patriotic - Around My Family Table

May 20, 2013 · by amft · 8 Comments

If you are having a patriotic party, or need 4th of July recipes, or even some red, white, and blue ideas then you have to make this layered red, white, & blue drink. It’s non-alcoholic, filled with 2 fruit juices and some diet Sprite (yes, it has to be diet).

I love surprising my kids with special treats to celebrate the holidays. It’s never anything super fancy, just something to acknowledge the holiday and to make the day stand out from other days. Last year, I made a fun Patriotic Berry and Angel Food Cake Platter. I’ve never seen the kids eat so many berries at one time.

My daughter was looking at pinterest with me several months ago and she saw a layered drink for a party, so I thought it would be fun to surprise her with this. It turned out so cute that I had to share with y’all!

The drink works by using premade juices and sodas that have different molecular weights…yeah that was a blast to college chemistry, wasn’t it? To get the soda to float on top you have to use a diet version. Urgh….I hate diet soda, but figured for this one drink (plus there was tons of other sugar in the drink) that it would be okay. I ended up using Sprite Zero.

Another important tip is to take your time! This is not something you just pour into the cup. It still doesn’t take much time, but slowly pouring is key to have the layers not totally mix together.

Do you have any favorite patriotic party ideas or 4th of July recipes? I’d love to hear what you do to celebrate!

Red, White, & Blue Layered Drinks

Fun and impressive red, white, and blue layered drink for 4th of July or any other patriotic parties!

Cranberry Juice or Hawaiian Punch

Blue G2 Gatorade

Sprite Zero

Ice

Colored Sugar

Pretty Glasses

Dip rim of glass in water and then into colored sugar. Gently add ice to cup so you don't disturb the colored sugar.

Starting with the drink with the most sugar (cranberry juice or hawaiian punch), fill the glass 1/3 full. Then move on to the drink with a lower sugar content (G2). Pour this slowly and gently over the ice so that it does not disturb the cranberry juice, glass should now be 2/3 full. Finally, use the drink with the lowest sugar content (Sprite Zero) and pour the same way until glass is full.

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2013/05/red-white-blue-layered-drinks/

Patriotic Berry & Cake Dessert Platter

May 31, 2012 · by amft · 19 Comments

I needed a quick and easy dessert for a recent potluck I attended. I was not feeling inspired, so I thought I would wonder the grocery store until I thought of something. Luckily, I left the little man at home, cuz it took about 30 minutes for me to come up with this Patriotic Berry & Cake Dessert Platter.

The berries were on sale. They looked and smelled beautiful….and the angel food cake was sitting there begging for me to buy it. You know it’s my all time favorite, right? I know, I know, I should have made my own cake, but I really wanted this to be quick. So, I cheated and bought the pre-made cake at my store…it really does taste really well. They make it fresh!

I can’t really call this Patriotic Berry & Cake Dessert Platter a recipe, but I used strawberries, blueberries, and angel food cake! Nothing else. YUM!!! I should have served a little dish of freshly made whipped cream on the side, but didn’t think about it until it was too late.

So there you have it! A beautiful and tasty dish for all those patriotic holidays. It’s so easy though, that it would be an amazing side for any picnic, BBQ, potluck, or family dinner! In the summer….there really is nothing better than fresh berries!