I’m always on the hunt for “show-off” type dishes and appetizers and when I found this recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had just that. Bacon cups? How friggin adorable and delicious can you get?!

You can put anything in these bad boys, but I personally went the breakfast casserole route. Simply find your favorite casserole recipe, mix it in a bowl and divide into your little bacon baskets. You don’t even have to pre-cook the bacon!

Ingredients:

For Bowls
1 package bacon (Not the turkey sissy stuff)

For Casserole

1 Cup hash brown potatoes (I use O’Brien style)
1 Cup sautéed vegetables (mushrooms, peppers, etc)
8 Eggs, beaten
½ Cup shredded cheese

To Cook:

Line muffin pan with bacon to form cup shapes. Before you add any other ingredients, cook bacon at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Pull out of oven and drain excess drippings.Mix all casserole ingredients in a bowl and divide/spoon mixture evenly between cups partially cooked bacon cups. Sprinkle tops with shredded cheese. Cover with foil. Put back into the oven and continue to bake for roughly 30 minutes, pulling foil off pan 15 minutes early allowing cheese to brown.

*One word of note: Post devouring, I found another recipe that actually turns the muffin pan upside down and shapes the bowls that way. Very clever. Baking the bacon this way will help with the drainage of unwanted fat!

There is nothing quite like the July Fourth holiday. A much-needed day off from work to spend catching 80 degree rays, tilt a few too many back and Oh and Aw over the ethereal fireworks your town went way over budget on.

Whether I’m sipping cold ones on a boat or rocking my star-spangled bikini on the sand, the hostess in me always feels the need to go above and beyond potato chips and cut-up watermelon.  I wanted something fun yet simple, so went a Pinterest hunting to score some ideas.

There are many American flag cakes out there, but I personally think slicing the strawberries sideways (as pictured) is utterly adorable and the way to go—and much more creative. The pan pictured is an 18×26 and accommodates either two cake mix boxes or a doubled up scratch-cake recipe. Use white cake mix/white cake recipe and white frosting (egg whites only!) to keep with the red white and blue theme. I used approximately one box of strawberries and one box of blueberries—If done right, you will have eaten a quarter of the box before your cake is finished.

The pretzel recipe is nothing more than your standard almond bark pretzels. Melt white almond bark, dip pretzels, sprinkle, viola! Throw them in a zip-lock and you’ve got yourself one heck of a bag of goodies for the boat. These, accompanied by a Coors Lite and some deer sausage, will make for one heck of a delish mid-day drunken meal. Expect to be a hero on this day of remembrance.

Happy Fourth of July everyone!