Fourth of July Treats

Since the Fourth of July is right around the corner, I thought I'd share a couple of treats I've made in the past.

 Inspired by my Rainbow Slush, I made this Firecracker Slush last year. These are always a huge hit!

I have made this Snickers cake every year for several years now and everyone looks forward to it. Plus, it's super easy!

Unfortunately, this is all I seem to have on my blog that relates to the 4th! I guess I need to get to crafting, huh? What are your plans for the 4th?

Linked to: The Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Creative Bloggers Party & Hop at Homemaker on a Dime, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, What We Wore, Read & Made at Rae Gun Ramblings, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Chili's Style Queso

We've made this Chili's Style Queso a few times now, and while it looks disgusting (admit it, it does), it tastes delicious! And very simple to make. It was a big hit at Morgan's birthday party and I think it will be making an appearance at all the parties from now on.

You will need:
16 oz. box of Velveeta
1 cup milk
15 oz. can Hormel chili (no beans)
2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
4 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Cut the Velveeta into small cubes and and place in a saucepan over medium heat.

Add the remaining ingredients.

And heat until everything is nice & melted, stirring frequently.

And enjoy!

Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Catch as Catch Can at My Repurposed Life, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello, Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime, Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Creative Bloggers Party & Hop at Homemaker On a Dime

Candy Cane Bark

Do you still have a bunch of candy canes laying around from Christmas? I finally tossed ours, but we usually have so many left over. Why not do something with them and make some candy cane bark? I would say peppermint (like I made here), but I bet some of the other flavors (like strawberry or blueberry) would be good, too. Start with some candy canes. Unwrap and break into a few pieces.

Normally I would have used a zipper bag, but we were out, so I improvised with wax paper. Place your candy canes inside the bag and seal.

Now let the kids help with this part - using a rolling pin or a can, pound the heck out of the candy canes until they are all broken up.

I used Wilton candy melts, but regular white chocolate chips will work just as well. Pour them into a microwave safe bowl and make sure it's totally dry.

Melt according to package directions until smooth.

Next, line a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper.

And pour in your broken candy bits.

Stir until blended well!

This looks kind of weird, but pour the candy mixture out onto your paper lined pan.

Using a scraper, smooth the mixture out until it's somewhat uniform in thickness.

Now just let it dry. I like to put it in the fridge to speed it along.

Break apart and enjoy! Have you ever tried this with any flavor other than peppermint?

Firecracker Slush

With summer pretty much here, I've started thinking about the 4th of July. I never really decorate too much, but I always do something food related. Every year I make a Snicker's Cake, and last year I also did one that looked like a flag inside when you cut it. Even though it's not the 4th yet, I decided to give something new a try. Something inspired by the Rainbow Slush.


You need the same ingredients. Frozen ice pops (something with white), dishes to put them in (these are single serving size), a bowl & a fork.


Freeze the pops, then seperate your red, white & blue colors.


I forgot a picture of just the blue, but crush your pop in the bowl and then add the blue to your dishes. Then repeat with white and red. If you pops are soft enough, you may be able to just pour them straight into the dish. But then you also run the chance of the colors blending.




Here is it after the addition of the red. Isn't it cute?


Then if you like, you can add your choice of garnish. Here I used a lollipop stick & a pompom.


Now kick back & enjoy! (I wonder if the adults could add vodka to these? LOL!)


Do you have any projects or recipes planned for the 4th?

Linked to: Creative Bloggers Party at Homemaker On a Dime, Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Monday Linky Party at Dimple Prints, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Tasty Tuesday at 33 Shades of Green, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Idea Sharing Wednesday at Women Who Do It All, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Inspired By You Wednesday at Eisy Morgan, Hookin Up With HoH at House of Hepworths, Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, I'm Crafty Party at So You Think You're Crafty, Catch-As-Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello, Show & Share Day at Just a Girl

Watermelon Cake

For our Memorial Day celebration, I was in charge of the sweets. And what says summer better than watermelon? I've seen the Betty Crocker watermelon cake, and it was my inspiration, but I did not use their recipe.

You will need:
white cake mix

oil, eggs & water per cake mix instructions

a round pan (I used a Wilton soccer ball pan)

food coloring

chocolate jimmies

frosting (I prefer to make my own but I was going for fast & easy)

Mix the cake according to directions. Then add coloring until you reach your desired shade. Then add chocolate jimmies & stir.


Bake according to your pans directions, let cool & frost. And that's it! You can see my attempts to copy the stripes of a watermelon. I just dyed my frosting a lighter shade of green, frosted it and then dyed the rest a darker green. I used a spatula to add the dark green & drag the stripes. It probably would have looked better if I had used homemade frosting.


And there you have it, Watermelon Cake! You can see that the jimmies resemble the black seeds.


I hope you had a good Memorial Day! How did you celebrate?

Linked to:

Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, This Weeks Cravings at Moms Crazy Cooking, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Show & Share Day at Just a Girl, Catch-As-Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life, Friday Favorites at Inspiring Creations

Rainbow Slush

Earlier this month I blogged about Morgan's rainbow themed birthday party. And I promised I'd share the rainbow slush soon. Guess what? I'm finally ready to share! It's really easy and inexpensive, and the kids loved it. So here goes. You will need:



Ice Pops, a trifle bowl, scissors, a fork & a small bowl. I got my ice pops at Walmart for $2.48 (they are $1.50 now at my store!).



Seperate by color. In these packages there are some colors with two shades, like green and yellow, and then pink and red. I mixed the similar colors together.



Cut open your tubes and empty into your bowl.



Next you will take your fork and smash them up so there are no big chunks. You want to try & get it as soft as possible so it spreads evenly.



Empty the contents of the bowl into your trifle bowl. (notice my little helper sitting on the table?)



Use your fork to smooth it down evenly. Then you will just repeat with each color. Make sure you put the trifle bowl in the freezer between layers so the colors don't mix.

You can see that my blue kind of disappeared into the purple because I waited too long to put it in the freezer.

And there you have it! I told you it was easy! I took it out of the freezer a little before I was ready to serve it, so it could soften up just enough to be scooped out. It was a big hit so I will definitely be making this again. Oh, and make sure that when you are done with it, if it's been sitting in the freezer for awhile (like I don't know, a week?) so LET IT THAW before trying to clean it. I tried to hurry things along with hot water, and needless to say, the trifle bowl didn't make it. Oops!

Linked to: Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Show & Share Day at Just a Girl, Foodie Friday at Little Brick Ranch, Rock Your Recipes at House of Hepworths, I'm Crafty at So You Think You're Crafty, Catch-As-Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Sunday Showcase at Under the Table & Dreaming, Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes, Progress & Projects at Ma Nouvelle Mode, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Link Party #48 at Tea Rose Home, Whassup Wednesday at Elements Interiors, Idea Sharin Wednesday at Women Who Do It All, What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Inspired By You Wednesday at Eisy Morgan, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage, Hookin Up With HoH at House of Hepworths, Watcha Got Weekend at Lolly Jane Boutique, Favorite St. Patricks Day Crafts at Pink & Green Mama