.   Mashed potatoes are such a comfort food.  They are also a quick  and easy addition to any meal. When I make potatoes for large parties, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, I like to peel the potatoes the day before and keep them in water. On the day of the party I simply drain
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.   These are an easy and yummy appetizer.  Perfect for an Italian dinner party. I have made these with both regular toast and with french bread that I toasted in the oven. In the recipe below I just wrote toast.  This recipe with make about 30 crostini.  If you are using french bread you
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.   Over the years I have perfected my entertaining  strategies.  Gone are the days where I slave away in the kitchen while everyone else is enjoying themselves.  Gone is the stress that everything will come together.  With a little prep, I usually have everything made days ahead of time.  All I really need to
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.     These  little potatoes are some of the best twice baked potatoes that I have had or made.  The garlicky zucchini combined with the heat from the pepper jack cheese make these potatoes a real treat. Another great thing about these is that they can be made days ahead of time.  I baked
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.   At first glance this recipe looks like it has a lot of steps, and it does. The nice thing is that each step can be done ahead of time.I cooked the sausage and peppers on morning when I was making breakfast.  I did, of course, add some of them to our scrambled eggs.For
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.     I have always loved deviled eggs.  These eggs are so creamy thanks to the addition of the cream cheese. What You Need: 12 Hard Boiled Eggs 1/3 Cup Mayo 1 Tablespoon Spicy Mustard 3 Tablespoons Cream Cheese 1/4 teaspoon Salt and Pepper Cooked Bacon Arugula 1/4 teaspoon Smoked Paprika What To Do:
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.     I like to slice my eggs on the short side.  They look cute and they stand up better, in my opinion. The goat cheese adds a nice creaminess and kick.  If goat cheese is not your thing cream cheese would be a nice substitute to bring the creaminess to the eggs. What
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.   I started out wanting to make stuffed mushrooms.  The problem, the mushroom s were wither to small of to large.  So on to the back up plan.   Wonton wrappers, dumpling wrappers to be exact.  Dumpling wrapper are round so they make a nicer cup, in my opinion, but wonton wrappers will work
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I really like having labels for the foods that I serve.  I don’t label everything, just the things that might need explaining. For this party I labeled the three different taco meats and the wrap appetizers. I figured everyone should be able to identify cheese, onions and salsa.  Since we were having a taco bar
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As I have said before, I like to add different heights to my displays.  For the 4th I used burlap that I found  at the craft store on a garland roll.  Now there are two trains of thought on the boxes.  I used to throw them away after the party and then search for new
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For the 4th of July this year we decided to do a spin on burgers and hot dogs.  Everyone always thinks that these parties take me a lot of time so this time I decided to time myself.  I worked for about an hour on Wednesday and another hour and a half on Thursday.  On
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Sorry I don’t have step by step pictures.  I made these a few years ago before I even considered having a blog and posting things.   Hopefully my description will be enough.   I used a toothpick to punch a whole in both sides of the eggs and then blew out the insides.  I then
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I saw these decorations years ago. I wish I could remember where. But anyway, these blown out eggs with butterflies are adorable!  I will say that it did take some time.  I didn’t do all the eggs at the same time because I was using them for our breakfasts.  With the white eggs that I
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This salad very easy to throw together.  I used leftover pasta so there was really nothing to do but chop up the ham and throw the whole thing together.  After I finished this salad I headed back to the kitchen and cooked up another cup of pasta so I would have it on hand for
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All the hard work paid off. I started by setting up the appetizers on the boxes and counter then switched out the labels and plates for dinner.  I think it really is a nice way to decorate and display your meal that you worked so hard on.               Back
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To hold up the food labels I hot glued three wine corks together in a u-shape to support my labels.   For the labels I used construction paper and wrapping paper that matches the gift wrap that I am using for my presents.  This was way cheaper than my original plan of buying scrapbook paper. 
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Here is the beginning of my holiday party decorations. I use the boxes to display appetizers, dinner items, and deserts. I like the different levels. They help put each item on display, and I could be wrong but I think it gives me a little more space to work with it. For the boxes I
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  Here they are!  This is their final contribution to my home decor.  I turned the larger pumpkins into vases.  For the most part I was able to put a small jar in the pumpkin to hold the water.  For the one in this picture I didn’t have a jar that worked so I just
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This recipe can, and has, turned even the most hater of brussel sprouts into a lover of them. The secret is bacon fat. I know, I know bacon fat??!???  But before you decide this isn’t for you, look at the recipe. Make ahead:  I blanch the brussel sprouts two days before and stored them the
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  . Glazed Carrots 3 cups sliced carrots water (enough to cover the carrots) 2 tablespoons butter 2-3 tablespoons sugar  I like to do these in a pan.  Place carrots in pan and just cover with water.  Boil until water is almost gone.  The carrots should be soft at this point, if they are not
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