Make these: Pops for St Patrick's Day!

Are you looking for some treat-inspiration for St Patty's Day? You'll never guess what's inside these pops! Hint: they are healthier and easier to make then cake pops.

Head over here to get all the details. 

These are seriously sooooo tasty! My husband and I keep gobbling them up! Yum, yum!

Recipe Round Up!

I've been busy busy over at Tablespoon. I've been sharing lots of my favorite recipes over there. And there's something for everyone!

 

If you are looking for my favorite healthy recipes (including these tasty cookies!), see this post.

If you are into spicy, see this post. 

If you are looking for tons of appetizer ideas, see this post.  

Quick and Easy Holiday Recipes

I've compiled what I consider the ultimate list of quick & easy holiday eats. 

Its a good one to keep on hand with all the parties this season brings! 

You'll want to bookmark this one! 

Click here. 

And then feel free to share!

Are there any you would add to the list?

Real Party: Cowgirl Baby Shower

Several of my girlfriends threw me a Cowgirl themed baby shower a few weeks ago.  It was incredible!

They used this invite from Etsy, but had the colors adjusted to fit their vision for the party.  I was so excited to see what they had up their sleeves after receiving this in the mail!

The shower was held in my friend Lindsay's backyard. 

Two long tables were set-up for a sit-down brunch.  I loved the burlap runners, mason jars holding babies breath, and pink party poms in the trees. 

 

Each seat at the table had a cute little cowgirl boot place card, a pink napkin tied with a gingham swatch, and a card of wishes for guests to fill out. What a wonderful keepsake for me to have!

The food, and presentation of the food, was amazing.  My friends are very good cooks, and everything was homemade and delicious! 

The appetizers consisted of mini croissants, scones, coffee cake, donut holes, and yogurt parfait.  Everything was to die for!

Mason jars served as drinking glasses.  Lemonade, water, and tea were available. 

Lindsay converted an old window into a pin board and used it to display sheriff badges for all the guests.  This served as the backdrop for the appetizer display. 

And a sweet bunting banner hung over the display.  

After guests lingered for awhile, the actual brunch was served.  (After all those apps? I know!)  My girlfriends made a chili cheese egg puff, happy potatoes, turkey sausage, and spinach salad.  Again: YUM!

The recipe for happy potatoes can be found here.  Trust me, this is one you should include in your next brunch. 

The party favors were, of course, Bakerella's famous Cowgirl Cookies.  Too cute!

Thank you so much to all the girls who made this incredible shower happen! 

Lindsay, Janelle, Jeani, Drea, Katie, Leslie, and Deb!

Between this shower, and the nesting shower I shared a few weeks ago, this baby girl is LOVED!

Maybe a new record? For us I think it is: 

8 pregnant guests at the shower! 

I'm waiting for the first one to pop - any day now! :)

Cookies & Cupcakes from the Weekend

This weekend we had a little get-together at our house to celebrate my friend Deb's birthday.  

And I did some baking for the occasion! 

I made my most favorite cookies: Salty Oatmeal Chocolate Chip. 

I shared the recipe here, but want to remind you again how amazing they are.  Every time they are around, people gobble them up.  You've got to make them for your next function! (or afternoon snack!) 

Since Deb's kids were with a sitter for the night, I decided to make adults-only cupcakes: Raspberry Vodka Chocolate Cupcakes.  They were based on these.   Just as Tori suggests, I used a box chocolate cake mix replaced 1/3 cup of the water with raspberry infused vodka.  I also added a splash to the frosting.  They were great: really moist with a hint of raspberry flavor.  Yum! I could easily make them again and leave the vodka out of the frosting for a kid-friendlier version. 

Happy Birthday Deb!

Oscar Party Cocktail Recipes

Are you hosting or attending an Oscar Viewing Party this weekend? 

If so, I've got some delicious drink recipes for you!

Red Carpet Cocktail

In a champagne flute add...

1 1/2 ounces Vodka

1 1/2 ounces pomegranate juice

1 tbsp lime juice

Fill the flute with sparkling wine and add a maraschino cherry for garnish

recipe via

Hollywood Martini

Place the following into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake well...

3 ounces vodka

1/2 ounce black raspberry liqueur

1 dash of pineapple juice

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

recipe via

And for any kiddos, preggers, or non-drinkers...a star studded mocktail! 

Star Mocktail

Muddle 1 or 2 fresh strawberrries in the bottom of a sturdy glass

Add 5 ounces sparkling apple cider

Add a splash of lime juice

Garnish with a thin slice of star fruit

Real Party: Chili Cook-off Superbowl

I had such a fun Superbowl Sunday! (And I didn't watch a single minute of the game!) 

I shared last week the the party was going to be a Chili Cook off and that I was going to help my friend Katie with some of the styling.  We brainstormed together and made some items a few days before the party, but I was blown away to see how it all came together.  

 The chili tasting station was set up on the dining room table.

 Each chafing dish held 2 kinds of chili, so we tasted 6 total.

How amazing is the centerpiece with chili pepper vase filler?

The tasting bar had all the chili toppings you could possibly want.

Appetizers were served outside.  My favorite were Katie's chili roasted mixed nuts in her cute cones.  (Remember the snack cones and "football" vases from Katie's Superbowl party last year?) 

And another table held yummy sides. 

This fun centerpiece was on the table with the side dishes. 

Everyone scored the chili on the scorecards I made. 

Katie and Casey announced the winners at Half Time.  Leslie won 1st place with her beef chili, and Chris won 2nd place with his lamb chili. 

Check out the trophy Casey made for the first place winner...too funny! 

My {tied for 3rd place} beef chili was pretty good and had a nice kick. I would definitely make it again.  I used this recipe.  I followed it pretty much exactly, except I used about 1/2 the amount of chili powder and added a little cayenne pepper (thanks to my spicy-food-loving-Dad for this tip!)

For dessert I made these.  They were a little too sweet for my taste, but they looked cute with the colorful m&m's. 

Book Club Lunch

My friend Katie hosted bookclub this past weekend. 

Our book this month was: 

 

Side note: If anyone is in a bookclub, I would highly recommend this one.  Everyone loved it (even the people who hadn't finished it, which is often a lot of people in our bookclub! haha)

You might recongize the centerpiece from our Christmas Dinner.  With the addition of a little purple ribbon, it was transformed perfectly for book club one week later.  

Anyway, onto Katie's fabulous lunch: 

 Mini pizzas...

..and roasted vegetable salad. 

Katie had grilled lots of different veggies on the barbeque: asparagus, eggplant, bell peppers, onions, brussel sprouts, corn.

We passed the bowls around and topped our greens with whatever we wanted. It was a yummy way to do a winter salad. 

Next month's book: 

Hot Holiday Drinks!

I'm sitting here in a snow-covered winter wonderland, flipping through some of my mom's old magazines. 

I am inspired to try some of the hot drink recipes I'm finding.  Don't these all sound yummy? 

Harvest Apple Drink

Photo and recipe from Taste of  Home.

1 can (46 ounces) apple juice

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

6 whole cloves

In a medium saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and serve warm.  Makes ~4-6 servings.  

* a splash of rum would make a nice adult version of this one! 

White Caramel Hot Chocolate

Photo and recipe from O Magazine. 

1/2 cup grated white chocolate 


1 cup milk (2 percent fat or higher)




1 tablespoon caramel syrup






Whipped cream and caramel sauce, for garnish





In a saucepan, combine the white chocolate, milk, and caramel syrup, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Garnish with whipped cream and drizzle with caramel sauce. 

Makes ~1 cup.





*Kahlua would be a nice addition to this drink! 

Egg Nog Hot Chocolate

Photo and recipe from Redbook.

2 1/2 cups milk



12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped




4 cups egg nog




1/4 cup Kahlua




Whipped cream & peppermint sticks for garnish

In a medium saucepan, bring milk and chocolate to a simmer and then remove from heat. Let stand for 2 minutes.  Whisk chocolate until melted and smooth. 


Stir in egg nog. Gently heat over load heat.  Stir in vanilla and Kahlua.  

Top with whipped cream and peppermint sticks.  

Makes ~8 cups. 

Any of these would be perfect for sipping while decorating a tree! 

Hawaiian Desserts

I was in charge of the desserts for Lindsay's Hawaiian Birthday Feast.

I had a lot of fun whipping these up! 

Mango Pineapple Cupcakes!

The cupcakes were inspired by Bakerella's Aloha Cupcakes.   

I made a simpler version though.

For the Pineapple Cupcakes...I added a 20 oz can of crushed pineapple to a boxed yellow cake mix.  (I pureed the pineapple as Bakerella suggests). 

For the Mango frosting...I added one pureed mango to store-bought Vanilla Frosting. 

Then I sprinkled graham cracker crumbs on the top. 

Sooooo easy!

Pineapple Upside Down Cakes!

For these cute little pineapple-shaped cakes, I borrowed an awesome pan from a friend. 

This pan is from Williams Sonoma, and I loved it! If you are a fan of Pineapple Upside Down Cake, I  recommend this pan.  I was skeptical at whether or not it would be easy to get the little cakes out and whether or not it would be easy to clean.  No problem...after cooling for 10 minutes they slid right out.  It cleaned up very easily after I let it soak for a little while too.  

I followed the recipe that came with the pan for the topping, and then used a yellow boxed cake mix.  

Again...sooooo easy!

I was not reimbursed in any way to write about this pan, I just really thought it was great. 

Real Party: Hawaiian Birthday Feast

My friend Lindsay celebrated her birthday this past weekend.  She was craving Hawaiian foods, so she and her husband recreated some of their favorite dishes straight from the Islands, and invited a bunch of friends over.  

Luckily we had amazing weather this weekend, so the tropical foods worked perfectly! 

What a feast we had! 

Appetizers were fruit skewers and spam musubi, one of Lindsay's favorite treats to get in Hawaii.  I was nervous to try these, but they were pretty good.  Most of them were gobbled up actually!   

Lindsay couldn't believe it, she thought only she and Janelle would eat them! 

And then the main meal: 

Pulled Pork for Sliders...

...with Tropical Cole Slaw  (which was regular Cole Slaw, with some pineapple added - Yum!)

Huli Huli Chicken

Leslie's Chinese Chicken Salad with Toasted Macadamia Nuts

Katie's homemade Pita Chips with Fruit and Avocado Salsa

Traditional Hawaiian-Style Macaroni Salad

And last, but not least: Mango Martinis!
Here's the recipe:
1oz Vodka
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1 oz Mango juice
1/2 oz lime juice

Leslie also brought orchids for the ladies hair! Too cute...

Happy Birthday Lindsay!
Thanks for humoring me and letting me make labels! :)

Check back tomorrow to see what I made for dessert!