Have a Spectacular 4th of July (with a Spectacular 4th of July Dessert!)

I have to take this moment to confess. I’m as big a patron of spending the weekend in the office as the next guy. In fact, I’m guilty of it more weekends than not! That being said, I’ve got to tell you-once I get done posting this blog post and doing a few tweaks to the website I have no intention of being anywhere near work for the rest of the weekend. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and it’s the 4th of July!

What are your plans? Are you hosting a holiday barbeque? Lighting off your own novelty fireworks at the end of the night? (Don’t forget to check out these basic fireworks safety tips to keep from blowing up your backyard while you’re at it!) Whatever your plans, I strongly recommend you set aside your own natural disinclination to add a British dessert to your meal and give this summer trifle recipe a try!

**I’ve made this simple but incredibly delicious variation of this traditional British dessert at my own 4th of July parties, but if you’re a stickler for propriety you can find the recipe in its entirety at Disney Family Fun**

What You Need:

1 package of instant vanilla pudding
4 cups of fresh berries (I recommend strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, but feel free to choose any kind of berry you like! If you’re using strawberries, don’t forget to slice them up first)
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice (A juicer works great for this)
1 cup whipped cream

You’re going to need to have the pudding and the berries prepared ahead of time, so if you haven’t done that now would be the time. Mix the berries with the lemon juice and let them sit for about 30 minutes, and make up the instant pudding in a bowl and place it in the fridge. Once that’s set and chilled, line the bottom of a glass bowl with about 1/3 of the berries, then pour ½ of the pudding over top. Repeat. Then place the final 1/3 of the berries on top, add your whipped cream and voila! You have an excellent 4th of July dessert.

I hope you have a great time tomorrow. I’m going to leave you to get started clearing out the yard for our own 4th of July celebration with this great video from several years ago showing the combined choruses from our nation’s military academies singing “The Star Spangled Banner.” Have a happy and safe holiday everyone!