Bridal Shower Dessert Buffet- Part 1

Today I want to share the sweet dessert buffet my sister and I put together for the bridal shower we recently hosted. We held the shower in the afternoon, so we thought desserts would be a good option. The picture above only shows a few of the treats. Remember it's only Part 1 of the dessert buffet. Come back tomorrow for Part 2! I will share the menu today and my recipe for Coconut Macaroons, which were the hit of our buffet if I do say so! We had many compliments on the treats, but these seemed to stand out! Scroll down to get the recipe!

Dessert Buffet Menu
Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting and Chocolate Curls
Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Peanut Butter Balls
Coconut Macaroons
Cream Puffs
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Brownie Bites
Lemonade
Water with Lime
Bottled Water

Coconut Macaroons
2 1/2 c. flaked coconut
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
2/3 c. sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla

In a small bowl, combine the coconut, flour and salt.Add the milk and vanilla. Mix well; the batter will be a bit stiff.Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet.Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.Remove to wire racks to cool.Yield 1 1/2 dozen.
**I like to use my small scoop, which holds about 1 1/2 tsp. to make these.

Delicious dipped strawberries were also a favorite! I love the elegance of chocolate dipped strawberries. They're just so pretty!


We embellished bottled water to go with our theme with pretty damask labels which I made from scrapbook paper. Come back tomorrow for part 2 of the dessert buffet!

I'm sharing this today for Totally Tasty Tuesdays at Mandy's Recipe Box, too!

Bridal Shower Decor

Last week my sister and I hosted a bridal shower for a friend of ours. It almost became the "shower that got blown away." It was rainy, yucky and their were tornado warnings.The tornado siren actually went off in the middle of the shower,but what did we do? Ignored it and had us a shower.

For our decor we chose to go with a lime green and damask theme. We used lime green tablecloths and damask wrapping paper from Hobby Lobby as a runner. The food table was our main focal point. We would have liked to have hung lime green paper lanterns, but at our venue you could not hang anything from the ceiling. The centerpiece of the food table was the bride and groom's framed monogram that I gave some height by wrapping a box with white paper and tying a black ribbon around it. Two antique vases with carnations accented the table too.


For the framed monogram, I used my Cricut to cut out their initials and just applied them directly to the frame. The frame was matted with a piece of damask scrapbook paper and white card stock to make the monogram stand out.


I'm including our little labels for the dessert buffet as decor. I really like how they turned out. We just printed off all our menu items on white card stock, matted that with black card stock and then stamped this elegant design underneath. We used glue dots to adhere them to our serving pieces. More on that dessert buffet tomorrow! It was good stuff!



We used two small round side tables for accents that we covered with white sheets. Lime green tissue paper gave it a pop of green. We also set out some framed pictures of the bride and groom to be as well as their initial and more antique vases with carnations. Oh-I can't forget the framed saying my sister made which was kind of our theme-"Love is Sweet."


We tried to keep the cost down on the party favors by using these cute favor bags from the Dollar Tree. I've used these many times and they are great for embellishing. For these we added "A" stickers, which are actually envelope seals, from Hobby Lobby and accented them with lime green tissue paper. Since "love is sweet" we filled these with Hugs, Kisses and Lifesavers for the guests to take home. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, including the bride to be.She got SO many nice things, too! It was a sweet success!

Come back tomorrow for the dessert buffet menu and some recipes!

Delicious Bacon & Eggs............Or Is It?

Don't those bacon and eggs look tasty!? ...........GOTCHA!! They look like the real thing don't they!
I thought these faux bacon and eggs would make a cute April fool's prank for the kids. I asked Trent if he would like some bacon and eggs this morning with his cereal and he said sure. He was a little surprised when I brought him this on a plate. He just looked at me with a really big smile on his face and then said,"Very funny, mom!" Laci must have heard us talking about these scrumptious bacon and eggs while she was in the other room because she asked if she could have some, not knowing what I had given Trent. When she got her bacon and eggs she just laughed and said,"what is this." They all thought this version was tasty, but a bit sweet for bacon and eggs. They are also very simple to make. Just line up 3 pretzel sticks and melt a little white chocolate or vanilla almond bark. Put a small dollop of the white chocolate on the center of the pretzels. Put this into the fridge to get set somewhat and then top with a yellow M&M. You're bacon and eggs are ready!

I wish I could say this was my original idea, but I can't take credit for it. I found this recently while blog hopping over at Our Treasured Home. Thanks for the idea! We loved it!

Key West Grilled Chicken

We love to grill at our house, so when I found this recipe in one of my school cook books from many years ago, I had to make it. It's something a little different with a hint of lime, sweetness of the honey and salty from the soy sauce. This Key West Grilled Chicken paired with white rice and salsa black beans was a nice dinner that our whole family enjoyed. I look forward to making it again. That's another perk of this recipe. Just let it marinate and then put it on the grill! I like easy! Enjoy!


Key West Grilled Chicken
(adapted by Missy)
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. lime juice
4 chicken breasts or 8 chicken tenderloins thawed,not frozen(I use tenderloins)

Mix together all ingredients except chicken to make marinade. Put chicken into a casserole dish and pour marinade over chicken. Turn chicken to coat with marinade.Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for at least 1 hr.(I prefer to marinate it all day).Can also marinate in gallon size Ziploc bag. Grill chicken on outdoor or indoor grill.

I'm sharing this recipe today for Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage. Stop by and take a look!

Star Wars Art

R2-D2

Today I'm featuring some of the art work by my talented husband. He is a very good artist .........and , yes, he does draw and paint more than just Star Wars related things. I thought these particular sketches were great. Recently, he has been drawing some things for our son's room, who is still quite the Star Wars enthusiast. He already has 2 pictures framed and hanging in his room and my husband has one more to go. These are some of his practice(I know! Practice!) sketches which will be in the last picture, only smaller. I know Trent, our son, loves the pictures that he's already done and can't wait to get the third one. It looks like Trent and our daughter, Laci, both have a talent for art like their dad.(I know they didn't get their drawing skills from me!) Enjoy your day........and may the force be with you!

Darth Vader

Boba Fett

Strawberry Crumble Cake

Today I have a recipe for Strawberry Crumble Cake to share with you. It comes from Paula Deen's sons' magazine, which I think is called Deen Brothers Cooking. Don't quote me, though. I'm not exactly sure if that's what it is.

Overall I thought this cake was delicious, although I can't call it my new favorite or anything.It is bursting with strawberry flavor from the strawberry preserves and I like the crumble on top a lot. I would make it again. My family seemed to like it, too which is a good sign. Just a note on the servings. The recipe says it makes 12 servings. Well, I got way more than 12. More like 24! I guess I wasn't as generous with my pieces. I cut them into smaller bar- like pieces because it is a pretty sweet cake! Happy baking!

I'm also sharing this at Mandy's Recipe Box for Totally Tasty Tuesdays! Stop by and check it out!


Strawberry Crumble Cake
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. strawberry preserves
Crumble Topping(recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, beat the butter, cream cheese and sugar with a mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until just combined. Stir in sour cream. Spread half of the batter evenly into prepared pan. Gently spread preserves over batter. Drop remaining batter by tablespoonfuls over preserves. Sprinkle evenly with Crumble Topping. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for 30 minutes before cutting. Makes about 12 servings.*Read my note in my blog about servings.

Crumble Topping
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 c. butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.Makes about 1 cup.

Look What I Can Do With Veggie Straws

Hello all! Okay, hello to the three of you who read my blog! Ha! I have been busy the past couple weeks so the blog has been neglected. I did manage to make a few changes recently, so I hope you like them. I do!! .......Now onto this sweet(and spunky) little girl up there. A couple weeks ago Ivy was eating one of our favorites with her lunch, Veggie Straws. I was doing my thing in the living room when she came in to get me. "Mom, look what I did. Come see. Look. My name." This little cutie had used her remaining Veggie Straws to spell out her name.......well, almost. She didn't have enough left for the "Y," but she did great with the "I" and "V." I guess I hadn't expected her to know how to actually spell out her name yet. We help her write her name and show her the letters, but I didn't know she grasped it yet. She does!! So those yummy Veggie Straws aren't just for eating, you can spell with them too!

Yummy!