Olivia Turns 7 -- Luau Style!

When my baby girl turned 1....we had a Luau for her!  Of course, aside from pictures she had no recollection of any of it.   When we were throwing around ideas for her 7th birthday, one of them was a Luau.  Who doesn't love a luau???  The ideas kept building and building.....and we ran with it!   And it couldn't have been more perfect!   We searched all over the Internet for ideas, came up with ideas, talked to friends and did a lot of shopping to make it the party of the year!  I can honestly say all the kids in attendance had a great time...and even some of the parents stayed a little longer or came to pick up a little earlier to enjoy the festivities!  We had 17 kids -- 15 girls and 2 boys (we had to have her 2 best "boyfriends" from school), plus Ava, and I also reached out to my 5th grade neighbor and my husband's cousin to help out!

The invitations were handmade by Olivia and I!  An idea created by me, but inspired by a quick google search for "flip flop invitations".  Directions to follow!  We decided on bright, vibrant colors!

Next was deciding on a menu...the party was right around dinner time, so I wanted to feed the kids.  Kid friendly, but Luau inspired.....lots of fruit and meat!    I decided to make honey chicken skewers (very simply added Tyson's honey chicken tenders on skewers and with some pineapple and a cherry), my beer and chili meatballs (don't worry I used half the beer, which cooks off anyway), buttered noodles (Olivia's request), individual veggies and dip, and a rainbow fruit platter!! SUPER CUTE and almost all of the food was gone by the end of the party!

Luau Chicken Skewers

Fruit Rainbow

Beer and Chili Meatballs

Personal Veggies and Dip (sorry for the bad picture...these were all gone, and this one was left on the table, but someone had already enjoyed some!)

All of my decorations came from Party City and Oriental Trading!  They had so much stuff to choose from!  I got a bunch of blow up beach balls and flamingos and palm trees to hand out as prizes!  

When the kids walked into the yard they were greeted from the start with lots of Luau color and fun!

Each girl got to pick a flower for their hair, a hula skirt (Oriental Trading), a lei,(Party City) and a sand bucket  (Michael's) of their choice!  The boys got to choose a skirt, a lei and a bucket!

Flower clips were made by a friend of mine!  You can find her here!  A huge hit.....the girls wore them every day until the last day of school!  Not just my kids...ALL the kids!  :)

The forecast was calling for showers...so we borrowed some tents, just in case!  Not a drop of rain fell on our party,  but it was perfect for shade while the kids ate and did some crafts!

My Birthday Girl!  :)

We did 2 crafts....the kids did sand art key chains!  I had ordered dolphin and tropical fish key chains and had them on the table along with 12 different colors of sand.  The kids used little funnels and filled their key chains!  It was a hit!

We also decorated our own surfboards....I had ordered cardboard cut-out surfboards from Oriental Trading...and had a bunch of markers out for them to decorate.....later on in the day!  Once they were done I collected them...and whoever had the most colorful..got a prize!  Top 5 won!!!  I spaced out crafts, games and food.....so I could prep the activities!

Of course we had a Tiki Pinata!

The kids got to fill their buckets with candy!

We played pass the coconut (I got a real one from the farmers market!) and the winner got to keep it!  I wonder what she did with it?!?!?

We did the limbo....

We had a hula dance party....

and the kids played!  Swing set, tag, just played...like kids like to do!

After one of the loudest, most ear piercing Happy Birthdays, I've ever heard....we had CUPCAKES!

And all the kids went home with a bucket full of goodies!

A bucket and shovel, a lei, a flower clip (for the girls), a surfboard bookmark, a bag of Swedish fish, a hula skirt, a tiki cup (they drank a Hawaiian "punch" out of them),  and a chocolate lollipop made by one of my greatest friends!  THANK, AMY!!!  They also brought home their key chains, their surfboards they decorated and whatever they got from the piñata   

ANNNNNNNNDDDD......I spent less than $7 on each favor!  True Story!!!!!  I was pretty proud of myself!

~Gianna~

Grilled Veggie Wedges and Dip

Vegetables are one of my favorite things to eat.....but I don't eat them nearly enough because my family is very picky about the kind, how they are cooked, and their color! In the Summer (and Fall) I can usually get them to eat more with me because they are so much fresher, riper and tastier and I have so many recipes for those times of year that include veggies!


One of my most favorite ways to cook (pretty much) any vegetable is on the grill. Of course, in the summer grilled vegetables are always a crowd pleaser...especially if there is a DIP to go with it!


This recipe is soooo easy and so delicious! It's sure to get rave reviews, byt even your toughest vegetable eater!


GRILLED VEGGIE WEDGES AND DIP

Prep: 10 min Cook: 6 min Yield: 6 servings
Vegetables: 
2 medium zucchini, cut on the diagonal into ½-inch slices
2 medium summer (yellow) squash, cut on the diagonal into ½-inch slices
½ cup Italian dressing (not balsamic)


Dip:2/3 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 scallions
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
Pinch of pepper
1. Preheat grill to medium high. Toss zucchini and squash with the Italian dressing in a medium bowl. Place vegetables on grill and cook for 3 minutes. Turn and cook another 3 minutes, until tender.

2. Prepare the dip: In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients. Cover and chill until serving time. Serve along side of veggies!

3. ENJOY! This is very YUMMY!!

~Gianna~

S'mores Pizza

I needed a dessert for our Super Bowl Party (I know...that was a month ago) and stumbled upon THIS recipe from Guy Fieri @ The Food Network in my search.  While it looked delicious,  my husband nor Olivia were sold on the pizza dough crust.  My husband (believe it or not) said, "Wouldn't that be so much better without the pizza dough....maybe you should use chocolate chip cookie dough instead!"   I thought it sounded perfect either way, but had to keep the troops happy....
I did think it'd be way too chocolaty and sweet for my taste buds, so I convinced them to let me do sugar cookie crust instead!   Everyone agreed and we had our Super Bowl party dessert!    While it was very sweet, even with the sugar cookie crust, it was amazing for any sweet tooth!  Make this SOON!!!!  Next time I make this I am going to try it with the pizza dough!

S'mores Pizza
(adapted from Guy Fieri)


1 batch of sugar cookie dough.  Homemade or store-bought.
2 TBSP unsalted butter
1/2 sleeve graham crackers (broken into crumbs)
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups mini marshmallows
3 large Hershey chocolate bars -- broken into 1/4 inch pieces


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Make cookie dough.
Roll and push into 12" round pizza pan )making sure you get it as thin as you can without breaking through.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
While it's cooking,  melt butter in a skillet and add graham crackers.  Cook for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside.


When cookie crust is done remove from oven and scatter marshmallows and chocolate pieces. 
Return to oven for approx. 5 minutes or until marshmallows are brown and toasted.
Remove and top with graham cracker crumbs evenly over pizza.
Let sit for a few minutes, slice and serve.


ENJOY!!!!

~Gianna~

Lemon and Wine Salmon

Whenever I am asked, "Where did you learn to cook?"  My answer is simple......"My Nana and my Mom are 2 of the best cooks, EVER and they taught me everything I know!"  That's 90% true....the other 10% comes from my love of cooking and other bloggers and friends who give me yummy recipes!  :)

This recipe is one of my Nana's recipes.   We eat a lot of fish in our house (mostly salmon, shrimp, scallops, tilapia), but salmon is one of our favorites.  My kids gobble it up, which makes it a great dinner choice for us!  This recipe is one of our favorites, and while I definitely do it's justice, I've got nothing on Nana!

Lemon and Wine Salmon


1 pound fillet of salmon (skin removed)
Half a sick of butter
1/4c white cooking wine (or any white win you use to cook with)
1 lemon
garlic powder
paprika


Preheat oven to 375
Grease bottom of baking dish with butter
Wash salmon and pat dry with paper towels
Place salmon in baking dish
Pour wine over salmon
Squeeze lemon over salmon
Sprinkle garlic powder and paprika
Place in oven; uncovered for 20 minutes or until cooked through


ENJOY!!

~Gianna~

Creamy Taco Mac

Here is a recipe that has been floating around for quite some time on blogs, websites and message boards I frequent....I've made it lots of times and everyone in my family enjoys it!  It's simple, uses ingredients I always have on hand and is equally (if not better) heated up as leftover!   It's delish!!!
There are different variations of it, but this is the one I do!

Creamy Taco Mac

Ingredients:


1 lbs ground turkey breast
1/2 onion, chopped
8 oz dry pasta + 1 cup reserved pasta water (I used medium shells)
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
4 Tbsp mild taco seasoning
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 cup lite sour cream
1/2 cup reduced fat Mexican blend cheese (plus extra for individual use)
salt & pepper


Directions:


Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta per directions. Reserve one cup of pasta water.


Over medium heat, brown ground turkey until no longer pink. 
Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. 
Add taco seasoning and diced tomatoes. 
Allow to simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. 
Add cooked pasta, reserved water, cream cheese and sour cream. 
Give it a good stir until cheeses are melted and incorporated. 
Simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes. 
Season with salt & pepper, as desired. 
Top off with Mexican cheese for extra cheesiness.


ENJOY!

~Gianna~