Happy 4th of July -----Fun Appetizer, Snacks & Dessert Ideas - As see on KTHV 11 - THE VINE including Festive Decor

It has been busy the last couple of weeks getting ready for the 4th Celebration ideas.   It was so fun and such an honor to be back on KTVH11 The Vine morning show for the second time.

This time I did two separate segments.   The first segment was 4th Ideas for Appetizers & Snacks.   Doing a bar of appetizers & snacks gives you time to enjoy the Holiday festivities yourself.   You don't have to stand over a hot BBQ grill to have some great festive foods.   

It is so fun to set up a "grazing board."  I am from the South and growing up these beautiful boards were called "grazing boards."   You can graze over them by going back and forth and choosing your items.   Most, I assume, refer to them as charcuterie boards.   

Click to view the segment from "The Vine."  

Watch the video and you can see how fun the table really was to do.   My grazing board included french rolls & bread, crackers and a variety of meats and cheeses.   My theme was to make your own mini BLT, chicken club or ham and cheese mini sandwiches.   I used baby spinach in lieu of the traditional lettuce.  I also pre-soaked the tomatoes ahead of time.  The tomatoes are pre-soaked with Lowry's garlic pepper & avocado oi.    If you follow my blog posts or recipes you will find this is normal for me.   It makes your sandwiches and wraps delicious.   You don't need to worry about mayonnaise getting hot outside.  You also don't have to worry about supplying a variety of sauces for the sandwiches.    This add moisture and flavor to your sandwiches.   Delish!

Included on my bar were also some of my favorite quick & easy snacks to do.   I love to make homemade Moose Munch.  Moose Munch can be expensive to purchase.   This little trick is so good and you can "graze" on it all day.     

MOOSE MUNCH - Pop two bags of popcorn in the microwave.    Pour into a large tub or bowl and while it is hot, pour caramel sauce on it.  I use just a couple of tablespoons.  Stir in the sauce.   Add in pretzel sticks (I add in a couple of hand fulls.)   To make it festive for the 4th, just add in about 1/2 cup - 1 cup of the red, white & blue M &M's.    Be sure and wrap the the tub or large bowl with plastic wrap until ready to serve.   If you keep it wrapped, it will last a couple of days.   I purchased the bulk pop-corn bags on Amazon.    There are many to choose from.  

Blue Chips & Salsa -   To be festive, use blue corn chips in place of regular chips.  I purchased my salsa at the deli-section in Kroger.   Walmart, Kroger, Fresh Market, and most local grocery stores carry deli fresh salsa.  It is delicious and very affordable.   Of course, homemade salsa is the best if you have the time to make it.

Watermelon Fruit Pizza -  The watermelon fruit pizza was so fun to do.  You can make it small for a center piece to your pan, or as large as the whole pizza pan.   Simply cut your watermelon slices into pizza triangles and place in center of pan.  Spread light cream cheese on top of each slice to substitute for traditional pizza cheese.   Garnish with blueberries, cherries or strawberries.    I use cherries because I am highly allergic to strawberries.     This gives you the cute red, white & blue fruit pizza.

Since I used the watermelon pizza as a center piece to my large pizza tray, I added a variety of fruits around.   Adding a couple of these fun cookies also made it a hit.     The little flag toothpicks can be found at your local Dollar Tree.   Yes, only $1 gives you a bunch!

On  the relish tray next to the grazing board is the baby spinach, the pre-soaked tomatoes, fresh cucumber and yellow squash slices.   Little did I know that Adam didn't eat bread.  He  made a cute bread-less sandwich by using the round cucumber & squash slices in place of his crackers.  Adam put ham, bacon a cheese in the middle.    What a great idea!    

The fun decor items I tried to find locally.   The round tin was perfect to hold all the picnic supplies.   I had plenty of room for the plates, silverware, cups, serving spoons and napkins.   I found all of these items at TJ Maxx.    I am a #maxxinista for sure.    The large tin was less then $20.00.   The gingham blue napkins were $7.95 for six.   The beautiful red silverware was $19.95 for a serving for eight.    

Investing in red decor items will give you a great cost savings.   These can be used for Christmas, Memorial Day, Flag's Day, Valentine's Day, as well as, the 4th!    I love red decor items all year long!

The large Patriotic tub was found last year at Target in their $3.00 section.   That is a bargain!  I use it frequently at our office.   It is perfect to use for our red, white & blue holiday events.

My beautiful grazing board was another item that I found at TJ Maxx.  I am always on the lookout and search through their decor items intensely to find the perfect item.   TJ Maxx, Homegoods & Marshall's always have great sales.   They also mark down their items frequently.

For all the ideas for the Appetizer & Snack Bar be sure and watch the episode:  
Click to view the segment from "The Vine."  

Before I move on to the dessert bar, I will talk about my outfit.    The entire festive outfit was purchased at Marshall's.  The shoes are Tom shoes that I purchased on Amazon a few months ago.   I want to especially thank #SINCERELYSILVER Co.  for donating my wonderful necklace.   This necklace makes a great summer necklace.   In fact, I don't take it off.   
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The simple initial necklace can be worn with anything.   I love that it is lightweight, simple & elegant.  I have great news!   Sincerely Silver Company is giving all my readers 15% percent off with the code SINCERELY15 at checkout.    They have lots of jewelry to choose from.   I prefer gold over silver most of the time.   They have lots of gold items of high quality and affordable pieces.  Be sure and check them out at: https://www.sincerelysilver.co/    Just use SINCERELY15 at checkout for the 15% savings.​

Patriotic Dessert Bar

Who doesn't love desserts?    This was so fun to do.   A HUGE SHOUT-OUT to my dear friend Beth Hubbard for contributing to this board.   Beth is a gifted artist whose talent is endless.   Beth creates beautiful charcoals, alcohol ink designs, jewelry, abstracts, and the list just keeps going.    She has started a bakery out of her home for custom artesian cookies and treats.   Be sure and check out her Facebook Page at:  https://www.facebook.com/ExtraSweet501/   Her bakery is called EXTRA SWEET!   She can customize your favorite cookie for any occasion!   Extra Sweet can be found on Instagram at:  https://www.instagram.com/extrasweet501/

TO VIEW THE SEGMENT ON THE DESSERT BAR - CLICK HERE

COOKIE PIE -  SIMPLE ---  i purchased this awesome pie plate at Target for only $2.00 on Clearance!   This plate will go straight in the oven.    The base is my chocolate chip cookie dough recipe.    Flour - 1.5 cups, 6 Tablespoons of Sugar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 stick of unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of pink Himalayan salt and 1 cup of dark chocolate chips.  My special secret ingredient --- add in a pinch or 1/2 teaspoon of organic Vietnamese cinnamon.

MIX - 1 stick of butter, 6 tablespoons of sugar,  1/2 cup of packed brown sugar and the 1 teaspoon of baking soda in the mixer.    Add in the egg and continue to mix on low until blended.  Fold in the cup of dark chocolate chips.  Then add all your dry ingredients until blended well.   Place dough in refrigerator until your oven pre-heats.        Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.     Spray your pie plate with Pam spray.    Fold in dough and smooth evenly on to the the pie plate.    You will have some extra to make approx 3-5 cookies with.

Place pie plate in oven at 350 degrees for approx 18 minutes.   Remove from oven and add in your festive sprinkles and m & m's.    Place back in oven for approx 4-5 minutes until golden.   Take out and let cool.

I will be sharing the other dessert bar ideas over the next week.   I will share the mini pie recipe and other treat ideas.    Be sure and watch both segments of  the show to catch the big spread.

Happy 4th of July!   God Bless America!

XOXO - Pat

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