She Plans Parties

Let Us Help Plan Your Next Party Or Event

You are here: Home / Archives for fall recipes
Wedding Supplies at The Knot Wedding Shop Save 15% on Holiday orders $85+ at Shindigz.

Guacamole Football Field

By: 2 Comments

With football in full swing, and everyone rooting for their favorite teams, I thought I’d share one of my favorite football party dips today. You can use this for your parties coming up for those college bowl games, or Superbowl party too. I’ll have some more football party and food ideas, and recipes coming up in the next few weeks!

Here’s a really cute idea from Wholly Guacamole.

Football season traditionally means tailgate time, play-off parties and a table of unhealthy dips loaded with calories–70 per tablespoon for spinach dip and a whopping 90 per tablespoon in buttermilk ranch. With Americans deriving an estimated 30 percent of their daily calories from outside traditional meals, the trend in party fare is to serve healthier options. At just 25 calories per tablespoon, adding pre-made, all-natural guacamole to the party line-up makes a game-time winner.

The Recipe:
Wholly Guacamole Gridiron Game Time Dip
Prep: 30 minutes

Ingredients
– 1 Tbsp butter
– ½ cup red bell pepper
– ½ cup onion, chopped
– 2, 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed / drained
– 2 tsp fresh chopped jalapeno peppers
– ½ tsp ground cumin
– 1 cup salsa
– 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
– 14 oz Wholly Guacamole
– ½ cup sour cream
– 1 bag tortilla chips

Instructions:
1. Melt butter in skillet; add peppers and onion. Cook over medium heat until onion is softened. (4 minutes). Stir in beans, jalapenos and cumin. Cook until heated.

2. Transfer 1 cup of bean mixture to a food processor, process until smooth. Return blended mixture to remaining mixture and stir to combine. Spread onto an 11×8 baking dish. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

3. Just before serving, layer over the bean mixture: salsa, cheese and top with Wholly Guacamole.

4. Spoon sour cream into resealable plastic bag. Snip off small corner and pipe sour cream lines over the guacamole to resemble yard markers on a football field.

Image and Guacamole recipe via Wholly Guacamole

Light Thanksgiving Recipes~ Turkey Cranberry Wraps

By: comment

If you’re looking for something lighter for your Thanksgiving meal this year, or maybe you’re serving lunch, and you don’t want everyone to leave feeling stuffed. Today I have the perfect recipe for a quick Thanksgiving luncheon, or light dinner meeting with friends. These Turkey, Tart Cherry, and Cranberry Chutney Wraps would also be perfect “finger food” for a baby or bridal shower. They’re a great alternative to sandwiches.

Many of your guests will appreciate the fresher flavors, and lighter feel of this delicious wrap recipe from Mission Menus.

The best part is this is such a simple recipe! Just layer everything in and wrap. I love easy fun recipes like this!

Turkey, Tart Cherry, and Cranberry Chutney Wraps
Ingredients:

  • 4 Mission Life Balance tortillas
  • 8 tablespoons fat-free cream cheese
  • 4 tablespoons cranberry chutney
  • 4 tablespoons dried tart cherries
  • 8 slices or ounces turkey breast
  • 8 thin slices red onion
  • 1 cup chopped lettuce

Directions:

Lay each tortilla flat and coat each with 2 tablespoons cream cheese, 1 tablespoon chutney, 1 tablespoon dried tart cherries, 2 slices turkey, 2 slices onion, and 1/4 cup lettuce. Roll into a tight wrap and serve. Makes 4 wraps.

You could easily double or even triple this recipe, depending on how many guests will be there.

Image and recipe courtesy of Mission Menus

Football Party Recipes: Buffalo Chicken Wings

By: 1 Comment

When football season comes around you’ve got to have some good wings. I love this recipe for Buffalo Chicken wings. You can use regular chicken wings, chicken breast strips or boneless chicken chunks to make them. I love making them with chicken breast strips, they’re fabulous!

I think I originally got this recipe from Emeril Live. I think I’ve made a couple tweaks to it since then (tweaked it a little to suit my own tastes). These wings make wonderful party appetizers right before or during the big game.


Buffalo Chicken Wings

  • 20 chicken wings (you can also use chicken breast strips, or boneless breaded chicken chunks), washed and patted dry.
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 recipe buffalo wing dipping sauce, recipe follows
  • Blue Cheese, or Ranch dressing

Place chicken wings into a large, zip-top plastic bag. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Add the flour mixture to the plastic bag and toss with the wings to coat well.
Pour the chicken wings and excess flour onto a baking sheet and spread evenly. Allow the chicken to sit on a floured baking sheet to dry out for about 1 hour.
Preheat a large stockpot filled halfway with vegetable oil to about 350 degrees F.
Add chicken to hot oil and fry until cooked crispy and thoroughly cooked, about 10 to 13 minutes.
Place the wings on a large cookie sheet and drizzle with half of buffalo wing dipping sauce. Toss and coat well. Serve hot with the remaining dipping sauce and Blue Cheese or Ranch dressing.

Buffalo Wing Dipping Sauce

  • 1 cup hot sauce (Frank’s is great)
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and set aside until your ready to use it.
Makes about 2 cups

They’re messy to eat, but delicious! I’ll have more tailgate party, football party and Superbowl party appetizers and finger food ideas to get you ready for your favorite teams big game.

Image via Stock.xchng

Healthy Fall Party Recipes~ Roasted Acorn Squash

By: comment

The weather’s turning cooler, and that definitely puts me in the mood for fall flavors and entertaining.

I enjoy fall parties, because they’re usually cozier and slower paced than summer parties, I can also serve some of my favorite comfort foods to guests. If you’re looking for a recipe that for a cozy fall dinner party check out this recipe for roasted acorn squash. I love winter squash this time of year, it’s a comforting flavor.

This recipe is courtesy of Season 52 Restaurant. Their entire menu is created around a positive lifestyle, with natural cooking techniques, including open fire grilling. Yum!


Roasted Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

  • 1 ea Acorn squash
  • 12 spritz Extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ tsp Kosher salt
  • Pinch Black pepper, fresh ground

Procedure:

  1. Wash acorn squash in cold water.
  2. Cut squash in half.
  3. Scrape out all seeds with large kitchen spoon.
  4. Cut acorn squash into 4 wedges.
  5. Place wedges on a sheet tray.
  6. Spritz squash with extra virgin olive oil.
  7. Season squash with salt and pepper; stand squash cut-side up on tray.
  8. Roast in 425º oven for 40 – 45 minutes total.
  9. Spritz twice with olive oil during roasting and turn tray in oven.
  10. Remove from oven and brush squash with spiced cider glaze.

Serves: 4

Tailgate Party Recipes~ Beer Brats On The Grill

By: comment

Happy Friday! It’s time for the weekend, and this time of year that means it’s also time for some football and a tailgate party or two! So get out the grill, throw it in the back of the truck (gently so there aren’t any broken piecs), and get ready for a tailgate party!

Today I thought I’d share my favorite (and easy) recipe for beer brats on the grill.

You already have the beer in the cooler (Just make sure you’re not drinking it if you’re the one behind the wheel!), just bring the brats, and a few other things and you’re ready to go.

Beer Brats Recipe

  • 1 pkg of your favorite brats
  • 1-2 cans of beer
  • 1 sliced onion
  • 1 sliced green pepper
  • your favorite buns
  • a disposable aluminum pan to cook them in.

Heat up the grill. Put the sliced onion, 6 brats, beer, and green pepper in the aluminum pan, and put over medium heat on the grill. Cook the mixture for 15-20 minutes, or until the brats are cooked through. If the beer does not completely cover the brats turn them every few minutes, or add more beer.

When they’re done cooking in the beer I like to throw them directly on the grill for a few minutes to brown them up before serving.

If you need to cook more brats, just add a can of beer, a half an onion, and a pepper for every 6 brats added.

You can also use this method to cook hotdogs, or italian sausage.

Serve your beer brats, with the onions and peppers, on a bun. Enjoy!

Image via stock.xchng

Snack Mix For Your Fall Harvest Party

By: comment

It’s super fun to incorporate some of your favorite fall flavors into a quick and easy snack mix for your fall or Halloween party. Just throw this easy snack mix together into a large bowl, and set it out for your guests to enjoy. Here’s the recipe I like to use for a simple harvest or Halloween party snack mix.

Fall Harvest Snack Mix

Mix together:

  • 5 cups of Chocolate Chex(tm) Cereal
  • 1 bag Brachs(tm) Autumn Mix
  • 2 cups of lightly salted peanuts

You can also spread this mixture out on a cookie sheet, or waxed paper, and drizzle it with melted chocolate, or white chocolate. Let it cool, then break it apart.

Yum, I love sweet and salty snack mixes.

Check out more kid’s: Halloween Party Ideas

Pumpkin Cocktail Recipe~ Pumpkin Pie-tini

By: 2 Comments

Only a couple weeks until Halloween! Are your fall and Halloween party plans in full swing yet? Today I thought I’d share a recipe courtesy of Three Olives Vodka. One of my favorite fall flavors is pumpkin, so this pumpkintini recipe definitely caught my attention!

This yummy cocktail would be perfect for a fall harvest or Halloween party. Make a whole pitcher to shake and pour in your guests’ glasses as they arrive. It’s sure to be a big hit.

The crème de cacao, vanilla, and pumpkin flavors sound like a wonderful fall flavor combination. Yum!

Pumpkin Pie-tini

  • 1 oz. milk
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
  • 1 ½ oz. Three-O Vanilla vodka
  • 1 ½ oz. crème de cacao

Using a small amount of honey, rim martini glass with graham cracker crumbs.

Shake milk and pumpkin puree over ice to combine. Pour in remaining ingredients and shake well. Strain into the martini glass.

I have more fall and Halloween party cocktail ideas and recipes coming up. Maybe I’ll roundup some of my favorites! Don’t forget to remind your guests to drink responsibly.