My Fourth of July

I had a great time with family over at our house to celebrate the Fourth of July!  The whole day was filed with great people and delicious food...what could possibly be better?  The girls even started their day off with a red, white, and blue breakfast of oatmeal with blueberries and strawberries.  Celebratory food doesn't have to be unhealthy, and best of all, they LOVED it!

I'm not a huge fan of thematic decorations because I don't have room to store them in between uses, so they would just be wasteful paper products to be thrown away at the end of the night.  If we have a lot of non-family guests, I might get some because it is kind of expected.  Luckily my family knows me well enough to not be surprised.  Instead, I let the food, drinks, and fun be the background.  We set up the backyard for everyone to have a great time. 

During the summer, I love any excuse to break out my Margaritaville Mixed Drink Maker.  This has become a party must-have for me.  You load it with cranberry juice, sour mix, and orange juice.  Then you can add tequila, rum or vodka.  The machine has a library of drinks that can be made at the push of a button.  It's the perfect un-manned bar!  

We started the party off with a taste test of chips and dips, some were organic and some were the conventional chips I grew up on.  

We paired them with two versions of french onion dip.  One was the dip of my husband's childhood made of sour cream and the Lipton Onion Soup mix.  The second version was made by me from scratch using organic onions from our local farm.  Let's just say there was no competition.  :)  The third dip was one from my childhood and is a simple cottage cheese dip we eat with nacho cheese chips.

We decided to do classic burgers, so my husband set out a selection of mix-ins so people could customize their burgers.  I did fail because I didn't get any pictures of the actual finished burgers, but they were great!  I also served my Perfect Party Potato Salad as a side along with a big bowl of strawberries and blueberries, as well as a vegetable tray of cherry tomatoes, celery, and carrot sticks with my Classic Ranch Dressing.  Apparently I enjoyed the drink machine early on because I forgot to take pictures of any of that!  :)

Of course we had farm fresh burger toppings to be enjoyed by all.  :)

The personal highlight for me was the dessert.  I was lucky enough to grow up with a peach tree in my backyard and be able to enjoy fresh-picked peaches throughout the summer.  We put them on everything and had a freezer full by the end of the season.  But once you have a peach right off the tree, nothing you can buy from a store even comes close.  For that reason, no one in my family had bought peaches since we moved from my childhood home in the late 1990's.  Recently, one of my farms brought in peaches from a local organic farm, and they were the closest thing to our old peaches I had tried.  I decided to have a simple dessert of peaches and ice cream, just like the good old days.  It sure was a delicious flash back!

So there you have it.  I hope you enjoyed seeing the way my family celebrated the Fourth of July.  I'd love to hear the highlights from your day as well!

Fourth Birthday Party!

A few weeks ago, my oldest baby turned 4.  I can't believe how fast time flies!  Given our love of food and cooking, we decided to have a pizza-making party at my local Young Chef's Academy.  It was our first time visiting this establishment, and I was so impressed!  

The kitchen was bright and colorful, adding to the fun for the kids.  They were all set up when we arrived and I took a quick look around.

We set up the food for the adults.  We brought in sandwiches, fruit, veggies, biscotti, and mini desserts. 

The prep counter was set up with chef hats and crayons for the kids to decorate with.  Each of them had a great time drawing and customizing their own hat.

The various pizza toppings were all set out and ready for the hungry kids to add to their pizzas.

After some fun and silliness, the cooking began!  Each child got to help measure the ingredients for the pizza dough - and I didn't have to worry about cleaning up the mess!  :)

They used "magic" to skip the rising step of the dough making, and allowed the kids to get right to work.  Each child got an equal-sized portion and began kneading away.

The chef instructors went around and shaped the dough into a variety fun shapes like mermaids, butterflies, bunnies, snakes, cars, etc.  The kids LOVED that part!

Next, the toppings came out and the kids were let loose to top however they wanted.  

 While the pizzas were baking, it was time to decorate the cupcakes.  In lieu of a sheet cake, we opted to let each child decorate their own dessert.  

The kids all devoured their hard work.  :)

The finished desserts!  Everyone sang to the birthday girl, and they all enjoyed their creations.  The adults were able to relax and have fun watching their kids cook.  It was such a great experience.  I hope to find an activity just as fun for her next birthday!

First Birthday Party

This past Saturday, we celebrated my baby's first birthday with family.  I'm still amazed at how fast the year has flown by!  We are lucky to live within an hour of the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, so they were all able to attend (except one uncle who is away for work).  We had 8 adults and 7 kids total ranging in age from 1 to 14.  Of course, I did my best to have a good balance of fresh and healthy foods with some delicious indulgences - it was a party after all!  :)

For appetizers, we had some fresh organic fruit,

organic veggies with homemade ranch for dipping,

and a tray of caprese bites.  These were my favorite!  Halved cherry tomatoes, basil, and ciliegine (cherry-sized mozzarella balls) held together with a toothpick on a tray drizzled with olive oil and lightly sprinkled with salt and pepper.  They were so easy to serve and a fun idea I will use again!

For the main course, we had chicken alfredo pasta (my husband's selection) and cheese tortellini.  I have to confess, we brought those in from a local restaurant.  C'mon!  I have a 1 year-old and a 3 year-old!  I did the best I could!  :)  Sorry, but I forgot to get a photo of them.

I did make some amazing garlic cheese bread (thanks to the recipe over at Chindeep).  I made some modifications - which I will share later - but her original recipe is great!!

and my Olive Garden Salad.

The cakes were beautiful!  We got them from Whole Foods because I am not very talented when it comes to cake decorating.  I love the Whole Foods cakes because you can choose to have organic fruit filling inside, and they will make an adorable smash cake for the birthday girl!  

The big cake

 The smash cake (about 6" in diameter)

She loved the cake!  :)  I apologize for the gruesome nature of the photo. 

The party was a huge success and everyone had a wonderful time!  Until...

I took a bad fall with the birthday girl in my arms.  I tripped over a riding toy on our concrete backyard, and fell straight back clutching her as tightly as I could.  I slammed my head in the ground and she began to scream.  My sister-in-law quickly grabbed her and took her inside to get a better look while I tried to get up.  We soon discovered she had a bloody nose and my head was killing me.  Fearing a broken nose for the baby and a concussion for me, my husband wanted to take us the the ER.  So this is how we ended our night. 

Luckily, she was fine and I did not have a concussion.  I am still pretty banged up with scrapes, bruises, and a very sore right elbow and neck.  It was certainly an eventful birthday filled with family, great food, fun, and a little extra adventure. 

Hopefully she will only remember all the good stuff!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Earlier in the evening inspecting some gifts.  :)