Happy 4th of July and a American Flag Recipe

Happy 4th of July. I hope that you enjoy the day with family and friends. We are headed out of town for the day to visit a friend. Thank goodness she has a pool because given that it's going to hit close to 100 degrees today and it will keep my daughter occupied since they don't have kids.

And because you can't show up emptyhande,  my daughter and I made this fun 4th of July cake. Yes, we baked.  And to quote my favorite reality show mom, Kate, having kids is all about creating traditions. So this is one.

Final note- since we  all seem to forget the history and origin of why we have the day off, I will leave with you a few fun facts about July 4th:

• July 4th or Independence Day commerates the Continental Congress' adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. 
• July 4th is regarded as the birthday of the United States. 
• Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, was the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence 

To read more about July 4th, visit www.history.com 


American Flag Cake Recipe
Ingredients*
Trader Joe's Vanilla & Baking Mix
1/2 Pint Whipping Cream
1/4 pint blueberries, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup strawberries, rinsed and drained

Direction:
Prepare cake mix according to directions. Our cake called for 8 x 8 x 2 pan but to make a rectangle size cake use 9 x 13 pan.
Cool cake completely
Frost cake with whipped cream
Place blueberries in the top left corner of the pan.
Arrange sliced strawberries as stripes to make the flag.
Chill until serving.
Serves 6

Substitutions:
Cake Mix - Use any packaged yellow cake mix for Trader Joe's Vanilla cake mix.
Whip Cream - use any whipped topping or low cal topping to reduce fat and calorie content
Add more fruit to cover 9 x 13 pan