Dr. Seuss Birthday Party

As a kindergarten teacher myself, I had so much fun planning this 1st birthday party for my son! Here are some ideas I had and stole from others.

Food Labels

Caramel Popcorn from Hop on Pop.

Pop popcorn according to directions. I used 3/4 c. unpopped kernals.

Make caramel sauce. 

1 c. butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. corn syrup

1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

Let all ingredients come to a boil in saucepan. Turn heat down to medium high. Let boil for 4 minutes without stirring. Turn off heat and let sit to cool for a few minutes. Pour over popcorn and stir to coat evenly. Lay out on parchment paper to let cool. Sprinkle with salt.

Gogurt tubes from Oh, The Places You'll Go.

Jellybeans for Truffula Seeds from The Lorax.

Goldfish for One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

 Little Smokies from Go, Dog, Go.

4 packages Little Smokies

1 jar grape jelly

1 bottle BBQ sauce

Dump all in crockpot for 3-4 hours. 

Thing 1 and Thing 2 Cupcakes

Baby Smash Cake

We also has "roast beast" sandwiches from The Grinch and

pizza rolls from There's a Wocket in my "Pizza" Pocket, 

but forgot to get a picture of those before they were eaten. 

 Happy 1st Birthday to my Charlie!

Shrimp Scampi

1 lb. Medium shrimp
3 tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. White wine
2 lemons
1 bunch chopped parsley
1 c. Shredded parmesan cheese

In large pan, melt butter and saute garlic. Add shrimp. Add white wine and lemon juice. Cook until shrimp is pink. Top with parsley and cheese. Serve by itself or over pasta.

Easy Coconut Shrimp

1 lb. Jumbo shrimp
1/2 c. Flour
Salt
Pepper
2 eggs
1/2 c. Panko
1 c. Sweetened coconut flakes
Coconut oil or vegetable oil for frying

Sauce:
1 c. Peach preserves
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 lime, zested and juiced

Heat up oil in large pot. Peel and devain shrimp. Dredge shrimp in flour, then egg, then panko\coconut mixture. Drop into hot oil. Fry for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Place on paper towel plate until all have been fried.
Serve with sauce. Just mix all ingredients in small bowl anf refrigerate until needed.

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Crust

This is a great, low-carb alternative to the traditional pizza crust. It doesn't exactly LOOK appetizing and please don't expect the taste of a regular flour pizza crust, but it's actually tastes pretty good for trying to be healthy!

1 large spaghetti squash
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 egg
1/4 c. flour
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
garlic salt, salt and pepper

Cut spaghetti squash in half long-ways. Scrap out innards and seeds. Drizzle both halves with olive oil and salt and pepper. Wrap each in aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes on 425 degrees.
Once spaghetti squash can easily be scraped out with a fork, scrap all into a bowl. We had about 4 cups of it. The trick is to squeeze the mess out of it to get as much moisture out as possible. I put mine in a fine strainer and pushed down with a glass cup, then I squeezed it even more with paper towels. After you squeeze it out, mix squash, tiny bit of flour, egg, cheeses, and seasonings in a bowl. Spread out on a pan on top of parchment paper. Bake for about 10 minutes, then flip it over. Be careful and fast! The first time I did this, it was more like spaghetti squash casserole. Bake other side for about 10 minutes. Ours browned up better baking directly on pan rather than the parchment paper at the end. Once crust is cooked, put the toppings on and bake just until cheese is melty. Enjoy!

Spring Snack Mix

4 c. Chex cereal
4 c. Pretels, broken into smaller pieces
2 c. cheerios
2 bars Ghirardelli white chocolate
1 bag Easter M&M's
Easter colored sprinkles

Cut white chocolate into small pieces and put in small microwaveable bowl. Melt in microwave on 50% power for 30 second intervals. Mix other ingredients in bowl. Pour white chocolate over and stir to coat everything. Let harden on wax paper. Break into chunks and store in airtight container.

White Chicken Chili

Serve this up with some good cornbread and you have the perfect cold night meal!

1 rotisserie chicken (shredded) or 4 shredded cooked chicken breasts
   *Time Saving Tip- I buy 3-4 rotisserie chickens at Costco (can't beat $5 for HUGE          chickens), shred them when I get home, then freeze in baggies. So easy when you
       need chicken for a recipe.
3 cans Great Northern beans, drained
1 jar green salsa
1 32 oz. chicken broth
2 tsp cumin
8 oz Pepper Jack cheese, cubed

Put all ingredients into crockpot. Cook on High for 3 hours or Low for 5-6 hours. This is a bit spicy, but very good!