Fiesta de Chicas!

Also known as ladies' night... In March, I'm attending the bachelorette party of a girlfriend in Las Vegas with 11 other ladies from San Diego, LA, Phoenix, and Colorado. It's going to be a verrrrrrrrrrrrrrry interesting weekend, as this group of girlfriends can be a little... um, wild, at times. :)

Anyway, we've been discussing the need to gather and discuss plans for our weekend - strip club or not, what kinds of games/ activities should we plan for the weekend, which clubs should we check out, spa day or not, etc. etc. etc. I took the opportunity to invite the girls over for a planning session tonight, so that I can bring out all my favorite serving pieces and wine glasses, cocktail napkins, and show off my spanking new flatware. Should be fun!

The menu will be comprised of the following this evening:

Libby’s Stuffed Mushrooms

18 mushrooms
Salt
2 T butter, melted

½ cup fine dry breadcrumbs
½ cup shredded Swiss cheese (using Feta tonight, since Patou is lactose intolerant; sometimes I use bleu and it's great, too)
1 egg beaten
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp crushed, dried dill weed
2 T lemon juice

Clean mushrooms, remove stems, and reserve. Sprinkle inside of cups with salt.

Chop stems finely and sauté in butter 3-4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except for caps to the stem mixture. Spoon mixture into mushroom caps.

Place mushrooms on ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes or until thoroughly heated. These can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to bake.

Turkey meatballs

1 lb ground turkey 1 egg, slightly beaten
½ cup finely chopped onion 1 T butter
2 T brown sugar 1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T bread crumbs Dash of hot pepper sauce
½ t salt ½ cup finely chopped green pepper
1 can tomato soup 1 T vinegar
1 t mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix beef, bread crumbs, egg and salt; shape into meatballs. Place in shallow 9X13 baking pan. Broil until browned, turn once. Spoon off fat. Meanwhile, in saucepan, cook onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour over meatballs. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Christina’s Taco Dip

1 pound ground beef 1 can Brooks mild chili beans, drained
¼ cup Ortega taco sauce 1 small chopped onion
Shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown beef in skillet until slightly undercooked and drain fat. In blender, mix chili beans, taco sauce, chopped onions until well blended. Combine the mixture with the beef in a large bowl and stir until well mixed. Place mixture in an 8x8 baking dish and top with cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips.

Homemade Guacamole

Meat and Cheese Platter

Oh yes, and lots and lots of red wine. Hope your evening is as yummy as mine! Happy Tuesday.

xx, Mer