I'm in love with this food combination. I've made several different versions of caprese salads, appetizers and entrees, but I think these little Mozzarella & Basil Tomato pockets are perfect for Mother's Day, (or any type of gathering where women are present since they're so darn adorable.) We had these this past Sunday for our Mother's day get-together with my husband's family. Sadly, my hubs and his four brothers devoured them without so much a word about their cuteness.
Recipe adapted from All You Magazine
Am I right? So cute I could eat them up. Oh wait…I did. Anyway, this recipe is super easy, involves only 3 ingredients, and has major wow factor. It almost doesn't need a step-by-step, but for those of you who are interested here's what you'll need: Fresh Marinated Mozzarella (Costco sells a brand called Formaggio that rocks)Grape Roma TomatoesFresh Basil Leaves
Is your mouth salivating yet? 1. Slice the pointy end off the tomato (so that it will stand straight) and scoop out the guts of the tomato. I used a vegetable peeler because it was the perfect size, but you could use a small spoon.
2. Line the hollowed-out tomatoes on a baking sheet.
3. Add salt and pepper to the insides of each tomato and turn it upside on the pan. Let them sit for 10 minutes to"sweat" the liquid out a bit. (Sorry, no pictures of this step!)
4. Cut the balls of mozzarella in halves (or quarters depending on the size of your tomatoes). Shred or slice the basil leaves and wrap around one piece of tomato.
5. Stuff the tomatoes with the cheese and basil. sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper (if desired) and drizzle with the marinade from the mozzarella. Place upright on a platter and voila!
Delicious mozzarella & basil tomato pockets!
I was pretty excited about these little babies.
What are your go-to appetizers for special occasions?
We interrupt this regularly schedule DIY program for an important announcement (I've always wanted to use that phrase somewhere!): We have some incredible sponsors who provide loads of amazing products just waiting to be purchased for one-of-a-kind Christmas presents! I've broken them down into categories for you… Gift-Giving
Ok, you may remember me talking about the amazing art prints from Red Letter Words, but did you know Dee also offers adorable greeting cards and candles? Not only that, but messages printed on the greeting cards are so meaningful and thoughtful- perfect as a stocking stuffer, a gift for a friend, a teacher and the list goes on and on. Get 15% off until December 15th with the code MERRY15. Order by December 19th for Christmas delivery. (Excludes custom prints and the print of the month)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every year I try to give my neighbors a little gift, and this 1-2-3 Dip! Gift set from Pampered Chef is perfect! I am such a sucker for chips and dip. I pretty much could live on it. And if you don't have neighbors, buy a few as hostess gifts (they'll be sure to get you an invitation to next year's party!: ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, Jane sent us a few of her 100% soy candles to try, and I can.not.get.enough. of the Christmas pine scent. I've been burning it around the clock since I got it, and the beautiful thing is, that because it's soy, it's long-lasting! Order a few of these as gifts, or just go ahead and buy a stash for yourself! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How about this adorable Littles Carry-All Caddy in the Winter Wonderland pattern from Thirty-One Gifts for teachers in your (or your kid's) lives? Fill it with a mug, some good chocolate and a gift card to Starbucks and you're set! It comes in 10 different patterns, so you'll be sure to find something for everyone. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Entertaining
Planning a holiday party? Spread some Festive Cheer with this cocktail idea from Garnish. Goodness, could their stuff be any more darling? I could literally spend all my party budget on the goodies from Garnish- who needs food anyway? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I came across this super-cute idea to use scrapbook paper as a charger on a holiday table, and I'm in love! You could totally use this fabulous paper from Moo & Puppy and alternate the patterns underneath the plates for coordinated, but not identical place settings! {Swoon}
Use the code HOUSEWIVES20 for 20% off of your order. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I love Dream Dinners. I really do. And they are total life-savers if you are hosting a holiday party or dinner. So many of the meals can be easily turned into appetizers, like this Coconut Shrimp with Sweet & Sour dipping sauce. Make your holidays stress-free with ready-to-cook meals. Use the codeDDNC201110 for 10% off your first order. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the Home
Well, looky what I found on Craigslist. A $15 chair that would be absolutely stunning if reupholstered in some new fabric! Jet Upholstery could do that in heartbeat, and guess what? You can save 25% off any fabric order when you mention RHBC. Now go! That chair won't last long (especially because I can't keep my eyes off of it!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In our winnings from Crafting with the Stars, we both got to choose stencils from Royal Design Studio. They are the best place to get designer decorative stencils and tools. Monica chose this Morrocan Stencil- Chez Sheik:
And I'm getting this lovely Large Fabric Damask stencil:
We both have big plans for our stencils and come on, you know you have an area in your house that's just dying to be stenciled. Am I right? Head over to Royal Design Studio to be totally inspired. Use the coupon code RHBC10 for 10% off your order! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Giving Back
We are often so focused on buying gifts at this time of year, but really, it's also a great time to give back. Head on over to Scout & Nimble to see how you can be a part of her awesome iniative to do just that. Also, did you see this ah-ma-zing rug she just got?
So jealous. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok, that's it! No excuses for lame gifts this year, people!; )
This Fab Find is near and dear to my heart: Dream Dinners!
Why, you ask? Several years ago my mom and I decided to go into business together, owning and operating our very own Dream Dinners store. It was a fabulous experience that we'll never forget, but because of my growing family and the declining health of both of my grandmothers whom my mom cared for, we made the difficult decision to close our store. If you don't know about Dream Dinners- you are missing out! I know this company to be a good one, and the care that goes into creating delicious, excellent quality, healthy meals can't be outdone! Do you ever get home from a busy day and ask yourself,"what's for dinner?"At Dream Dinners, they answer that question for you. Their monthly menu includes over 14 different recipes each month, along with additional pre-assembled dinners, sides, breads and desserts ready for purchase while in one of their stores. A wide variety of options means there are plenty of meal preparation choices to satisfy everyone in the family.
1. Garlic & Balsamic Marinated Flank Steak 2. Raspberry Stuffed French Bread 3. Greek Island Shrimp 4. Fruit-Stuffed Pork Roast You know I LOVE food, and the meals, sides and desserts are mouth-watering! (My personal favorites are Chicken Mirabella, Herb-crusted Flank Steak and Arroz con Pollo and Monica can't get enough of their amazing biscuits with cinnamon-honey butter!)
The best part about this whole thing is when you take the meals home and realize you have 12 or more meals in your freezer ready to cook at a moment's notice. (Side note: do you see all that loose corn in my freezer? One of my hubs' biggest pet peeves is the fact that I tend to leave open containers everywhere or don't properly put the lids on things. Case in point.) Anyway, I have a regular size freezer and 12 meals fit perfectly, so don't worry about a lack of space! And now, the question I'm sure you are dying to ask: is it affordable? Well, take a look at this little video and see for yourself:
I know the owner of our local store, Kris, well since we worked closely with her for several years and she'll take good care of you! Plus, she's offering 10% off your first full order! Just use the code DDNC201110. I do hope you'll check Dream Dinners out! Happy Eating!
PS. Dream Dinners can save you LOADS of time when it comes to holiday meal planning. They have some really great entree items, and even offer delicious appetizers for your parties. I've used them several years in a row for my big Christmas party, and the stuff is amazing and always gets rave reviews!
One of the things we're most grateful for is our friends. We've talked about them a lot here on the ol' blog, but we try really hard as a group to stay connected and do fun things (we all went to see the premiere of Breaking Dawn together yesterday!). Last year I (Jess) started what will hopefully become an annual tradition with oour girlfriends: a Favorite Things Party! What is that, you ask? We made a little video to tell you all about it…
Basically, you ask your closest gal pals to purchase their favorite thing for under $10- one for each girl coming to the party. Then, dress it up with some fabulous wrapping paper and come bearing your gifts, and of course, your favorite appetizer (or dessert, but I'm partial to apps, so because it's my party, that's what we do. ha!) Here's a peek at last year's gift from myself and Monica:
Last year, I threw the party together at the last minute, but because I want it to be a special night for our friends, I decided to create some invitations. Chalkboard typography is THE biggest thing on Pinterest right now, so I decided to hop right on board the bandwagon. I kinda love it.
I also made a blank template so you can add your own information. Download it here:
I made the entire invitation in Picasa with the following FREE fonts: 1. Bergamot Ornaments 2. KG Makes You Stronger 3. Handy George 4. Kraft Nine 5. Peach Sundress Ideas for Appetizers/Desserts/Drinks: My favorite part of the favorite things party is the food, of course! I'm crazy about seafood and this party gives me a good reason to sample these Crab-filled Crescent Wontons.
I'm going to give this recipe for homemade hot chocolate in the crockpot a try, for sure:
And then it would be really fun to dress up that hot chocolate with lots of yummy fixin's (yes, all of the sudden, I'm Southern.)
Hot Chocolate Bar And ohmygoodness, my friends might just receive this Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark as their present AND dessert. Ha!
Ideas for Wrapping: Monica's favorite part is the wrapping. Did you know that in addition to an obssession with socks, she's also abnormally passionate about wrapping paper? I'm already ahead of the game (Monica) for my wrapping this year thanks to The Plaid Barn. It's a daily deal type site that I'm addicted to! Honestly, I have to do the whole wants vs. needs thing to resist buying a deal every day! However, this wrapping deal was too good to pass up. It has bags, wooden tags, stickers, clips, and everything I'll need to make sure I have the cutest packaged presents. Mwhahah! (Slightly competitive BFFs, but totally kidding!) I got 45 pieces for $7.42! Major SCORE!
Click HERE to get the Holiday Packaging Kit holiday wrap pack or to see what other goodies they have for sale today!
Here are a few other fun wrapping ideas we found for ya!
Typographic Gift Wrap
Gift Wrap Envelope (For the record, we do not endorse the buying of the wrapping paper used for that envelope.)
We can't wait for the Favorite Things Party next month! After we have it, we'll reveal what our 2012 favs were and share some fun pictures from our night! So, are you ready to host a Favorite Things Party? We'd love to hear if you're thinking of planning one now too!
Last Sunday night we gathered together with 200 of our family, friends, crew, and blog readers to celebrate the premiere episode of our new show Knock It Off. (To watch full episodes online, click HERE. To see all the projects featured on the show click HERE)
To say the party was awesome would be the understatement of the year! We know many of you (our amazing readers) live far away, so we wanted to share our night with you!
A huge thanks to Nicole from Expressions by Nicole Marie for doing all the photography for the night. She's a Philadelphia area photographer. Check out her website to see more of her work.
The dessert table was by far our favorite thing ever! Linda (more explanation on her later) put this together and it reflected us perfectly!
Paint cans, paint sticks, adorable chalkboards, and mini tools captured our DIY theme perfectly.
Yes, Linda made all of the desserts including the tool cookies. They were a huge hit!
Who knew paint sticks could be so perfect as food labels? She dipped the end in paint and then stamped on them. This would also be a great idea for an art themed birthday party!
The tools were plastic and spray painted silver to accessorize the table.
Every little detail was thought of- look at the mini Jess and Monica!! Janeny from Craft that Party made the adorable peg dolls with Knock It Off on them. They made adorable cake toppers! Janeny does all kinds of custom peg dolls that are crazy cute!
Check out the centerpieces… quart-sized paint cans filled with custom Knock It Off lollypops from Vintage Confections. The tool keychains were our little party favors- I think my kids thought the tools were the coolest thing ever!
Jess and I were at the main entrance to greet all of our guests (which was super fun to meet so many readers!!), then everyone got appetizers and dessert and finally it was time to watch the premiere. And what's a premiere without popcorn?
Linda used some paint swatches (with permission of course) to make a garland for the popcorn table.
And now, who is this Linda woman you ask?? She is a blog reader we met and got to know by doing a Knock It Off episode at her home- check her out in an upcoming kitchen episode! Linda owns Frog Prince Cake and Cookie Design and she also helps with party planning.
Linda is SO talented and we can't thank her enough for all her hard work. She thought of every detail and pulled everything off with perfect planning! If you have an event coming up and need amazing desserts or even help planning contact Linda! Also, be sure to LIKE her on Facebook and check out all of her awesome creations!
Check back on Monday when we're going to post on the decor of the party and where you can find all the fun items Linda used!
We also had a mini-Red Carpet leading to a Knock It Off Photo booth. The KIO logo decals came from Ten23 Designs- they do stock and custom design vinyl.
We're so happy that we have so many fun pics of our guests! Check out this weekend's episode to see this fun couple's bedroom transformation!
This couple were the stars of the premiere episode- they loved their dining room->playroom transformation! Plus, they're adorable!
Cute couple alert! Jess and Kev!
Me and my boys… (an no my hair isn't red, just looks like it in this light)
Baby brothers are always good for an extremely weird picture!
We're so thankful for fun, strong, supportive women in our lives!
Have we mentioned we have the BEST sponsors ever? This is Nancy from Bare Root Design Studio- We'll be sharing more about all the fun giveaways in another post.
And of course, we wouldn't want to be on this crazy journey with anyone else. Doing what we love and getting to do it together is the coolest thing ever!
We hope you're enjoying the show- if you've gotten a chance to check it out, we'd love to know what you think! Feel free to email us, leave a comment, or post on Facebook!
