Sometimes it seems like we are always at the receiving end of our friends' generosity. Today we decided to return the favor by inviting a few families over for dinner and a movie - under the stars! I thought I could maintain a budget-friendly evening by keeping things simple and by planning a meal around some items I already had on hand.
TONIGHT'S MENU:
Chicken Wings
Hot Dogs
Carrots and Celery with Dill Dip
Pita Chips with Southwest Dip & Salsa
Cupcakes
Popcorn & S'Mores
I put my inner control freak aside and let each family bring a side dish to share. Happily, that added to the menu:
Spinach Salad
Pasta Salad
Deviled Eggs &
Daiquiris!
With my mantra of "Use What I Have", I cut fresh flowers from the yard.
Next, I melted a chocolate bunny,
and made "Chocolate Stars"
which would top 24 homemade cupcakes for our theme night.
Brown paper lunch bags made perfect holders for seven batches of stove top popcorn,
and more chocolate bunnies happily melted for oven-made s'mores.
My Mensa husband rigged up his work projector to the computer speakers and created an outdoor sit-in big-screen theater on the driveway.
While fireflies darted like fairies in the trees and the Big Dipper rose on the horizon, the magical evening played out just like I imagined.
Who knows......this may just turn into an annual event!