January 31, 2009

Today is Riley's 3rd birthday party! We have some friends and family joining us today for that. On the menu is:

Artichoke Dip

1 cup mayo
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 can artichoke hearts

Combine all ingredients (mash the artichoke hearts up a little) and mix well, pour into baking dish and bake 20 minutes (or until lightly browned) at 350 degrees.

Serve with Ritz crackers.

Fruit and Cheese Kabobs

red grapes
green grapes
apples, cut into chunks
strawberries, sliced thick
cheese cubes

Thread fruit and cheese onto sticks. Refrigerate until ready to serve.




Dirt

8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 lg. boxes instant vanilla pudding
3 1/2 cups milk
12 oz Cool Whip
1 pkg. Oreos

Crush Oreos.

Cream together: cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar.

In separate bowl, combine milk and pudding. Mix with hand-mixer until blended and thickened. Mix into cream cheese mixture. Fold in Cool Whip.

Begin layering, starting with cookies on bottom. Embellish with worms. Or for our construction theme today, I used gummy tools.

Refrigerate overnight if possible.

(A huge thank you to my mother-in-law who saved the day on the Dirt. I bought Cook and Serve pudding and it just wasn't working out. She put it together and made the day!)


The Cake
by Paige's Bakehouse







Cream Cheese with Raspberry Chipotle

Cover a brick of cream cheese with Rasberry Chipotle sauce and serve with Wheat Thins. Once you start, you can't stop...

Pizza

I bought some frozen Tombstone Pepperoni pizzas and cut them into rectangles. They were gobbled up by adults and kids alike! I've never bought a frozen pizza in my life until now. My friend Greta informed me that she's tried them all and Tombstone were the best!!

Tempting Taco Cheese Ball
by Tastefully Simple

All I had to do to this one was mix with cream cheese, refrigerate two hours, and put into a serving dish. You can also form into a ball. I served with Sesame Blue corn chips.

Pasta Salad

tri color rotini pasta
cucumbers
tomatoes
black olives

Cook pasta, drain. Add chopped veggies and top with your favorite Italian dressing. I used Paul Newman's Sun Dried Tomato vinaigrette.