Weekend Whooopeee!

Super Bowl
for the guys

and

Bed N' Bath

for the girls

Yes, we have reached a happy medium here. This blog is going for a lil weekend off. As my DH, CG and myself run away for a weekend P A R T Y ! We have invited our friends and neighbors to a local Bed N' Bath for a Super Bowl Weekend Party. And I am so excited to get some time away from the ol' hacienda.

So here are a few of the yummies I am making for the snacks:

Fiesta Cream Cheese Spread

CATEGORY: Appetizer
TIME: Prep/Total Time: 15 min.
Ingredients:
* 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
* 1/4 cup chunky salsa
* 1/4 cup apricot preserves or orange marmalade
* 2 tablespoons chopped avocado
* 1 tablespoon chopped ripe olive
* Assorted crackers

Directions:
Place cream cheese on a serving plate. In a small bowl, combine salsa and preserves; spread over cream cheese. Sprinkle with avocado and olives . Serve with crackers. Yield: 8 servings.

Best Grape Salad

Its very creamy and sweet, and a great mix of flavors. It will be the best thing you ever use grapes for!! (except maybe wine!) Thanks Nessa for finding me this one.

Ingredients
* 2 lbs green seedless grapes
* 2 lbs red seedless grapes
* 8 ounces sour cream
* 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, to taste

Topping Ingredients
* 1 cup brown sugar, packed, to taste
* 1 cup crushed pecans, to taste

Directions

1. Wash and stem grapes.
2. Set aside.
3. Mix sour cream, cream cheese, white sugar and vanilla by hand until blended.
4. Stir grapes into mixture, and pour in large serving bowl.
5. For topping: Combine brown sugar, and crushed pecans.
6. Sprinkle over top of grapes to cover completely.
7. Chill overnight.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:
* 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
* 1 can (10 ounces) chunk white chicken, drained
* 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce
* 1/2 cup ranch salad dressing
* 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
* Tortilla chips

Directions:
Spread cream cheese into an ungreased shallow 1-qt. baking dish. Layer with chicken, buffalo wing sauce and ranch dressing. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm with tortilla chips. Yield: about 2 cups.

I will see y'all again on Monday. Happy weekend to all!

Great Weekend

We had a wonderful time running away from home. We do not travel far but it is far enough. There is a wonderful bed and bath here in our town with the most reasonable rates. We did have some interesting additions to our weekend get away. Our favorite restaurant use to have a special dinner on Saturday nights, has now closed that night completely. So we did not have our "traditional" night out that we look forward too. We live in a small town without much entertainment. So we are driving around trying to see what we may want to do or where we wish to eat at. Here stores, restaurants and the such are closed or closing up by 6 to 7 pm. We finally see where everyone is at. Milling around, talking, sharing information and the such. The local funeral home! Yes, family and friends who have come to pay their respects to a loved one are the largest group of people in town on a Saturday night. That is our excitement where we live. So we decide to have a few drinks back at our B & B. Well that is not an easy thing to do either since I am the only one in the two of us who can have a drink. So we decided to invite some friends up. Sure, Sure. No one home, people out of town or so tired from their day that going out at 7 pm is just too much to do. I know we have a wonderful night life here. We end up at the one and only grocery store in town and run into co workers of my husbands. They agree to come and celebrate with us with a couple of drinks. That was a nice visit and I got to enjoy a laugh or two with them. Sunday I wake early and start cleaning up our mess we have made. Make a trip back to our grocery store and buy fixings for a good meal. And call our daughter to come and join us for lunch/dinner. (what is that meal?? lunner?? dunch??) We dined on spin ch and cheese tortellini, shrimp w/garlic butter, tomatoes and mushrooms. bruschetta, asparagus and brussel sprouts cooked with bacon. Dessert was Razelberry Satin Pie and Chocolate cheesecake bites. Was a yummy yummy meal. As always weekends end. I had the B & B all cleaned up, packed and we return the 8 blocks home. We had traveled so far! Unpacked the car, unpacked us and started doing household chores that was undone during my absence. Yeah! 2 hours of cleaning before I can relax from my return home. Oh well, that is life for a mom I guess.
The weekend was great. We (my hubby and I) was able to relax, reconnect and just have down time from all the daily hub bub. So run away when you can too! And enjoy.