Frozen strawberry margarita! I was already well into this one…
UNO Attack! Sadly, I didn’t win any rounds.
Loved this quinoa salad and….
…this Asian slaw!
I love these little poppers things so much. The only things I love more are…
…my beloved Killer Beez!!
See ya next year, fireworks!
Have a great 4th of July!!
I hope your day consists of food, fun, friends, family, beer, sun, laughter, and sparklers!
Do you have big 4th of July plans?? I’m going over to my aunt & uncle’s for a BBQ. I’m planning on bringing a dessert and some sort of side dish.
Do you have ideas for me?? I will reciprocate with some ideas for you!
Sharing is caring.
Appetizer:
Sour Cream & Bacon Stuffed Tomatoes — so tasty!!
Tortilla Pinwheels — I may very well make these for 4th of July tomorrow myself. They are a proven crowd pleaser!!
Drink:
9 times out of 10, I’m beering it at a BBQ. But if fruity is more your taste, try a:
Side Dish:
Patti LaBelle’s Mac N Cheese — Patti knows her mac & cheese!!!!
Entree:
Dessert:
Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies — Cookies are a great BBQ dessert since people graze all night long. They’ll want dessert, but may not have the stomach room for a whole piece of cake/pie.
Brownie & Marshmallow Crunch Bars — I haven’t made these gems in over a year, but they were so good. Maybe they’ll be at my aunt & uncle’s tomorrow too!!
What’s on your menu tomorrow??
How was your 4th of July?? I had a great time eating, drinking, playing ladder ball, playing lawn darts, and twirling around with about 100 sparklers throughout the night!
For dinner, we had cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and brats from the grill thanks to my Dad. For sides, we had potato salad, baked beans, and chips. For dessert, we had strawberry cake, peanut butter cup cookies, chocolate chip walnut cookies, ginger bread, and ice cream. Okay, I’m suddenly hungry.
I was in charge of appetizers. One of the apps I brought was buffalo chicken dip. I heart me some buffalo chicken dip. It’s nothing new. Tons of people make it. It’s beloved! I first had buffalo chicken dip about 5 years ago at a Christmas party in Charlotte. My friend, Adrianne, made it and my life changed forever. 
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients:
2 5 ounce cans chicken, drained & shredded
2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup ranch dressing
3/4 cup red hot sauce — I use Frank’s
shredded cheddar cheese, you decide how much
Preheat oven to 350. Beat the cream cheese, ranch and hot sauce for several minutes until smooth. Fold in the shredded chicken. Spread the mixture into a pie plate sprayed with Pam. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir. Add shredded cheddar on top and baked an additional 10 minutes.
I have made buffalo chicken dip with full-fat cream cheese & ranch and non-fat cream cheese & ranch. I couldn’t taste the difference, so I now make it with non-fat items.
I have also made buffalo chicken dip with the cans of chicken and rotisserie chicken. I find the cans of chicken much easier than having to shred a rotisserie chicken. But the choice is yours!
And finally, you can easily make this buffalo chicken dip in the microwave if you’d like. Just heat in minute increments and stir until hot throughout. With the microwave method, skip the shredded cheese topping though! And then you’ll save even more calories. So that you can devour more dip in general.
Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips and veggies.
Thanks to my sister-in-law, Jennifer, for making the great corn & black bean salsa on the side!!
Happy 4th of July!!! I loooooooooooove me some 4th of July. It’s definitely in my top 4 fave holidays, along with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Whichever holiday is currently happening is my favorite at that moment. See how that works? 
What I’m looking forward to today:
playing with my nephews
seeing my Uncle Dennis
getting some sun on these pale legs
showing my nephews the Cut the Rope app/game (thanks to Kayla & Lauren for showing me this new obsession!)
playing ladder ball
drinking some Amstel Light
throwing endless amounts of snappers at the feet of beloved nephews
setting off Killer Bees (they aren’t fancy, but they are my favorite fireworks to set off!!)
spelling out my name with sparklers
eating some yum food
Spicy Spinach Dip
Recipe slightly adapted from Tasty Kitchen
Ingredients:
1 12 ounce package of chopped frozen spinach
1/3 cups half-and-half
1 cup reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 – 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic
Jalapeno slices to taste—I used about 15 slices
Preheat oven to 350. Cook the spinach according to the directions on the package. Drain liquid from spinach after cooking. You’ll want to try to get most of the water out of the spinach. I also patted the spinach with several paper towels after draining to help.
Mix together all your other ingredients together. If you use 1 tsp Cayenne pepper, the dip will be very spicy…just the way I like it! If you’re making it for a big group, I would suggest less to try to please everyone! I used milder Jalapeno slices, but you can decide on spice and amount for that too.
Gently fold in your drained spinach to the other ingredients in a bowl Spray a pie plate (or other oven-safe baking dish) with non-stick spray. Transfer dip to oven-safe dish and spread evenly. Cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 15 minutes. Serve hot with tortilla chips and veggies.
