Party time!

So this is a little different from my normal posts. I live to entertain, I have all these great ideas and I never get to use them. So Tomorrow we are having a cookout with people whom I do not know. Kind of a friend reunion of sorts for Jason. So all together I will have 7-9 adults, 2 teenagers, 3 children 5 and under and a baby.

So in my mind I have this whole idea of "what would Pioneer woman do" mixed with a bit of "How awesome would The virtuous wife's party be" These two women combined I am convinced could conquer the world. Seriously, they should be president and vice president of the USA.

Anyway. So I am doing this on a "Sanford and Son" budget Come on you know you want to sing it...


I need this to be simple yet have the wow factor, cheap but look amazing. Thank the Lord Pinterest has been invented (my bookmark bar thanks you, Pinterest)

The Menu-

My Fried Crappie (the fish is free thanks to my Awesome Hubby)
Filleted dipped in egg and milk mixture then in flour seasoned with old bay, salt and pepper then back in egg/milk and into panko crumbs also seasoned with salt and pepper. Let set about 5 minutes so the breader doesn't fall off when you drop them into the hot grease, deep fry until golden brown and inside is flaky goodness.

Hot dogs- nothing special about hotdogs :)

Pizza bites with dipping sauce
I am going to take pizza dough roll it out and put pizza sauce onto it and mozzarella cheese and roll it up like a pinwheel and cut like cinnamon buns then top with some more cheese. I will serve it with pizza sauce and garlic butter

Shrimp tarts
These are so good, I made these at my brother's High school Graduation and there were none left.

6oz cream cheese softened
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp fresh minced parsley
2 tsp dried minced onion
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp old bay
1 cup finely chopped cooked shrimp (peeled and deveined of course)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
2 pkgs mini phyllo tart shells (freezer section)

beat cream cheese until softened add sour cream, parsley, onion, Worcestershire, old bay mix until thoroughly combined. add shrimp and mozz. add filling to tart shells bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes. can be served warm or cold.

Mac and Cheese bites

^that picture is before my good camera lol^
This is kind of a make up while I go deal but I am going to use my mac and cheese recipe (Barilla noodles, sharp and mild cheddar, salt, pepper, butter 2 pads diced and a can of evaporated milk) I may need to modify it to make it work because I am going to cook it in muffin tins so they are finger-foodish but I will update with pics :)

Jambalaya (which I know isn't a finger food so it may get cut)
I am going to try this recipe
But I will change a few things (as always)
I will pre-cook my rice and saute my veggies (the trinity onions, pepper and celery) and probably through some old bay in the mix too, I will update afterwards.

Potato skin bites

Really so simple. I cheat and cook my potatoes in the microwave and then slice into bite sized discs. brush with olive oil and put in the oven for just a teeny bit on broil, top with cheese broil again until melted top with diced bacon, sour cream and jalapeno.

(I am sure something else will get added but so far this is it!)

Drinks-

Sweet tea (what is a southern cookout without sweet tea?)

Lemon wedge jello shots (alcoholic and non-alcoholic for the kids)

And I really want to do the ice water with lemon in a big bucket of ice, but we will see.

I would really like to do mason jar cakes for the kids, but I may stick to cheesecake stuffed strawberries. We shall see.