"Made Up" Pasta Bake

Recently Jeff and I started a little weekly supper club with two dear friends, E&E. We alternate which couple hosts and cooks. The "visitors" bring the wine. We eat, talk, laugh, and have a wonderful time. This week we were hosting and I decided to make pasta. I figured it would be pretty good, but I didn't expect everyone to absolutely devour it! Mr. E was so impressed that there was no recipe, I just made it up as I went along. I'll do my best to describe it, but I'm sorry if I leave something out!

First, I cooked a package of ground turkey in a skillet. I seasoned it with a little bit of dried onion and some tuscan sea salt with herbs I got as a Christmas gift but save for "special" foods. I figured this was special enough! I drained the meat and wiped off the pan.

Next, I added one package of frozen spinach that I had defrosted and drained to the warm pan. I added a little bit more onion along with about 2 Tbsp of light garlic and herb cheese spread and a jar of light alfredo sauce along with a little bit of nutmeg (trust me, nutmeg with spinach or white sauce is awesome!) I didn't add garlic because the garlic & herb cheese was pretty strong, but if you just have garlic and cream cheese it would probably be pretty similar. I also stirred the meat back in with everything else.

Next, I cooked 1 lb of farfalle pasta and mixed it with all of the sauce. I dumped everything into a big casserole dish and topped it with a little bit of shredded 2% milk mozzarella and baked it until the cheese was melty. Basically I just stuck it in the oven and let it hang out while the oven pre-heated and I baked the rolls (for about 10 minutes). Everything was already cooked so it was just a good way to keep it warm until everyone got there. That, and I'm a sucker for melty cheese. It would still be super-tasty (and probably save a few calories) if you leave the cheese off the top.

The whole thing came together in probably 40 minutes. It probably could have been quicker but I wasn't in a rush (and I may or may not have been singing into my spoonula at points) I have a sneaking suspicion this would be an easy one to throw together the night before and then head up in the oven before serving. It might even freeze well, although I am not sure.

This should make about 8 servings and, according to the My Fitness Pal recipe builder, has 405 calories per serving. Not bad for a very tasty and filling meal. It's the perfect thing for spring time as it starts to warm up because it's still filling but not super heavy. Next time I might add some roasted red pepper. The spinach and turkey would probably also make a great filling for stuffed shells or lasagna rolls, too.

Do you have any "make it up as you go along" favorites? If so, please share. If you give this one a try, let me know, especially if you have any improvements!

Party Girl

February was the month of parties around here!

First, we threw a surprise party for my step-mom's 60th birthday. I honestly didn't think it would end up being a surprise, but she didn't have a clue, which was really nice. The whole thing was lots of fun. Hubby and I did the cooking for our Mexican fiesta and it was great. My step-mom's best friend and neighbor, Betty, helped us pull it off. My favorite part was the cake. Our friend, Julie, (and the wife of Catherine's cousin Hank) was able to get her fabulous bakery to make a coconut cake with lemon curd filling, which is what Catherine's mom used to make for her birthday. Most of the decorations came from Party City, the invitations were from Walgreens, and we had the party at the family life center at the church. Although it wasn't super-unique or full of DIY cuteness, I was still proud of the whole thing. It was a great success, but we had a lot of food leftover. Still, I loved doing it and would have done it again in a heartbeat!

Next up was Jeff's 30th birthday. I knew that he wanted another surprise party (he had one when he was 16 that wasn't exactly a surprise) so I decided to put together a "beer tasting and barbeque" party for him. I was able to rent out Brother Zeke's BBQ and asked everyone to bring a few beers to taste and share. I got the invitations and tasting note cards from Michelle Purner Designs. I picked the colors and came up with the table settings. I also took some ideas from pinterest and made a centerpiece "cake" from beer cans. I also made little favors for everyone. We got cupcakes from Pastry Art Bake Shoppe and it was a great night. Although he had kind of figured out that SOMETHING was going to happen but didn't know exactly what or when, so it was nice that he was at least sort of surprised! We all had a wonderful time, and it was definitely a success.

Of course, now I have "party fever"! It's been kind of nice having other people asking me for tips and help with parties they are planning and I do have a few projects simmering. I like being "the party girl!"

Stemware Charms

I have always thought the little stemware charms were just super-cute. I have never particularly had a need for them, but I decided it would be a fun craft to try. I got some not-so-expensive supplies and sat down to play. They were super-simple to make and lots of fun. I've enjoyed dreaming up new sets and making them. This is one of those "instant gratification" crafts.

For the set in the picture I used:

Six 25mm earrings

Assorted colors of seed beads - size six (I used 36 beads total)

Six Small silver bells

The only tool I used was a small pair of jewelry pliers.

Basically, I took each ring and opened it. These have a small end folded up that I flattened to get the beads on. I didn't have to get it perfectly flat and even, so there was a little notch, but that made it easier to bend back when I was done!

I used a colored bead, a white bead, another colored, a bell, another colored bead, another clear, and the last colored bead. Then I just folded the end back up the way it was before.

I used a different color on each one so that they can be used to identify the different drinks - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo.

These are super-easy to personalize. Use any kind of beads or charms you may want to fit your personality or match your china or just your mood at the moment! These would make a great little hostess gift with a nice bottle of wine or even a fun party favor!

Christmas Menu

I'm in charge of cooking Christmas dinner for my family. I'm so excited! I love doing stuff like this. This year there's an added challenge of Christmas being on Sunday morning and that means I've got to do church. We're having our church service at 10 am so we can all get home a little earlier, but I wanted to keep this very simple so I can enjoy the day!

Turducken - This is my step-mom's contribution. I think we're all a little curious to try this! It includes stuffing so that's taken care of, too. All the prep should be done so all that is required is baking.

Beef Tenderloin - I found a recipe that says to grill it on high heat for about 25 minutes, then wrap it in foil and let it rest for about half an hour and it will finish cooking itself in the foil. We'll see how it goes! (If all else fails, we'll throw it back on the grill!)

Garlic Mashed Potatoes - I'm doing my own version of "semi-homemade". I'll probably test drive this one in the not-so-distant future.

Green Beans - quick and easy. Not complicated.

Macaroni and Cheese - prep the day ahead and bake the day of. Easy Cheesy!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes - another quick and easy one. We're forgoing the sugared and crusted casserole in favor of simply seasoned and roasted sweet potato cubes.

Balsamic Onions - cut in wedges, wrap in bacon, drizzle with balsamic, and bake.

Cranberry Sauce - from a can (because it doesn't count without the little rings on it!)

Turkey Gravy - from a jar (because I'm lazy and won't have drippings to use for homemade anyway!)

Horseradish Dijon Sauce - easily made the day ahead

Gorgonzola Port Sauce - also easily made the day ahead

I'll probably also have some sort of cheese appetizer. It may be a cheese ball, it may be a dip to go with crudite, or it may be a baked cheese and herb spread. We'll see how I feel closer to time.

I promise to provide "real" recipes eventually, and I'll try to remember to link back to this post, but just check back after Christmas to find out how it went!

Oh, Pinterest

I resisted your temptation for as long as I could. I really did try. But it was ultimately too much. The pictures were just so pretty and the ideas so plentiful and the ability to organize it so neatly was just more than my weak and not overly-occupied heart and mind could bear. So I joined in.

I'm having far too much fun with this. I have the feeling that I'm going to be looking for excuses to have parties and going a little bit over-board when I do. I'm finding all kinds of crafty ideas and inspiration for lots of crazy ideas and projects and adventures.

If you want to see what I'm up to, you can check out my stuff or, even better, follow me! I'm all about new ways of keeping up with people!

Jeff's Smoked Chicken

There are not words for how excited I am to finally be able to post this! I have been anticipating this for, no kidding, six months! I've been waiting until we could have the neighbors over and JEff could make this for us. Well, we are having the neighbors over but in the interest of picky kids we're just doing burgers and dogs. However, we couldn't let the lovely weather go to waste, so Jeff did the chicken for the two of us on Memorial Day. It's actually very simple and exceedingly tasty!

I apologize for the giant photo, but couldn't figure out an easy way to shrink it, and was too lazy to try anything that wasn't easy!

Now, back to the good stuff! Make sure your chicken is completely defrosted. If they've been shoved in the freezer for a while, this may take a day or two in the fridge. Rinse your chicken well and pat it dry.

It's better if you brine your chicken, but if you don't it'll still be ok, it just won't be as juicy.

Fire up your grill with any sort of wood you'd like over the coals. Only have a gas grill? No problem, just get a smoker box! I've even seen smoking chips in a little tin that you can throw out when you're done. The grill needs to get to (and maintain) a temp of about 300 degrees

Now, just put your bird on the grill and let it cook for about 30 minutes per pound. The key here is low and slow.

Check on it periodically to make sure it doesn't catch fire and that the grill is maintaining the right temperature but doesn't go out. You may want to turn the bird about halfway through just to make sure the skin gets evenly crispy if you like that sort of thing! (I know I do!) If you're looking closely at that photo, the "stuff" you see on the skin is a bit of rosemary and thyme that Jeff added. It was a nice touch. The skin got extra brown because of just a tiny bit of oil

Once it's done, let it rest for at least five minutes. We like it just pulled off and served with your favorite sauce. My personal recommendation is white sauce. I had planned to make potato salad but ended up just having mac and cheese and Jeff also wanted a salad. Great, easy hang-out food!

Marinated Mozarella

This is one I've been wanting to try for a while now, but never had the chance. I figured the holidays are the perfect excuse for trying stuff, so I gave it a try. I was a slacker and forgot photos, but I'm guessing you can use your imagination on this one!

Making this is actually super-duper easy. I did it in all of 10 minutes in the middle of the night because that's when I was thinking about it!

I used basil, rosemary, and thyme because these are what are in my garden and what I think of when I think "Italian". Oregano or other herbs would probably also be fantastic.

I also added some whole peppercorns, a little bit of crushed red pepper, a tiny bit of salt, and a whole glove of garlic (next time I would crush the garlic, but whatever floats your boat).

Of course, the main ingredient, the cheese! There are a few ways you can do this - the hard way is to get a large piece like a big ball or a log and cut it into pieces yourself. The not-so-hard way is to get pre-packaged little pieces. Now, I have seen/heard the little balls of mozzarella called "bocconcini" in lots of recipes. However, when I went to the store, the package that said "bocconcini" were about five still good sized balls per pound. NOT what I needed for appetizers. Luckily, there was a package marked "Mozarella Pearls" and that was exactly what I needed.

Moral of the story: Look at the actual product, not just the name on the label. You know what you're going for here! (Had I not been such a slacker, I would have pictures here. Sorry!)

Now, fill the jar up with olive oil and put on the lid. You may want to shake it up a little bit (even though everything will probably make its way back down to the bottom anyway!) and then stick it in the fridge. It needs to sit in there and marinate for at least three days, but you probably want to eat it within a week. You may want to take it out a bit before serving, but either way it works.

I ate these on little pieces of toast with pesto and a drizzle of balsamic. YUM!

I'm sure this would also be great tossed in a simple pasta salad, stuffed in a piece of chicken, or any where else you need a little bit of special cheesy goodness!

What Should I Bring?

Or more appropriately - "Reason 52,783 Why Sandy is Completely Nuts!"

In preparing for hosting the Christmas dinner for the Hogues, Jeff and I have been having a pretty consistent back-and-forth argument about the particulars of the party. I guess it's because we came from two very different backgrounds as far as hosting parties and holiday celebrations are concerned. Jeff's family was always potluck and paper plates. Mine was good china and planned menus. Neither are right and neither are wrong, but it makes bringing it together for a single party a bit of a challenge.

When I was growing up, most of the family didn't have to bring anything to dinner. I'm sure a part of this is practicality and the fact that most of us were coming from a little ways off. And really, who wants to worry about cooking and packing and bringing food over when you have kids on Christmas morning? By that same token, if you're going to be close by and I need you to pick up something on your way over or you have a famous something that you can make pretty easily and bring with you, I will gladly accept it. But for the most part, if you are more than 5 miles away and coming over to my house for a meal, if you ask me what to bring, I will tell you "Nothing".

Now, in an effort at full disclosure, I will say that there is a self-serving motivation to this (besides giving me something to plan, research, and prepare) and that is the fact that I am picky, so when I am preparing everything I know what's in it and if I will eat it or not! I am very accommodating of special requests, I just have to know about them!

As we prepared for this blessed event, I was prepared for this question because I knew it was coming. I delegated the ham to my Mother-in-law. That was easy enough. For everyone else, my standard answer was "dessert, bread, or tea" since I figured those were the things we couldn't have enough of!

Christmas Dinner

Every family is different and each have their own traditions. To me, the best part about getting married and starting fresh is getting to create your own traditions and do things exactly the way you want to do them. And I really do love hosting parties! I love making great meals and sharing them, so the holidays are my favorite time of year for that very reason!

Between Jeff and I we have lots of branches on our family tree, so there are lots of opportunities to do stuff. This year we have agreed to host his step-dad's family gathering at our house. Usually we can expect anywhere from 7 to 16 people for this little shindig. When we did it two years ago I decided to change things up and do something different because I figured everyone would be getting tired of the same old stuff over and over. While the meal was good, it wasn't what I had hoped it would be and I decided that from now on, a more traditional approach will probably be more well received.

So this year, this is our menu -

Finger Foods - I have changed the "name" of this a dozen times. It's not exactly antipasti (although I'm giving parts of it a bit of an Italian flair) and it's more than just a relish tray. Right now it'll have homemade pickles and pepper rings, blue cheese stuffed olives, marinated mozzarella, and garlic toasts with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and pesto.

Spiced Nuts

Roasted Turkey Breast - basically the same one I did last year

Ham (this is still iffy) - I think this is my Mother-in-law's contribution to the festivities

Macaroni and Cheese - a new variation on an older recipe. No crock pot.

Dressing and Gravy - Yes, the gravy is coming from a jar. I can only do so much!

Green Bean Casserole - Old faithful

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with assorted toppings - What I hope will be a happy marriage of various traditions

Watergate Salad

Sour Cream Biscuits

I will probably make a peanut butter pie, a caramel pie, and maybe a key lime pie for dessert, plus I know Jeff wants to make some cookies and candies. Stay tuned for the recipes. I'll eventually link to all of them here.

Baked Beans

Jeff's friend Eddie has been in Afghanistan for the last year and is finally home for good! To celebrate, we had a bunch of people over for a cookout. Jeff and I got the burgers, hot dogs, and bratwurst but I let the men-folk take care of charring the mammal flesh. I made some of my salsa to go with chips, and some baked beans. Other people brought potato salad, tea, cupcakes, and all kinds of other yumminess.

So without further ado, here is my recipe for baked beans:

2 cans pork and beans

1 onion, chopped

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. yellow mustard

1/4 c. ketchup

4-5 strips bacon, cut into thirds

Mix together everything but the bacon, put the bacon pieces on top, cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. I ended up un-covering mine for the last 10-15 minutes to let the bacon on top crisp up a little bit, but that is strictly a matter of personal preference.

This is about as easy as it comes. Everything got mixed in the casserole dish and as soon as it came out of the oven it was ready to go!

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

House Party 1.3

It's almost party time! Who's excited? I am! I'm really having to fight the urge to "test" one of the pizzas now!

I went to the grocery store yesterday to get all the stuff for Saturday. I used my host coupons and got six pizza crusts at Publix. Two were the regular crust, two were thin crust, and two were whole wheat thin crust. I really wanted to get some of the personal size so people could make their own if they wanted, but sadly Publix didn't have any of the personal size so we'll just have six big pizzas. The crusts were $4.39 each for the regular and $4.59 for the whole wheat. Not bad at all!

I had planned to make my own tomato sauce, but I decided to use one of my coupons for the Boboli sauce instead. It was only $2.39 for 3 packets (that are so conveniently the right size for the pizza crust!) I'll use the red sauce for the veggie and pepperoni and have one left for whatever. The others will have other (or no) sauce, but you'll have to wait until later to get the actual recipes for those!

I had a few things already that I didn't have to buy, but when everything was said and done, I spent less than $45 for all the stuff to make six large pizzas and I'm anticipating having some left overs! Not a bad deal at all! Stay tuned for pictures and recipes of the blessed event!

House Party 1.2

I got my party pack from House Party Thursday for our "Beat BBQ Boredom" party on Saturday, August 14th. Who's excited? I know I am! Look at all my goodies!

I got recipe cards, tip cards, coupons for Boboli pizza crusts, game ideas, and a food tent!

And what's a good party without party favors? I'm guessing I'm not the only person who likes free stuff! So we have recipe cards, tip cards, coupons, magnets, and reusable shopping bags for everyone! I'll probably be throwing in a few other little goodies, but I'm not going to tell you about those just yet! You know you want to come try some pizza and have some fun.

Right now my pizza list includes Honey Mustard Chicken, Lime Steak & Cilantro, Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese, Rosemary Chicken & Potato, Pepperoni, and Veggie. I'm going to use as much produce from our garden as I can and make some things from scratch that I normally might not. I'm going to try to avoid going overboard, but I'm excited about doing some things I don't normally get to do!

Have you ever hosted a house party? No? Would you like to? You'll get all kinds of cool stuff to try and share with your lovely friends and family members. There are lots of applications for parties like "My Thai Kitchen" and "Kraft Homestyle Comfort Food" (both schedules for September 25th). And if those aren't your style, keep your eyes on the "Tombstone Pizza Haunted House Party" scheduled for October 19th or the "Sabra 'Share the World' House Party" scheduled for November 13th. Neither of these are currently taking applications, but will probably begin soon, so if you're interested keep your eyes out!

House Party #1

I first found out about House Parties because some of Jeff's friends hosted one last year. I checked out the website, got interested, and started applying for all kinds of parties. I REALLY wanted to do the Ball canning party, but sadly it didn't work out. The good news is I finally got approved for one!

I will be hosting my first House Party on Saturday, August 14th. This one is sponsored by Boboli pizza crust and is all about grilling pizza! I've heard about grilled pizzas and seen it done but have never tried it myself, so I'm really excited.

There will be plenty of pictures and recipes when it's all said and done, but for now you get to read all about my preparations! The timing on it is pretty great since it's the weekend of my birthday, so we can just have everyone over and have one big get together around the pool and eat and drink and have fun. If you're going to be in the Birmingham area and want to come party with us for real, let me know and I'll get you all the information.

Part of the party pack I will be getting as a host is coupons for like 8 pizza crusts, so I need to come up with a bunch of different kinds of pizzas.

The obvious ones are pepperoni and veggie

The three suggested by Boboli are lime chicken and cilantro, grilled pork and apple, and honey mustard chicken. I don't think I (or anyone in my family) would like the pork and apple one

My other thoughts are to do the lime chicken one with flank steak and caramelized onions, a taco pizza with ground beef, and some sort of chicken and green pepper (because this is Jeff's new favorite). I would really love to try to recreate my favorite CPK pizza (which as been discontinued for quite a while) which is rosemary chicken and potato. I may try something with a thai flair using spicy peanut sauce. I'd also like to do something with goat cheese, but I don't quite know what!

Of course I'm definitely open to suggestions, so if you have a personal favorite, let me know! Also, go check out my party page here.

Salsa

Today Jeff's family is having a little get together out at the pool, and I'm contributing my homemade salsa to the festivities. I have taken PW's Salsa and tweaked it just slightly. I hope you'll be as pleased with the results as I was!

1 lg (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 sm (16 oz) can fire-roasted tomatoes

1 sm (16oz) can Rotel

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup diced onion

1 chipotle pepper in adobo, sliced

1/2 cup cilantro

1/2 lime juiced

1 tsp. taco seasoning

Just toss everything into the blender and pulse it until there are no more big chunks and you can't resist the temptation to dive in! It really does get much better if you let it sit for at least an hour!

If you want to make your own tortilla chips, cut corn tortillas into sixths or eights and fry in 325 degree oil for about 5 minutes in small batches (basically one tortilla at a time). Drain them on paper towels and salt if desired.

The Dinner

I'm sure we've all heard the hypothetical question - "If you could have ___ people over for dinner (living or dead), who would they be and why?"

Well, because I'm the world's most indecisive person and because I don't want the pressure of being star-struck in a smallish setting, I have chosen for myself the number of guests as five. Plus, my dining room table will on seat six comfortably. Yeah, I'm a planner like that.

As for the who, this is what I have come up with.

Susanna Wesley - she is an awesome, amazing, kick-butt woman I would love to meet. I just want to know how she was able to do all that she did with the same 24 hours in a day that I have (and many fewer modern conveniences!)

Ree Drummond - aka the Pioneer Woman. She is also an awesome, amazing, and a kick-butt woman I would love to meet. I want to be her when I grow up! (Well, except for all the manure and calf nuts, although I guess I could get used to it and to be fair, that's not exactly what she dreamed of when she grew up either!)

Patrick Dempsey - he would make the group photo so much prettier. And I really do think he has done some really great things with his fame and fortune, so he tops my list of favorite movie stars at the moment.

C.S. Lewis - have mercy this man is brilliant. He just knows how to phrase all the important stuff of life. I have a feeling we would have similar senses of humor.

Chef Tom Colicchio - he has led such an interesting life and been to some great places. And of course we could talk food!

Of course, you can't have a great dinner party without a great dinner, right? So what would I serve? I'd do a potluck! You can tell a lot about a person by the dish they prepare/bring. Plus, it's a great conversation starter!

As for what I would prepare, I sort of feel that, as the hostess, I should make the main dish. I think something simple would be best. Maybe a roast chicken or even beef tenderloin. Desert I would have to buy. No doubt about it! I'm thinking something from Savage's Bakery, although a Strawberry Pie from the All-Steak might be nice if the berries were in season.

I don't think outside entertainment would be necessary, although if anyone came in a limo I would suggest we all pile in and go cruising because I'm just a dork like that!

So there you have it. My dinner. Who would you invite to yours? What would you serve? Have you ever even thought about it? Discuss!

Pesach

I have a few confessions to make. This may come as a shock to many, but I am a dork. I like learning new things. And I like teaching other people about the things I have learned about. I get really excited when other people are excited about something new. And my heart soars a little bit every time a child asks a question that leads to deeper understanding on the part of both the person asking the question and the person answering it!

This past summer, the stories of VBS were around the life of Moses and culminated with the story of Passover. Everyone got really excited about it. And the inevitable question came - why don't we celebrate passover? And so, that's how I ended up researching kosher foods, passover menus, and the mysterious world of cooking without butter.

I found a great family haggadah online. I highly recommend it. It comes with coloring pages, which always excite me. I will tell on myself. I spent almost an hour trying to get it to print two pages to a sheet. I got it to print, but it kept coming out backwards and bugging the heck out of OCD little me. It wasn't until I was about to scream that it hit me - Hebrew (and thus, a haggadah) are read right to left, not left to right like we're used to seeing things! I felt really silly, salvaged all my previously rejected pages, and got them all put together quickly after that!

Because I felt crummy and procrastinated, I never made it to the grocery store on Monday or Tuesday. This left me with two options - I could get up at the butt-crack of dawn to go to the grocery store on my way to the prayer meeting or I could wait and go somewhere down in Fultondale Wednesday afternoon after the prayer meeting. So early morning won out. I discovered that grocery shopping at 7:30 am is actually a pretty pleasant experience. I just don't recommend it if you haven't eaten breakfast and the smell of freshly baking bread causes you to swoon. I was quite hungry by the time I left!

Our kosher for passover menu included roast chicken with two potatoes, apple salad, deviled eggs, coleslaw, and parsley salad with macaroons and fruit compote for desert. I tried to incorporate the various elements from the seder plate into the actual meal. I tried to follow the basic rules of keeping kosher for passover, but I know I wasn't able to follow them all. At least I am trying!

Both the meal part and the ritual part went very well and were very well received. Not only did we have a really good time (once the kids got involved and ate!) but I think everyone learned something. The food was tasty and everyone was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't "weird". I don't know if this will become an annual tradition or not, but we really had a good time and I enjoyed being able to share it.

One of these days I want to go to a "real" seder where I can participate and not lead, but this was a really great experience.

If you want recipes for anything, let me know.

Party Recap and Punch recipe

The open house on Saturday went very well. We had a nice group come out, but it wasn't so overwhelming that it took us forever to get everything back to normal. The house was still relatively clean when everyone left. There wasn't a ton of leftover food to be put away. Almost everything fit into the dishwasher in one load.

Our menu was quite simple - fruit and vegetable tray, cheese and sausage, bacon ranch cheeseball and crackers, spinach dip and tortilla chips (not homemade this time!), sugar and forgotten cookies, citrus punch, and wine. Nothing terribly difficult or fancy but it was a nice spread. I was pretty proud, even if I did have the little cubes of cheese that I can't stand! (they were my husband's choice!)

The weather was perfect. We were able to open the french doors between the living room and the screened porch. We actually spent most of the day on the porch just because it was so nice out there. I love having a place to sit where I can enjoy the fresh air and be comfortable and not have to worry about bugs! I can definitely see spending some quality time out there again with a glass of wine!

In preparation for the party and as a gift from his mother, we got the swing for the front porch. It looks really nice and we enjoyed sitting in it waiting for everyone to come over on Saturday. I want to get a cushion or something for it, and I can see napping on the swing. Hopefully my snoring won't scare the neighborhood children!

Because I'm a slacker I totally forgot to take pictures of making the punch, but there isn't much to take pictures of. It is very simple.

1 (12 oz) can orange juice concentrate - thawed

1 (12 oz) can lemonade concentrate - thawed

1 (12 oz) can limeade concentrate - thawed

6 cups water

2 liters ginger ale and/or Sprite (I used 1 liter each)

Basically you just dump this all into a punch bowl and mix. Save the soda until right before you serve it so it doesn't go flat. If you want it to be sweeter you can also add some pineapple juice, although I would also add a little more water if you do. Serve over crushed ice and you have a very tasty beverage.

*Variation* - for a grown up version you can obviously use champagne in place of the soda

Also, if you prefer slushy punches, add another 2-3 cups of water to the juice concentrates and water, then freeze overnight. Let it thaw slightly before adding the soda and serving. Obviously this way you don't need the crushed ice.

The Countdown

Here is approximately what is happening into my mind and my home in this week leading up to our Open House.

Monday - Can't even think about it yet. Not in a "party" frame of mind, especially since I have other stuff to do on the personal and professional front before I can get to the "fun" stuff of entertaining.

Tuesday - Realize I'm now less than a week away, the weekend is behind me, I've already slacked off on one day I could be working (Monday) and I need to get my rear in gear. This is also my volunteer day at the hospital so household chores like laundry commence upon my return home. This includes a frantic search through the kitchen towels for a "presentable" dish cloth that matches the kitchen, and putting out matching towels in the master bathroom (which would never normally match!)

Wednesday - Start seriously thinking about the food stuffs of entertaining. We need finger foods and wine and sodas. I really wish I had one of those cute lemonade dispensers but don't have the money to spend on something like that. I suppose I could pull out the punch bowl I insisted on keeping in the move... Anyway, back on track. I think I gave away all the cute plates leftover from the wedding so I'll need to get more. A trip to the store is definitely in order! Jeff did most of the serious outside work today so we have flowers and an herb garden and a few tomato plants. I attempted to be productive and got all my dolls into the case.

Thursday - Today is errand day. We'll have to get some dirt to go into the raised garden beds out back. We have to go get the new porch swing and get it hung. Now that I have a menu in hand I have a grocery list and I can go to the store. I'll probably make a last ditch effort to get a few more things unpacked from the basement but I figure that will pass after a couple of hours! Dusting and cleaning the bathrooms are also on the agenda.

Friday - I doubt I'll get out of my pajamas all day. This is a serious prep day. Last minute cleaning of windows, cabinets, and other places that probably won't get noticed; getting all the food as ready as it can be; rearranging the stuff. Before I go to bed there will be at the very least a diagram of what goes where on the island tomorrow and everything else will be absolutely ready (except for the fact that my clothes will be laid out and the bed obviously won't be made)

Saturday - I'm in full-on freak out mode. Normally I would enjoy sleeping until about 9 and then acting like a crazy person but I have double booked my day because, well, I am a crazy person. I have a brunch meeting at 9:30 (which means leaving the house by 8:30) and I WILL be leaving by 11:30 so I can get home. I want to stop and get some fresh flowers but it probably won't happen. Inevitably someone will be early (I'm guessing my in-laws!) but all the food should be ready to simply be put out and Jeff can handle that! Hopefully I won't be too frazzled when I come in!

When it's all said and done I'm absolutely exhausted, but loved every minute of it and can't wait to do it again!

You're Invited...

... to an open house!

I don't like the idea of a "house warming" party because it sounds like we're asking for gifts and we just got all kinds of wonderful things for our wedding less than a year ago. Plus, I just can't quite make sense of why someone else would throw you a party to show off your house. Shouldn't that be your thing? I know it's totally "normal" I just can't wrap my little brain around it. So we are having an open house where everyone can come in and see the place all fixed up and not just decorated for Christmas.

The party will be Saturday, March 27th from 1-4 pm. There is talk of going out for Mexican afterwards if anyone would like to join in those festivities as well. This is probably the one and only time you'll ever get permission to open my closets and look in my laundry room. Take advantage of this limited-time offer. There will be food and music and maybe even some wine. It will be a lovely afternoon.

Come on over and bring a friend. If you want a formal invitation or need directions, just let me know!

Food and Wine Classic

I never even knew there was such a thing as the Food and Wine Classic until I started watching Top Chef. I have fallen in love with Top Chef so I have gotten curious about the Food and Wine Classic. 

I don't necessarily claim to be a "foodie" because I am a picky eater. And I love junk food and certain classic comfort foods that are certainly NOT gourmet. But I have had a few chances to experience really GOOD food, and I really enjoy it when I can get it. 

I started thinking about it and looking into it. It looks like it would be an AMAZING vacation. I would love to visit Colorado, but I'm not a skiier so summer would definitely be the best time to go. The tickets are SUPER expensive - even the basic ones are over $1000, and it's only a weekend. But you do get 7 seminars, 5 tastings, and a million exhibits and the chance to be in the presence of culinary genius. Then there is the option of the "green pass" which is basically a VIP pass, and gives you a lot of other benefits including "free" gifts, tickets to several special dinners, and $1000 of the $3100 cost is donated to a charity. Part of me would like to do that, even though it would cost me an arm and a leg and I probably wouldn't like a lot the food at the dinners! And really, are the gifts worth that much more that I would be paying? I really doubt it. At the same time, getting the VIP seats at the seminars and all of that would be FANTASTIC and probably well worth it in my book. 

I'll keep dreaming about it. Maybe one of these days I will make it out there! If you want to go with me in maybe 2011 start saving now and let me know!