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How SWEET was our Red Dinner this year! There were dishes of all sorts of red heart candies within the reach of everyone and a yummy appetizer, South of the Border Dip and cherry soda. We played 3 simple, but lots of fun games. Before everyone arrived, I had cut many different lengths of red yarn–some 2" long and some 8-9" long and everything in between -- and hid them all over the house. The object of the game: everyone had to find as many pieces as they could and tie them together. The person who had the longest piece (when all their individual pieces were tied together) was the winner.
Then I was able to find 9 different kinds of Hershey Kisses (red, green, gold, silver, maroon, silver with stripes, etc.) I had a basket with 1 of each color in and everyone had to take one Hershey Kiss. The object of this game was to find 5 of their color hidden somewhere in the house. If in their search, they found a color other than their own, they had to leave it, and not tell where they had seen it. The person who found their 5 pieces first was the winner. That worked well, until someone found another color and ate it! And the last game – simple and cheap. Each couple had to make a snowman out of 1 on the team. I bought cheap toilet paper, gave each twosome a roll of toilet paper, a wool scarf and black paper to make a hat, eyes and buttons. The results were hilarious – and the laughing while they were making them was contagious!
The menu consisted of REALLY RED FOOD: Cuban Chicken, Potato & Sausage Salad, Eggplant Parmesan, ‘Eat-Your-Hear-Out Jello heart molds, Saucy Bread Balls, Kool-Aid Pickles (WOW!), Pickled Eggs, Rice Krispie Heart Lollipops and Cherry Cheese Pie. Needless to say, we rolled away from the table. |
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| CUTE IDEA FOR VALENTINE ‘CARD” | |||||||||||||
 Here’s a cute idea for a special VALENTINE ‘card’. Find out the size and kind of socks that are worn. (Notice that I have 2 different styles here). I printed a little card on my Word document, cut it to size and then pasted it on a piece of red construction paper. Then I used red embroidery floss, sewed it through both socks and tied the bow in the front! These were a real hit with the kids! (Oh...and I got the socks at the dollar store -- love those dollar stores!) |
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| South of the Border Dip | |||||||||||||
| 1 (15.5 oz.) can refried beans .5 c. sour cream .5 c. chopped scallions (opt.) 2 Tbls. catsup 1.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. garlic powder dash Tabasco Corn chips (Fritos) Mix all ingredients together except corn chips. Refrigerate covered. When ready to serve pour dip into serving bowl and surround with corn chips for dunking. Makes about 2 cups. |
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Cuban Chicken
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6-8 chicken legs and thighs 2 (16 oz.) cans tomato sauce 4 bay leaves 1 tsp. cumin 1.5 tsp. oregano 1 c. raisins 1 c. olives 2 Tbls. cooking oil 1 tsp. vinegar 5 garlic cloves, chopped, or use garlic salt or powder, to taste 1 onion, chopped, (opt.) Combine all ingredients except chicken. Pour a little sauce in the bottom of a baking dish, put a layer of chicken on sauce, then pour some sauce on; add another layer of chicken and sauce until all is used up, making sure all chicken is covered. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour or until chicken is done. |
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Potato & Sausage Salad
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| This recipe is found in “My Kitchen” under Salads. | |||||||||||||
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Eat-Your-Heart-Out Jello Molds
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3 small boxes of red flavored jello 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk 2 (1/4 oz.) envelopes of unflavored gelatin Dissolve 1 package of red jello in 3/4 cup of boiling water; pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 glass pan and refrigerate 1 hour. Stir together 1/2 cup boiling water and the condensed milk. In separate bowl dissolve all the unflavored gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water; combine this mixture with the milk and let it cool. Pour half of this mixture over the red jello and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Continue alternating layers–jello, then the remaining milk mix and the final jello mix–chilling each for 20-30 minutes to set it. Create individual servings with a heart-shaped biscuit or cookie cutter. (I made mine in individual heart molds, sprayed with cooking oil. Since I only have 4 molds, this took most of the day to make!) |
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Saucy Breadballs
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| To make breadballs: mix together 1 cup water, 1 egg, 3 cloves of garlic, minced, 1 Tbls. chopped parsley, 1 Tbls chopped basil, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 (16 oz.) loaf Italian bread, torn into small pieces, 1.5 cups grated Parmesan cheese. Using wet hands, form mixture into 1.5 inch bread balls (you should have about 30). Brown breadballs (about half of them) in olive oil in large pot over medium heat, without moving until well browned on bottom (2-4 minutes). Continue cooking, turning gently, until browned all over, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to bowl and repeat with remaining breadballs. Sauce 1 onion, minced salt and pepper 2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste 1 tbls. sugar 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 tsps. oregano 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes 2 c. water 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes 1 (15 oz. can tomato sauce 1 Tbls. chopped parsley 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese In same pot, cook onions and 1/2 tsp. salt until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, sugar, garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and 1/4 tsp. pepper, and cook until tomato paste begins to brown–2-4 minutes. Add water, tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Carefully add browned breadballs to pot and continue to simmer, covered, until sauce is slightly thickened and breadballs are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan to serve. Serves 6-8. |
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Kool Aid Pickles!
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1 (46 oz.) jar dill pickles (must be dill, not kosher dill) Mix water and sugar together until sugar is dissolved; add kool aid and mix until dissolved. Pour mixture over pickles and marinate 2 to 3 days – a must. (These pickles have a unique flavor– they are still dill, but sweet. And all the pickle eaters loved them!) |
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Rice Krispie Heart Lollipops
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| Make a batch of Rice Krispie treats: Melt 3 Tbls. butter in large pot. Add 1 bag (about 40) marshmallows and stir until melted. I added about 2-3 drops of red food color to make this mixture pink. Then stir in 6 cups of rice krispies. I took a ‘glob’ of the mixture and pressed it into a buttered, heart-shaped mold, then with my hands pressed it down firmly. It was already to release so I took it out of the mold out and while it was still warm and slightly soft, I pushed a long lollipop stick about half way through the heart. After all the mixture was used up, I melted pink melts (white chocolate) and ‘smeared’ it on the front of each heart and then sprinkled a few cake decoration hearts on that while the chocolate was still soft. After the chocolate firmed up, I put them in little bags and tied them shut with narrow, red ribbon. Easy, easy to make!!! (Actually, if you didn’t have molds, these would be easy to mold with your hands. If the mixture cools down too much to shape, just put it in the microwave for a few seconds and soften it up).
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Cherry-Cheese Pie
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1 graham cracker crumb crust or Beat cream cheese until fluffy; gradually add sweetened milk and beat until well blended. Add lemon juice and vanilla; blend well. Pour into crust. Chill 2 to 3 hours before spreading the cherry pie filling on the top of the pie. |
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Red St. Valentine's Day Dinner 2009
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Invitations to the Red Dinner, napkin rings and favors were all conversation hearts. I found all kinds of ideas for these little heart candies on Family Crafts.com. There were printables there to make everything. I sent out the invitations the week of the dinner, so everyone was looking forward to the annual event. The cute little boxes I filled with conversation hearts candy and had one at each place setting.
(Recipe for Spaghetti Pie is in "My Kitchen" under Casseroles) |
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| 1-46 oz. bottle cranberry-raspberry juice 1-16 oz. bottle pina colada mix 1 liter ginger ale or raspberry ginger ale soda Combine juice and pina colada mix. Freeze overnight. Remove from freezer 30 minutes before serving. To serve, put frozen slush in punch bowl and slowly add ginger ale. Makes about 25 servings. |
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 1-15 oz. container ricotta cheese1 jar (8 oz.) oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, and chopped 1/2 c. mayonnaise 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 tsp. salt Combine all ingredients and stir until well blended. Serve with crackers or seasoned pita wedges. |
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 Make your favorite sugar cookie recipe. Roll out dough and cut into 3" rounds with biscuit cutter or glass dipped in flour. Take a fortune strip and lay in on each circle. Fold circle in half and shape in crescent form with your hands. Press edges together and place on ungreased baking sheet. Lightly brush each crescent with water and sprinkle a genrous amount of red sugar on the top. Bake according to directions.
(Ideas for your 'fortune' notes: I love you, You're #1, Hey, Dude!, Be Mine, You're my Valentine, You're Special, You're Tops! Make a list on your computer, print them and then cut them into 1/4" strips--about 2" long). Easy and fun dessert for kids and adults!!! |
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2008 Red Dinner
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