4th of July Printables & Easy Recipes

Looking forward to enjoying the holiday with family and friends?

Grab these free printables and use them to decorate your home, and as you get hungry and thirsty dive in the easy to make recipes.

My favorite summer drink recipe is here for you: sangria! If you like to add more fruits, go with white peaches. Just fresh for summer.

Have fun and enjoy!

New post Have a Happy 4th of July! on A Personal Organizer by Helena Alkhas

Super Easy Ideas for 4th of July Party Food

And if I say easy, I mean it! The kitchen is NOT my favorite place to spend time, so let’s add some fun to your 4th of July party food.

If you are tired of the same old food on this celebration, change things a bit this year, and even if you want to keep the traditional hot dogs and burgers, add some new items to create a fresh, yummy party menu.

There is no rule that the food should be one thing or another, and in my experience, Americans actually potluck and make a colorful and tasty table. Here are some new menu ideas that I hope will help you make your 4th of July fun and enjoyable for everyone, but most of all, easy on you! 

Need some help coming up with fun ideas for party food? If so, there are more than a few things that you can do. Here are some great ideas.

Add more choices. Instead of just burgers and hot dogs, why not cook up other meats? You can add chicken, fish, and steaks to the menu. Yes, you can cook all of this right on your grill (with the help of a side burner in some cases) and still enjoy the grilling atmosphere that the 4th is all about.

My favorites and go-to recipes

This recipe was given to me by my mother-in-law and is one of my go-to recipes. Place your chicken pieces in soy sauce and good dashes of turmeric, cover it, and let it marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour. It can go straight to the barbecue and is always a hit. This marinade makes the chicken not only super yummy but also very tender.

Another go-to recipe of mine is this amazing buttermilk-cilantro marinade for the flank (skirt) steak, which is a great meat cut, relatively inexpensive compared to ribeye or NY steak, and great for sandwiches and salads. I know you’ll love it! 

Prepare your marinade at least in the morning of your party, but we usually do it overnight and let the meat sit in it to get flavorful and tender.

Here is the full recipe I use: buttermilk cilantro flank steak.

Now, here are my favorite salads – always!

Beats & Pears – this is it. My very favorite salad takes cooked beats (not canned) and pears. I season it with olive oil, and I add toasted walnuts.

Spinach & blue cheese – Dress your spinach with olive oil, cold balsamic vinegar, toasted pine nuts, and blue cheese.

It is very simple to prepare, not heavy like mayo-based salads, and everyone loves these 2 favorites of mine.

Desserts, we love desserts!

Dress up your dessert. This year I’ll bake a red velvet cake and use white cream as filling, leaving the sides showing their “stripes”. We’ll decorate with fresh strawberries and blueberries on the top.

And, because I have friends who are doing an awesome job on a diet, I’ll offer the fruits layered with whipped cream (yes, they tell me it’s the only treat they can eat!) in a tall glass.

Super simple, colorful, and easy, very easy because the goal here is for us to have fun and not to slave in the kitchen or on perfection.

I’d love to hear about your favorite recipes. Do you have a super easy one? Please, share. I love good, easy, and fresh food!

Have a fun holiday, enjoy, stay cool, and share the joy in the comment section below.

New post 3 Great Ideas For 4th of July Party Food on A Personal Organizer by Helena Alkhas

Enjoy these 4th of July picnic ideas!

Which one will you pic?

The 4th of July is fast approaching. Do you need a few great 4th of July picnic ideas to help you and your family celebrate this day? It is almost a tradition that this is one of the best times of the year to head out to the local park with a picnic basket in hand, a few towels and nothing to worry about except for where the best seat in the park is to see the fireworks display. Do you need some ideas to help you to make this 4th a memorable one? No matter whom you are with, what your traditions are and how you do it, there are many ways to enjoy this grand American holiday.

To help you, consider these simple yet fun picnic ideas.

Go for color.

One of the simplest yet most effective ways to celebrate the 4th of July is with red, white and blue. From table cloths, napkins, paper plates and even ice cubes, you want to have all the colors of the day come shining through. You can make your deserts and foods with these colors as well. Add color for lots of fun.

Dress up!

A great way to bring the true history of the day out is to have everyone come to a July costume party. Everyone has to dress as one of the Founding Fathers, Lady Liberty or any other important figure of the time. Even Uncle Sam will do. This is a great way to have some fun on this special day and to do something different to celebrate it.

Plan for water fun.

Since July is almost always one of the hottest months, make your 4th of July picnic cooler with a bit of swimming and water fun. Let the kids get out the sprinklers and the wading pool. Get yourself into a water balloon fight. Go for a dip in the local lake or take a trip to the ocean. Enjoy the water and enjoy the day outdoors.

There are plenty of picnic ideas for the 4th of July ready and waiting for you to enjoy them. You can create your own theme, style or method of celebrating if you like. Just look for fun ways to share the day with family and friends. Never forget that music, good food and lots of laughs with friends is the best way to spend the day outdoors waiting for the fireworks to light up the sky.

New post 3 Great 4th of July Picnic Ideas on A Personal Organizer by Helena Alkhas