Fourth of July Party

Anyone having one of those moments where they can’t help themselves and you have invited a bunch of people over to your house?

Or they invited themselves?

Well! I have your answer on how to feed them with creative, cute, inexpensive and DELICIOUS ideas!

(Uh, by the way, I will be exploring these ideas in depth tomorrow, Tuesday July 3rd, on New Day Northwest at KING 5 at 11AM)

BURGER BAR: I am obsessed with this idea lately. I have done these full sized and as mini sliders. You can make the patties the day before or the morning of and then when guests arrive, get someone working that grill for you. Serve big platters with a variety of condiments.

Burger Ideas:
Lamb Burgers
Blue Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers
Asian Salmon Burgers
Grilled Chicken Burgers
Portobello Mushroom Burgers

Homemade Condiment Ideas:
Asian Slaw
Peach Mustard
Sweet Onion and Chili Ketchup
Spicy Herb Spread
Sweet and Spicy Pickled Red Onions
Spicy Pickled Cucumbers
Red Wine Caramelized Onions
Feta Cheese Spread
Guacamole

Salad Bar: Not like a traditional salad bar, but a “selection of salads.” I put mine in mason jars for ease. You can make all of these the day before, and they can all be out in the sun, because you know none of my stuff has mayo ☺

Salad Ideas:
Fresh Corn Salad with Mango
Asian Beet Salad
Potato Salad
Sesame Noodles
Couscous salad
Orzo salad with cherries and feta
Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

Fruit Infused Lemonade: Couldn’t be easier. I use lemonade concentrate. I add fresh or frozen fruit, and maybe a little mint. Voila!

Fruit Ideas: Any type of berry, plums, peaches, nectarines, apricot, pineapple, watermelon and star fruit.

Ice Cream Soda Bar: Along the lines of the lemonade- majorly easy. All you really need is vanilla ice cream and a selection of sodas. I love the vintage style sodas. Then let people top with whipped cream and cherries.

S’mores Bar: I have been doing this in the summer for years. I just replenish whenever we are having kids (or immature friends, which is most of them) over. You can make the whole set up easy with the basics: Jet Puffed Marshmallows, Graham Crackers and Hersheys Bars, or get crazy. I love to get a bunch of artisinal chocolate bars in all different flavors and then add these:

Homemade Additions to a S’mores Bar:
Honey Graham Crackers
Chocolate Graham Crackers
Red Velvet Graham Crackers (courtesy of Iambaker)
Homemade Marshmallows
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies

Utensil Ideas:
Wax paper sandwich bags complete with napkin, compostable silverware and straw. The bonus- everything can be dumped in yard waste when you are done!

For more Decoration and menu ideas, look HERE.

Have a great holiday- Let me know what you have planned!