“Picture Perfect” 18th Birthday!

My daughter Tasha, who loves photography, chose this theme for her 18th birthday party. Her collection of old cameras and flea market picture frames mixed well with the bright purple and green colors. The menu included simple meat and cheese finger sandwiches, tortilla rollups, grape salad and a dessert assortment of brownie pops, rice krispie pops, candy bags and of course cupcakes. The bottled soda was a hit with the teen crowd. They also enjoyed the “photo booth”, donning hats and scarves as they posed for the camera. With Rock Band and a “chip bar” in the basement and a “Movie Theater” with candy counter upstairs, the group had plenty to keep them busy. Tasha reported it was a great night – picture perfect!

Pepperoni Tortilla Rollups
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
6 oz. pepperoni, cut into small pieces
10 medium size tortillas

Mix together cream cheese and sour cream
Stir in shredded mozzarella cheese and pepperoni
Spread onto tortillas, rollup, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate overnight
Slice and serve.

Everyone Loves Cupcakes

Laura's daughter Tasha had her 18th birthday party on Friday night and of course we had to go all out. Tasha picked the colors, green and purple and the theme, cameras/ photography. Here is what we came up with for the cupcakes, which were funfetti with cream cheese frosting.

Heavenly Lemon Angel Cake

Here is the recipe for the cake we served at the baby shower. It came from a packet of cards I got at a Pampered Chef party where the proceedes from the cards went towards cancer research. It was great for our little girl themed party and it fits right in for Breast Cancer Awareness Month too!



5 drops red food coloring
1 package (16oz) angel food cake mix
3 lemons
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups thawed frozen fat free whipped topping
1 package frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed

Preheat oven to 350. For cake, add food coloring to amount of water specified on package. Prepare the cake according to package directions. Pour batter into a 9x13 pan. Bake on center rack 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown, cracked and slightly sunken. Remove from oven; invert on cooling rack and let stand until completely cooled.

Poke holes in cake about 1 ½ inches deep with a large fork.
Zest lemons to measure 1 Tbsp lemon zest and juice lemons to measure 1/3 cup juice. Combine sugar, juice and zest and whisk until smooth. Pour glaze over cake, spreading evenly. Let stand 30 minutes or until set.

Top cake with whipped topping and raspberries. Serves 15.

Check out these other pink products from Pampered Chef.

Pink, Pink and More Pink

Last night we had a shower to welcome little baby Hannah. We had a great turn out and lots of great food too! The menu included chicken salad croissants, chicken caesar skewers, a lettuce salad, fresh fruit plate and deviled eggs. The pink theme made its way into the desserts too. We had pink popcorn balls, cheesecake pops, cream cheese mints and a really yummy heavenly angel cake. Recipe to be posted later, I promise! Thanks to to everyone that helped out. It was a great way to welcome such a cute little girl.

PLUM DELICIOUS!

My first plum crop from the small tree in our backyard was more than I anticipated! So to the internet I went-a-looking for things to do with my plums. I made slow cooked stewed plums, plum jam, plum dumplings, plum quick bread, plum kuchen (3 different recipes), spicy plum chicken thighs, plum cake, plum sauce and plum crumble! I also gave away a number of plums to friends and neighbors. Needless to say, I was plum tired, but most of the results have been filed away for next year. Here is the recipe for the plum crumble which was very good!

Ingredients:

3 pounds fresh plums, pitted, quartered, about 5 cups

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup butter, melted

Preparation:

Combine plums and bown sugar, stirring well to blend. Pour into a buttered 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 inch baking dish. Sift together the flour, granulated sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add the beaten egg, stirring lightly with fork until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the plums then drizzle with the melted butter. Bake plum crumble at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm with whipped topping or ice cream.

Read Twice - Bake Twice

This is a great breakfast/brunch casserole dish that is easy to make. But, beware...read carefully. You DO bake this recipe twice for 15 minutes each time. But if you forget your reading glasses like me and assemble it all at once just bake for 30 minutes, it will turn out!

CHEESE BAKED EGGS

4 slices soft bread torn into pieces
¼ c. melted butter
½ c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4-5 eggs
½ c. cream or milk
½ to 1 tsp. thyme
½ tsp. salt
Spread crumbled bread in a shallow pie pan or casserole. Pour butter over crumbs. Bake 15 minutes in a moderate oven - 350°. Sprinkle cheese over top. Break eggs onto cheese, keeping separate. Heat cream or milk and thyme and pour over eggs.
Bake 15 minutes in a moderate oven - 350°, or until eggs are set. Serve at once. Serves four to five.

Cream Cheese Mints

Here is what 30 dozen mints looks like all boxed up!