Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Cyndi's Pasta Alla Medici

A while back, Olive Garden had a dish made with cheese tortellini, alfredo sauce, ham, mushrooms, and peas.  Hubby loved it.  They no longer serve it, so I recreated something similar at home for him and he just loves it!

You will need:
3 cups penne pasta

Sauce:
1 and 1/2 stick of butter
1 tb minced garlic
3 cups half and half
flour
container of grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup chopped ham
1 small package fresh mushrooms, washed and sliced.
____________________________________________________
First boil water for your pasta. Add a touch of salt and a pat of butter to avoid sticking and boiling over.
While that is cooking (about 10 minutes), start your sauce.
Use a large saucepan and melt a stick of butter.  When melted, start adding flour. Start with a 1/2 cup at a time.  Stir with a wooden spoon or silicone heat resistant whisk to make a paste.  Add half and half, and Parmesan cheese.  Stir to correct consistency and amount that you will need.  At this point, add your garlic. Adding it sooner will easily burn it.



 Meanwhile, in another saucepan, melt a 1/2 stick of butter.  Add mushrooms and cook until tender.

 Add frozen peas, chopped ham, and cooked mushrooms to the sauce.  Add garlic, cream, or cheese as needed for taste or consistency.


Drain penne pasta.  Place pasta on a dish and spoon sauce over top.



TIPS:
You can use milk instead of cream if desired.
Use a large non-stick skillet for easy clean up, like this one from Amazon.
Use a silicone whisk like this one for best results.
Serve with easy Cresent Rolls, or any other kind of bread.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

You will need:
4 chicken breasts
8 soft taco shells
2 cups shredded colby cheese
Taco Bell Seasoning Packet (shhh! ;))


Sauce:
3 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 TB flour
1/4 C chili powder
2 C chicken stock
10 Ounces tomato paste
1 TS dried oregano
1 TS ground cumin
1/2 TS salt

Brown chicken in skillet with 1 tablespoon evoo. Shred or cube chicken. Add back to pan and cook on low.  Add Taco seasoning.  Follow directions on packet.  It will thicken.  Mix 1 cup of shredded cheese in chicken mixture.


Butter a 9x11 baking dish.  Lay each soft taco shell and spoon seasoned chicken inside.  Fold both sides and lay in dish seam down.  Continue with remaining taco shells.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.


Meanwhile, make your sauce:
In a medium saucepan, heat oil, add flour.  Stir with a wooden spoon until it looks like paste.  Cook for 1 minute.  Add chili powder.  Cook for 30 seconds.  Add chicken stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin.  Stir. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.  The sauce will thicken and be smooth.  Adjust seasonings as needed.


Take baking dish out of oven and pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.
Sprinkle with shredded cheese and put back in oven for 10 minutes.



Saturday, September 21, 2013

Halloween Place Settings

Here are a few Halloween party place settings...
It's fun to mix and match patterns and textures for your place settings.

Serving a healthy snack can be cute too!


Love these bright colors together...


Items used found:

Target
Hobby Lobby

For more great Halloween party ideas, Halloween Decor, Costume Ideas, and more- go to: It's A Party-ful Life! presents Halloween 2013!



Friday, September 20, 2013

Fall Place Settings

It's easy to decorate a fall, thanksgiving table.  You probably have most of the items that you can use already.  Here are a couple of designs for fall place settings:

Mix textures, ie:  burlap tablecover, rattan placemat, mix and match dishes, and a fresh little pumpkin.

Use what you have, faux silk flowers, dishes, and table linens...

Use photo holders for place setting nametags...this one came from Kohls.


This cute pumpkin butter dish was actually found at a consignment shop.  I love finding cute out of the ordinary items like this...
Look outside the box, use a big mug for silverware...
I found this mini cornucopia for 1.00 for 3 of them... 



Have any other fall place setting ideas that you would like to share?  Post your pics to our facebook wall!
Be sure to like us on FB to be alerted of new blog posts!  More to come soon....

Items used came from:
Goodwill
Consignment Shops
Estate Sales
Amazon.com
Kohls.com
Hobby Lobby
Home Goods

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Last Years Fall Decor

I was looking though some old photos on my phone and found these from last year:





This should help- It also reminds me of what I have still in storage ;)

www.itsapartyfullife.com


Fall, my favorite time of the year...

I usually start decorating for fall around mid September, and then add Halloween in here and there around the first week of October.  I love the weather, the change in colors, the cider mills, pumpkins, and the food!
Here are some of my favorite ideas that I want to use this year...

We are in between homes right now, so a lot of my decor is still in storage.  So, let's see what I can find and what I can do- I love to shop estate sales, garage sales, consignment shops, and farms for items.  Here is the inspiration that I am using- I will upload my photos when I am finished...stay tuned =D

Outdoor Fall Decor:
This is a great idea!  Just find a beautiful urn planter, spread out some cornhusks, Add a pumpkin on top! 
Better Homes and Gardens

Gorgeous, welcoming front porch: A great place for a cup of pumpkin spiced coffee.
www.therefindedrelic.com

LOVE the colors- you could also put these in an old wagon, etc...
www.lushome.com

Indoor Fall Decor:

Love using natural elements to create a centerpiece for fall.
theheartoftheseahome.typepad.com

The lanterns, the lamps, the colors, all perfect for fall-I have seen most of this at Hobby Lobby.  Did you know that most anything you find online or in stores can be found at Amazon.com, usually with free shipping.  www.houzz.com

Ok, I am ready to go do some of my decorating and shopping now.... how 'bout you?
You can also search my blog for other fall ideas from years past and visit www.itsapartyfullife.com



Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Back to School

Back to School is on my mind.  Here are some cute ideas that we have found to celebrate it and get the kids geared up for it too!

Meri Meri School Days Cupcake Decorating Kit from Amazon.com

  • Invite all of the neighborhood kids over.
  • Host party outside at picnic tables one last time before temps drop.
  • Serve fruit salad, bottled water, mini sandwiches, pretzels, and cupcakes. You could even put lunch items in brown paper sacks with each child's name on them.
  • School supplies, such as, paper, pencils, erasers, crayons & markers make great party favors.
  • Use pencil cases or boxes personalized with each child's name on them for party favor containers.

  • Use what you have for decor- chalkboard, school or school bus related toys, a globe, books, crayons, etc.  Use primary colors also.  Fabric with letters and/or numbers would be perfect for a table cover.
  • Have a table set up with all of the age-appropriate reading material that you can find and let the kids have a read-a-thon.
  • Decorate using school posters, and flash cards from the dollar store.
Here is a pencil that they CAN chew on! 
Back to school party snacks from Spoonful!

  • Make pony bead key chains to hang on their backpacks for back to school.  Here is a link to find a great kit: Pony Bead Kit from Amazon.

Great school themed party favor ideas and other supplies at Century Novelty






Friday, August 16, 2013

First Birthday Parties


Planning a first birthday party for your little one? Here are some ideas and helpful tips for a fun and hassle-free party! 

SUPER- cute party favors for baby's first birthday party from: Kroma Design Studio


There are many different options to choose from and many different things to consider in doing so. 
  • First, and most important, you will want to plan the party around naptime.  You and the guest of honor will be much happier in doing this.
  • Next, you will want to evaluate what kind of party to have, ie: indoor, outdoor, etc..- You will want to have plenty of room for the high chair to be set up and for tables and chairs....

    Make sure to create a backdrop for the high chair (hang fabric on wall behind, or just streamers and balloons) and even decorate the high chair itself.  You will be taking many pics of this and you want it to look great!  We found some great accessories at Birthday Express.

  • Have a camera and/or a video camera charged and  ready to catch all of those precious memories on film...granted, your child may not really remember this special day, but will love to see the photos later.
  • There are pros and cons to inviting a big group of family and friends to a 1st birthday party ~ but if you have the room, I say 'the more the merrier' ~ There are those who would disagree, that the baby would be overwhelmed.. but just use your own judgement.~
  • As far as typical child parties having games and prizes.. We agree that that is not really necessary.  There will be enough entertainment just seeing the guest of honor taking it all in!
  • As far as food is concerned, The easier the better.. it's hard enough to clean, decorate, shop, wrap gifts, and care for a 12 month old baby!  We suggest crockpot food, such as, meatballs, etc., or subs or pizzas ordered in and cans of soda and bottled water. 

Don't forget the "smash cake" for your little one to enjoy all on his/her own!  These cute ones are from https://www.facebook.com/JennifersEdibleCreations
  • and last and most important~ set up reinforcements for the day (someone to cut the cake, prepare the food, help care for the baby, set up, take down, video tape. take pictures, etc..)~you will need all the help you can get!
For more tips and party supplies, visit us at www.itsapartyfullife.com/first_birthdays