Simple Seasonal Brownie Recipe

OK- it's not really a " brownie recipe" as much a tip to make a great batch of brownies with a seasonal twist. We needed to bring a dish to Chellie's annual Halloween bash and were short on time and inspiration. Since we had a couple boxes of brownie mix in the cupboard, that was the dish. But here's the fun part...

In order to spruce them up a bit, we drizzled caramel on the top of each brownie and put a candy corn for decoration. And it was so easy, the kids had a great time doing it too.

The real trick for this easy recipe was not only using the boxed brownies but using the caramel apple wraps for the caramel. You know the ones that are already flattened and stretched to the size of an apple? (love them for the apples too!) We cut those into about 16 pieces per box of brownie. Once the brownies were cooked, cooled and cut, we placed the caramel pieces on top and put under the broiler for about one minute. Then while the caramel was still sticky, we placed the candy corn in the middle. So cute, so easy and so immediately gobbled up by party gremlins big and small. Try it!

Entertaining for the Masses - You'll Flip Over this Summer Party Menu

Summertime is a great time to celebrate simple fresh food with great friends. Even better is pairing it with a birthday or anniversary celebration and adding a simple, festive decorative element. Here’s a simple menu for entertaining 30 guests with flip flop flair.

Flip Flop Decorations:
Choose flip flops in all colors and sizes at any Dollar Store for $1 per pair. We celebrated a 50th birthday combined with a 40th birthday with 90 sandals attached to our tent. They really stood out because we attached them to the sides of a tent using fishing net. We also hung some behind the food tables and at the entrance. Also sticking with them theme, you can make flip flop sugar cookies and prominently display them on each table. Finish it off with a banner using the simple flip flop design. Even the kids can make it since it’s basically a distorted oval with the plastic strips drawn on. Use bright disposable table cloths and serving items.

Bonus:
- Use permanent markers and write the guest of honor’ name on the back of the flip flops and then send each guest home with a pair.
- At the end of the night, let the guests find pairs of flip flops to take home with them. Especially fun if kids are at the party too.

Summer Picnic Menu:
There’s a great assortment here with something for everyone. And the real beauty is that no one is stuck at the grill because there is plenty of meat between the ham and the smoked turkey breast. The cheddar cheese scones are perfect with the salad and make great little sandwiches with the ham. Several of the items can be made the day before so the party day is a celebration for all. Since the broccoli slaw and the turkey salad both have a dairy based dressing, we chose sides with oil and vinegar based sauces for the other two.

Half Glazed Baked Ham
Smoked Turkey and Strawberry Salad Sensation
Cheddar Cheese Scones
Broccoli Slaw
Green Bean and Tomato Salad
Simply Satisfying Potato Salad
Flip Flop Cookies
2 large Watermelons

Recommended Schedule:
Day Before:
-Make and Chill the Turkey Salad Dressing
-Make and Chill the Broccoli Slaw Dressing
-Make and Decorate Flip Flop Sugar Cookies
-Make and Chill the Potato Salad

Morning of Party:
-Decorate with Flip Flops
-Make the Scones
-Cut up the turkey and strawberries

An Hour Before the Party:
-Make all the salads
-Keep the two dairy based salads chilled
-Cut up the watermelon

20 Minutes Before The Meal:
-Reheat the scones
-Take the ham out of the fridge

Broccoli Slaw Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Serves: about 30

Broccoli Slaw Recipe Ingredients
-3 bags broccoli slaw (easiest!) or 3 large bunches of broccoli (chopped using tree top parts)
-1 package pre-cooked bacon, microwaved for 30 seconds and crumbled
-1 ½ cups sunflower seeds
-1 cup raisins
Combine ingredients and add sauce.


Broccoli Slaw Sauce Recipe Ingredients
-2 cups mayonnaise
-½ cup sugar
-4 T. vinegar
Combine in a lidded plastic container and shake.

Chill until serving. If serving outside, be sure to place in a bowl filled with ice and stir occasionally since it contains mayonnaise.


Flip Flop Sugar Cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves: about 30

Sugar Cookies Ingredients
-4 ½ cups flour
-2 sticks butter
-2 eggs
-2 cups sugar
-½ cup milk
-½ t. vanilla
-4 t. baking powder

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375. Butter multiple baking sheets. Combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder). Thoroughly mix together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, milk and vanilla to butter-sugar mixture. Slowly add dry ingredients in while beating well.

Important Step...Wrap the dough and chill in fridge for at least an hour before baking.

After cooling, roll out dough to ½ inch thick and cut with flip flop or (Easter) egg shaped cookie cutter. (www.cookiecutter.com is one source) Place cookies onto buttered baking sheets. Combine scraps and repeat until all the dough is made into cookies. Bake 8-10 minutes.

Once cooled, decorate the flip flops using bright colored icing. The thicker end is the top of the foot and the smaller side is the heal. Decorate by starting the icing at the big toe spot and making one side go to the base of the big toe and the other side go toward the pinky side. (Check out your own flip flops for a quick and easy model).

Click on the links above for homemade easy recipes and one really great ham.

Simple Appetizer is Great for a Potluck

Sometimes I get tired of the same old thing at potlucks. I brought this appetizer and some tortilla chips (Tostitos) to our last neighborhood party and it was devoured in no time. Even though it seems a bit (spicy) hot for kids, they seemed to enjoy it as much as the adults. This is another one where the sum of the ingredients tastes much better than it sounds on paper. It originated with Mike who used to have a variation of it at a restaurant in his college town.

Mike's Appetizer Dip with a Kick!
2 cup cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 cup Monterrey jack (shredded)
½ cup chopped green onion to taste
1 T. minced garlic
Chopped jalapenos and ¼ cup juice to taste

Mix and chill.

If you are serving it outside, make sure to keep it chilled by putting it into another bowl filled with ice. It usually goes fast but it's always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to dairy products outdoors.

One Dish Recipe for Brunch Casserole with Eggs, Hash Browns and Ham

This brunch casserole with eggs, hash browns and ham is perfect for spring gatherings or mothers day brunch. And the best part is that this one dish casserole combines everyones favorite breakfast foods all in one simple dish.

Brunch Casserole with Eggs, Hash Browns and Ham Ingredients:
2 cups diced ham
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 vidalia or red onion, chopped
4 cups frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
6 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Lightly grease a 9x13 dish. Brown the onions in the butter. Stir eggs, milk and 1 cup of cheese in a bowl. Mix in hash browns, browned onions and ham. Pour into the casserole. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until middle is set. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup of cheese. Bake 5 minutes more. Remove & let stand a few minutes before serving.

Tip: If preparing this brunch casserole with eggs, hash browns and ham the night before, cook 20 minutes longer.

Serve with fresh fruit and some muffins or bagels for a nice simple get-together. For more homemade easy recipes, entertaining tips and one really great ham, visit pams-hams.com.

Simple Sunday Brunch Recipes Great for Mothers Day

Sunday brunch is a great way to get family and friends together with limited expense and preparation time. Especially nice for the hostess is a brunch where the main dishes are prepared the night before. So invite over a dozen of your closest friends and join the party.

Night Before Caramel Rolls
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves about 12
(makes two loaves)

Caramel Rolls Ingredients
2 rolls frozen bread dough
½ cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 package vanilla pudding
2 T. milk

Instructions: The night before, take two rolls frozen bread dough out of the freezer and thaw for about 2 hours. Then snip into bite sized pieces into a well greased 9 x 13 pan. Place the pan in the sink with a couple trays filled with (frozen) ice cubes. Bread dough will rise as the temp rises throughout the night.

In the morning, combine remaining ingredients and pour over the bread dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Night Before Special Eggs
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 40-60 minutes
Serves about 12

Special Eggs Ingredients:
24 eggs scrambled (no milk)
1 ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 soup can full of cooking sherry (or white grape juice)
2 (4 oz.) cans of sliced mushrooms, drained

Instructions: The night before. Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Combine soup, sherry (or juice) and mushrooms. Layer ingredients in the 9 x 13 in the following order: ½ of the eggs, ½ mushroom mixture, ½ cheese, remaining mushroom misture, remaining eggs, and then top with remaining cheese. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 40 to 60 minutes until eggs are set and browned on top.

Potato and Onion Casserole
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves about 12

Potato and Onion Casserole Ingredients:
2 (2 lb.) packages of frozen cubed potatoes
3 red or Vidalia onions
10 t. vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: Chop onions the night before. The next morning, grease two 9 x 13 pans with 4 t. of vegetable oil (2 t. per pan). Layer 1/3 potatoes, ½ onions, some salt/pepper, 1 t. oil, then repeat. Top with the last 1/3 of potatoes, salt/pepper to taste and drizzle with last 1t. of oil. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 hour. (uncover for last 10 minutes)

And finally, serve with a large tray or bowl of chopped fruit and a pre-cooked spiral sliced and glazed ham. Since the glazed baked ham from pams-hams.com is best served at room temperature and requires no cooking, it’s a great choice for a simple brunch.

A fun girls 7th birthday party if you like High School Musical

As always, we have a blast with birthday parties around here and I'm usually in charge when it's a girl's birthday party. My daughter picks the theme based on what she loves that year. This year we had a high school musical party theme even though it was a few months after HSM2 came out. It ended up being a beautiful day so we were able to mix things up with some outside and some inside activities. Always a bonus with first grade girls. A fun time was had by all and we did some great activities. Hoping you may find a few good party tips in this overview:

Games and activities: Really anything that either uses High School Musical music or involves cheerleading or sports is fair game. Since it was a 7 year old girls birthday party, we did the following:
- decorate a megaphone craft (orientaltrading.com) Great while you wait for everyone to arrive
- musical chairs with HSM music (actually did it outside with placemats on the ground instead of chairs - MUCH easier)
- scavenger hunt using HSM clues and/or searching for HSM items
- freeze game with HSM music (they dance around until the music stops and then need to freeze in their spot)
- yearbook questions - this was definitely the highlight - and it was also the prize for them to take home. See details below. The girls spent the last hour filling out their yearbooks and getting autographs from each other.

Prize/giveaway: a homemade HSM yearbook. We used a blank journal and wrote East High Wildcats on the cover. Then we decorated the first 6 pages with characters from HSM and wrote a few simple Q&As. (downloaded their pictures from internet and taped into the yearbook). We then took a picture of each girl that game to the party, color copied them, and cut/pasted them into the next 10 pages of the book. We had written their names in advance as well as the couple questions. For these first graders who are just learning to read and write, they were pretty basic. Birthday, Favorite Color and Nickname. They wrote the answers to the questions themselves and had a great friendship keepsake to take home.

Time: 1pm - 4pm (avoids lunch!)

Where: our house. We have a boathouse so we were able to set up the party in there. Any toy room, garage or good sized living room would also work well. Or outside if you live in a better climate than I do!

Decorations: 2 high school musical posters (can then be put in her room), streamers in red and white (wildcat colors) and HSM themed paper goods from CelebrateExpress.com

Food: Snacks set out the whole time for them to munch. Veggie tray, pretzels and goldfish tray, drink yogurts, and meat and cheese tray. (we use cut up turkey meat sticks). Cookies for dessert.