blueberriesIf you're like me, holidays have a way of sneaking up on you: Memorial Day?! Wasn't it just Halloween?!

Then comes the horrible realization that you have to throw together some kind of celebration involving food at the last minute. Food that you have to prepare, most likely, because it's too late to call ahead and order a platter of anything.

Don't stress if you find yourself in that unprepared position this weekend. Memorial Day is the easiest holiday to fudge, since no one expects cookies baked from scratch or turkey and stuffing. Here are a few super easy ideas that will make it look as if you actually planned ahead.

Ready? Here we go...

  • Empty a bag of blue corn tortilla chips on to a large round tray. In the center, put two bowls, one filled with sour cream, the other with salsa. Tada! Red, white and blue nachos.
  • Pick up a package of frozen mini-sliders and some fancy red, white and blue toothpicks to stick through the buns. Presto, instant barbecue!
  • Baked beans come in a can, did you know that? And yet if you pour them into a casserole dish and heat them up, it looks like you cooked something. Shhh. Don't tell anybody.

And now, a "real" recipe:

Stars and Stripes Cake

Ingredients

  • Container of blueberries
  • Container of strawberries
  • 1 Pound cake
  • Whipped Cream

Instructions

  1. Wash the berries and pat them dry.
  2. Slice the pound cake into three layers.
  3. Cover the bottom layer with whipped cream, blueberries, and strawberries.
  4. Stack with the second layer of cake and repeat.
  5. Place the third layer of cake on the top.

Hint: Make this cake as close to dessert time as possible, and keep it refrigerated so the whipped cream doesn't melt.

 

Image via brx0/Flickr