2 Clever Blog

Salty, Sweet and Smocked!

Think ::

One of my favorite things about the 4th of July (other than hanging out with great friends) was rediscovering a jello salad I first had when I lived in North Dakota 19 years ago.  It is rasberry Jello and Pretzles.  I love the Salty and the Sweet and I always love "crunch" in any food I eat. 

So here is the receipe if you want to make it anytime soon.  It is a great Christmas Jello salad.

Heather's 4th of July Salad

2 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup melted butter
Sugar
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese softened
2 cups whipped topping
1 (6oz) pkg raspberry Jell-O
2 (10oz) pkg frozen raspberries

Mix pretzels, butter and 2Tbs sugar.  Press into a 9x13 pan.  Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.  Cool Completely.  Combine cream cheese, whipped topping and 1 cup sugar in a bowl; blend well.  Spread over cooled pretzel crust.  Refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight.  Dissolve Jell-O in 2 cups boiling water, add berries; stir until berries separate and Jell-O is thickened.  Pour over cream cheese later and chill for 2-3 hours.

And I must give a shout out to my new Goodwill find plates.  They are 4 dessert plates all with different dessert excuses on them.  They are darling and may have to be highlighted again in future posts.

The other thing I love about the 4th is my littles in their smocked American Flag dresses.  This is their 4th year wearing them.  That is the beauty of a Bishop style smocked dress the fit forever.  When the three of them wear them it makes me giddy to have all girls and live in this wonderful country!

I am going to share with our Eavesdropper where I buy them.  It is one of my best kept secrets, that will no longer be a secret.  She is a seller on Ebay and her dresses are a bargain.  (am I really going to reveal my source.....hmmm)  Ok it is too good to hold in.  It is a store on Ebay called Carouselwear
Her service is great and she has sizes from 0 - 8/10.  When she first started her dresses came with slips and bows - but don't know if that is still the case. 

Hope you are getting a great tan at the Beach!

Pink ::

Look Mom no hands!!

Think ::

Happy 4th! 

Pink ::

photo is of two of my little pinks enjoying the day!

Patriotic Strawberries

Pink :: Okay I'll stop my magazine bragging now.

Here is one of my favorite traditions for the 4th of July. So yummy. I found this in Family Fun Magazine years ago, I'm thinking 1999 issue maybe, the date is not on the page I ripped out.

Wash strawberries. My Kroger had these huge long stem ones in a package of bubble wrap. Make sure strawberries are dry. Any water will mess up the coating. Melt a package of white chips according to package. I use Nestle Premium White Morsels zapped in microwave 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Dip strawberry 2/3 way in. Then dip in blue sprinkles. I like India Tree's Sparkling Sugar in Electric Blue. Place on wax paper until hardened, which does not take long. I suggest to use containers that allow the melted chips and sugar to be deep enough to cover the strawberry.

These particular strawberries were super duper sweet which was almost too much. I like it better if the strawberries are kind of tart so next time I will go regular cheap strawberries instead of the extra large bubble wrapped ones. Makes a great gift to take to friends & family. And a big platter of them looks great at a party.

Happy 4th :: Think