Happy 4th of July!!!!

As usual, it's been a busy week. I spent Monday through Thursday in Yuma, Arizona. It was so hot, and I was definitely thankful my job doesn't require me to spend much time outside. I came home Thursday night, although it had seemed the universe had been conspiring against me getting home that day. I had planned to see Celtic Women at Red Rocks on Thursday night. The day started with a cancelled flight from Yuma to Phoenix due to mechanical difficulties with the plane...fair enough, I don't want to fly on any planes that have mechanical difficulties. So, I drove (like a bat...)to Phoenix. Got to the airport, made it with about 10 minutes to spare before the plane was boarding. Then a thunderstorm is dropping rain at the airport in Denver, so we have to circle for an extra 20 minutes until the storm passes. The concert starts at 8pm, by the time I am in my car and on my way to Dan's house, it's 6:30pm. So, to save you the rest of the story, we made it in perfect time, saw an awesome concert and as we turned around to fold up our seats, rain drops started again. Friday was a vacation day and I spent a lot of time cooking up some deliciousness for the 4th. The menu included pulled pork bbq, oven roasted potatoes, bleu cheese coleslaw and baked beans. I also made one of the easiest pies ever when you have some fresh fruit. We have always made it with peaches, but you can actually use any fresh fruit or in a pinch, canned fruit works well too. But, it's summer so there is no excuse not to take advantage of the fresh fruit. I should also mention my version of beer margaritas...easy and so refreshingly good. Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July.

Fresh Fruit Pie

1 stick butter, melted

1 cup flour

2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

2 cups cold water

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 oz. package jello (same flavor as the fruit)

Fresh fruit

In a small bowl combine melted butter, flour and powdered sugar, pat mixture into a 9" pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and water. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick. Remove from heat and add jello. Stir well to combine. Place mixture in refrigerator to cool and thicken. Add the fruit and mix well, pour into the baked pie shell. Chill at least 4 hours. Serve with whipped topping.

Beer Margaritas

1-12oz. can frozen limeade

2-12oz. cans beer

4oz. tequila

4oz. vodka

4oz. spiced rum

1-12oz. can sprite

Mix in pitcher and serve over ice.