Wedding Shower for Bethany

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting my friend Bethany's wedding shower at my house on behalf of our homegroup. Bethany and her husband-to-be, Stephen, are both in our home group, and we've really enjoyed getting to know them this year!

I wanted to share a few photos of the shower along with some recipes because our friend Kate did an awesome job planning the menu. The shower was on a Sunday afternoon around 3:30 pm so the menu was great for mid-afternoon snacks, but it also served well those of us who didn't have lunch.

Stephen & Bethany (old photo--Stephen didn't come to the shower =))

The spread of food

So the menu consisted of chicken wraps, a fruit tart, a goat cheese roll (to die for) with crackers, homemade,monogrammed cupcakes, delicious lemon cookies, corn avocado salsa with tortilla chips, grapes and carrots with dip, and a mint tea punch to drink. Like I said, Kate did an awesome job planning the menu with light, sweet, and savory fare... definitely consider checking out the recipes I linked. They were my favorite! The chicken wraps were pretty amazing too, but I didn't get the recipe for those.

Shower games-- TP wedding dress. The winner is pictured above (Julie, Bethany's sister) along with her designers Mrs. Coda (Mother of the Bride) and Kendra one of Bethany's bridesmaids [Interesting fact about Kendra, she met the Pioneer Woman while in Charlotte and recommended this pastry shoppe to her and now PW follows her on twitter!!!]

Gift time!!

links: new recipes to try

thanks hannah for posting that last recipe! i tried it, and it was so great. we ate it too fast for me to get a picture. but, i love using my crock pot, and i'm so glad to have a new recipe. next time i think i'll freeze half, because it's perfect comfort food that would be great to just pull out of the freezer one busy week night.

also, i tried the meatloaf cupcakes and loved those too. for real, y'all... try them! i'm attempting to clean out my pantry since we're moving soon. so, needless to say, i didn't have fresh veggies. instead, i took half a bag of frozen veggies, nuked them in the microwave, then pureed them, along with some fresh herbs (basil and oregano) in my food processor. i didn't use the beet juice in the mashed potatoes because that would freak my husband out, and also i didn't put any green onions on either-- same reason. i don't have icing bags or icing tips so instead i put the mashed potatoes in a plastic freezer bag and cut off a corner. that helped make the potatoes look more "icing" like.

i think these would be great appetizers, especially if made in mini cupcake pans. i'm sure the possibilities for being creative with the mashed potato icing and and garnish like sprinkles are endless!

lastly, tziporah sent me the link to a dish she recently tried from NPR: Chicken-And-Corn Fried Rice With Lemon Spinach. i'm definitely trying this soon...

Mocktails Anyone?

Last Saturday evening, my mom and I helped host an engagement party at her house with girlfriends Jennifer, Christy, Lori and Ms. Christine. The theme was a "Mocktail Party" and we each prepared different dishes to complete our menu of heavy hor d'oeuvres. Jennifer also created a beautiful mocktail menu complete with two signature drinks in honor of the bride and groom.

The "Tifftini" named for the bride, Tiffany Phillips, was a sweet blend of cranberry juice, apple juice, and honey. The glass was rimmed with sugar and topped off with a lemon. The "Rowe your Boat," was a compliment to the groom, Jason Rowe. It was a blended drink made with pineapple and coconut juices and was garnished with a cherry.

The flavorful menu included: meat balls, mini crab cakes, cocktail shrimp, chicken salad cups, spinach and artichoke dip, a veggie tray, salad, twice baked potatoes, bruchetta, cheeses, fresh fruits, strawberry and chocolate trifles, cheese cake squares, and chocolate covered strawberries!

We had several cocktail tables set up so that people could mix and mingle easily, and we topped them with pink and black decor-- including coasters which said "eat, drink, and be married." This was such a fun party to plan and host because it so perfectly fit our guest of honor and best friend Tiffany. She is such a glamorous party girl at heart, even though her career might not imply it. Tiff is a passionate Physical Education teacher at a local middle school where she also coaches girl's basketball and softball. We all grew up together playing those sports and were not surprised at all to see her become a teacher and coach. Tiffany and Jason have been dating since her sophomore year in college at Appalachian State.

The Bride and Groom!

Tiffany with her signature drink, the "Tifftini."
Behind her is the dessert table with the chocolate trifle and cheese cake squares topped with strawberries

The main food table (and Jennifer keeping things tidy)

The cocktail table setting (complete with camellias from my moms yard)

The crowd enjoying the party

the girls

Me and Jennifer making drinks (my sweet dad in the background)

Tiffany, Jennifer and Christy-- hanging out by the
chocolate covered strawberries

Ginger (with a "Rowe Your Boat" drink) and Tiffany

**special thanks to Christy E. for these photos!**

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup + Meatloaf Cupcakes (oh yeah!)

this past monday evening brentley and i had dinner at chris and hannah's, and hannah made this creamy chicken noodle soup with home made biscuits. i craved left overs all week =)

thanks for sharing the goodness, hannah!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

1 tsp butter

1 large onion, chopped

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

3 (14oz) cans chicken broth

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 package (8oz) speghetti, broken into 2 " pieces (I got whole wheat)

7 celery ribs, chopped

6 carrots, finely chopped ( I use baby carrots)

1 tsp poultry seasoning (optional)

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp lemon juice

2 cups milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

melt butter; add onions and saute.

stir in chicken and next 9 ingredients (don't add noodles yet). bring to a boil and reduce heat. simmer 45 minutes.

stir in milk and noodles; return to simmer until noodles are soft.

remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes.

also, tziporah sent me this recipe which looks amazing! her family made the recipe so it comes highly recommended! i was thinking these could make a neat hors d'œuvre item too?

http://finefuriouslife.com/2008/05/14/meatloaf-cupcakes-with-mashed-potato-frosting/

Re: Finger Food: Spinach Dip Recipe

This past spring (i think) my mom had a dinner similar to the one you are going to, and Brentley's mom brought a really great spinach dip inside of a bread bowl. I wouldn't know where to start with making a bread bowl, but I do think that you could probably pick up a really great bread at Panera or even the grocery and cut out the middle and put the dip inside. She cut the bread that was inside the bowl into bite sized pieces and put that around the bread bowl so that we could eat the dip with the pieces of bread. The dip was so good we ate all the bread and had to pull out some crackers to finish it off...

Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach [thawed and squeezed dry]
1 pkg (8 0z) cream cheese [softened]
3/4 cup of mayo
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
1 pkg of Knorr vegetable recipe mix
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts [drained and chopped]
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts [drained and chopped]
2 cloves garlic [finely chopped]

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients except 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Spoon into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake for 35 minutes or until dip is hot.

*In my efforts to lower the calories in this dish I have used low fat cream cheese and there is no taste difference. However, when I used low fat mayo I did notice the taste was not quite the same. The dip was pretty much completely gone though, so maybe it wasn't that noticeable?

Finger Food Forum

Hi ladies!
My Sunday School class is getting together for a small dinner on Saturday. Everyone was just asked to bring finger foods. I know it's easy, and I do have some ideas and recipes I have used several times- but thought I would take advantage of this new blog to see if anyone had anything new! Thanks so much - I appreciate it! :)