10 St Patrick's Day Food Ideas

I will admit, I'm no fan of Corned Beef and Cabbage.  So when it comes to coming up with a St Patrick's day menu, there aren't a lot of traditional options I will serve.  Since I'm determined to find something tasty this year, I went to "work" searching Pinterest and the Blog-o-sphere for some great St Patrick's Day dinner recipes. 

1. Irish Nachos by Mini Manor Blog.

2. Pot of Gold Irish Potato Soup by Home Is Where The Boat Is.

3. Steak and Guinness Pie by Closet Cooking.

4. Shamrock Stew by Taste of Home.

5. Lucky Charms Pancakes by Recipe by Photo.

6. Shamrock Chips with Pot o Gold Dip by How Does She.

7. St Patricks Day Beef and Veggies by Midwest Living.

8. Green Mac And Cheese by Food with Kid Appeal.

9. Cheddar Topped Shepherds Pie by Martha Stewart.

10. The Reuben Dip by Nobel Pig.

Okay, so that last one had Corned Beef in it, but if it's on a chip, it can't be all bad!  Looks like whatever we end up doing, it will be lots of meat and potatoes and I can definitely get behind that!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Lady Bug Jello Jigglers

There are ALOT of really cute Lady Bug food out there if your planning a Lady Bug party.  I've been looking at so many lately trying to get ideas for my dessert table that I'm surprised this idea didn't come to me sooner.

When I was a child, we had Jello at our Sunday dinners.  My mom was the pro at making those jello rings with fruit inside.  It was one of my favorite parts of the meal.

I don't know why I have never really made Jello with diner before, but recently I "rediscovered" the joy and yumminess.  (Is that a word?)

And so have my kids...so we've had Jello alot recently.  Yesterday as I was making it for dinner, I had a brainstorm.

Why not use my football jello jiggler mold (you can see it in action at last years Superbowl party here) as a Lady bug?

So I got busy making some strawberry jello jigglers.

When you pop the jigglers out of the mold, I REALLY recommend placing the mold in a little bit of warm water to help release it.  In my case, I used some VERY warm water and it melted the NFL and Jello designs off the sides of the helmet. 

When I went to the store this morning, I bought some of this sparkle gel to try and make the dots on my ladybug, but it turned out BAD....really Bad.  Like this bad...

He looks a little like a porcupine...a masked porcupine.  Maybe he's a Superhero in disguise...if so, then he has a problem with Kryptonite or something because after 10 minutes, he looked like this...

A pretty sad ladybug.

So instead, I filled the cap of a decorating bottle with cool whip.

(I didn't fill the whole thing because it was a "little" difficult to get the cool whip into the bottle and I didn't want to waste any that could be eaten later.)

I used the cool whip to add dots on top.  Then I added ovals on the front for eyes and a little half circle for a smile.

I wish I could have found some of that Chocolate cool whip at my store, but I'm not sure if they even make it anymore.  The darker color might have made it look less like a porcupine and more like a ladybug, but what do you do?

And I'm not sure my party guests will even care!

After all, who doesn't love jello in whatever shape it comes?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

10 Valentine Party Food Ideas

While I am waiting for my craft supplies to arrive in the mail (a problem I'm now finding in living in a small town), I have been thinking about food ideas for my Valentine Pinterest Party.

I plan to ask each guest to bring their favorite "pinned" chocolate dessert, but I wanted to have some non-chocolate food there for snacks so we don't get completely overwhelemed (is that possible?) with chocolate that night.

Here are 10 Valentine snacks that I'm considering

...and yes, I am going to include the cute sayings as part of the food table cards.

1. Donut Holes 

"Donut You Know I Love You A Hole Bunch?"

 via Ashley Wendtland on Pinterest

2. Bananas

"I'm Bananas over you Valentine."

3. Jolly Rancher Chews

"I'd Chews you any day Valentine!"

4. Goldfish Crackers

via Tammy Mitchell Photography

"Will you O'fish'ally be my Valentine?"

5. Popcorn

"Valentine, you make me Pop with Joy"

6. Oreos

"Its as plain as black and white that I want to be your Valentine"

7. Nut Mix

via Better Homes and Gardens

"I'm Nuts About You"

8. Gummy Bears

"I like you Beary much Valentine"

9. Thumbprint Cookies

"Thumb-body loves you"

10. Heartbreaker Candies

via Kims Kandy Kreations

"Don't be a Heartbreaker--Be My Valentine."

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Angry Bird's Pig Dessert Treat

Normally, pig is not my favorite thing to eat.  Really.

Don't tell anyone but I really don't care for bacon (unless its cooked perfectly, and that's REALLY hard.)  I know, gasp...but it's not my favorite thing.

But these fun Angry Bird pig desserts are definitely on my list of desserts I can't wait to eat!

They turned out too cute not to want to eat them!

And they really were pretty easy to make.

I started with these votive candle holders from Walmart.  They were the smaller size, so they were only 0.60 each.  I cleaned them out pretty good.

I used my hole punches to punch out 2 3/4 inch size circles and 1 one inch oval.

I added a LITTLE dab of glue from my glue gun to make sure the placement of the eyes and nose were even and looked semi decent.  (The templates came off very easy once I was done with them.)

Using a thin dry erase marker, I outlined the templates so I'd know where to paint.  Then I painted the eyes white and used a sharpie to outline the eyes and the nose.  Finished the face up by adding nose holes and eye balls with black paint.

Then I tried adding some green Jelly Belly's but I think they were too dark.  If you like the lighter colored green beans, that would look great, or if you can find the green colored M&Ms add them to your Angry Bird Pig.

I like Pistachio pudding much better and it is the right shade of green, so I used that for my party dessert instead.

I can't wait to add it to the fun display I have planned to show you next week.  Or maybe I'll just eat it in the meantime...

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Yummy Witches Cauldrons

I have not meant to be so MIA lately.  We've been traveling for the past few days, and it's been a little harder than I expected.  I don't know if it's my heartache from the move, the fact that I haven't been feeling well, or just the overall stress of living in a hotel for so long, but things have just been harder.

But I am still excited for the Halloween holiday coming up this weekend and wanted to continue sharing my favorite ideas from other bloggers.  Hopefully, you are having a party this weekend and can enjoy a hauntedly yummy treat.

I love these fun Witches Cauldron treats made by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.  They are made the same way I made my Snowman bowls from our Snow party last year, except you use dark chocolate instead of white.  My kids LOVE pistachio pudding, so I would fill mine with that and all the cute extras for a fun treat for a Halloween party.

Go check out the complete directions at Confessions of a Cookbook Queen and be sure to stay awhile.  She has an amazing blog with lots of fun Halloween and cooking ideas.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Shout Out Sunday

A few of my favorite party ideas from around the blogosphere...

The Celebration Shoppe shared her Halloween Party, but my favorite part of it were these Monster Pedestal Candy Dishes.  These are so fun!  I just love how the colored candy really makes these fun dishes really pop.  The orange candy in the pumpkins, the green for the Frankenstein, and the white ghost.  I just LOVE them.

Maiden D'Shade shared these Terra Cotta Candy Corn Pots.  Aren't these just the cutest things?  This would make the cutest candy favors for a Halloween party.    Or they would also be cute for adding to your dessert table or as decorations around the room.

Pampers, Play Dates, and Parties shared this great Entertaining Tip.  She shared how to decorate your dessert table with just a little food that looks like so much more.  Using things such as cups, vases, and scrapbook paper, you can add those sour cream, cheese, or snack items to your table in a way that doesn't cost you a fortune but adds to your theme in a great way!

The Kurtz Corner shared this Cinnamon Cider.  This looks so yummy that I can't wait to try it for my fall parties.  And serving it in a hollowed apple is so genious!

 

Jellyfish Jelly shared how to make this Gladiator Helmet.  How fun would this be to have at a party?  So awesome! I love how easy and fun this helmet is.  It would make a great party favor or craft for a boys party.  Love it!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Easy Football Party Treats

I don't know if I'm the only one who has a bag of plastic Easter eggs sitting in my attic.  I admit, I NEVER throw anything away.  I have all kinds of stuff that I'm too cheap to buy again so I reuse year after year.  Easter Eggs are one of those things.

So when I started thinking about football party treats for our birthday party, my mind wandered to the shape of the Easter eggs and started playing with ideas.

I ended up taking two of the long ends and spray painting them brown.  Since the two sides don't attach together, I put a small piece of glue on the inside to hold them together (my dumb camera didn't record all these fun steps, so use your imagination here.)

Then I cut a 2 inch piece of white electrical tape.  I cut the tape in half length wise and used that to hold the ends of the "football" together.  The other half was cut into 2 one inch lengths and placed crosswise to form the laces of the football.

Quick, easy, and cheap.  Gotta love party treats and favors like that!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Shout Out Sunday

Here's a few fun party ideas from around the web...

Michelle Paige shared these Puppy Pop place markers.  These little puppies are a fun way to add both a treat and a place marker to each setting on her cute Puppy party.  I love how simple the idea is but how wonderfully it ties her theme together with each party plate.  VERY CLEVER! Her dessert table with all the fun puppy themed food is so cute too, and definitely worth checking out.

The Country Cook shared her Oreo Puddin' Poke Cake. I admit, I'm almost afraid to try this cake...it looks so yummy that I can see myself making it all the time.  Since I'm getting ready to go back on the "exercise and diet" bandwagon, I'm leery to try it.  But it looks so delish.  I definitely added it to my Recipes pinboard to make this weekend for our Sunday family treat.

Elizabeth Andree shared this fun Yarn Bowl.  This bowl would fit great at an art or game party.  I can see it filled with party favors or gifts.  It's made from old leftover yarn pieces for a recycled, cheap centerpiece but would be so unique that it would certainly be the talk of your party.

The Exchange shared a Christmas Craft Party. I love the idea of this party. It's so fun and a great way to get started on your Christmas crafts and gifts. What's better than to get all your girlfriends over for a fun get together and crank out a few great projects? So clever!

Haute to Sew shared how she made these Chair Covers.  These covers seem pretty easy to make, which is perfect if you need to make ALOT of them.  I love the idea of adding some fun accents or making them out of some fun fabric to match your party theme.  Such a GREAT idea.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Princess Brownie Bites

I admit, these sweet little princesses were not in my original plan when starting this project.

I saw these at Hobby Lobby last week and thought they would be great to have on my princess party dessert table.

Wilton POPS Princess Pixs, 8-Count

 But I forgot to buy them this morning and ended up watching the mother-to-be's kids while she went and had the star of our Princess Baby Shower this afternoon.  (She's a beautiful little girl!)  So I had to improvise and made these Disney Princess themed Brownie Bite Toppers.

To make these I started by cutting out the print file of the Disney Princess Toppers.

The toppers have princesses from The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, The Frog Prince, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Alladin, (Tangled) Rapunzel, and Beauty and the Beast.

I tried both hand cutting these and using my cutting machine to do it.  They weren't too hard to cut out, just time consuming and a lot of Little cuts.

After I finished cutting them out, "Daredevil" and I baked our brownies in this fun brownie pan.

Wilton Round Brownie Pop Mold

I've been wanting this pan for a while after buying "Daredevil" this fun book for Easter.  It has so many great ideas that I'm sure you'll be seeing variations of a lot on my blog.

Wilton Brownie Book

We filled the pan up 2/3 of the way full and cooked it on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Some of the bites had tops on them, so we cut them off to make the bites stand up level.

Then we dipped the end of a regular sized sucker stick into melted chocolate and placed it into the brownie bite as far as it would go.

After the chocolate had hardened and secured into the brownie bite, I dipped the bite into colored chocolate.  I tried to match each of the princess's dresses to the color of chocolate I dipped them in to.

Then I simply glued the princess to the top of the stick.

My sucker sticks left a little room between the princess and her dress, so if you don't want that, you could pull out the stick and glue the princess to the top of a toothpick instead.

You can also spruce up each of the princesses' dresses by adding a little bit of chocolate in designs.  I meant to, but with the extra 4 kids in my house today, it didn't happen.  But I do plan on doing this before the new little princess' welcome baby shower!

UPDATE:

I had to try one of these so that the stick came down the bottom.  I used a toothpick to attatch the princess graphic into the brownie bite.  I also added our new Birthday Cake Pop liners. It looks pretty cute both ways!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad