GO GREEN

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!! 

Here is a little treat that is quick to make and definitely goes well with the St. Patrick's theme. Make a fruit rainbow!!

Everyone Be Careful and KISS ME I'M IRISH!! ;-)

Oh yeah side note... baby shower tomorrow and I have been taking various pictures of the things I have been creating over the past week. Can't wait to share with everyone!!

Summer Time Entertaining

Summer is RIGHT around the corner... or rather for the south did it ever really leave?! Anyway with warm weather knocking at the door, I want to be prepared for the spring/summer "gatherings"... not parties... I plan on having this year. My biggest thing is that I am NOT a cook, so I need to do things that don't require much effort, but look and taste GREAT. And searching around the net, I have definitely found some options. 

Ice cubes... I am sure you are thinking it's just ice. But it's ice with fruit or mint frozen into the cubes. Not only do they look great, but once the ice melts they add another element to the drink. Also think about freezing grapes and using those as ice cubes. And the greatest thing about grapes... THEY WON'T WATER DOWN YOUR DRINK... BONUS!! Ok I should definitely not be this excited about ice. 

Summer and fruit seem to go hand in hand. So why not present in style. Make a fruit rainbow.  It doesn't take much time and looks great when presented.

A summer "gathering" would not be complete with some adult beverages ;-)   The bonus is I LOVE strawberries, so this treat is right up my alley. Here is the link of how to make these here.  There is TEQUILA is this little bundle!!

One last thing for the party... a Fruit Pop. I noticed that I wrote alot about fruit. Next one I do on summertime entertaining... I will actually do some real food. But for this last one 'really simple just put fruit in some water, stick a handle in and freeze. But that water thing... once again its summer... I would put mine in pineapple or orange juice and a splash of tequila.  Did I mention that I love tequila? This is a really simple, basic item to make and really helps cool the body down. 

Happy Planning... ENJOY

   

Cream Cheese Filled Strawberries

Ok let me start by saying that I am by NO means a chef. Everyone expects that since I was raised in the South, I should know how to "throw down" in the kitchen! WRONG! I can do enough to survive. I challenged myself this year to cook at least 3 times a week.  I was actually doing really well for about 3 months and then I just fell off hard. So I am on my quest again to become a better cook and prove some people wrong! 


Well I found a recipe online for Cream Cheese Filled Strawberries and LOVED it! You cut the tops and bottoms off of the strawberries and pipe in the filling. So not only is it really good, but presents very pretty too! And last but not least, it was SIMPLE!

Ingredients:
8 ounce package cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract (my favorite is Mexican Vanilla)

Using a mixer on medium speed, combine all of your ingredients together until fluffy.

Set aside.

Cut the tips off of the strawberries.

Cut the tops off of the strawberries.

Place the strawberries on their bottoms.

Take a small melon baller to scoop out the tops.

Fill a pastry bag with the cream cheese mixture.

Take a star tip and pipe filling into berries until the cream cheese mixture brims over the tops.

Voila!  Simple and delicious!