Making Memories

Posted @ Jul. 01 2011 08:47AM by Holly - eat-drink

Crafty Ideas For a Fun Party

By Alexandra Hedin | Photos by jeff hobson

I have yet to meet a young girl who doesn’t get a kick out of crafting. Even if they aren’t very good at it, it’s a fun activity for little hands – and one that leaves them with something to take home. My friend Madison loves to craft – and is really good at it. So for her birthday it only seemed appropriate to have a handful of friends over to make fabric and ribbon flowers to adorn store-bought straw bags. To top it all off, we had a fabulous little luncheon on the lawn – just like little ladies.

At a party like this, it’s the details that matter. I created custom labels for soda pop bottles on the computer and printed them onto sticker paper. Soaking the bottles first to loosen the old label creates a clean surface to adhere your own design. Hanging tags are equally as effective and are a fun way to identify each guest’s beverage – or send a sweet message like “Happy Birthday!”

Dressing Up Kid-Friendly Food
It’s easy to dress up classic kid foods when you get creative. For the wraps, I used green tortillas. For dessert, I used basic chocolate cake and strawberry ice cream but cut it into circles with a cookie cutter and stacked them together. This could easily be adapted to any combination of cake and ice cream. It can be made even fancier with whipped cream, chocolate on top and a cherry!

The Menu
Cornflake Chicken Strip Wraps
(with ranch dressing, bacon and lettuce)
Fruit Skewers
Strawberry Chocolate Cake Stacks
Button Cookies
Pink Sparkly Drinks
Iced Tea

Pink Sparkly Drink
1 can frozen pink lemonade
1 liter club soda
1/2 cup grenadine

Prepare frozen lemonade using only half the required water. In a large pitcher, combine 3 cups each of lemonade and club soda.
Stir in grenadine and serve over ice.

Cornflake Chicken Wraps
Serves 6

12 chicken tenderloins
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 cups cornflakes, crushed
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper
6 spinach tortillas
12 strips bacon, cooked
12 slices tomato
lettuce
ranch dressing

Heat a skillet over medium heat and drizzle with oil. Set out two shallow bowls near the pan. Whisk together egg and milk in one bowl and cornflakes and flour in the other. Season cornflakes and flour with salt and pepper. Pat chicken strips dry and dredge in egg mixture first, then cornflakes. Pat cornflakes into chicken so they stick and slowly place in warm skillet. Cook evenly on both sides until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

To assemble wrap, layer a small amount of lettuce on each tortilla. Top with two slices of tomato, two slices of bacon and two cooled chicken tenderloins. Drizzle ranch dressing on top of chicken, wrap tortilla and serve.
 

To read the full story see 425's July/August issue.