Strawberry and Blueberry Cheesecake Parfaits

Hope you all had a great 4th!

I spent mine with family and eating delicious food. That's how I spend most of my holidays if you haven't noticed, and it's the best. It rained all day, but that didn't stop us! 

 


Here's another fruit-filled red, white, and blue dish for any patriotic holiday. Or just for a refreshing summer dessert any ole time. 

The few changes I made were that I halved the recipe but upped the melted butter a bit for the graham cracker crumble to make it a more manageable measurement. I also added an extra layer of graham cracker crumble throughout because I love the crunch with each bite and don't want to wait until the bottom of the parfait to get to the crumble!

Strawberry and Blueberry Cheesecake Parfaits
slightly adapted from Glorious Treats

*Yields: 2 moderate sized desserts 

Graham Cracker Crumble

• 5 full sized graham crackers
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar

Cheesecake Filling

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 cup cool whip, thawed

Fresh strawberries and blueberries

For Graham Cracker Crumble: Crush graham crackers in a ziplock bag. Pour crumbs, sugar, and melted butter into a bowl and stir until fully combined. Pour onto a baking sheet or dish and press into an even layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, until light brown. Cool.

For Cheesecake Filling: Beat cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat to combine. Add lemon juice and beat until combined. Add milk and combine. Fold cool whip into cream cheese mixture. 

Assembly: Layer bottom of dessert dish with graham cracker crumble, then add a layer of cheesecake filling, fresh chopped strawberries, another layer of graham cracker crumbs and cheesecake filling, fresh blueberries, and a final layer of cheesecake filling. Top with additional graham cracker crumbs, blueberries, and a strawberry for garnish.

Printable Recipe

 




























































This parfait was soooooo good! Patriotic AND tasty and I like to think good for me. Besides the cream cheese, cool whip, and sugar of course. But hey it's better than cupcakes or cookies or cake, right?






Happy Independence Day! Here's to being proud Americans today and every day.


Peace, and bacon grease!

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Red, White, and Blue Fruit Cups

Hey friends.

It's time to get all patriotic up in here.

 

 

I'm keeping it simple yet colorful and so pretty with these Red, White, and Blue Fruit Cups. I love themed foods if you can't tell already.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tend to go a little overboard with the themed foodie props too. This time it's all in the name of independence!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What can I say? I love my country!

 

Red, White, and Blue Fruit Cups

slightly adapted from Rachael Ray

• 1 pint fresh strawberries
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream

Slice strawberries and combine in a bowl with blueberries. Sprinkle berries with two teaspoons sugar.

Add heavy whipping cream and remaining sugar to mixer bowl. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Serve berries in small cups with generous spoonfuls of fresh whipped cream.

Printable Recipe

 

Aren't you proud to be free?!

 

Need some more patriotic inspiration? Check out these other patriotic recipes from my blog, though most don't have pictures because I still need to go back and update ones that were lost! But the recipes are still good :) 

 

Happy 4th of July everyone!

 

Peace, and bacon grease!

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Patriotic Fruit Skewers {Holiday Recipe Club: 4th of July}

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

I hope you all are enjoying a day off of work, your independence, spending time with family and friends, playing {safely} with fireworks, and good food, of course!

Let me help you out a little with that one...

Here's a nice little patriotic snack or treat for the kids, or heck, for yourself. 

It's super simple. Adorable. And tasty! 

I hadn't realized that marshmallows and strawberries go together well.

Patriotic Fruit Skewers

from Meg's Everyday Indulgence 

• 1 pint strawberries, rinsed and dried
• Star shaped mini marshmallows
• 1 pint blueberries, rinsed and dried
• Wooden skewers

Thread strawberries, marshmallows and blueberries onto the wooden skewers in whatever red, white and blue pattern you like.

Printable Recipe

I am joining in over at this month's Holiday Recipe Club for the 4th of July - the ingredients were blueberries, barbeque sauce, and whipped cream. {As you can see, I chose blueberries.}

Peace, and bacon grease!

Also linking up here.

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Patriotic Taco Salad

I know I am bringing this to you after the 4th of July. And I apologize. But I didn't make it until the 3rd and haven't gotten around to posting about it until now. So make it for the 4th next year, or for any other patriotic holiday! Or just make it minus the flag presentation.

You could arrange the beans (or olives, if you use those) in the shape of stars if you like. I thought that was too much work, so I just piled them in the top left corner. The half-assed way to do things!

I would recommend using more chips for dipping if you are eating leftovers the next day, because the chips in the taco salad get soggy by then. But if you are eating it that day then you should be fine. You can also prep and assemble everything for the taco salad ahead of time if need be, and just serve with chips when ready.

Patriotic Taco Salad

adapted from Taste of Home

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained (save some for star garnish)
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
• 1 recipe Homemade Taco Mix
• 3 cups Tostitos chips with a hint of pepperjack, plus more for dipping
• 4 cups shredded lettuce
• 2 cups (8 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• sour cream for garnish, if desired

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain if necessary. Stir in the water, tomato paste, and taco mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Drain all liquid.

Meanwhile, microwave black beans in a bowl according to directions on the can.

Place 3 cups of tortilla chips in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. dish. Spread beef mixture evenly over top. Then add the drained, heated beans, but leaving some to make the stars garnish. Cover with lettuce. Add beans to top left corner, making stars. Spread cheese evenly over top. Then arrange tomatoes to make stripes on top. Top each portion with sour cream, if desired.

Printable Recipe

It was tasty, I'll tell ya. We really enjoyed this meal. The flavor of the meat was nice, since I used a homemade taco mix. It did need some kind of sauce to moisten it up a bit, that's why we added the sour cream. Ranch dressing would also work. You can't go wrong with taco salad, can you?

Peace, and bacon grease!

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4th of July Toast, a Healthy Holiday Breakfast or Snack

There's still time! Make this super simple breakfast or snack for your loved one this weekend for the holiday. You've got a few days left, or there's always next year, of course.

I love the blend of cream cheese and jam on this toast. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the cream cheese, but it really does add a nice element. I also enjoy the additions of fruit, which again I never really would think about doing. And of course it is a pretty snack. Love the red, "white", blue, and yellow. And it can be a filling breakfast or snack, since bread is usually filling anyway and the addition of two different kinds of fruit completes it.

Did I mention it's super easy? Just cut strips with the banana to represent the stripes, use 6 blueberries to make the top left corner to represent the stars. And then just slice your bananas, lengthwise, into long strips and make to fit the length of the toast. I probably could have added another banana "stripe" to the bottom of the slice of toast.

I cut my banana differently than Deborah, more like long strips than half moons. Leave enough white cream cheese showing underneath the red strawberry jam. Next time though, I will get seeded jam. I used Smuckers seedless strawberry jam and I wasn't amazed by it. 

No measurements here, people. I personally like a good amount of jam and cream cheese. You will use about 6 blueberries though, that is about the perfect amount for the corner star.

4th of July Toast

from Taste and Tell

• Bread
• Cream cheese
• Strawberry or raspberry jam
• Blueberries
• Bananas

Rinse blueberries and allow to dry completely. Toast bread. Spread with cream cheese to the edges. Then spread with jam, allowing cream cheese to still show underneath. Slice bananas lengthwise into long strips, fitting the length of the toast, making the stripes. Place 6 blueberries in the top left corner, making the stars. 

Printable Recipe

I am linking up to Itsy Bitsy Paper's Red, White, and Blue Linky Party. 

There you have it... red, white, and blue toast. Such an inventive way to be patriotic. And it's tasty, adorable, kid-friendly, and super easy. Everyone will be impressed, and it will only take you minutes.

How about everyone have a safe and fun-filled holiday full of family, friends, good food, grillin, and fireworks  :)



Peace, and bacon grease!

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4th of July Trifle

I have always wanted to make holiday-based recipes, but sometimes have failed. But I knew I couldn't go wrong with a simple trifle recipe that didn't involve any cooking at all!

So I decided to try a recipe from Taste of Home called Trifle - it didn't have very many ingredients. And I decided to change them up a bit too based on what I had, that being strawberries, blueberries, cool whip, and angel food cake. This is what my Red, White, and Blue Trifle looked like.

I was only making enough for my intermediate family: my mama, my dad, my brother, his girlfriend, and me. So I didn't want to make too much. And then I made individual ones for PJ and I the next day.

I didn't use the cream cheese, sugar, whipping cream, vanilla or almond extract. So basically it sounds like I didn't make the recipe at all LOL! But I figured I could save myself a step by using cool whip instead of heavy whipping cream. I also added angel food cake.

So I first added some of the angel food cake, cut up in squares. Rinse your fruit of course. Then I added the cool whip, then the diced strawberries, and blueberries, then another layer of angel food cake, then cool whip, then strawberries sliced in half to make the stripes of the flag shape. Line them up to make the stripes. Then arrange the blueberries in the left corner of the flag. If you are making this recipe for more people, then you can add more layers. I was making it for a small crowd so I knew I didn't need alot of layers. It's simple and yummy!

Here is the original recipe....



Red, White and Blue Dessert (from the Taste of Home website)

 ***18 servings***

• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened  
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
• 2 quarts strawberries, halved, divided
• 2 quarts blueberries, divided           

• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and extracts until fluffy. Fold in whipped cream. Place a third of the mixture in a 4-qt. bowl. Reserve 20 strawberry halves and 1/2 cup blueberries for garnish.
• Layer half of the remaining strawberries and blueberries over cream mixture. Top with another third of the cream mixture and the remaining berries. Spread the remaining cream mixture on top. Use the reserved strawberries and blueberries to make a "flag" on top. Yield: 18 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 cup) equals 168 calories, 10 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 32 mg cholesterol, 44 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 2 g protein. 

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