Birthday Party Bites

Ice Cream Sandwiches


¾ cup salted butter, softened
3 large eggs
2¼ cup fl our
1½ teaspoon salt
1½ cup macadamia nuts
1½ cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 bag white chocolate chips
14 scoops vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 325. In a mixing bowl, combine butter and brown sugar with a handheld mixer. Add eggs and vanilla and continue to mix. Add flour slowly, and then add baking soda and salt. Blend until all ingredients are incorporated. Stir in chips and nuts with a spatula. Spoon cookie
dough onto a non-stick cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes. Once cookies are done, allow to cool. Then sandwich one scoop of ice cream between two cookies.




5 Cheese Mac & Cheese

3 tablespoons butter
6 ounces Velveeta cheese
½ cup sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup Monterrey jack cheese
pepper to taste
1 pound large shell pasta
½ cup American cheese
½ cup white cheddar cheese
¾ cup whole milk



Preheat oven to 350. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 9X13 glass baking dish. Fill a large pot with water and cook pasta according to package directions. In a medium saucepan, heat all cheeses,
one tablespoon butter, and ½ cup milk over low heat. Stir constantly. Once cheese is melted, stir in 1/3 cup milk. Keep on low heat until pasta is done. When pasta is done, drain and place shells into prepared baking dish. Top with the cheese mixture, mix well to coat all pasta. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Turn oven up to 500 and bake for 3-5 minutes. Season with pepper and serve.




Frozen Lemonade

1 can of frozen lemonade
(Minute Maid)
4 cups ice
cherries for garnish
¼ cup grenadine



Empty one can of frozen lemonade into a blender. Pour in ice, and grenadine. Blend well. Pour into serving glasses and garnish with cherries.




Sweet Tea Sandwiches



Cream Cheese, Basil, & Tomato

3 tomatoes
1 loaf buttermilk bread
6 large basil leaves
2 avocados
1 block sliced cheddar cheese
cream cheese
salt & pepper to taste
1 large heart shaped cookie cutter
mayonnaise to taste

Slice the tomato and spread cream cheese on half of the slices of bread. Season with salt and pepper. Top the pieces of bread with tomato and one basil leaf each, then top with the other to pieces of bread. Center the cookie cutter on the sandwiches and press down hard to cut off excess sandwich. Place heart shaped sandwiches on a serving plate.


Avocado and cheddar
Slice the avocado. Spread mayonnaise onto each slice of bread. Season with salt and pepper. Top with avocado and cheddar, then top with the other to pieces of bread. Center the cookie cutter on the sandwiches and press down hard to cut off excess sandwich. Place heart shaped sandwiches on a serving plate.


Above are some of my favorite party recipes, these are all great because they work for the kids and the adults... no more worries about having to have separate age appropriate snacks! The ice cream sandwiches are great and easy to serve. All of these recipes come straight from the heart... they were all featured in the cookbook I wrote a few years back with my mom and my sisters... Seriously one of the funnest projects ever! You can see it on Amazon.com

Enjoy!



All Recipes and photos are from Every Day Vacation.

For the love of Food, Friends, and Family We invite you to get a girl's eye view of how cooking has brought us together as a family and made us the best of friends. Our cookbook is called Every Day Vacation for a reason. We live our lives simply enjoying every day. This cookbook comes from the heart of our sisterhood. It expresses a notion of solidarity, unity, and uniqueness. Every Day Vacation is a collection of recipes and photographs that represents cooking and entertaining in a light-hearted and simple way. From beginning to end, tradition and innovation come together to create truly unique dishes. With more than 100 recipes, we cover everything from appetizers, side dishes, main courses, deserts, drinks, pet recipes, and menu ideas as well as a list of suggested wines. We believe that the photographs are just as important as the recipes in showing you how to present food; therefore, there is a color photograph for every recipe in the book. Every Day Vacation is a wonderful cookbook for everyone, including first time cooks. Use this collection of recipes and photographs to spur your inspirations and create genuinely memorable meals. Take a vacation from your every day life.