Do you ever have those days when even breathing feels like a labor? When you’re so overwhelmed and exhausted with stressful yet wonderful things that you want to hide in the closet and savor every moment simultaneously? I feel like I’ve been on a wild ride for the past month or so and it has caught up with me. In the middle of two busy trips to Haven and Vegas Market, we hosted a large family gathering at our place to celebrate one of my state favorite holidays: Pioneer Day. You know, I like to keep things interesting and throwing a party mid-stressfest seemed like a perfect idea:)
I typically like to keep things pretty simple for this annual gathering but in Jon’s family, good food is a must. There are some impressive cooks in the Stagg bloodline. This year I wanted to do something fairly easy, yet customizable, as we have some discerning palates who don’t all love the same thing. Enter the Burger Bar.
I can’t say I’ve made a ton of burgers in my time so I turned to one of my most trusted sources for tasty albeit fattening food (hey, it’s a holiday after all), The Pioneer Woman. I used her slider recipe just for the patties and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I mean, it has whole cream. In the burger. How could it not be good?
Have you tried pretzel slider buns? I picked some up at Costco and they were fantastic. They just added a little something extra to what could have been a boring burger.
For the toppings, I pulled out a variety of cheeses, including blue cheese. My mother-in-law whipped up some pesto mayo, which is heavenly. Just mix mayo with some prepared pesto (store bought works fine).
Other toppings included sautéed mushrooms, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, a variety of condiments, and guacamole for those feeling a little dangerous.
I used these darling min-chalkboard signs Groopdealz sent me to tell guests what was what.
Grilled corn, fresh watermelon, and some chips rounded things out. And for dessert, I made my Strawberries and Cream Cake. If you haven’t tried this yet, I insist you do it before the end of the summer. It’s life changing.
It was a lovely evening spent watching the kids get drenched in a little splash pad, talking, and eating. A lot of eating. The evening ended with a firework show in the front yard. It was just how I envisioned it.
There are a lot of exciting things happening around here this month. Some big announcements we can share soon– all good things, but all things that are taking a lot of work on the front end before we’re ready to share them here. Otherwise, the posts will be way too spread out!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend! I’m hoping to spend it working on some projects (of course) and enjoying time with my little family.
xx,
I love this idea! I am not a natural entertainer but my husband and kids love it so I try to do it as often as my little introverted heart can stand it. Great ideas like this make it so much easier for me! (Just so you know, I came over from Thrifty Decor Chick)
Hi Catherine, so glad you stopped over! Thanks for your sweet words!
Great idea ! Can you share where you got the cute pool ?
Thank you so much! I bought it HERE