My family was arriving at dinner time last Thursday for the holiday weekend,
which makes dinner itself tricky…
No one wants to sit down and eat right when they get here
The littles are excited and want to run around,
The adults want to unpack, get settled and have a cocktail
In the past I’ve made casseroles or something in the slow cooker that will hold,
but this time, after consulting with my head chef HHjr,
we decided to try something different
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We took the concept of a Charcuterie Board
and expanded it to several boards,
with easy to prepare, simple, kid friendly food
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Something for everyone to nosh on when they were ready
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I chose things that would be good at room temperature and put the Tzatziki dip out at the last minute
If you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, grab some of this delicious cucumber dip, I served it with cool cucumber slices and fried pita chips {Piggly Wiggly}
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Room temperature tortellini with pesto is a great party food
you can serve it in a bowl with tooth picks
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Or make skewers like these
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There were clusters of red and green grapes
and an old Southern favorite,
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Pistachio nuts
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And a board offering a hard cheddar {Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar}
Salami slices, a cheese ball,
deli smoked turkey slices and small round crackers
{Trader Joe’s 12 grain mini snack crackers}
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There was also a mini crockpot of Chili Cheese Dip with Scoop chips
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Pigs in a Blanket with Mustard Butter were ready to go into the oven as people arrived
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There was something for everyone, fruit, vegetables, pasta, nuts, meat, cheese, hot, cold…
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And sweet!
Easy Peasy Lemon Sunshine Cake for dessert
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Keep this concept in mind for your future gatherings
This was easy on the host/hostess,
Everyone loved it,
Clean up was a breeze,
And we snacked on the leftovers all weekend…
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Juicy Details
recipes for Bacon Crackers and Lemon Sunshine Cake will be posting soon
Pigs in a Blanket with Mustard Butter here
Pesto Pasta Skewers aka Lollipop Trees here
I recommend these items from Trader Joe’s
Tzatziki Dip
12 Grain Mini Snack Crackers
Unexpected Cheddar
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I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Meal Plan Monday Dishing it & Digging it, Between Naps on the Porch,
Merry Monday Make it Pretty Monday Celebrate and Decorate,
Tasty Tuesday Oh My Heartsie Girl Full Plate Thursday