

My friend Tracy
And of course, we are always so grateful to our firefighters,
especially in our mountains where the threat of fire is
prevalent during the summer months.

Wishing you all the best holiday weekend, and let’s celebrate
our country and our independence!

Cheers!

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