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Wednesday, June 25, 2014

{July 4th Round-Up} Affordable July 4th Crafts and Ideas

You might notice a few cosmetic changes happening on my blog, since I'm a one mama show, that's got me pretty busy right now.   As I continue to rebuild the blog to make it prettier and more fab for ya (like the cute social media buttons over there ---->), I still want to provide you with some easy peezy projects for the upcoming July 4th holiday!  Here are a few ideas I've created from past July 4th celebrations I've hosted.



 Make an easy and affordable decorative centerpiece for your July 4th tablescape.  Decorate white pillar candles from the dollar store with star shaped blingy stickers and place in an inexpensive glass vase. Create an elegant floral piece by adding blue glass vase filler, red floral wire in a vase and submerge and orchid or another bloom to the vase.


Make Red, White and Blue ice cream cone cupcakes!  Bake cupcakes in ice cream cones and top with patriotic frosting!

For a festive place setting, use a paper rosette as a sleeve for sparkler sticks! Simply make a small paper rosette, attach a 2" circle to two sparkler sticks - you can also add a bit of embellishment....I just punched a smaller circle to a washi tape covered thumbtack and stuck it into the center of the circle.  Adhere the circle to the rosette with glue dots. 
July 4th crafts, july 4th ideas, sparklers

Make a patriotic fruit pizza with the kids with sugar cookie dough, vanilla frosting and berries!

fruit pizza, july 4th desserts, summer desserts

Make simple paper lanterns patriotic by attaching a blue fringe tassel to red and white paper globes!


Create a mini bunting using red, white and blue streamers.  I made this by cutting the streamers into 6" cuts and folding accordion style, then pinched and glued one edge together towards the center to create a semi-circle bunting shape and then attached by folding over the top of the bunting to a length of twine.


 End your July 4th celebration with a BANG.....or at least a little sparkle.  Set up a sparkler station on a bar cart and place in decorated pails and baskets.

You can find some of the July 4th printables in this post in my Etsy shop.  

Be sure to keep checking back for more updates to the blog and creative ideas for your parties and celebrations! 

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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

{Party Food} Simple Deviled Eggs

One of my favorite things to snack on at any party are deviled eggs.  I just LOVE them.  If they're served at any party, rest assured, I'm standing by that platter and wolfing them down - without a care!   There's something about the creamy yolk filling that just makes this fat girl happy!  Which is ironic, considered when eating fried eggs, I toss out the yolk.  Anyhoo, with all the summertime cookouts and bbq's in full swing, I thought I would share my simple steps on how I make them.

I don't do anything really extraordinary with them, as they are the easiest appetizers in the world to make, but I am certain there is some poor soul who is reading this, that wants a quick and easy recipe to take to someone's backyard bbq and will thank me later :)

Let's get started!



(Oh, btw, I made a BUNCH of deviled eggs for this particular  post - cause I do have a family of four and tend to have area relatives pop over quite often on the weekends....which is when I made these....so, the so not award-winning pictures are just for illustration purposes only and not meant to be an exact amount of how many eggs one would normally make......ijs.....moving right along.....)

What you'll need:

6 Eggs
1/2 Cup Mayo
1 tsp Mustard
2 tbsp Relish
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Pinch of Sugar
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Paprika or Seasoned Salt (simply for garnish)

(Oh, I should also add.....this is my 'eyeball' recipe, which like my photos, is not exact, like any good home cook.....allow for adjustments, mistakes, fails, new-found deviled egg discoveries.......taste as you go and make them to your liking.  Now, let's really get started!)


Directions

1. Carefully place your eggs in a pot.  Cover with cool water to a little over an inch of your eggs.






2. Heat the eggs on high, uncovered, until the water comes to a slow boil for about 1 minute.  Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 15 minutes.  Run under cold water and remove from pot with a slotted spoon.  (Tip:  Be mindful of the cooking time.  I kinda walked away from my pot as the eggs were boiling and the slow boil turned into a rolling boil and some of my eggs cracked and were a little overcooked.  Just be mindful of your time - especially if you want the eggs to look pretty cause cracked boiled eggs look like this.  Ew. right?)


3. Crack and peel the eggs under cold running water and place onto a paper towel or bowl to dry.  Once the eggs have cooled, slice in half lengthwise and discard yolks into a bowl.



 4.  Arrange boiled whites onto a platter and set aside.
6.  Mash the yolks in the bowl and mix in the mayo, relish, mustard, vinegar and sugar, adding salt & pepper to taste.  If you like a chunky filling, you can start adding the filling to the boiled egg whites.  If you want them a bit creamier, add mayo to the filling about 1/4 at a time and whisk until you get the consistency you want.


( I REALLY like these brands - but you use what you got and like - but I really believe Duke's makes the best Mayo!)


7.  If you wanna go for a full on presentation factor....throw some filling in a piping bag and swirl some into the eggs.  Sprinkle with a bit of paprika or seasoned salt and BOO-YAH!  Simple deviled eggs.....now you can sit back and wolf 'em down  like I do :)


  



ENJOY!!!!
(Hey, if you make these....I'd love to hear your feedback and why not include a cute photo of your of 'eggs'cellent dish!!!!)

P.S.  If you want to try other more flavorful deviled egg recipes....Rachael Ray's got a nice crab-filled one.....like bacon?  Who doesn't? Bon Appetite has a winner with this Bacon Deviled Egg recipe......and for a fancier spin on basic deviled eggs - this chick has some too.  You might also like some tips on making the perfect boiled egg -- apparently, not so fresh eggs....like a few days from the market, make great boiled eggs!  Who knew?


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