Bunco Night {with my girls}

I play on a Bunco team with a super fun group of girls once a month. (Bunco is a super easy and fun dice game... played mostly by suburban housewives I think!) This past Friday was my turn to host! It was super fun! I love the girls I get to play with and it is so fun to have a night out!

But, of course the most important thing after fun friends is {the food}. And I was not going to let my Bunco girls down! I mean, look how cute these girls are? How do you not give them the best?

1. Fruit with chocolate dip! (one part plain Greek yogurt, one part Nutella and then some shaved chocolate on top!

2. Cream puffs (store bought in the freezer section with melted chocolate and powdered sugar on top.

3. Bacon Wrapped Pretzels (wrap pretzel rods in bacon and cook at 350 until bacon is crispy!)

4. Bruchetta (mix cherry tomatos with a couple swirls of olive oil, a handful of feta cheese and some fresh basil and put on top of sliced french bread and bake until toasty!)

5. Chocolate dipped pretzels (dip pretzels in melted almond bark)

Throw in a little Sangria or if you prefer a dry party go for my fav... Diet Coke! and you have yourself a par-tay!

Our 4th of July

Wow! The R's had a {fantastic 4 day} weekend! I can't believe it is over! And I absolutely need another weekend to recover. Our weekend was filled with time with friends, time with family, swimming, Daddy dates, etc. And of course the 4th of July festivities!

Oh, and to celebrate I made these little cuties! Very festive and delicious! I try to avoid using almond bark (I don't love the taste and would rather use a good white chocolate but those can be harder to melt) but for these I went ahead and used it and then rolled the pretzel rods in sprinkles and they actually turned out to be quite tasty!



Orange Leaf

We had heard a lot about Orange Leaf from our Springfield friends and I had been dying to try it. Well, on my way to the gym yesterday I just happened to pass one! I didn't even know they were opening one! So, we went and tried it out tonight. It is self serve frozen yogurt and it was delish! I think we will be back again soon!

Fabulous Fathers' Day and {Red Velvet Waffles Recipe}

So, how do you celebrate someone who gives you so much? It is a CHALLENGE let me tell you.  I have to stop and {gush} about how wonderful the hubs is. He is such a wonderful husband and dad. He takes such good care of us. And he is super fun! The perfect combo!

So... when it came to celebrating such an awesome guy I had to do some thinking. At first everything that came to my mind was things that I would like to do. But, I wanted Father's Day to be about {him}! So... I thought, what is one of the hubs favorite things to do that we don't always get to do? And then it hit me! He loves getting to spend the day totally at home, just playing. He also loves home cooked meals. My man does not like eating out (I know! So weird, right?)... I am going to pretend it is because his wife is such a FABULOUS cook! ;) But, I decided to spoil him with home cooked meals all day.

Breakfast was red velvet waffles with cream cheese frosting on top! For lunch we had homemade potato chips and sandwiches on fococia bread. And for dinner I combined the hubs two favorite foods- sausage and black beans! I will post the soup recipe later this week! It was delish and easy and actually super healthy!

But, I couldn't wait to post the recipe for the red velvet waffles! They were so delish and pretty! I think they would be great for Valentine's Day or even Christmas with their deep red color!

Red Velvet Waffles

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. flour

1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 T. sugar

2 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

6 Tbs. melted butter

red gel food coloring

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients my sifting into a bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add food coloring a little at a time to desired redness. Combine wet ingredients to the dry stirring until just combined. Cook in waffle iron until crispy on the outside!

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

6 Tbs. softened butter

1/2 bar of cream cheese softened

1 tsp. vanilla

3 Tbs. milk

Directions:

Put ingredients in mixer and mix until creamy.

*The super cute Father's Day tie printables are from here, http://amandaparkerandfamily.blogspot.com/2011/06/freebie-fathers-day-printables-are-tie.html

A yummy {summer} dinner

My husband loves salads with meat on them and I love steak! So, this recipe was bound to be a hit in our household!

Steak Salad with Lemon Balsamic Vinigiarette

Ingredients for flank steak:
flank steak
1/2 C. vegetable oil
1/3 C. soy sauce
1/4 C. red wine vinegar
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 T. worcestershire sauce
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Directions:
Combine all ingredients (except flank steak) and pour into shallow dish. Add flank steak and marinade in the fridge for at least 3 hours. Broil in the oven about 7 minutes per side or until desired doneness. When done let rest for 10 minutes and then thinly slice.

Ingredients for salad:
Romaine (or whatever you prefer)
a bell pepper (I had yellow on hand)
tomatos
provel cheese

Directions:
Chop veggies according to your preference and top with prepared flank steak.

Ingredients for Lemon Balsamic Vinigiarette:
1/2 C. olive oil
1/4 C. red wine vinegar
1/8 C. balsamic vinegar
3 T. fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Drizzle desired amount over salad.

And a little serving suggestion...

mmmm Sangria! :)

a last minute {perfect} dinner picnic!

At 3:45 this afternoon I decided that we needed to do something fun this evening! I already had this ah-mazing chicken salad in the works and it just seemed too picnic-y to leave it at home! So, I called up the hubs and asked if we could meet him at the park by his office for a little dinner picnic! The kiddos were excited and so I finished gathering the necessary "supplies" and off we went!

The glorious food! On the menu for the evening:

Chicken salad from The Pink Pistachio

watermelon (sadly, not in the shape of stars!)

Eatsmart Naturals garden veggie sticks

sweet potato chips by Food Should Taste Good

Tazo Passion Tea for the grown-ups

o.j. for the kiddies (per their request because I think orange juice at dinner is ick!)

hubs caught me on camera enjoying my dinner!

so naturally turn around is fair play

and these sillies LOVED having a picnic at the park!

Max hard at work on the playground

 Jack has a strong desire to be one of the big kids

 We had never taken the kids to Shaw Park before but they really loved it

 Max likes to climb things

 these instruments were a big hit

 trying to cooperate for a picture

 Sophie-Girl LOVES to swing

 and Jack enjoyed watching all the action

It felt like a perfect kick off to summer! I think we are going to have to try to meet up with Nick more often for evening picnics!

*also linked up at http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2011/06/outdoor-table-for-two-link-party/