Celebrations and food!

Birthdays are a big event in our household. I host a family dinner for each child. They get to pick the menu and the cake. It has been fun seeing their food selections change over the years. The boys are no longer picking mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets. Their choices have become much more sophisticated.

Joshua turned 14 in April. The week before his family party he went Pheasant hunting. So pheasant was the main attraction on the menu. For this I had to do a little research. I'm not sure if I had ever had pheasant before and really thought you could throw it in the oven and roast like a chicken. What I discovered is it get's dry very quickly so it needs to be breaded or used as an ingredient in a casserole-type dish. I printed out a bunch of recipes I thought he would like and let him pick. His dad took over and I was off the hook preparing those little birds.

I was (and will always be) in charge of the cake! This is my favorite part. I let them pick what flavor cake they want and the theme/design of the cake. Joshua's past cakes have included: a treasure chest, the coca-cola logo, camo, monkey face, nemo and fishing, to name a few. This year he left is up to me! Thanks to Pinterest, I knew exactly which cake he was getting...the whopper cake!

Yes, it's heart-shaped.

Only because I couldn't find 2 round cake pans that were the same size.

 

This had to be one of the easiest cakes I've ever made. 1 cake mix, 1 can of frosting, 2 boxes of whoppers! Yes, I had to place each whopper perfectly postioned on the frosted cake. But if you know me...you know this was right up my alley! Perfection at it's finest. One row at a time. Whoppers fitting within whoppers. I was in heaven!

 

The cake was a hit. The dinner was amazing. The kid was happy. On to the next...

 

3 weeks later Zachary turns 13! (Did you do the math? Yes, they are only 1 year and 3 weeks apart!)

 

He had no problem coming up with his menu:

Grilled chicken marinated in Italian Dressing

Cheesey Potatoes

Corn on the Cob

Cauliflower Salad (recipe to follow at bottom)

Grandmas Jello

Grandpas Fruit Salad

 

The day before the party I discovered that the local farm by our house had fresh asparagus. I asked Zachary if he wanted that or corn on the cob. He picked both, of course. (I love that my boys will eat most anything!) So we added asparagus to the list.

 

When I got to the stand there were about 15 people in line. It was 3:00 in the afternoon. They had opened at noon and just before I got there they had run out. Thankfully, the farmers were in the field picking more. There would be a 10 minute wait. No problem. This asparagus is worth the wait! As I stood there I couldn't decide how much I should get. Definately enough for the party. Maybe a little extra for another day. It would be nice to get our guests some to take home too. Crap! I had no idea how much to get. The farmer returned with a pick-up truck full and the first person bought 7 pounds! Person #2 buys 5 pounds. Not one person ahead of me buys less than 5 pounds. It's my turn. What the heck, I'm going to buy 5 pounds also!

 

Did I mention that we did a combination Zacharys Birthday Party/Mother's Day Party? So all the moms who graciously spent their day celebrating with us got a bouquet...

I think the kids thought I was a little wacko for doing this, but everyone who received my special bouquet was happy. (Even gave one to my brother!)

 

Zachary also left the cake up to me this year. Back to pinterest. It had to be equally as good as his brothers. Hello Kit Kat Cake!

 

1 cake mix, 1 can of frosting, 12 Kit Kats (which I didn't need all of), 2 bags of mini peanut butter cups. This cake was a little more work, only because all the kit-kats had to be broken into individual sticks. I put Autumn on that job.

 

The cake was a hit. The dinner was amazing. The kid was happy. 4 months until the next...

 

Cauliflower Salad Recipe

1 head cauliflower

1 pound bacon

1 cup mayo (more or less, depending on how creamy you like yours)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 head lettuce

Grease from bacon (I use about 1/2 cup)

 

Cook bacon until crispy, cut into small pieces. Break cauliflower into bit-sized pieces. Cut lettuce into small pieces. Mix everything in a bow. Chill. Serve.

 

Roasted or Grilled Asparagus

Asparagus

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

 

Place asparagus on aluminum foil. Coat lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt. Cover and seal with foil. Place on hot grill and cook for 10-15 minutes or place in 350 degree oven and cook for 10-15 minutes.