When we got there Ash (the hostess with the mostess) had TJ’s Flax chips, hummus, veggies [...]]]> It was so much fun to go to John and Ashley’s (or should I say Dr. Strauss and Mr. Johnny’s ) last night! They have a great new place in the Short North that is new and adorably decorated!

When we got there Ash (the hostess with the mostess) had TJ’s Flax chips, hummus, veggies and salsa out for appetizers! We munched while she cooked.

Johnny was in charge of the grill and did a great job despite the flooding rains and tornado sirens that were going on. Luckily their porch is HUGE and so we could still cook out!

Everything was perfect! It was such a nice summer meal: Grilled Salmon with a special mustard sauce that was amazing(I’ll see if I can get the recipe!), sweet potato wedges and broiled asparagus.

I couldn’t have been happier with my dinner!

For dessert, I knew we would want something light so I made an old recipe. It’s such a summer dessert:

Jello/Yogurt Pie

• 2 fat free yogurts (same flavor, I used raspberry)
• 1 sugar free jello (same flavor as the yogurt)
• 1/3 c. boiling water
• 1 tub of fat free cool whip
• crust: graham cracker or I made a pretzel crust with pretzels, butter or spray butter and sugar or stevia
• frozen or fresh berries

1. Boil water and mix with jello until dissolved
2. Add yogurt to jello and water and stir until mixed together
3. Fold in Cool Whip until mixed then fold in berries
4. Put filling in the crust of your choice
5. Keep in the fridge until it is time to serve

Anna was wide awake and hanging out with me in the kitchen while I whipped this up yesterday!

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Even Anna made it the 5 miles. Brady pushed her while we ran.

Then we came home and showered. I [...]]]> We got home from Chautauqua on Saturday night after putting the dock in during the day. We went to bed so we could get up and run the 5 mile Blossom Time Run (the festival in Chagrin Falls).

Even Anna made it the 5 miles. Brady pushed her while we ran.

Then we came home and showered. I got to work on our rib sauce while the boys went golfing. When they got back from golfing, we got things set and took them up to the Mackey’s house. They brought the grill, the tools, the sauce we made, the ribs that had been cooking for a few hours and some competitive spirit.

Everyone set up their station around the yard and got to work.

Team 1: Brady in action:

Team 2: Carl (who started cooking his ribs at 1pm and they weren’t due until 6pm.)

Team 3: Karen and Matt

Team 4: David (check out his smoker – this is serious competition and he won last year!)

Team 5: Big Jim (the host of the competition)

Team 6: Adam and Kara (the future newlyweds!)

Team 7: Tom (makes his ribs like we do – keeping it in the fam!)

Team 8: Ryan and JP (joined forces since last year in attempt to dominate)

Team 9 – Mike – why weren’t you at your grill Mike? Where were you?

While the ribs were cooking, there was lots of hanging out!

At 6pm all of the ribs were due to be turned in the kitchen. We were happy with how ours looked! Good Work Brady!

So each team loads their 4 racks into metal trays and drops them off at the kitchen door. There they are secretly given a letter to identify them. No one is told the letter.

Jim thinks he is going to be the champ…we will see!

To show their support of their dads, we dressed Anna and Addie up!

Can you read their shirts? They say: VOTE 4 My Daddy!

Once the ribs are in the kitchen, they are cut into single pieces. Each person is allowed to get one rib from each sauce at first. (We have a crazy amount of food.) They then take a ballot and vote for their top 3 entries.

The behind the scenes secret kitchen prep time is hard work!

When things are ready, you label your plate and make your way around the island.

You have to make room for 9 different sauces and ribs. Usually I just taste the sauces and vote according to that. Brady and I share a plate so we can consult.

Then I got in and fill up my plate on the sides and salads, which most people are not as interested in!

Smoked salmon plate with veggies and antipasto

Strawberry spinach salad

Tossed Veggie Salad

Laura’s cheesy mac

Roasted potatoes

Peanut noodles

The spread:

My mocktail – diet tonic with lime! It feels like a drink and it won’t make it harder for me to get up in the night.

Anna was cozy for the evening!

Back to normal posts today!

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The luncheon was hosted by my Aunt Kim’s good friends, Susan and Linda. It was at Susan’s [...]]]> On Friday afternoon, after lounging around the pool while the boys golfed on Friday morning, we went to the bridal luncheon! It was so much fun to be able to have a fancy lunch with the girls before the wedding.

The luncheon was hosted by my Aunt Kim’s good friends, Susan and Linda. It was at Susan’s house on her back porch, which overlooked this amazing scene.

Her porch was huge and easily accommodated all of us comfortably.

The tables were beautifully set with chargers, china and cloth napkins. Fresh red and white flowers were the centerpieces and each guest had a name card. The black and white with red was stunning!

Everyone was having a great time!

Lunch was amazing as well! The food was all homemade and it was perfect for a girly lunch. We had fresh zucchini bread sandwiches, balsamic strawberries and a shrimp salad with rice and celery.

Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, Linda and Susan appeared with some of the best pie I have ever tasted. It was frozen but it was not hard, it was smooth and creamy. Susan was kind enough to share the recipe with me so I could share it with you! I think my challenge for the week will be to lighten this up and see if it is still just as good as it was!

Thank you so much to our amazing hostesses with the mostess! They did such a wonderful job with everything from the food to the place settings! It was so nice to get to have lunch together before the real wedding festivities began! I know I could learn a lot from both of them!

Linda:

Susan:

Recipes will be posted!

This was just the beginning of a very indulgent weekend! I just enjoyed myself and decided I would get back on track when I returned home. I will let you know my plan for that very soon!

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In her Moses basket:

Having fun with her hands:

Kara kissing her little ducky bottom:

We also stopped over at our neighbors happy hour last night. The theme [...]]]> It’s been a busy couple of day with Kara in town from Denver! We had a great time taking Anna walking, to lunch, shopping, wedding planning for Kara and going to dinner!

In her Moses basket:

Having fun with her hands:

Kara kissing her little ducky bottom:

We also stopped over at our neighbors happy hour last night. The theme was Cinco de Mayo (the party was rescheduled from last week) so I thought lime cupcakes would be fun to try! Here is what I did:

Cupcakes:

1 box white cake mix

12 oz margarita mix (liquid) – non alcoholic because that is what I had

2 eggs

1 Tbsp grated lime zest

1 Tbsp. lime juice

Lime Icing:

1 container of vanilla frosting

4 tbsp. lime juice

1 tbsp. lime zest

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350º

2. Combine margarita mix, cake mix, eggs, lime zest and lime juice. Stir ingredients together.

4. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full.

5. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Since these have no oil, they will be better lighter than more cooked so they are not dry.

Icing:
6. Mix frosting with lime juice and lime zest.

7. Frost cooled cupcakes and top with a lime.

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She even filled the ice cubes with cranberries!

Here are some of the delicious treats she had for us- and this isn’t even all of them:

Punch: I was not able to taste, but looked and smelled [...]]]> Last night we went to our first Hanukkah party! Our friend, Chait (her name is actually Sarah) did a beautiful job hostessing!

She even filled the ice cubes with cranberries!

Here are some of the delicious treats she had for us- and this isn’t even all of them:

Punch: I was not able to taste, but looked and smelled good!

Authentic Hummus:

Delicious Guac:

Her special family recipe salad:

Spinach Rolls – made by Jackie!

Pesto Polenta Rounds:

Crackers for covering with goodies:

Hot artichoke dip:

Brie and Cranberry Goat Cheese:

Fresh Veggies:

Toppings for the Latkes which I somehow missed. I think I was waiting for the hot ones to come out of the oven…

Coconut cookies:

Dreidel Cookies I made – notice my attempt Hebrew:

My fun and festive beverage of Sprite Zero and cranberry ice cubes. The diet pop was a treat, I try to avoid it normally and stick to water. But when everyone else is drinking fun punch, and wine – you just need a little Sprite

Thanks for having us Chait, we had a wonderful time!

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Turkey Stars (also known as Sausage Stars)

Soft pretzels with spicy and honey mustard

Turkey Treats – what Brady calls “Sausage stars” (he thinks I made them with real sausage) [...]]]> For food, I was not to set on any one thing. Since people didn’t come over until after 8, I knew I just needed munchies instead of heavy food. Here is what we had:

Soft pretzels with spicy and honey mustard

Turkey Treats – what Brady calls “Sausage stars” (he thinks I made them with real sausage) Recipe of the lightened version to come

Cranberry Goat Cheese Triangles – recipe to come! Thanks Nasoya!

Fat free pumpkin dip with apples and graham crackers:

Classic Chips and Salsa

Also, a big bowl of Chex Mix that disappeared first!

The table before the food was put on – I got busy and forgot the after shot!

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In the following fun varieties:

The winner of the best beer with a score of 76 points was:

Close, in second place, with a score of 75 was our beer!

The worst beer of night, with a milkshake like consistency:

The mini dixie cups of beer were [...]]]> Last night we had our annual beer tasting party. There was lots of this:

In the following fun varieties:

The winner of the best beer with a score of 76 points was:

Close, in second place, with a score of 75 was our beer!

The worst beer of night, with a milkshake like consistency:

The mini dixie cups of beer were delivered on trays and were each labeled with a letter so no one would know which was which.

The scores were recorded on mini score sheets we made up:

It was a fun night! I woke up hangover free after a night of sipping water from an extra large wine glass. My house was cleaner this morning than it would have been if I was participating – so that was a plus!

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