FUN UNDER THE SUN - MANY WAYS TO CELEBRATE ON JULY 4TH

SO WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO ON JULY 4TH? 

I've put a few You-Tube video clips together of things I've done and enjoyed in the past, as well as a few suggestions I've heard from others.  If you are at a loss for something to do to celebrate our nation's freedom and independence, this should help you out a bit.  Just know that these are not my original creations at all.  Thanks for those creative people who put them out for the public to enjoy:

Some people spend the day at their favorite park...

Some people enjoy a concert.....

Some people go to the Mall.....

Some people go to the beach.....

Some people go to a ball game......

Some people just want to dance....

Some people just want to sing.....

Some people jump out of planes.....

Some people go to the movies.......

Some people just relax on the front porch......

Some people rest and take it easy in the Hammock.....

Go ahead and do your own thing....climb a mountain, write a poem, speak your mind, shoot some fireworks!

Whatever you chose to do..........

CELEBRATE AND ENJOY YOUR FREEDOM!!!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!!!!

SEASONS - WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE "INDEPENDENT" IN 2016?

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf) 

We are well into summer now, and my mind is beginning to focus on the 4^th of July, America's Independence Day.  

I have some great ideas for celebrating the holiday this year, and have stashed a few great recipes to share in other articles of this same blog. 

However; those of you who know me well realize that I do not celebrate any holiday without first digging into the facts and realizing why I am celebrating.  My patriotism has been stirred all through this summer season.   After all, we have enjoyed several national holidays since the first days of summer.  We began with Memorial Day when we remembered those who died fighting for our freedom.  Next came Flag Day, and we stopped to think of all the things that beautiful star spangled banner represents.  In honor of this, my house stayed decked out in red white and blue with many areas proudly displaying the flag of our nation as we took a day out to honor our great fathers, including our founding fathers who wrote The Constitution and The Declaration of Independence.

Now we have come to a time in which we stop and remember the signing of that awesome old document that has carried our nation through many tough situations.  We come to Independence Day!  Just what has that old document come to stand for in America over the years?  Is it still good for us?  Is it still valid?  Bold leaders go charging through the public square asking those same questions, causing people to wonder, to doubt, to consider whether or not it still matters.  Has The Declaration of Independence served it's purpose now?  Have we evolved to a place and time where it is no longer needed in our government?  These are questions that should all be answered clearly, because these are questions that really matter for the future of our nation.  
One must understand the difference between The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution in order to perceive the proper logic for this subject.  These two documents are not one and the same, but they are intrinsically tied to one another.  The first, The

Declaration of Independence (the one we celebrate on July 4th every year), is merely a statement of purpose, it holds no legal power whatsoever.  It was written and signed in 1776 in order to spell out the crimes committed by King George of England and to declare the people's independence from him and British rule.  It is The Constitution that actually holds the legal power of The United States of America.  The Declaration provides the ideological and philosophical logic of the people who formed the Constitution.  It sets the tone to introduce this desired way of life in beautiful and thought provoking language.  The Constitution was written and signed on September 17, 1787, and this drier, more exact document, became the charter of government ratified by the states.  Today it continues to be the Supreme Law Of The Land; meaning that the legal power of all laws in the country spring from this one document.  It is the foundation of America's legal system.   Both of these two important documents were signed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Each document played a part in bringing The United States of America into existence, The Declaration of Independence spelled out the reasons for this action and The Constitution actually set up the rules for the new government.  True independence hinges from the words and concepts of both documents.    Theses two documents do not contradict one another and they work beautifully together as the founding documents of our nation.

An old statement from John Adams seems to provide thought and some answers to our

questions about independence.  John Adams said:  "Our Constitution is made only for a moral and religious people."  In the beginning America was moral and America believed in the providence of God for our nation.  The first colonist were very religious in carrying out these beliefs.  They incorporated their passion for their God and their country into every aspect of their daily lives.  

That was then; today our government pushes the erosion of the values of the Judeo/Christian people who are left in the nation.  Freedom of religion for this particular group of people is quickly going away.   Just ask Hobby Lobby or EWTN or Kim Davis what happens now in America if you try to live by religious liberty and make decisions on what you feel God has mandated and you are a Judeo/Christian group or individual.  If you don't stand up and fight you are run over by a truck called "too much government control."  Ironically the same rules and practices don't seem important or even to apply if you are atheist, agnostic, homosexual,  secular, Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim.   I live in the deep south where we are said to have so much racial strife among the people.  Living here in reality, my thoughts are different.  I can see where the people that I know and live around have come a LONG way toward accepting each other and living together in peace and harmony.  I see the white/black hate slowly healing and I see good people both black and white deciding to forgive and forget and move forward with their lives in a new day; but as this gives me hope, at the same time I look around and see yet another type of discrimination taking its place.  The black people have not been in slavery for many generations now; but there is a different type of slavery coming about.  It doesn't care what color your skin is; it only cares what color your heart is.  This is the worst kind of discrimination known to mankind.  There are a lot of Judeo/Christian people (both black and white) losing their rights and freedoms even though they are just as much citizens of this country as the ones who wish to discriminate against them and their beliefs.  This is the new form of slavery and discrimination I see across the land.  It is religious discrimination against Christians that takes away their ability to worship freely.  This is shameful and disgraceful and would be appalling to our founding fathers who set up the original United States of America.  It is sneaky and plotting in the ways it is happening, very deceptive in nature and not always easily seen or detected for what it truly is.
Those carefully thought out laws about freedom of religion by our founders only seem to apply to special interest groups today.    They don't seem to be for everyone any more.  Independence in this area of our lives is slowly turning into a type of bondage that funds a government which no longer stands for any of our values.  Liberal progressives have worked hard to bring about new laws slanted toward a more secular socialist state.  Radical Muslim activist who are pushing Sharia law are taking total advantage of this situation.  Any time our nation is divided they move in and help to divide it even more, hoping for us to grow weaker and weaker.  It is an old ancient technique.  These two movements within our walls are changing the landscape of our country quickly.  The thoughts and ideas of our nations's original founders would be polar opposites to the way these new leaders think.  

The Department of Justice better known among my peers as "The Department of Injustice" has crushed and defeated individual states where the ever diligent Judeo/Christian Americans have stood up for their beliefs and tried to incorporate laws within their own states that would help to counteract the corruption and evil of big federal governing bodies that no longer seem to have their best interest in mind.  The DOJ is all about grabbing federal power and using it for gun control, the destruction of the world's most advanced healthcare systems, the demoralization of our military, the normalization of deviant lifestyles, the establishment of taxpayer funded abortions, and the promotion of crippling policies that are likely to destroy our economic systems.  The word "justice" should not even be in this title any more.  There is no real justice from this government body.  The salt has lost its flavor and it has become useless for its original purposes.

Irregardless of the above facts, everyone is well aware that we Americans traditionally

celebrate the 4^th of July to remember the day of our nation’s signing of The Declaration of Independence and to remember what our nation went through in order to obtain the freedom we were all created to enjoy in life.   It is good at least to stop now and remember the documents and what they stood for.  Perhaps this will help some of us to awaken from our stupor and move into action.  This document was drafted to protect us from all of the corruption of governing powers that do similar things to those I've mentioned above.  For years and years patriots have fought to defend individual rights and the right to worship, work and provide a decent life for their families. These veterans now stand in long lines to see doctors for fatal illnesses.  Large numbers of them have died in the process.  Instead of being first on the list for proper medical treatment, they have been overlooked, pushed back and ignored.  They are denied decent healthcare while immigrants who are here illegally are granted a free ride compliments of our government.    

Ironically enough, when these same guys; the Veterans, meet to celebrate The Declaration of Independence it isn't just about 

 BBQ and picnics and fireworks.  They REALLY know the cost of independence and they have paid dearly for it.  They are quickly waking up to the reality that they may no longer have this precious gift that they have held sacred over the years and have given life and limb and family time to defend.  I have to ask you; are we still independent?  
What of the social welfare systems of some hospitals that allow a young teenager to be taken from the safety and care of her parents and home for no logical reason at all and kept against her will for their medical experiments for almost a whole year?  Who will address the freedom and independence of these citizens?

What sacred words were used so long ago in The Declaration of Independence that would help us regain independence in our country today?  What written thoughts and ideas could begin to protect us from the scandal after national scandal that our liberal governing bodies have done without consulting the people? When will the American Citizens once more have a say in what is said and  done in the good name of America?  

Let's pick out a few phrases from the Declaration of Independence:

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

Have Americans now become so divided between the left and the right, the red and the blue,  that we must now declare why we cannot live with one another's government AGAIN?   There is much debate about the word "indivisible" in our pledge of allegiance.  Are we not now a country divided in thought so much like the British and the Colonial Americans were before?   We simply have no oceans between us and no mapped out boundaries, but we are worlds apart in direction, ideals, philosophy and basic desires for our nation.  What has divided us up this way?  Was it caused by a man, a group of people, a set of rules, a disagreement of ideals?  Is it the truths that we believe in and hold dear to our hearts?  Are two groups of people completely loyal to two totally opposite ways of thinking and life?   Are there those living among us now that simply do not hold to the truth of those old words written back in 1776?

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. ?

Does our government still derive its power from "the consent of the governed?"  Does this echo from the past not scream out at you as you read it?  Have we not reached a place in America that our government has become destructive?  Is it not our right as the people who are governed to abolish it and start over?  Dare we begin to institute a new government that would once again begin to effect our own safety and happiness?  I wonder.  Do we really care about such things anymore, or do we just want our government to hand out a daily bowl and keep us enslaved in our own laziness forever?   Should we not write a Declaration of Independence that will proclaim our freedom from abusive government again?  

 Have we become numb to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?  Do we even remember the true definition of these things anymore?  Some people seem to have a confused definition.  Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in this old document did not mean stay drunk, high and totally immoral whenever possible. It also did not mean go home from a long day at work, cover your head and sink into a land that is dictated to you by a screen on the wall.   Nor did it mean if you have enough cash you can buy whatever you want and if you don't have a penny you have no value to offer to others.  No!  These wise old leaders believed in an orderly and decent nation and a happy nation full of life and pleasant activity for all.   

Perhaps there are one or two generations living today who have never really known or experienced these things in their fullness.  They would not even know what they were fighting for if they decided to  join the cause.  Shame on those who have lived differently for not teaching them!  Of course why would they join our cause when the pied piper is out there playing lovely music into their ears?  Our systems of liberal education have taught them to enjoy their slavery.  They have somehow convinced them that their ideas are intelligent and the ideas of others are dumb.  The common man with common sense is looked down on as if he were not capable of thinking simply because he did not attend an ivy league institute of learning.  These days should Benjamin Franklin walk across the square and speak his mind he would be run out of town.  Common sense does not prevail at all!   Never mind what the common man has learned from the experience of the world, of knowing and acting among other human beings, of making a living and raising children and having true values.  These things are irrelevant to those of the world of higher education these days.  They live on a different plane.  They have taught their students not to weigh out the matters for themselves as our founding fathers did, but to follow those who carry pedigrees, even if they are worthless and useless and destructive for the common good.  They do not truly understand freedom and independence, except in a very limited and rebellious, twisted way.  We have failed to teach them the truth in our own homes from the cradle and the world has done our job for us.   Have you shared The Declaration of Independence's meaning with your children or did they study it in school?   We have let our children become brainwashed in our laziness while we enjoyed the fat of the land.  Now the world is changing and the fat has turned to lean and the little children can vote.  We have created this green-eyed monster ourselves.  We have not been prudent with our independence.

"Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world."

Well, yes!  Let the facts be submitted to a candid world!  Are we not today living in the SAME Despotism?  Is it not still our right and our duty to throw this off and provide guards for our own future security?  I ask you should any people have to endure the invasion of privacy our own government has forced upon it's people against their will?  Should a federal agency like the IRS be able to single out certain groups and play favorites?  Should special interest groups be allowed to use the power of federal agencies to achieve their political agendas that clearly go against the needs and desires of the majority of the common people?  Should we stand by and let politicians play dangerous games with our world security?

Let's just look at this list where The Declaration of Independence spelled out how King George went wrong back in the colonial days:

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.  

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. 

Is this not the same theory behind our current president's arrogance as he proudly takes his magic pen, shakes it in our faces and proceeds to write new laws into effect that go against everything that the common people want and need? Has the Supreme Court not done the same?  Where have we given those who are set up to enforce the current laws the power to CHANGE the current laws without consulting the majority of the people?   Has the one who initiates such things not arrogantly proclaimed it himself with a big wide smile on his face as he takes pen in hand?  Why do we not question these things like those brave colonist who wrote the Declaration of Independence so long ago?  Are we blind, stupid, uncaring, lazy, afraid?  Have we lost our passion for what is right and what is wrong?  Have we become over-educated idiots?   Have we not let appointed civil servants take over positions that should be voted on by the majority of the people?  Is it fair for a president to appoint biased people with agenda's to office without the consent of the people and to use them as pawns in his chess game?

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

Is this not the similar to governing powers overlooking Benghazi?   Not only have we overlooked the tragic circumstances, we have put the main character in the committing of the crime in a position to make decisions for our whole nation!   Now even committees who are experts have examined the circumstances and found her guilty but it doesn't even make headline news.  Were the legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable and distant back in those days not comparable to the operations of the Department of Justice today?   Are certain people in certain offices going to be right every time even when they are truly dead wrong?   How many things can people get away with?  How many smoke screens can be thrown in the path of the truth for a diversion to prevent correction and action among the people?  What about these things have anything to do with independence?  They are to do with blind slavery and injustice.  They are to do with murder and lies and deception  Independence is never maintained with such destructive tools.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

Let's talk about illegal immigrants.  Are these poor innocent people of today not being used by greedy and deceiving  political parties for political reasons?  Do you honestly think our government has their best interest at heart?   They are pawns in a chess game too.  This body that wants to bring them into the country without properly preparing them for honest citizenship will only use them first and abuse them later.  They are sheep led to the slaughter, only they will take already legal people down with them as they go.  It is all about numbers in elections.  It is all about using the ignorance of others to achieve the evil of unscrupulous rulers.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences  For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty; perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

Okay, that covered a lot of crimes that can be committed by an unworthy leader.  Look at the words very close.  Almost every sentence can be applied in some way or another to some scheme of our government today.  It is almost like they took The Declaration of Independence and said, how can we create the situations before the writing of this document all over again?  

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. 

And the old and sacred words of this Declaration of Independence, along with the words of our Constitution, my friends, are the definition of "true independence."  So much wisdom is all contained in this one document and it applies correctly to anyone willing to read and understand.  Now, maybe even without realizing it, you have read it again for yourselves.  Let us remember.  The next question is:  What do you want to do about it?

                May God bless America by bringing it back!

FOOD ART AND FAMILY FUN - SOME TASTY RECIPES FOR JULY 4TH

(From the recipe collection tested and tried and found to be true by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

The Meal Celebration for Independence Day is looking good! 

M E N U

Drinks:          White Sangria with Red, White and Blue Stared ice

                      Cubes/Sweet Tea,/Water

Appetizer:     American Taco Cups

Bread:           Best Blueberry Muffins

Salad:           Pasta with Beans and Greens

Entrée:         Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches with White Sauce

Side:              Fresh Corn on The Cob

Desserts:     Pretty Patriotic Pie, Linzer Star Cookies

Serve the traditional cold iced tea and water to drink with your meal, but before time to gather together, freeze several ice cubes in star-shaped trays.  Use food coloring to make the ice red and blue. Fill them into a pitcher of White Sangria and place along side a tray of glasses and serve first along side of the appetizers.

WHITE SANGRIA

Ingredients:

1 bottle of white wine (I use Riesling)

2/3 cups white sugar

3 oranges

1 lemon

1 lime

½ liter ginger ale or club soda

Directions:

Pour wine into your pitcher and squeeze juice from the orange, lemon and lime into the wine.  Toss in the fruit wedges, and add sugar.  Chill overnight.  Add ginger ale or club soda just before serving.

Make the appetizer below to serve with the Sangria:

American Tacos

(They are American because we are eating them on Independence day (LOL)

Ingredients:

1 can refried beans

½ pound cooked taco-seasoned meat

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 cup salsa

½ cup sour cream

½ cup sliced black olives

1 bag of Tostitos “Scoops”

Directions:

Set chips on a platter and layer with beans, meat and cheddar.  Heat in microwave until hot.  Top with salsa, sour cream and black olives. 

You know I’m going to say it….pull out the red, white and blue dishes! 

It is okay to mix styles of china, that only makes things more interesting.  If you don’t have red, white and blue dishes, don’t fret about it, there are lots of great paper styles.  Go casual and use paper, or bring out the colors in your napkins and tablecloth or centerpiece.   

You might consider tucking a tiny flag into your napkin rings.  If you don’t want to spend a lot on flowers for a center piece, go to the dollar store and stock up on flags.  Put several of them inside a clear vase in the center of your table.  You’re all set!

Since we will be having bread with the sandwiches already, I’ve chosen to serve blueberry muffins. Here is my favorite blueberry muffin recipe:

BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups flour

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ cup sugar

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1-1/4 cups blueberries

1 egg

¾ cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Melted butter and sugar

Directions:

Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl.  Sprinkle over lemon zest and blueberries. Beat egg well and add milk and oil.  Mix (don’t beat.)  Spoon into prepared muffin tins. Fill to the top.  Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes until beautiful and a little brown. Cool for 5 minutes.  Remove from tins.  Brush muffin tops with butter and dip in a bowl of  crystallized sugar.  Serve warm.

Here is one of the best salads ever, and my family always enjoys it.  I’ve often used it in lieu of the traditional boring baked beans.

PASTA WITH BEANS AND GREENS

Ingredients:

8 ounces uncooked bow tie pasta

1 large onion chopped

1 package fresh mushroom caps, sliced

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 cups fresh kale

1 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons minced garlic

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 15 ounce can Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed.

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese.

Directions:

Cook pasta.  Saute onion and mushrooms in oil for five minutes.  Add kale and next five ingredients and cook while stirring for 15 minutes, or until kale is tender.  Add beans and cook for one minute more.  Remove to serving platter, tossing gently.  Top with cheese.

Now for the main dish!  The very important ingredient here is the white sauce.  White sauce is a southern tradition, and my family loves it!  Here is a main dish that uses white sauce and always turns out good.  I’m making it a 4^th of July tradition at our house:

PULLED PORK BBQ SANDWICHES WITH WHITE BBQ SAUCE

Make the Sauce first and let it sit for several hours in the refrigerator.

SAUCE

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups mayonnaise

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/3 cup white vinegar

1 teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

Directions:

Mix all together and refrigerate for several hours. Flavors need to blend before using.

PORK

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds pork tenderloin – trimmed.

½ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup water

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons kosher salt

¾ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon ground red pepper

½ teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Directions: 

Cut the pork into 2 – ½ inch chunks.    Mix the other ingredients together and pour into a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, add pork and simmer for one hour or until tender.  Remove pork from pan.  Using two forks, shred.  Place on a platter and pour liquid left in pan over pork.  Serve with your favorite bread, mini buns or biscuits, and top with White BBQ sauce.

For a side dish I want to have an old favorite, fresh corn on the cob, cooked in the husks and served hot with butter.  Here is an easy way to prepare:

CORN ON THE COB

Buy very fresh, healthy corn, preferably from a local grower.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Leave the husks on the corn. Place the corn on the cob directly on the oven racks. Bake for about 1 hr depending on size. When the husks have turned a light brown on the outside they should be done. This is the best way to cook fresh corn on the cob.  It is easy and it is always good.

This year I chose two easy, tasty and colorful desserts that are a bit lighter after such a heavy meal.  I also wanted them to be cool.  I may add a little vanilla bean ice cream to go with these selections as well.

PATRIOTIC PIE

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups boiling water

1 – (3oz.) pkg. Jello Berry Blue Flavor Gelatin

1 pint fresh blueberries, washed and drained.

1 cup ice cubes, divided

1 Honey Maid Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)

1 – (3 oz.) pkg. Jello Strawberry flavor gelatin, or any other red flavor.

1 pint of fresh strawberries, washed and sliced into thin slices.

1 cup Cool Whip Whipped Topping

Directions:

Add ¾ cup boiling water to blue gelatin mix;  stir two minutes until completely dissolved.  Add ½ cup ice cubes; stir until melted.  Pour into crust; refrigerate 5 to 10 minutes or until set but not firm.  Meanwhile repeat to dissolve red gelatin mix in a separate bowl; stir in remaining ice cubes.  Cool 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Spread fresh blueberries over top of blue gelatin when firm.  Spread Cool Whip over blue gelatin layer; Spread sliced strawberries over Cool Whip layer,  cover with red gelatin.  Refrigerate 2 hours until set.  Garnish with fresh fruit before serving.

LINZER COOKIE STARS

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cup softened butter

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour

½ cup finely chopped roasted pecans

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

¼ cup seedless raspberry jam

Powdered Sugar

Directions:

Using a medium speed mixer, beat butter and add powdered sugar slowly until light and fluffy.  Combine flour with next five ingredients and gradually to mixture.  Divide dough into two parts and cover and refrigerate for one hour.   Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface and cut out 3” stars with a star shaped cookie cutter.  Using a smaller cutter, cut a star out of the center of half of the stars  Place all on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes.  Spread solid cookies with jam, and sprinkle remaining cookies with powdered sugar.  Top the solid cookies with the hollow stars sprinkled with powder sugar.  This should give you 3 dozen cookies, you can take the leftovers to work later.

Hope your 4^th of July Independence Day holiday is wonderful and full of this country’s traditions!

May God Bless America Forever!