"All Fired Up" for Two Birthdays

On Tuesday night, a few of us met at All Fired Up in Collingswood to celebrate Jenn and Mary Ann's birthdays. What a blast we had! We were in our own cute, little room, which is a good thing because we were pretty loud. Lots of laughs were had while we ate pizza, drank some delicious Sangria (made by Dana) and painted pottery!

The place is decorated so adorably!

The girls loved the cake made by Jamie S. and the cookies made by me!

A great time was had by all!

A Birthday Celebration

Today after school a few of us girls are getting together to celebrate my friend Jenn's birthday. Jenn gets very excited about her birthday every year and pretty much lets us know at least a month in advance what the plan is. Some of her past birthday celebrations include a weekend in A.C., nights out on the town, a surprise party at Botto's Restaurant, and a huge 30th birthday bash (which included the worst stripper I've ever seen . .. not that I've seen that many, but he was bad!) This year's request was a little surprising to all of us . .. . Jenn wants to paint pottery at All Fired Up in Collingswood on a Tuesday night. Awwww .  .. . our little Jenny is growing up.

We have big plans for Jenn today. Apparently we can take snacks and drinks to the pottery place and we'll have our own little private room. Dana is making some fun Sangria, Jamie S. is making a cake and of course, I was hard at work last night making cookies for the birthday girl! How fun are these for a girl's night out?



I actually attempted the Coach logo on the white one (with a little help from my husband . .. he's the greatest!) Not bad for our first attempt!

Stay tuned for pictures from the pottery painting party!

Rilynn and Marley's Big Day

Rilynn and Marley's birthday party was a huge success. Not only did they have the most gorgeous day, but all the party details were absolutely perfect. Since Rilynn was turning 1, Joann decided to go with a Mickey Mouse theme. For Marley, the big 5 year old, the theme was Rockstar. In addition to the delicious treats and awesome hot pink and zebra party details that Joann put together, there was a petting zoo that was fun for both kids and adults!

Some of the sweet treats  I designed for this party included the cookies, chocolate covered pretzels and oreo truffles.



Here are some of the pictures from the petting zoo.

 

 The birthday girls, Marley and Rilynn were all decked out in the cutest outfits for their big day!

What a great party!

Mexican Lasagna

This recipe comes highly recommended from my friend Dana. She actually got it from Rachel Ray. It's very easy and very delicious. I actually made a few changes to it and realized after I had it all together, my layers were mixed up. Either way, it was still good!

Ingredients

3 Tbls EVOO
2 pounds ground chicken ( I used ground beef, you could even use turkey)
2 Tbls chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 chopped red onion
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained
1 c. medium heat taco sauce or 1 (14oz) can stewed tomatoes or fire roasted tomatoes
1 c. frozen corn
salt
8 (8 inch) spinach flour tortillas
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or shredded pepper jack
2 scallions, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Preheat a large skillet over mediun heat. Add 2 tbls EVOO. Add chicken and season with chili powder, cumin and red onion. Brown the meat, about 5 minutes. Add taco sauce or tomatoes. Add black beans, and corn. Heat the mixture through, about 2 to 3 minutes then season with salt, to your taste.

Coat a shallow baking dish with remaining EVOO, about 1 Tbls. Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then totillas, then cheese. Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Top with scallions and serve.

**A few changes I made were that I used ground beef instead of chicken. If you prefer turkey, you could use that as well. I also cut the recipe in half because I only had 1 pound of ground beef and 4 totillas. I used the red ( sundried tomato and basil) tortillas because that's what I had. I actually built mine a little different (by mistake) then the what the recipe calls for.  I put it together with the beef and beans, cheese and then the tortillas. Then I went with another layer of beef and cheese. Once I realized I had made a mistake, I decided not to put another layer of tortillas. It still came out pretty good. I served it with a dollop of sour cream on top. My husband absolutely loved it! The best part is there's some leftovers for lunch today!

Enjoy!

Pea-Prosciutto Sauce

This recipe is from the March issue of the Food Network magazine. I served it over cheese ravioli as suggested in the recipe, but this sauce would be great over linguini or penne or whatever your favorite pasta happens to be!

Ingredients

4 oz. chopped prosciutto

2 Tbls. olive oil

3 sliced garlic cloves

1 Tbls. tomato paste

1 cup pasta-cooking water

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup frozen peas

chopped parsley

grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook prosciutto in olive oil over medium heat until crisp, about 4 minutes. Stir in sliced garlic cloves and tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Ladle in pasta-cooking water and simmer until reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add heavy cream and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Toss with 1 pound cooked ravioli, 1 cup blanched peas and some chopped parsley. Top with grated parmesan.   

Enjoy!

Alyssa's 6th Birthday

Six years ago today,  my beautiful niece came into the world. We celebrated her birthday last night with a "Little Mermaid" theme. Here are some pictures of the sweet treats I created for the party!

The fish bowl cookie pops were a hit! I was so happy with the way everything came together!

Alyssa LOVED the candy buffet!





Alyssa said this was the best birthday she every had!

Now . . . .can we please talk about this cake???

How cute is this Ariel cake? I finally got a chance to meet Nicole Cowell, the creator of this beautiful cake. Nicole makes custom cakes for any occassion. If you're interested in having Nicole design a cake for you, she can be contacted at: NicolesCustomCake@gmail.com or 856-889-0378.

And the winner is . . . .

Jennifer!

You were comment #8!

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 8 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations and thanks for reading

Mrs. B. My Guest!

Girl's Night Out at Gracie's Garden

Just down the street from my house is the cutest, I mean CUTEST place for little girls. It's called Gracie's Garden. 

Quite a few times I drove past it thinking, "What is that place?" About a month ago I saw a flyer for Gracie's Garden in the grocery store advertising, "Jewelry Making with Princess Jasmine." I figured this would be something my neice would absolutely LOVE! I took my 5 year old niece, Alyssa and my girlfriend Mary Ann took her daughter Sienna. The girls had the most fabulous time. They played games, had pizza, made a bracelet, necklace, keychain and jewelry box, had a snack AND got to meet and take pictures with Princess Jasmine. The girls had such a good time that Mary Ann and I decided to sign them up for "Mardi Gras with Tinkerbell." My girlfriend Jamie also came along with her daughter Breanna. Another winner! The girls absolutely LOVED every minute of it.  

Mardi Gras with Tinkerbell

   

The girls played a few games, then moved to the tables where they got their faces painted and made a Mardi Gras mask. Tinkerbell was there to help out!

   They played "Freeze Dance," had a
    snack and got some fun Mardi Gras
    beads and rings!

And of course they had their picture taken with Tinkebell!

In addition to these awesome Friday night events, Gracie's Garden hosts birthday parties and summer camps. Trust me when I tell you, this place is sure to please any little girl who loves princesses, pink and a fun time!

We're already signed up for "Alice's Tea Party" in April!!



 

It's Giveaway Time!!

One of my greatest obsessions is cute beverage napkins. Whenever I am shopping and see cute beverage napkins, I buy them. I always buy too many and rarely use an entire package. See for yourself (and these are just a few):

With summer just around the corner, I can't wait to start entertaining on our deck with some fun beverage napkins. I figured this might be a great opportunity for a "Dreamin' of Summer" giveaway! SO . . . .I am happy to announce the first giveaway on Mrs. B. My Guest! 

Here's what I'm offering: 2 packages of beverage napkins, 2 packages of colorful drink coasters with some fun drink recipes, a starfish wine stopper and some tropical drink umbrellas. Perfect for a summer deck party!!

Here's how to enter:

1. Become a public follower of Mrs. B. My Guest.

2. Leave me a comment telling me you did.

3. In your comment tell me about your all time favorite summer cocktail. (Be sure to leave your e-mail in the comment as well) 

The winner will be chosen on Sunday, March 13 by random.org.

Good luck and thanks for reading!

Fish Cookie Pops

So I decided to try a practice run of the fish cookie pops today. I have to say, the first attempt went well. I am so excited to put these displays together for the party next weekend. I found the cutest ribbon that matches so perfectly. I think it's all going to come together nicely! Here's a little sneak peak . . . .

Fun, right? I love how the colors pop. I also love the edible glitter! I found the greatest stuff for decorating cookies at Copper Gifts. One thing I found was these great little cookie stands. I also found the cute, little, pre-made, icing eyes that are on the fish.  

While I'm here I might as well post the recipe I used for the sugar cookies. I wanted to use a cookie that was rigid for decorating, as well as, delicious. I figured if anyone is going to know how to make a good cookie for decorating, it would have to be Martha Stewart. I have to say, her recipe fulfilled both my wishes!

Ideal Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons brandy, or milk (I used milk)

1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; mix until light and fluffy. With mixer running, add egg, brandy, and vanilla; mix until well combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add reserved flour mixture. Mix until just combined.

2. Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. (mine were a little thicker) Cut into desired shapes, and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cook.

5. Decorate with Royal Icing.