Budweiser Backyard BBQ

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

On the 4th we ended up going to a local park to watch the fireworks

It was a really windy night so we were a little worried that they might cancel the fireworks, but luckily they didn’t! I love fireworks so I was thrilled that they still had them!

This weekend we also had a big BBQ!

In May I applied to host a Budweiser Backyard BBQ party on HouseParty. I figured I had a very small chance of getting picked for this party so I completely shocked when I got the email saying I was going to be a host! How could I turn down hosting a 4th of July BBQ for Budweiser??!

Budweiser sent me a fabulous party pack

The party pack was full of Budweiser swag. Some Budweiser cups, koozies, a couple t-shirts, some Budweiser BBQ Sauce, an apron, a few frisbees, a beach ball and some mail in rebates for myself and my guests!

I knew for this party I wanted to keep the food simple. I wanted classic backyard BBQ dishes that everyone loves. This made the prep easy since I could prepare most of it ahead and we could just throw the burgers on while people were there. I will be posting the recipes for these dished over the next few weeks :)

We started the evening off with a few dips to hold people over until we started grilling.

I made my favorite Spinach Artichoke dip served with crackers and one of my all time favs – buffalo chicken dip

We also had a veggie plate with a green goddess dip

A fruit plate with an amazing toffee crunch dip

For dinner we grilled some burgers. We had both beef and turkey – the turkey ones I spruced up a bit with some herbs, they were so fresh and flavorful

I also made 2 BBQ favorites to go with the burgers. Pasta salad

And potato salad

I wanted to be sure we had some leafy greens so I also made this strawberry spinach salad with goat cheese and almonds, served with a quick strawberry vinaigrette. This was surprisingly simple yet delicious

We had some yummy grilled corn with an herb compound butter

For dessert I made my favorite summer trifle, but switched it up my making a second layer with blueberries to make it festive (recipe included below). And I also served some homemade peach cobbler

Lance grilled up all the burgers and the corn (notice the super cool Budweiser apron!)

Once it cooled down outside we played some lawn games. Ladder ball was the game of the night – this was the first time I had played and I was surprised how fun and easy it is (and this is coming from the girl with zero aiming skills!)

Tink loved having so many people over – she is a such social dog (I think she gets it from her parents ).

We had a ton of fun hosting our Budweiser Backyard BBQ! It was a great way to spend the some of the 4th of July weekend with friends.

This trifle makes a great summer dessert. Not only is it easy to prepare, but it looks absolutely gorgeous in a trifle dish (you can pick one of these up for under $20 at Walmart or Target) – so it is a great thing to bring to a potluck or BBQ  and people always ask for the recipe! I have added both raspberries and blueberries to the dessert and both taste great – so I am sure that any berry combination would be a lovely addition (or replacement) to the strawberries.

The recipe I have typed below is the standard recipe I follow, but to make it like the one you see in my photos, make a second layer (by dividing the filling and cake into thirds instead of half) and add blueberries to the second layer.

When I make this with just strawberries I typically garnish it with a chocolate drizzle and chocolate dipped strawberries, which makes for a fabulous looking presentation.

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

Printable Recipe

 

Ingredients:

3 cups slices fresh strawberries

3 Tbsp sugar

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 ½ cups cold milk

1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix

2 cups (thawed) Cool Whip topping, divided

2 cups angel food cake, cubed (1 inch)

Strawberries and melted chocolate for garnish (optional)

 

Directions:

Combine berries and sugar in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

 

Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Once combined add pudding mix and beat until well mixed. Blend in 1 ½ cups of the Cool Whip.

 

Spoon half of the mixture into a 2 ½ quart bowl and top with angel food cake cubes. Then add the sliced strawberries and top with the remaining cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

 

When ready to serve, top with remaining Cool Whip. Garnish with a chocolate drizzle and chocolate dipped strawberries, or as desired.

 

 

Source: Adapted from Kraft Food and Family magazine (Spring 2009)