Hope that all of you are having a great 4th of July. These are the types of Holidays that conjures up memories of childhood. Growing up we usually spent our 4th of July taking a road trip to my grandparents, eating out at my aunt’s and shaking around those little sparklers in the backyard.

Now we are looking at making some of our own family memories. Do you have any Blasts that put the spark in your 4th of July?

A lot of writers here at the LifeStyles Channel shared some of their memories and thoughts about the past. Read more from Gayla at Suppernanny Rules/Guerrilla Parenting.

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If you are looking for some interesting reads, food ideas or activities for this 4th of July weekend, look no further than the Life-Styles Channel at b5 Media.

Baking Delights has a Blast from the Past with a link to a vintage 4th of July Menu as well as wondering what food items bring warm memories of your childhood 4th of July celebrations?

Read about America’s Top Patriotic Attractions at the All Holiday Cafe.

How about grilling Flank Steak for the 4th? Try Chipotle Marinade from Busy Family Meals.

Try Chocolate Bytes easy Red, White and Blue Chocolate Treat for your 4th of July party.

How about Favorite Coloring Pages Sites to keep your little ones busy from Inside Motherhood?

Look for Quick Barbecue Tips at Keeping the Castle.

For the scrapbooker, the Mad Cropper is holding a contest, Fireworks Lay-out Challenge.

Get your teens reading with 4th of July Books for Teens from One Book, Two Book.

Are you a Weary Parent? How about trying their Star Spangle Science Project: Film Canister Rockets.

Quilting and Patchwork has a few links for 4th of July Activities for the Youngsters in the Quilters Home.

Check-out these Healthy Snack for the Fourth of July from Robust Cooking.

She Knows Parties shares some 4th of July Decorations: Red, White and Blue Garland.

Let FREEdom Ring at Simply Thrifty with links to sites with free stuff.

At Tangled Thread she has links to Free Festive Fireworks Craft & Needlework Patterns.

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I have been finding projects for my boys to do in the kitchen, so Nana bought us a Look’n'Cook recipe book. This is actually a book set-up for teachers of pre-school and Kindergarten, but it has some great, easy projects for the little ones in your house. There are a bunch of different recipes set-up for a variety of holidays and times of the year.

Tomorrow, the 4th of July, I am getting my two little chefs in the kitchen to make some Sweet Sparklers. This is easy, fun and sounds tasty:

Sweet Sparklers

from the Look ‘n’ Cook recipe book

Ingredients:

Refrigerated Cookie Dough

Vanilla Frosting

Red, White and Blue Candy Spinkles

Preparation:

Freeze the cookie dough for about 15 minutes, then cut it into half-inch slices. Roll out the slices to make “cookie sparklers”just make sure that they are not too thin. Bake using the directions on the sugar cookie package. Let them completely cool. Place sprinkles in a shallow bowl. Using a plastic knife for the little guys, spread frosting on one end, roll in the sprinkles and enjoy!

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If you are suddenly deciding that you want to have people over to celebrate the 4th of July, or if you are having people over and have yet to figure out what your food plans will be Food and Wine has a lot of help. From fast desserts, to easy menus, quick-grillingrecipes and easy party punches they have you covered.

Check-out their Quick Grilling Recipes, including a Scallion and Brie Stuffed Burger. They have Quick Desserts such as a reader favorite, Mini-Black Bottom Cheesecakes(recipe below). If you have some real time constraint try one of the7 Superfast Desserts. If you want to make sure to keep the red, white and blue theme during your 4th of July celebration Food and Wine has you covered with Red, White and Blue Desserts.

Don’t forget your Party Punches, Cocktails for Grilling or Terrific Iced Teas….some are kicked-up a few notches or if you want to save the alcohol for your punch try the Black Cherry Iced Tea.

They also have some great ideas for Summer Sides and Wine Pairings for your cook-out and No-Fuss Grilling Recipes.

Mini Black-Bottom Cheesecakes

FAST

MAKE-AHEAD

STAFF FAVORITE

ACTIVE TIME: 20 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 45 MIN
MAKES 12 TARTS

ingredients

• Vegetable oil spray
• 24 plain chocolate wafer cookies, preferably Nabisco
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup fromage blanc (6 ounces), at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves, warmed

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups and spray the cups with vegetable oil spray. In a food processor, crush the chocolate wafer cookies. Add the butter and process until fine crumbs form. Spoon the chocolate cookie crumbs into the prepared baking cups and press with the bottom of a glass to compact. Bake for 5 minutes, or until almost set. Leave the oven on.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth. Beat in the fromage blanc, then add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.
3. Pour the cheesecake batter into the baking cups, filling them three-quarters full.
4. Bake the cheesecakes for 15 minutes, or until slightly jiggly in the center. Remove from the oven and spread 1 teaspoon of the warmed raspberry preserves on top of each cheesecake. Transfer the muffin tin to the freezer and chill the cheesecakes until set, about 15 minutes.
5. Remove the cheesecakes from the pan and peel off the foil baking cups. Transfer the cheesecakes to a platter and serve.

MAKE AHEAD The mini black-bottom cheesecakes can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

NOTES INSTEAD OF FROMAGE BLANC Crme frache, goat cheese, lebneh or quark.

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I recently climbed-up on my soap box and ranted about the Green Movement. The pressure to just try andfind ways to save money at our house has started to become a reality and it looks like there will be no relief in sight for not only Americans, but for many countries around the globe. The talk of oil raising to $170 a barrel by the end of the year is a harsh reality and until we are provided with true leadership there will be no answers to our current energy crisis. It could be worse and it will be worse. In Europe, customers are already paying $9-11 a gallon.

With this comes the reality that the majority of people can’t afford to pay the extra to purchase organic food. We have started a garden, first for fun, now to help us with our food bill. One way to watch prices and feel good about the food your purchase it to check-out your local farmer’s market. Most communities have them and this is a great way to buy locally and what is in season. We have one at our city hall and I am taking my kids on a field trip this week to check-out what is available.

Cooking seasonal ingredients is important for a variety of reasons. One is that your food is fresher and you will end-up saving money by purchasing what is close to you. The trick for me has been deciphering what is seasonally viable. I live in Florida, so during certain times of the year, the pickings will be thin. Epicurious has a great guide and support on their site.

The Peak Season Map goes through each month of the year and each state to not only highlight what is is season, basic information about the ingredient including nutritional information, but most importantly recipes.

Read more.

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