Beach themed girls night



This is my table set up for girls night! Its summer time and I thought a beach themed party would make us feel relaxed.

Decorations:
Starfish (Michaels)
Starfish Platter (Party City)
Individual beach themed plates (Michaels $1/plate)
Mini bowls (Target $1/piece)
Blue and white containers (Michaels)


Menu:
Chips and homemade salsa
Ranch sour cream dip with veggies (container sour cream with Hidden Valley ranch packet)
Goldfish
Pretzel rods
Coconut cupcakes
Vanilla cupcakes
White Sangria
Fish bowl punch

What you'll need:

Fish bowl punch-

Fish bowl
Blue nerds (gravel)
Swedish fish (fishies)
Ice
5 oz citrus vodka
5 oz malibu rum
3 oz blue curacao
6 oz sweet and sour mix
16 oz pineapple juice
16 oz sprite
3 slices each lemon, lime and orange
Layer nerds on bottom of bowl, lots of ice, swedish fish on top of ice. The ice has to go first or the swedish fish will sink. Add remaining ingredients.

White Sangria-
Fruit pieces (apples, grapes, oranges, limes, lemons)
White wine ( Reisling works well)
Sprite
Citrus vodka
Simple Syrup

Coconut Cupcakes-
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon almond
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk

Cream cheese frosting-
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
12 oz cream cheese
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Blue food coloring
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut for garnish
2 graham crackers for garnish
Mini umbrellas for decoration

Preheat oven to 350.
Sift flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl. In the food processor, pulse coconut untill finely chopped. Whisk into flour mixture. In separate bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg one at a time followed by vanilla and almond extract. Next add flour mixture alternating with buttermilk into sugar mixture. Pour batter into cupcake liners. Bake for 20 minutes roating halfway through. Meanwhile make frosting. Start by beating butter and cream cheese together. Next add confectioners sugar one cup at a time followed by vanilla. Frost!



Now time to decorate!
In a small bowl add a few drops of blue food coloring to shredded coconut and mix. This will be your waves!!

In a sandwich bag crush up graham crackers. This will be your sand!



Add mini umbrellas to your beach!

Vanilla Cupcakes-
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk

Cream cheese frosting-
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
12 oz cream cheese
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Blue food coloring
Teddy grahams for garnish
Gummy savers for garnish

Same directions as coconut cupcakes without the coconut.
For frosting add a few drops of blue food coloring.

Use teddy grahams for swimmers and gummy savers as inner tubes.





Enjoy your beach themed party!







Whats for dinner tonight??
Ditalini with ground turkey

Peach Pie Pops

This next recipe is from Betty Crocker. My friend Holly gave me this recipe booklet with 72 recipes!!! I better get started. Thank you Holly:)

What you'll need:

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups chopped peaches (2 large)

2 boxes Pillsbury refridgerated pie crusts, softened as box directed

16 craft sticks (flat wooden sticks with round ends) or paper lollipop sticks

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 tablespoons white sparkling sugar

* Note to the crafty- do NOT use chop sticks! You might think oh hey I have all these unused chopsticks I can use them and save some money. WRONG! They will burn and they will smell horribly!

In a saucepan, mix granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg with whisk. Add peaches, toss to coat. Cook over mediium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce is thick and bubbly and coats peaches. Remove from heat. Cool completely.



Meanwhile preheat oven to 450. Line 2 cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper. Remove 2 pie crusts from pouches, unroll on floured work surface. Using 3 1/2 inch round cutter, cut out 8 rounds from each crust.

Place 8 rounds on each cookie sheet. Gently press 1 craft stick in center of each round.

Spoon fruit mixture evenly onto each round to within 1/2 inch of edge. Brush edges with egg.

Remove remaining pie crusts from pouches: unroll on floured surface. Using 4 inch round cutter, cut out 8 rounds from each crust. Cut each round into 1/4 inch wide strips.

Place half of strips 1/4 inch apart over filling on each round.

Weave remaining strips over and under. Seal edges.

Brush strips with remaining egg. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar.

Bake 10 to 13 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely.



Tada! They taste great but as you can see I used chopsticks :( I took them out after they started to burn. The next batches involved no sticks. They were added after the baking process.

Whats next??

Beach themed girls night!

 

Mint Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

What You'll Need:

Chocolate Cupcakes-
1 box devils food cake mix
1 box chocolate instant pudding
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
24 mint oreos

Mint Oreo Icing-
2 sticks butter room temperture
1 cup vegetable shortening
6 cups confectioners sugar
3 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon mint extract
green food coloring
12 mint oreos crushed
24 oreos for decoration

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Place one oreo in each liner.

In a large bowl combine cake mix, pudding powder (do not mix with water), vegetable oil, milk and eggs. Beat 1 to 2 minutes.

Cover oreos in cupcake liners with batter.

Bake at 350 for 18 mintues (depending on your oven). Toothpick test! Let cool before frosting.

To make frosting, beat butter and shortening untill creamy.

 Add confectioners sugar 1 cup at a time. Add milk as needed to keep frosting from getting dry.

Add mint extract and green food coloring. You want the color to be minty green so only add a few drops at a time. You can always add more. * Warning: mint extract is strong. You only need 1 teaspoon. Dont over pour!

In a sandwich bag (so you dont make a mess) crush oreo cookies. They need to be really fine otherwise they'll get stuck in your frosting gun/bag.

Frost your cupcakes. Add an oreo on top for garnish.

Enjoy!

Whats next??

Peach Pie Pops

Fried Pickles!!!!

Who doesnt like fried pickles??

What you'll need:

Whole Pickles ( Acme has a barrell of great pickles in their deli section. We got 2!)
Seasoning mixed with a tiny bit of bread crumbs (Any kind is fine. The best is making your own with all your favorites. Ric created ours with cumin, onion powder, paprika, garlic salt and seasoned salt.)
2eggs
Oil for cooking

Heat oil in skillet while you prepare your pickles. Cut pickles into slices.

Beat eggs in one small container. Mix seasoning in another.

Cover baking sheet with tin foil. Dip pickle slices in eggs and then seasoning mixture.

Place on baking sheet while you continue with other pickles.

My secret trick for testing oil: Use your handy dandy wooden spoon. When bubbles form around handle your oil is ready! (Seriously you can use a wooden spoon for EVERYTHING! Never cook without one)

Place about 4 or 5 pickles at a time in oil and cook for 2 minutes on each side.

Remove from oil and place on a paper twoel lined plate. The paper towel will absorb some of the oil.

Serve with your favorite sauce for dipping. I used ranch! I put that $*** on everything :)

These are so good! I wouldnt keep pickles on hand or you'll be making these twice a day.

What's Next??

Mint Chocolate Oreo Cucpakes