Fourth of July Celebrations

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

I hope everyone has a great and safe fourth of July. I'd also like to take a moment and thank all of our armed forces out there for everything you do to keep our country safe! It's very comforting knowing that you are out there looking out for all of us.

So what does this day have in store for me and my family? Well we are off to make our annual trip up to Mark & Ticia's for their 4th of July bash. We will be sure to eat lots of goodies, run around in the yard, have some sort of water fight and play lots and lots of games. Oh and did i mention that we will be eating tons of great food?


Here is what I am going to be bringing today:



Jello Jigglers

Follow recipe on the back of the jello box for the jigglers. What I ended up doing was taking 6 small boxes out - 2 Berry Blue, and 4 different types of red jello - cherry, raspberry, watermelon, tropical berry and strawberry. I dissolved each box in a small bowl, refrigerated for about an hour. Then I went through and cut each of the bowls into little cubes of jello. I then randomly placed them in a large 9x13 inch pan. After I cubed all of the jello and placed them into the pan I then placed the pan into the refrigerator. While this mixture is chilling I took out one 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip (softened) and two small packages of lemon jello. (You can also use two packages of knox plain jello instead of the lemon. But I like to have a little more flavor in it so I choose to make it in lemon.). Now make the two boxes of lemon jello as directed following the jiggler recipe on the box. Stir the jello until completely dissolved. Now combine the Cool Whip with your jello until the Cool Whip is completely melted. Stir until you see no more Cool Whip blobs. Once you have done this place your bowl into the refrigerator to cool. Make sure this DOES NOT set. I will usually check it after 10 minutes. Once it is cool, take out your pan of jello and pour the cooled lemon mixture over the other jigglers. If the lemon mixture is too warm it will melt your other jello and then your jigglers will have a brownish mucky sort of look. (It will still taste good, but will look off to others.) Now put your pan of jigglers into the refrigerator until completely set. Once set, cut into square and enjoy!

Cream Puff in a Pan

1 Stick butter

1 cup bowling hot water

1 cup flour

4 eggs

2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding

3 cups milk

1 - 8 oz. cream cheese

1 - 8 oz. Cool Whip

Chocolate syrup

fresh fruit (optional)

Directions:

Melt butter in the cup of water and bring it to a boil (I like to do this step in the microwave). Once at a boil bring out and gradually add your flour until you can form a hard ball. Beat eggs into the mixture one at a time. Spread in a greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 400-425 degrees for 25 minutes. Turn off the oven and let cool completely in the oven. Your crust should look like this:

Now bake your cream cheese until soft (once again I use the microwave). Now stir your cream cheese a bit so it is smooth. Gradually add milk into your cream cheese mixture, keep stirring until this mixture is smooth, stir in the instant pudding and beat for 2 minutes. Spread mix on top of the cream puff bottom. Like this:

Now top with the cool whip. When you are serving it, I like to cut up the pieces, put them on the plate and then drizzle it with Hershey's chocolate syrup. You can even add cut up berries on top if you desire. YUMMY!

Here's what it looks like with out the chocolate. I find that if I put the chocolate sauce on overnight it doesn't look as nice. Refrigerate until you serve. Enjoy!