Okay.  It was a disaster.

People still had fun though and that’s the most important thing. That and the dessert.

Since then I've learned a few things about party planning.

5 Tips to Throw a Successful Party

Here are 5 tips that are sure to save you money, time, and stress:

1. Give yourself enough time to plan the party. I usually start planning about six weeks prior to the date of the party. That gives me enough time to make a guest list, pick a theme, and shop for items needed for the party. Time is definitely your friend when you are planning a party on a budget. It allows you to watch for sales on items needed for the party and to spread your purchases out.
2. Don’t sweat the small stuff. I have a tendency to freak out when things aren’t “perfect.” Rarely do things turn out exactly like I planned so I try to just go with the flow. That way, once the guests arrive, I’m not frazzled and can enjoy the party.  Perfect or not.
3. Use shortcuts such as the nugget sliders shown above. It’s a simple, stress free way to feed a lot of people without spending a ton of money. Serve it alongside some spiced mayo or bbq sauce and you’ve got a fabulous spread that took minutes.
4. Prep food the day before the party. Cut up veggies, mix dips, and bake treats one or two days ahead of time. I also like to lay out my platters, plates, and silverware the night before so I’m not scrambling at the last minute to find a dish.
5. Create a budget. I think the best way to throw a party on a budget is to use what you got. I always have a few brownie mixes on hand. Toss in a handful of nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, or candy and you’ve just taken your box of brownies to a whole new level. You can also always find celery, carrots, and bell peppers in our crisper drawer along with a can of beans in our pantry. Whip up a quick veggie platter with some hummus.

While these tips work for any party, I was thinking specifically of the Superbowl when I came up with the recipes. Here are a few recipes that are sure to be winners at your next tailgate!

8 Super Bowl Recipes

Buffalo Blue Cheese Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 – 15 oz can white beans
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup buffalo sauce or marinade (I used KC Masterpiece)
• 1/4 blue cheese crumbles

Directions:

In a food processor combine the first four ingredients and blend until creamy.  Add the blue cheese crumbles and pulse a few times.  Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Nugget Sliders

I would make at least two of these for each person you are expecting. Leftovers are always a good thing. Buy fully cooked, prepackaged chicken nuggets and as many dinner rolls as needed. Cook the nuggets per package instructions. Open the rolls and place one nugget inside each roll. Serve alongside condiments, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, etc.

The following are a few other recipes you might like:

• White Bean, Sun Dried Tomato, and Basil Hummus
• Pico de Gallo
• Spicy Chili Con Carne
• Crockpot Sloppy Joe’s
• Spicy Black Bean Burgers
• Baked Chicken Flautas

What are your favorite party planning tips and tricks?

Krista is a wife and a stay-at-home mom to four boys. When she’s not making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or cleaning up the mess from them she writes for her blog, Budget Gourmet Mom. She believes that eating on a budget doesn’t mean it can’t be gourmet food.  That shows in the family friendly recipes she shares and the easy to find ingredients she uses. Not only can you follow her on her blog but on Facebook and Twitter as well.

But, before you move full steam ahead into 2012, take a moment to celebrate all the amazing things you accomplished in 2011. After all, New Year’s Eve parties are as much about looking back and reminiscing on the fun of the old year as they are about looking forward with hope to the year ahead.

And nothing says celebration more than a little food!

7 New Year’s Eve Party Appetizer Recipes

Over at Kitchen Monki, we’ve created a quick list of other ideas for easy and tasty appetizers that are perfect for any New Year’s Eve party. Whether it’s for a large gathering or small get together, these dishes are sure to please everyone’s taste buds.

Funfetti Cupcakes

If you’re looking for the one can’t-miss appetizer idea, you won’t go wrong with Funfetti Cupcakes! Yes! You heard me right! Cupcakes for appetizers! What’s not to love about that? Festive and delicious, these cupcakes are sure to please. Either make full sized cupcakes or “mini” cupcakes. The cupcakes have a fun, festive feel and you can add a colorful frosting and even more sprinkles on top to really wow your guests.

Ham and Cheese Swirls

Easy to make with affordable ingredients, these cheese swirls resemble cinnamon buns. Instead of giving the kids a sugar high however, it is a healthy replacement. Cook time is generally fifteen to thirty minutes.

Bacon Wrapped Crackers

Everybody loves bacon! This is a very easy recipe, but, can take around 45 minutes to make. However, there are only three ingredients: crackers, bacon, and Parmesan cheese. Yummy!

Crepes

For a sweet (literally) appetizer, some classic crepes are perfect for a New Year’s Eve party. Each one only take a few minutes to make and can be topped with fresh fruit and a little bit of powered sugar—a very light appetizer that is also great for people with a sweet tooth.

Sweet and Spicy Popcorn

Easy, casual, and simple. Popcorn is a light snack perfect for New Year’s and also a great finger food for the kids with a bit more flavor than regular popcorn. Like the title says, the popcorn has a sweet taste and then a bit of a spicy aftertaste.

Artichoke and Spinach Dip

Though this will take a bit more time than the rest of the listed recipes, it is certainly a favorite at any party and also perfect for those cold, winter nights! Just add some tortilla chips for dipping.

To finish off the list, here’s a great recipe that is perfect for both cold nights and New Year’s parties on top of being a unique appetizer people are sure to love. However, like the artichoke and spinach dip, this is a recipe which will take a bit more time to finish. However, the end result will be absolutely delicious and a cute appetizer.

Hopefully these recipes can help make everything perfect at your New Year’s Eve party. And of course, have a fun New Year’s Eve and Day!

What recipes will you prepare for your New Year’s Eve celebration? How do you celebrate New Year’s Eve?

But why wait until next Christmas to try them? Confetti Squares, not to be mistaken with the sweet treat variety, are a delicious, colorful appetizer sure to start off your New Year’s Eve party this week (or really any party) with a healthy bang.

How To Make Confetti Square Crescent Roll Appetizers

Feel free to get crazy with the ingredients. Add as much variety as you’d like in flavor and color.

Ingredients

• 2 pkg. crescent rolls (the kind you buy in the a package in the refrigerated section at the grocery store like these from Pillsbury.)
• 2 8 ounce pkg. cream cheese
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2-3 carrots (shredded)
• 3 celery stalks (diced)
• 1/2 yellow pepper (diced)
• 1 bunch radishes (shredded)
• 5-6 green onions (chopped)

Directions

1. Pat crescent dough onto a cookie sheet (jelly roll pan) and bake according to directions. Let cool completely.
2. Beat softened cream cheese and mayonnaise and spread mixture evenly on baked crescent dough (will be flat).
3. Sprinkle veggies evenly on top of the mixture.
4. Cut into small pieces before cooling.
5. Place in refrigerator and chill 3-4 hours before serving.

What is your favorite appetizer to serve during a New Year’s Even celebration?

Don’t All Good Moms Shop at Joann’s?

If you’re at all like me, you’re very appreciative of all things DIY, including cooking and baking, as well as pinning these fabulous pictures on your Pinterest boards.

And even a step further, you have started to think that you, too, can be one of those moms. You know, the kind whose kids must have a better Christmas because of all the fun kids crafts and family cooking activities they do right from the comfort of their own home. The kind whose neighbors look forward every year to receiving their handmade neighbor gifts. I’m guessing these moms’ houses are spic and span and their kids don’t fight either. Who wouldn’t want to be that kind of mom?

So, in an effort to be a “good mom,” I went to Joann’s. I figured all good moms must shop at Joann’s since the parking lot is always full, I hear everyone talk about it, and well, honestly, because I didn’t shop there!

I hit the craft store of all craft stores on a good day, which the good moms all knew about, because they were all there. Had they known me, they would have detected the imposter in their midst, but they didn’t, so I walked around acting like I knew what I was doing. Fake it til you make it, right?

Wilton Candy Melts for Chocolate Snowflake Pops

First off, I bought a year’s supply of candy melts and lots of chocolate molds. I remember my mom, who is the good mom type, always having candy melts and molds, so I figured that would be a safe place to start. The good news is that a huge sale was happening and I got lots of craft and cooking goods for a fraction of their original cost (all lost on me, because I never buy it).

I went home and made chocolate snowflake suckers for a church activity. I got lots of compliments and someone even asked for the recipe. Even though I placed them on a plate and didn’t have them sticking into some sort of foam core Christmas tree with DIY dodads all over it, I figured I was well on my way to being a good mom.

Gingerbread House Kit

Next up? Gingerbread house kit. I’m sure lots of good moms make their own gingerbread houses, but I took the risk on buying the kit, figuring a pre-fab gingerbread house had to be better than no gingerbread house, right? I also figured it was one more Wilton product to add to the list. And don’t all good moms stock their pantries and craft rooms with Wilton?

Well, I may have had all the other good moms fooled, but when I got home, my 10 year-old son said, “Hey! Mom! Is Wilton your client? Are they doing a #gno Twitter party with you or something? Because why else would you go out and buy all of this stuff? Do we need to tweet about them or something?”

Wow! The wisdom of kids.

So, we broke out the pre-fab gingerbread house. Just one tip for anyone reading this who is a mom like me (the type to ruin a gingerbread house, even one that comes from a kit)… check all the gingerbread pieces before putting them together. The roof looks amazingly similar to walls. And wow does that icing turn into cement like stuff quickly! Not a lot of time to repair mistakes!

Advent Calendars

And finally, the advent calendar. Now, I realize it is already almost Christmas. But seriously… don’t good moms embrace the “better late than never” philosophy? I’m going to play by that rule until someone tells me otherwise, because I bought the mid-sized Fiskar’s hole punch and the Wilton tiny tins to make the advent calendar I saw on this good mom’s blog, I can’t for the life of me figure out how to do the printing and design work to get the little advent activities into the bottoms of the tins. The most non-craftsy of all steps to the project and I can’t figure it out. Oh! Well! We’ll have a Valentine’s advent calendar instead. We’re already ahead of the game craft wise! Aren’t all good moms?

The Real Definition of a Good Mom

Nutshell? When I jumped down to earth from heaven, I somehow missed the good mom manual and ended up in a don’t-you-dare-DIY body. I appreciate all the creativity. I will pin the pictures and longingly look at them on my boards. And I’ll keep trying projects from Joann’s and Wilton so my kids can have a little fun during the holidays. But, I’m hoping they’ll also forgive me for flat reindeer cookies, pre-fab gingerbread houses, and Valentine’s Day advent calendars. After all, who really are the good moms? Those who are spending time with their kids, regardless of how crafty they are.

What craft and cooking projects do you do with your kids? If you aren’t the crafty type, what other activities do you do for fun as a family?

When you have food allergies and have to eliminate one or more foods from you or your child’s diet, important nutrients can be lost and neglected. Anyone with a long-term restricted diet must find safe sources of nutrients to ensure a nutritionally-balanced diet for adequate growth and development.

Tips on Managing a Child’s Allergies

Can a dietitian help?

Maybe, or maybe not.

If you or your child is diagnosed with food allergies, a dietitian may be able help in planning your allergen-free diet to assure you get the nutrients you need. Since food allergy is not a topic regularly covered in the educational and practice training of most dietitians, ask your allergist to recommend a dietitian he or she may have worked with in the past and has a good relationship with.

If your allergist doesn’t have a preferred dietitian to recommend to you, ask for the contact information of a local food allergy support group. Support group are a wonderful source of referrals, information, first-hand knowledge and experiences. Plus, you will have the opportunity to meet local members who are going through the same struggles you are, and who can offer emotional support as well.

Learning to self-manage your diet.

If you’re struggling to find a dietitian in your area familiar with the needs of a food allergy patient, you can learn to self-manage you or your child’s diet by educating yourself through food allergy/dietary books, or with information from reputable websites on the internet.

The USDA website has a Food and Nutrition Information Center which includes a guide to the Dietary Reference Intakes: Recommended Intakes for Individuals, organized by age and gender. This guide is a comprehensive set of dietary reference intake tables for vitamins, minerals and macronutrients; including calcium and Vitamin D.

Food allergy advocacy and support groups like Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network and Kids with Food Allergies Foundation are another valuable source of information. These sites contain nutritional articles written specifically for food allergy patients, food allergy management information, label reading guidelines, food allergy substitution information, recipes, and more.

If you choose to self-manage you or your child’s diet, be sure to keep a log of your dietary intake to share with your allergist and your primary care physician.

Managing a nutritional diet with food allergies is challenging, but with education, research, and support, a diet high in nutritional value can be achieved.

What food allergies does your child have? How do you manage your child’s allergies and make sure he/she gets the proper nutrition?

Photo courtesy of Flickr

Stacy is a wife, mother of three boys, school volunteer, card maker, mom blogger and writer.

Stacy and her husband Ken have been happily married for nine years and have three boys; Kaden & Logan (twins) age 5 and Colton age 1 year. In 2011, her youngest son was diagnosed with food allergies (at 7 months old) after suffering for months with severe dermatitis.

Learn more about Stacy and her life as a wife, mother of multiples and her journey learning to cook for here food allergy baby on her blog: http://stacymolter.com/about/. Find her on her Blog, Twitter , and Facebook.

When I reached adulthood, I discovered that adding color to your Rice Krispy Treats wasn’t the norm and that my mom did that to make that experience special for us.

Wanting to give my kids this same thrill, we made Rice Krispy Treats in the shapes of autumn leaves, using a Wilton cookie cutter (the same one we used for this pastry). We divided the Rice Krispies and colored each section a different, bright color and ended up with an array of colorful autumn leaves both beautiful and delicious.

This is a simple and fun activity and one that your kids are sure to remember!

What is your favorite after-school snack to make with your kids? How do you make simple activities like cooking and crafts veer from the norm?

As I was looking through my board, I questioned why I always wait until December to give out neighbor gifts. Wouldn’t Thanksgiving be the perfect time to start?

So this year, we are making a few neighbor gifts in November to get into the giving spirit a bit earlier.

We identified a few families who really mean a lot to us and that we want to thank for being a part of our lives. We found this fun recipe in Family Fun Magazine and spent the afternoon baking, talking all the while about who we would deliver the treats to, why they were important to us, and why we were grateful to have them in our lives.

Making them was a whole family affair. The kids cut them out, using an awesome Wilton leaf cookie cutter I found on sale at Michael’s.

Next, they buttered the edges.

Then, they added a variety of fillings, including cut up Reese’s peanut butter cups, Nutella, and strawberry jam with cream cheese.

The end result was both delicious and an awesome way to help my kids learn about gratitude while having fun in the kitchen.

How do you help your kids get in the giving spirit? What do you do during the month of Thanksgiving to help them have an attitude of gratitude?

But for some people facing hunger this year, unfortunately, this isn’t the case. And for many U.S. children, living an unhealthy and inactive lifestyle is the norm.

A few years ago, our family was facing financial crises. I wrote a candid post, detailing where I was at and how I hoped I would be able to move forward with hope and optimism. I know from experience that when a person is scared with worry about where the next meal will come from that other important things fall by the wayside. For the children influenced by a struggling parent, those things can include education, nutritious food, a healthy lifestyle, active play and exercise, building strong relationships, etc.

The good news is that communities can pull together; brands and organizations can dedicate part of their proceeds to helping those in need; and individuals can make a difference in their neighborhoods, their communities; can partner with charitable organizations; and can support brands that give back.

5 Ways to Help Those in Need This Season

If you have resources, there are many choices to help those in need of healthy and nutritious food. If you:

1. Can make time… Consider volunteering in a soup kitchen or an elementary school cafeteria.
2. Have some extra money… Consider making a financial donation to a charitable organization, like Save the Children, that focuses on health and nutrition for children.
3. Can spare some food… Consider donating non-perishable items to your local food bank.
4. Know someone who is lonely… Consider extending an invitation to your holiday meal or celebration or dropping off a kind note or holiday treat as reminder that he or she is not alone.
5. Are online… Consider visiting Frigidaire’s Make Time for Change site once a day from today through December 31. Jennifer Garner, Save the Children’s spokesperson, “talks turkey,” sharing holiday tips with other women and moms in a round table discussion. Checking out her videos and clicking on the site once a day will help earn Save the Children up to $43,000 dollars (as part of Frigidaire’s $500,000 annual commitment to Save the Children’s U.S. Programs to promote healthier lifestyle for children living in poverty by providing nutritious snacks and regular opportunities for children to be physically active).

How can you reach out to those facing hunger during the holidays? If you have limited time and resources, what are simple steps you can take to make a big difference in others’ lives this season?

They hosted a family afternoon in the park, where they had a grilled cheese sandwich making competition. The prize? A year’s supply of Tillamook Cheese. I got a little nervous and instead had @TroyPattee make one for our family to enter. He called it the Tillamook’s Hotter Than Hellamook sandwich and won the Most Creative category, earning us a Tillamook Cheese Cookbook and lots of coupons for free cheese. Awesome!

They had lots of ingredients to choose from: tomatoes, mushrooms, asparagus, artichoke hearts, red peppers, pesto, mayonnaise, spicy mustard, and more. They also had four types of cheese: cheddar, monterrey jack, sharp cheddar, and pepper jack. Of course, Troy chose all the hot ingredients to match the name of his sandwich. He even put some jalapeno potato chips on his sandwich.

The best part? He didn’t even have to grill it. They had a catering company there to take care of that. I wanted to bring them home with me. A personal chef? What’s not to love?

I chose a simpler option: cheddar, monterrey jack, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts. Mmmmmm! Notice how delicious it was by the fact that it is missing from this picture! (Yep! I ate it that fast!)

A perfectly sunny day + playing in the park + yummy food (including cheese) + friends new and old + uninterrupted family time + fun and yummy prizes = an amazing, and delicious, afternoon outing for our family!

What’s your favorite way to eat cheese? What is your favorite grilled cheese sandwich recipe?

When I got the news, I immediately dropped everything I was doing and we loaded the kids in the car and made the 12-hour drive to Arizona. By the time we arrived, I was calm and had come to terms with the fact that she was in a better place. And then I walked into her house.

I looked out the back windows at the orange trees and thought of all the times she’d make me freshly squeezed orange juice. I looked in the kitchen and remembered all the times me made sugar cookies or how diligently she tried to teach me her tuna sandwich recipe. She put in just the right amount of lemon juice, dill pickles, cucumbers, and celery with just a touch of pickle juice. No one could replicate it. And no matter how many times I’d make it with her, I could never get it to taste exactly like hers. And now she was gone. I fell apart.

The happiest moment of the entire weekend was her funeral. Her church’s women’s group was kind enough to make us lunch. We sat down, expecting ham and funeral potatoes. Instead, the women had created a buffet with all of the foods laid out for us that were my grandma’s signature dishes: her amazing salad (that I am completely addicted to), homemade saurkraut, and everything down to the smallest details, including grape sherbet for dessert.

But when the women walked out with trays of banana cookies, we all lost it. Banana cookies are our family comfort food—the single item that conjures up the very happiest of memories. So, we sat, eating banana cookies through our tears, laughing about all the amazing memories we had with our grandma.

And now, whenever I need a hug from her, as cheesy as it sounds, I just bake a batch (and eat every single one of them!) and things seem to go better.

They’ll make your day go better too. Try them and see.

Mary Alice’s Banana Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 11/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups shortening
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups mashed bananas
• 3 1/2 cups oats
• 1-2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions

Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening. Add eggs and bananas. Mix well. Add oats and chocolate chips to taste (one or two cups). Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

These are great frozen! Try it and see.

Yesterday, I needed a little Mary Alice in my life and wrote a post on Facebook:

And Jen Tilley responded in the best way possible:

Ahhhh! What a great friend to send me virtual cookies!
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What food or meals bring back the best memories for your family? What is your comfort food? Why?

Photo courtesy of Jen Tilley from How To: Simplify and Jen Tilley Photography.