Buffalo Chicken Salad

Here is a great salad to take to your big BBQ this weekend. I found it in a neighborhood cookbook a friend gave me and tried it immediately.  It passed the test and was a big hit when I took it to a potluck dinner.  Enjoy!!

Buffalo Chicken Salad:

2-3 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 C. Frank's Buffalo Chicken sauce

1 head lettuce (I like a combination of Iceberg and Green Leaf)

1/2 c. roasted corn kernels (see picture below)

3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced

1 avocado, sliced

cheese, shredded

sunflower seeds

Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing

Heat oven to 375*.  Place cut up chicken into greased pan.  Place in oven and bake about 25 minutes.   Stir chicken around to coat once more with sauce.  Place lettuce, chicken, egg slices, corn, avocado, cheese and sunflower seeds in large bowl.  Top with salad dressing.

*If you like a sweet and spicy chicken instead, combine about 2 1/2 cups brown sugar to the Buffalo sauce BEFORE pouring it over the raw chicken.  This is the sauce I use for my "copy-cat" Wingers wings (recipe coming soon) and it is so delicious!

**I also like to add a little of the sticky sauce that is still left in the pan after I've removed my chicken to the Blue Cheese dressing. It is a perfect combination of the creamy Blue Cheese and that sweet/spicy kick.

I just toasted some corn in a skillet on medium heat for a few minutes until it looked like this.

 Mmmmmmmm. Delicious.
 

Cucumber Punch

Promise me you'll give this a chance. Don't just move on because it has the word Cucumber in it. This stuff is really delicious!  Summery. Happy. Fresh. Light.  These are some of the words that pop into my head when I drink this.  Seriously, I love it.  And I hope you will too! 

Ingredients needed:

1 bag of ice

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

1 12 oz. can limeade

1 bottle Diet Sprite or 7up (HAS to be diet)**

My friends and I like to get together to watch American Idol.  We eat a lot of snacks and I like to make new drinks to try.  Some of my favorites have been  Pina Colada, Strawberry Limeade, and Caribbean Slush.

One night last season, my friend Mandy introduced us to this unique, refreshing beverage.  Lives were changed.  We made it for the five consecutive weeks following, and maybe a few times in between with baby showers and game nights. 

The flavor of cucumber is light here. You can taste it, but it doesn't overwhelm the drink.  Of course, if you absolutely HATE cucumber flavor, this might not be the drink for you.  But I really, really, really want you to try it!

So, Mandy shows up at my house with all the ingredients to assemble this drink.  We all gathered around and watched in awed silence.  She said the ingredients MUST be put in the punch bowl in this order, so that all the flavors would come together as one in a perfect unity.  (it probably wasn't all that dramatic, but this is how I remember it). 

I have always placed the ingredients in my punch bowl in the proper order.  I'm not one to tempt fate.  I really want my drink to turn out perfectly all the time.  I'm not sure what craziness would happen should I go out of order.  My sister said she would fork out the $3.50 it costs to make this drink out of order, just so we could see what disaster would occur, but we have yet to walk down that path. 

(Wow, with an introduction like that, you either are running to the store right now or you gave up reading a long time ago.  Hopefully I didn't oversell it too much!! Clearly I have passion for food)

CUCUMBER PUNCH

1 bag of ice

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

1 12 oz. can limeade

1 bottle Diet Sprite or 7up (HAS to be diet)**

Layer the ingredients in listed order in a punch bowl.  Serve immediately and enjoy!!

**I did go a little crazy once and used regular Sprite.  The sugar in the drink overpowered the cucumber flavor too much and tasted mostly just like regular Sprite with a hint of limeade :)

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Sumo's Sweet Stuff

$5.00 Jewelry by Paparazzi

Things have been pretty quiet on my blog lately.  With school being over, there has not been very much quiet time around here.  It takes us a couple of weeks to get into the swing of things and get used to being around each other so much!!

The other thing that has occupied my time is I just became an Independent Consultant for Paparazzi Jewelry.  I, like many of you, sometimes cringe when the word "home party" is uttered, but just listen up for ONE minute. The thing that I really love about this company, is that the jewelry and accessories are

1--CUTE
2--AFFORDABLE (everything is just $5.00)

Eh?  That's right. Cute and affordable. 

There are items ranging from simple

to baubly (is that a word?); 

From silver and white

to all sorts of colorful!

 There really is something for everyone and I LOVE IT!!

**I am currently booking home  parties throughout the Salt Lake Valley, Davis and Weber counties.  It is a fun, no-pressure environment and everyone goes home looking a little fancier. Let me know when you would like have yours.  You do get free jewelry when you host a party.  And I'd love to meet you :)

**I am also trying to spread the good word about joining my team!  It is a fun way to earn some money, and there are no sales pitches to give. The jewelry sells itself.  Being a fairly new company,  people are just hearing about this and are excited to come to parties and discover the joy that is affordable accessories!

**I am especially trying to recruit consultants who live OUTSIDE of UTAH.  We are trying to spread the joy all over the US.  Contact me for more information.

Thanks for stopping by and listening to my schpill.  I'd love to hear from you today.

happylittleparty@gmail.com

 

Blue Crush {Beverage}

One rule: No making fun of my dolphin picture.  I *may* have had a thing for dolphins in the 90's. (Who didn't?)  And I *maybe* still have that picture shoved in the cupboard in my downstairs bathroom.  I *maybe* forget that I have it and then I find it and look at it for awhile thinking how much I like that picture and how I really wish I were snorkeling in the Carribean.  It makes me feel happy and peaceful.  And then I shove the picture back into the cupboard because for some reason I don't want to give it away and for some reason I don't want to decorate with it. 

So there you have it. 

My dirty little secret.  On to the drink.  It's really yummy. 

This was one of those drinks that tasted good while drinking it, and then that coconutty aftertaste hits and POW! Love it!  I combined a couple of recipes while looking for a Blue Drink specifically.  We were having a party to cheer on our favorite college basketball team playing in the Sweet Sixteen and the colors are blue and white.  You'll have to just try it!

You'll need:

1 packet unsweetened Blue KoolAid

  (I used Blue Raspberry Lemonade)

2 liter Diet Lemon-Lime soda
1/2 C. Cream of Coconut

1 tsp Coconut Extract

Combine all ingredients in a punch bowl or large pitcher.  The Cream of Coconut is heavy, so stir really well, especially before serving. 
Enjoy!

Teacher Appreciation Round-up

School is almost over!! (except for my poor nieces, who have year round school....they have to go to school even in JULY. That just seems wrong to me!)  I know Teacher Appreciation week was just a few weeks ago, but I always like to send a little something on the last day as well.  My kids have always had great teachers, and I like them to know how much I appreciate them and how much my kids will miss them.  (I doubt the teachers have ever made them clean the bathroom or pull weeds).  They really do have such an important job and I'm glad someone out there is willing to do it!

Here are a few ideas I have seen online and thought I'd share them with you.




I thought these were so adorable!! And they look yummy.  Not only are Rice Krispie treats delicious on their own--but add Strawberry or Cherry flavored Jello and you've got a Treat! ! MMM!  So adorable, and the kids could help make these too.  Check out Nothing But Country's tutorial on how to make these.



Here is a quick and easy treat to thank those special teachers.  Perfect to throw together if you're like me and wait until the night before, even though it's been on your to-do list for a week!! Thanks to Lil' Luna for sharing the printable for this one.




 I would have a hard time being a teacher.  I'm sure there are great rewards, but the germs alone just might do me in!  Hand Sanitizer is a MUST in these classrooms and check out this cute bottle  make-over from Oopsey Daisy.



For the past couple of years, I have made the teachers these Fruit Bouquets.  They were easy and fun to make, if you can find some good fruit for a good deal. (Thank you Costco!)

Thanks to all the great teachers out there! We really, really appreciate ALL your hard work.
I'd love to see any ideas you have seen out there--what do you do for your teachers?

Beach Towel Robes

Believe it or not, summer is right around the corner!! It seems to sneak up on me every year, but I sure am a summer girl!  Fireworks, snowcones, and SUN, SUN, SUN! I like to do a lot of fun things with the kids, but for sure one of our favorite activites is swimming. 

When it's time to get out of the pool though, ever notice how chaotic things can get?  Goose bumps appear, and suddenly everyone is starving and has to go to the bathroom.  We make a mad dash for the car, while I'm trying to carry a baby and all of our CRAP junk we brought, all while trying to keep our towels wrapped around our shivering bodies.   

 "Gee, how I wish we had extra hands, " I often thought to myself. 

Well, now my kids can carry their own stuff because their hands are free!

I saw this idea in Family Fun a few years back, and was excited to make them last year for my little squirts.  (AND, they are SO easy!)

 I picked up these swim towels last summer at Wal-Mart for $5.00 each.  Just fold the towel in half so it is inside out.  (The picture shown below is not inside out. Oops) 

 Do a simple straight stitch up both sides of the towel, but leave some room at the top for arm holes.

This is about how much space I left for the arm holes. 

I cut a half circle for the neck hole.  BE CAREFUL!  It probably does not have to be as big as you think.  I may or may not have had to stitch some of it back up, as the opening was too big and kept falling off their shoulders.  Use a shirt to measure or start with a small half-circle and then work your way bigger as needed. 

I did a little zig-zag stitch around the neck hole because I liked how it looks.  You could do a straight stitch as well.  I left some space so it would fray a little bit. (We're so rugged around here!)

Hit the pool in High Style and ROCK that swimwear!

Linking up to:

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Lil Luna

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Sew Woodsy
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**Winner of the Spring Flower Balls!! **

Congratulations to

[#22 Jolie: I also signed up for email updates! Can't wait to hear what you did for the delicious salad with sugared almonds!]

*winner was chosen using Random.org

I will contact you or send me an email with your information so I can get those sent out to you!!

Thanks to all who entered! This has been a fun week and I appreciate all the nice comments and followers.  Check back this week for a fun summertime towel tutorial, an awesome drink recipe and a Teacher Appreciation Gift round-up!

as always,

Strawberry Feta Salad (with homemade Poppy Seed Dressing)

I have a really hard time deciding favorites.  There are always just so many variables to consider.  My mood.  The time of year.  Who I am with.  All these situations make it difficult for me to find definite favorites.  That being said, this salad and I have had a great relationship for about 3 years now and I can honestly say that this is probably my favorite salad. Usually. 

 Some friends and I got together for lunch the other day, and three of us brought this salad.  Obviously, it's a good one.  Everyone out there has probably tasted this salad in some form or another, but this is the one I keep coming back to.   Juicy strawberries;  creamy, salty feta;  crunchy, sugared almonds and the sweet poppy seed dressing all join hands to have a serious party in your mouth.  The dressing is really easy to throw together, and will last in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.  Easy to keep in there and eat it everyday for lunch. 

Poppy Seed Dressing:

1/2 C. Mayo

1/4 C. Sugar

2-4 TB Milk (depending how runny you want it)

2 TB Red Wine Vinegar

1 TB poppyseeds

 Blend all together. 

Strawberry Feta Salad:

Any combination of leafy green/red lettuce,         

   Spinach or Romaine lettuce

Sliced Strawberries

crumbled Feta Cheese

Sugared Almonds
Poppy Seed Dressing

Sometimes I add cut up grilled or breaded chicken for a heartier meal.

Combine the all ingredients in a salad bowl except dressing.  Add dressing right before serving.  I don't necessarily add a whole dressing recipe to my salad, just add some, stir and see if you need more.  This salad does not keep well after it has been mixed. (usually not a problem though, as it always goes really quick!)

Other options:
fresh peaches (I love this in the fall!!)
Craisins
Pears
Apples

Mandarin oranges

Red onion

Enjoy!!

Linking up to:

Made by you Mondays

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Sugared Almonds

This post may seem like an unimportant page to read, but I wanted to share this tutorial with a lot of pictures before I posted tomorrow's recipe for Strawberry Feta Salad.  Mmm. It's my favorite salad.  The sugared almonds are definitely a major part of this deliciousness. Here we go.

All you will need is sugar and almonds.  I like to use the sliced almonds, but slivered would work well too. 

I have never actually measured the almond to sugar ratio.  I just grab a handful of almonds, then a handful of sugar.  My pan looks like this.  

It has always worked out just fine! Let's face it, almonds are really good as they are. Add some sugar and WOW, they are even better.  You can't lose. Add a little sugar, or add a lot; it'll be great.

If the thought of not measuring freaks you out, start with a 2:1 ratio of almonds:sugar.  AND make a double batch because you'll end up eating half of them before you put them on your salad.  Promise.

Mix the almonds and sugar together, and on med-high heat you'll just keep stirring.  This is what it will start to look like (if you can see the detail in the picture) the sugar will start to clump together.  Just keep stirring.

After a couple of minutes, the almonds will start to brown and sugar will begin melting.  However, we're not quite done yet. 

Finally, when it becomes this beautiful golden color and the sugar seems to be sticky on the almonds, you are done.  This whole process should have taken about 6-7 minutes.  Just watch it because they could go from this point to overcooked pretty quick. 

Spread out the almonds on a plate so they don't form one big clump.  They will be hot, so if one falls on the counter, DO NOT just pick it up and pop in your mouth.  You won't be able to taste the salad until the next day....

Aren't they gorgeous? They are super delicious too! Be sure to check back tomorrow for the whole Strawberry Feta Salad recipe with homemade Poppyseed Dressing!! Mmmm. My mouth is watering already!

Linking up to:

Made by you Mondays

Sumo's Sweet Stuff