Success!!!

Tonight was an amazing night and I'm excited to tell you all about it!  We had friends coming over to visit.  We knew that we were going to have some big packages delivered and why not ask a big beefy friend over to help move stuff!  (haha Sean - I had to say that!) Oh and Chrysi you are smoking hot too!  Just saying!

Anyway ... this is Sean & Chrysi.  Our awesome friends!

We also invited over Kayla & Tim.  Kayla had to work but Tim and his buff muscles came to help!  Here is Tim!

Of course I had to include Kayla because we all know that we girls compliment our men!!  

So I knew that our friends were coming over and that I was going to put them to work so I figured I would whip up a few recipes and feed them!  Now since we all know that I haven't YET become a wiz in the kitchen, I tried to find recipes that wouldn't be too hard.  I was praying that I could pull it off and that my guests would not be allergic to anything I was making!!  

First on my mind was an appetizer.  I think having something to snack on before the meal is always a good thing.  Of course, if it's too heavy of an appetizer, my friends wouldn't be hungry for dinner! So I thought something light was in order!

Appetizer:

Cucumber bites with Garlic Herb filling.

I found this recipe on a food bloggers web site and I immediately wrote it down.  Like I said on my first blog, I follow about 2 dozen foodies!  Here is the link to the original blog:

Annie's Eats - Cucumber bites

I have to admit though that Annie recommends using Boursin Cheese.  I couldn't find this.  Of course I was shopping at Walmart LOL but according to the Boursin Cheese website you can find this at most of your local grocery stores (like Acme, Shoprite and of course Wegmans!)  I will find this cheese and retry the recipe.  I used Alouette Cheese.  Personally I didn't think the cheese added much flavor.  This may be because I cut the cucumber bites too big?  I'm not an expert at that YET!  Like I said - I will try this recipe again.  Perhaps the next time YOU visit my house!!

Here is a picture of how my appetizer came out!  Pretty fancy I think!!

So after deciding on my appetizer, I started thinking about my main meal.  This was a little more difficult as I really am a beginner at cooking.  I decided to go with chicken because it is very hard to mess up!!  

Dinner:

Asian Coconut 5-Spice Chicken & Asparagus

Sounds delicious doesn't it?  Well guess what?  It WAS!  OMG I made this and it came out so good!  Of course now that I'm thinking about it I never took a picture of the final product but I know that the food blogger that I got this from has an awesome picture so I'm going to steal hers!

You can find the recipe at:  Butter with a Side of Bread - Asian Coconut Chicken

I followed this recipe to a T.  Well everything except splitting the recipe into two dinners!  I had enough people coming to dinner that I knew I was going to need all the food I could!  I probably could have made more chicken actually because the beefy men at my table probably could have eaten more!  I was happy to see that everything was eaten!  The only left overs I had were a few asparagus spears!  It was so delicious that I will definitely put this on my go to recipe list!!

Here is a picture from the foodie's website.  Mine didn't look this pretty, I'll admit BUT it did taste great!

While Chrysi and I were slaving away in the kitchen, (actually I was slaving, Chrysi was drinking a Tastefully Simple Blueberry Pineapple Margarita.  I used 1800 Coconut Tequila and it made the margarita taste so good!  It went very well with our Coconut Chicken too!!  So anyway - while we were in the kitchen the boys started moving around the big boxes that we got delivered so when they sat down to eat they had big appetites!  We all relaxed and enjoyed our meal.  Jim actually even had a glass of wine with dinner!  I was shocked!  It was a really good time with friends!

After dinner, Chrysi helped me clean up while the boys continued the hard labor.  After the kitchen was put back together, we decided to tackle the living room.  Since Jim and I moved in, we have been using the "formal living room" as a storage room.  Tons of boxes and rubber maid containers!  So we started. Before I knew it, the whole room was 90% cleared out!  The boys set up the furniture and Chrysi put it in place!  She really should be an interior designer because she did an awesome job!  Here is the after picture!  My living room actually looks amazing and I can't thank Sean, Chrysi & Tim enough for their help!!

After being a slave driver and getting the living room set up, I brought out the dessert I made.  When I say it was delicious, that is an understatement!  Of course, getting it to the final product did take some doing!  Let me link you to the dessert I made and then I will tell you what happened!!

Your Cup of Cake - S'mores Bars

Doesn't that just sound delicious?  So I followed this recipe to a T as well.  I started with the graham crust and then I added the melted chocolate w/ the Cocoa Pebbles & Marshmallows.  Then I put the remaining 2 cups of marshmallows on top.  The directions say to broil for 2 - 3 minutes AND to pay close attention as they can burn easily.  Take this information to heart because burn is what I did!!  I had Jim helping me with the broil part because it scared me a tad and well when he opened up the oven the dessert was actually on fire!  Flames were coming out of my stove and it was a bit scary!  Jim kept a cool head and blew the fire out and then removed the dessert from the oven!  It was intense for about 45 seconds!!  

Here is the burnt dessert!

Hope you like your marshmallows well done!!  haha  I started to panic and get upset.  Jim again kept cool and was like "just take a fork and pull off the burnt parts and try again!:  So we did and WAHLA! We successfully fixed the dessert!

YAY  Take 2 on the marshmallows and we did great!  On top of that, the dessert was a big hit.  If I'm not wrong Sean, Tim & Chrysi even had a second piece!  (Sorry Chrysi for ratting you out!)  Tim took one home for his girlfriend and well I was just delighted!  I was so happy that my recipes turned out and that everyone enjoyed them AND that my living room now looks like a living room!

A great night with friends with great food!  Next time they come over I think I'll just cook for them and not put them to work.  Oh wait, I have a few beds to put together!  LOL

Keep Smiling!
Sonya