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Birthday Party: Sushi Sandwiches are Easy!

August 10, 2010 By Sandy 17 Comments

My guest today is Amy from Living Locurto. I call Amy’s site “Party Central” for any kind of a kid party you are thinking about – she has some great ideas to help you out!

Living Locurto is published by Amy Locurto, a graphic designer and mom of two. Amy owns Atomic Egg and is also co-owner of a photography web site I Heart Faces. Here you can find her free printables, menu plans, recipes, fun party ideas and crafts.

Amy has graciously agreed to share with my readers today about a party she recently threw her daughter.

So here’s Amy …

BirthdayGirl

Hi I’m Amy from Living Locurto, a blog about parties, food, crafts and free printables. I’m excited to be guest posting here today! I love to entertain and a big fan of the stay at home birthday party. I have many fond memories of my birthdays and all I had was a cake and a few friends! Making special birthday memories can be fun and easy.

I threw my daughter a fun mermaid party and the sushi sandwiches were the big hit and they were the easiest thing I made! So I thought it would be a good thing to share with you today.

Whether you entertain for kids or adults, everyone will love this easy to make dish.

Mermaid_Food


Sushi Sandwich Ingredients

  • Whipped Cream Cheese
  • Cheddar Cheese Slices
  • 1-2 Cucumbers
  • Turkey
  • Mustard (optional)
  • White Sandwich Bread

Sushi2

Directions

  1. Slice the cheddar cheese and cucumber into long thin pieces.
  2. Cut the crusts off the bread.
  3. Roll the cheese, cucumbers, cream cheese and turkey up in a piece of white bread. I also added mustard to some.
  4. Slice the roll in half. Slicing with a knife helps make the roll stick.
  5. Place on a plate like real sushi and watch your guests eat them up!

Thanks Sandy for having me today!

If you love birthday parties like me, you can find easy to make party printables in my shop. Hope you’ll stop by! -Amy

Amy and I would love to hear your favorite kid party that you have been to, or a favorite easy snack that you prepared?

Filed Under: guest posts & blogging, kid foods, parties & gatherings

Exhausted Parents: Rent a Taco Truck!

June 25, 2010 By Sandy 18 Comments

After the week-long festivities of graduation, we joined together with our long-time friends for one more celebration. And to keep it simple and fun, the Taco Truck came.

A view from the street (looks inviting, doesn’t it?)

On this very hot day, we had lots of drinks.



Very simple decorations with a Mexican theme.


Tables on the grass with mismatched chairs.


Chips and salsas on every table, along with my Texas Cavier Dip, featured THIS WEEK at the EVO ’10 conference (as “Summer Bean Salad”) in Park City, UT! This recipe will also be included in my NEW book, The Reluctant Entertainer, released in one month!


Who was this celebration for? Our son and his childhood friend since Kindergarten, Lauren.

Even their favorite 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Landon, came to celebrate.

The moms enjoyed making “Memory Boards.”


And stringing school pictures.

Other graduates popped in, along with very special friends.

We re-created memories from this 5th grade celebration.

Then and now. (Love ya, Callie Jo!)

Cake for all all the 2010 graduates!


The only thing missing is pictures of the VERY TIRED PARENTS (us!) … it would have been a great picture to capture what we looked like right before we went to bed that night. Our friends were so generous to share their home with us, and we worked together as a team, for sure!

I’m glad graduation is over, but more importantly I’m so very thankful for wonderful friends and families who come together to help celebrate our children’s milestones.

Have you thought about joining together with another family to plan a larger party and to share expenses?

Filed Under: parties & gatherings

Hosting a World Cup Party: Rachael Ray’s Herb Sliders!

June 23, 2010 By Sandy 8 Comments

(I’m guesting over at Aggie’s Kitchen blog today, talking about stretching a meal with beans … would you join me over there? Aggie’s blog is amazing — all about food and beautiful photography. You’re going to love her recipes, and I’m so lucky to meet up with Aggie here soon in Park City for the EVO ’10 social media conference!)

Now on to soccer …

Every four years, the soccer world comes together for the ultimate championship. And it’s a very exciting time in our soccer-loving home!

DECORATIONS
The extent of decorations for our party last week was each person wearing a soccer jersey (my husband changed his 3 times). But you can find soccer-themed decorations at just about any party store. Another idea is to print out flags of each team you support and hang them around your home. You can even print out a large poster of the match brackets so everyone can keep track of her team. ESPN has a cool printable bracket you can use.

One of our decorations was a past year’s soccer victory photo that we had blown up and put on canvas. As you can see, we were enthralled by the image, recalling a great moment.

FOOD & DRINK
One thing you can do is to prepare your menu from participating countries around the world, with each country’s most popular food and drinks, or combine a few different ethnic cuisines for an eclectic meal.

For example, serve Mexican-style guacamole and chips, Greek stuffed grape leaves, and English fish and chips. We served lunch and Rachael Ray came through for me, as we prepared her Herb Sliders. They were a hit! Burgers are all-American, so those worked for us!

Our guests brought appetizers and we were good to go!

The goal is to have fun and to give your guests a great World Cup experience.







Now for the recipe!

Rachael Ray Herb Sliders
(12 servings, but we tripled the recipe for our size of group!)

1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Dijon mustard

12 soft dinner rolls, such as potato rolls, split (we toasted ours on the grill. Thank you, Costco!) Add your favorite condiments, such as crunchy lettuce, onions and tomatoes.

In a bowl, combine the ground beef, dill, parsley, shallot, salt and pepper; form into 12 patties.

PAN
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat; add 6 patties and cook for 2 minutes, then flip and cook for 1-1/2 minutes more for medium-rare. Repeat with the remaining olive oil and patties.

BROILER
Spread some mustard on the roll bottoms and arrange on a broiler pan; place a patty on each and top with the cheese. Melt the cheese under the broiler, about 30 seconds. Cover with the tomato slices and roll tops.

Or BBQ. Simple. Tasty. Go USA!

Have you been watching the World Cup?

Filed Under: food & recipes, parties & gatherings
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