Fall Sangria

This Fall take on Sangria is perfect for any Fall activity, from sipping on a chilly deck to serving at Thanksgiving.  Since it's Maroon and Gold it's even great for Gopher tailgating! 

Fall Sangria

 To a pitcher or craft add:

 1-2 cinnamon sticks

1-2 apples, cubed

2 orange slices

Fill with half apple cider, half white wine (I use Sauvignon Blanc, but any white will do).

The rations are just a suggestion and can be altered to taste. Make a day ahead for the flavors to incorporate.  Serve with some of the fruit in each glass.  I'll add more wine and cider to the same pitcher as I drink it so I can make it once and enjoy all weekend!

DIY Valentine's Day Chocolate Buffet

Last year my family visited for Valentine's Day so we set-up a Chocolate buffet! It was so easy to do, I just bought some fun chocolates (mostly from Trader Joe's) and set them out in martini glasses. 

 A chocolate buffet would also be fun for a movie viewing of 'Chocolat' or 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'. So many excuses to eat more chocolate!

Red and Green Christmas Appetizers

I don't think you can ever go too over the top, so if you're going to set out a spread of Christmas appetizers why not make the spread red and green themed?
Here are a few that look easy and delicious:
1. Sparkling Cranberry Brie Bites
2.Spinach Roulade With Smoked Salmon
3. Marinated Cheese
4. Christmas Roll-ups

DIY Wood-Burned Cutting Board Gift

My parents recently remodeled their house so I thought it would be fun to burn a picture of their new house on a cutting board.  I figured it would be fairly easy since a house is straight lines.  It turned out so well that I made one for myself and my sister-in-law!

I started with an inexpensive cutting board from Home Goods.

The rest of the process is similar to the deck step I wood burned a few years ago. First, take a photo of the house and use powerpoint to make it the desired size and print.

Rub the back of the paper with oil pastels to turn it into 'tracing paper'.

Place the photo where you like on the cutting board and use tape to secure in place.

Use a pen to trace the outline of the house.

The oil pastels will transfer to the board on the lines traced. Use various wood burning tips to fill in the lines, and that's it!

Here is a close-up of the finished product. It was so easy to make a such a custom piece.  This would be a great gift for a house warming or any occasion!

Fall Themed Brunch

This Fall we hosted a group of friends for a weekend brunch.    I wanted to incorporate some Fall flavors, but I also wanted to take some shortcuts since the weeks before and after were crazy! Here is a simple Fall Brunch Menu and shortcuts/items to make it easy yet seasonal!

 

Fall Brunch Menu

*Mini-Quiche

*Sausage Links with Maple Syrup

*Baked Oatmeal

*Harvest Salad

*Pumpkin Danish

 

I found a pumpkin Danish and Harvest Salad kit at Trader Joes.  They always have a great selection of seasonal items.

 

Although I try not to serve a lot of frozen foods, these mini quiches from Whole foods were fancy and no-mess!

 

I kept the décor simple with Fall leaf napkins and Fall floral arrangements.  I used our copper Moscow Mule mugs to hold the silverware. They were the perfect color!

 

This simple menu would be great to serve around Thanksgiving as well--one less meal to make from scratch!

Halloween Dessert Cake

 When serving an entire Halloween dinner, make one portion easy on yourself and buy a round cake from your favorite bakery with white icing and draw a spider web on the top using a tube of black icing. Simple and done!

Halloween Appetizers

We served these 'Stomach Turning Appetizers' at spooky dinner  last year.  Not only are they spooky, but they taste great too!

Stomach Turning Appetizers:

-DEVILED Eggs -Deviled eggs with an olive on top to make them look like eyeballs

-Giant Lice with Blood Sauce-Cocktail shrimp with cocktail sauce

-Witch Finger Bites -Not pictured, but a frozen Trader Joe's Pesto flatbread cut into long strips to create the 'witch fingers'

Presentation can also help make ordinary foods into great Halloween apps. Drape Halloween cloth over a serving stand, put plastic spiders on the serving tray, or serve next to candle light with the lights turned off.

Halloween Bar Cart and Drinks

Creating a Halloween themed bar or bar cart is easy and fun to put together whether you're entertaining or not! Here are a few details to help bring an average bar to a haunted bar.

Themed napkins in an elegant holder helps takes the cheesiness out of halloween for an adult bar cart

Labels easily transform ordinary beer and wine into festive beverages

Small lighting accents help guests navigate the bar area with main lights off

These crystal wine gobblets from Goodwill help add a 'haunted mansion' feel without being 'Halloween themed'

Fake bugs on a serving tray make everyday entertaining pieces scary

A few small strategically placed Halloween accents allow guest to discover something spooky in ordinary places

Fall Snack Mix



This peanut/candy corn snack mix is perfect to set out for company during the Fall, and it's so simple to make!  Just mix a bag of candy corn with peanuts (I use honey roasted).  It's festive and is great to munch on while watching football games.

Happy Fall!

Halloween Chili Bar

Last year we chose a 'Creepy Chili Bar' theme for our annual Spooky Dinner which was a huge hit! Not only does chili make the perfect fall food, but it's easy to make and can be made in advance so entertaining is easy.

We served two chili's, a classic red chili with beef and a creamy white chili with chicken.  To spook them up I made description cards changing all of the ingredients to their creepy look a likes:

I served the chili with cornbread skulls using the skull pan I purchased to make Zombie Head Meatloaves

'Breadstick Bones' are made by taking a can of refrigerated breadsticks, tying a knot in the end of each breadstick and baking as directed

The toppings for the chili also had fun names bringing them from ordinary to spooky.

Fritos and Sante Fe Salad topper chips were 'Mummy Toe Nails' and 'Witch Finger Nails'.

I tried to include every possible topping for the chili and give them a fun name, while touching on all of the classic Halloween characters. Below is the list of toppings with their Halloween name:

Snake Skin Chunks

(Green Onions)

Witch Nose Hairs

(Cheddar Cheese)

Ghost Boogers

(Feta Cheese)

Zombie Wound Oooze

(Seasoned Sour Cream)

Witch Fingernails

(Tortilla Strips)

Mummy Toe Nails

(Fritos)

Frankenstein’s Scabs

(Cilantro)

Monster Skin

(Avocado)

Click Here to view Spooky Dinners from previous years.

Halloween Dinner Party Invitation

I always think that the invitation sets the tone for a party, and since Halloween parties are usually all-out it's hard to find an invitation that will do the party justice! Here are the invitations I made for our Spooky Dinner last year.  They are actually simple and easy to make, but some minor added details help make them a bit more spooky!

 I typed out the text and added some Halloween clip-art from Google Images, then printed on cardstock. 

I like to put googly eyes on everything I can (they just make everything more fun--especially our Roomba!).  Here googly eyes replace the 'O's in Spooky

The printed skeleton is holding an actual wine glass (well, an actual sticker from Jolee's)

The spider is 3-D, not printed. I cut them out using a punch.

To add a bit more spook factor, I made a sleeve for the invitation using bandages from Walgreens.

A giant spider sticker sealed the bandage around the invite, and I added a few more smaller punch-out spiders.

Here's what the final invitation looked like prior to sending!