Autumn Party Menu

I.  LOVE.  FOOD!

I love making it!

I love eating it!

I love sharing it!

Here is the menu of a party I recently had:

PUMPKIN LASAGNA

BROCCOLI SALAD

CHIPOTLE MEATBALLS

VEGGIE TRAY

PUMPKIN BREAD W/CHOCOLATE CHUNKS

S'MORES MINI CUPCAKES

GINGERBREAD MINI CUPCAKES

MARSHMALLOW POPS

CANDY CORN POPCORN

4 FLAVORS OF CANDY CORN!

AND BEST OF ALL,

4 FLAVORS OF VELATA CHOCOLATE FONDUE

PLUS LOTS OF GOODIES TO DIP INTO IT!

I wanted the food to scream AUTUMN IS HERE!!!, even though the temperatures are still in the 100's.

PUMPKIN LASAGNA

I found this recipe on Real Simple via Pinterest

(I know, I'd never had it before either!)

Very Good!

 

Since I used the spinach and mozzarella ravioli (from Costco) I left the chard out of the recipe.

Also, it's pretty rich.  I don't care how many people you're feeding, you'll only need one pan.  

Don't ask me how I know.

BROCCOLI SALAD

4 bunches fresh broccoli, chopped

1 red onion, diced or thinly sliced

1 c. craisins

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1 c. toasted candied almonds

10 strips cooked bacon, crumbled

(I use the already cooked & crumbled bacon from Costco)

Dressing:

1 c. mayonnaise

1/2 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

CHIPOTLE MEATBALLS

1 package frozen Italian meatballs (Costco)

1 - 1 1/2 bottles Raspberry Chipotle sauce (Costco)

Bake meatballs as directed.

Put them in crockpot, pour sauce over.  Warm for 3 hours.

VEGGIE TRAY

with two kinds of yummy dip!

PUMPKIN BREAD W/CHOCOLATE CHUNKS

Okay, so I used a mix.  But seriously, I was cooking for two days as it was.

Boxed Pumpkin Bread mix (Costco)

bake with chocolate chunks (just like chocolate chips, only they're CHUNKS!)

S'MORES MINI CUPCAKES

This recipe is from my new 

Savoring the Seasons With Our Best Bites cookbook. 

 IT'S AT COSTCO!  GET IT!  YOU'LL LOVE IT!

I used a boxed devil's food cake mix

Best Bites marshmallow frosting (leave out the milk, and add a tiny bit of liquid smoke for a toasted marshmallow flavor...it was great!)

Crumbled graham crackers on top

garnished with a small section of Hershey bar

 

GINGERBREAD MINI CUPCAKES

 

This cupcake will change your life!

A personal friend and amazing food blogger Food Folks and Fun introduced me to this recipe.  I will be forever grateful!  After having these, my daughter has requested that she wants these for her next birthday party (ummm, she doesn't even like cupcakes, she usually requests cookies, and her birthday is almost a year away!)

FOLLOW THE RECIPE TO A TEE!  IT'S PERFECT JUST THE WAY IT IS!

Mmmmmm!

MARSHMALLOW POPS

These were basically for decoration.  

Gah!  

Who wants that much more sugar on top of everything else?  lol

I put a large marshmallow on a stick, dipped it in melted white almond bark, then rolled in various sprinkles.  They were very pretty.

CANDY CORN POPCORN

Another recipe from my new Our Best Bites

It's UH-MAZE-ING!

I used those to-die-for Blue Diamond roasted seasoned almonds instead of salted peanuts.  Took it to a whole new level, ya know?

4 FLAVORS OF CANDY CORN!

So who knew there were more than 2 flavors?

There's the standard good old yellow, orange and white candy corn.

Then the almost standard Indian corn, which has the chocolate layer.

Now there's caramel, which is alright.

And caramel apple, WHICH IS TO DIE FOR!!!

AND BEST OF ALL,

4 FLAVORS OF VELATA CHOCOLATE FONDUE

PLUS LOTS OF GOODIES TO DIP INTO IT!

grapes, pretzels, bananas, peanut butter crackers, apples, pumpkin marshmallows and strawberries!

 

Have you tried Velata yet?

IT. IS. DELICIOUS!!!

It's a new product line by SCENTSY that has it's own really cool special type of warmer.

It comes in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate and my personal favorite, caramel chocolate!

So perhaps by now you're wondering why I was having such a feast?

We were celebrating my First Annual Autumn Extravaganza Open House!

Three vendors displaying five product lines turned my house into a boutique.

It was so much fun!

I already can't wait until next year!

So, as I mentioned, one of Scentsy's new product lines was the Velata.

Scentsy has an even newer product line of GORGEOUS and UNIQUE purses, Grace Adele.

These three lines were presented by Andrea Smith, an old friend from my Utah days.  She's adorable, and she's become a super successful director.  I'm so proud of her!!!

 

Look at these adorable new warmers!  Ghosts, Frankinstein, Tom the turkey, more ghosts, a pumkin WITH A LID, and the cutest Owl!  Also, so many delicious scents to choose from!

I ordered the pumpkin for myself, but I sure was tempted to get Tom the turkey too!  

These Grace Adele purses are to-die-for!

They have a unique lining and other unique features as well.

 

See that tan and black ostrich skin number in the middle?  Yeah, she's mine! *giddy*

(without the flower...instead I've added 2 of the Grace Adele jeweled embellishments)

It's unbelievable how you mix-n-match the clutch bags with the big bags, add a matching wallet and embellish with flowers or jewels and bangles.  Very cool!

My next vendor, Carol, displayed LOTS AND LOTS of bags from Thirty-One Bags and Gifts.

   I ordered an amazing book bag plus two draw-string personalized basketball backpacks for my boys.  Thirty-One has every kind of bag, suitcase, wallet, storage, satchel, etc you can think of!

And then there was Jen's jewelry.  HOLY COW!  She made every bit of this herself!  

 Jen lives right down the street from me, and let me tell you, she is one busy girl making jewelry night and day!  Beautiful, gorgeous, lovely pieces!!!

 Did you get your handmade name tag?  :)

The Velata was so delicious, we served it again for our extended family Sunday dinner.  

Ummmm, the grandkids were pretty much hovering over this plate of goodies all night!  hehe

I hope you get to have and/or attend some fabulous parties this holiday season!!!