Puppy Chow.

PUPPY CHOW.  Peanut butter. Chocolate.  Powdered Sugar.  Who doesn't love that combination?  Puppy chow is a great summer snack.  There is no oven required and it is easy to make.

Puppy Chow

3/4 cup peanut butter
6 T. butter
1 - 12oz. package chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli semi-sweet)

1 - 12.8oz. box Rice Chex cereal
powdered sugar

Melt the peanut butter, butter, and chocolate chips together.  Coat the cereal in the chocolate mixture.  Generously coat in powdered sugar.  Eat and enjoy!

I melt the chocolate mixture on the stove and then do the mixing in a very large bowl.

P.S.  If you are wondering why there are two different bowls in my pictures, it is because I was playing around with my picture taking.

Grandma's Chicken Pasta Salad

I love chicken pasta salad and here is a really yummy recipe.  This isn't your typical recipe with a mayo based dressing.  This is a recipe that my grandma has served at various event.  I think it is delicious.  It probably isn't kid food though.

With summer time here, chicken pasta salad is a great dish.  No oven, it can be made ahead of time, and it is served cold.  Who couldn't pass up chicken pasta salad?  Not me.

There are some adjustments I did to the recipe, well not really adjustments, but things I did my way... I guess you could say.  First, the recipe said not to refrigerate the pasta.  But, I refrigerated the pasta and the chicken mix separately and then mixed them together the next day before serving.  The recipe called for 1 whole chicken breast - cooked.  I just used some of the cooked shredded rotisserie chicken that we always have in our freezer.  One chicken breast didn't seem like enough to me.  I didn't measure it, so just add as much as you like.  And, for the frozen snow peas.  I just used Trader Joe's sugar snap peas, fresh.

So, make this today!  It is so good!!

Grandma's Chicken Pasta Salad

Dressing:
1/4 cup walnut oil
1/4 cup salad oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. salt
black pepper

Chicken Mix:
cooked, shredded chicken
5 - 6 nectarines, sliced
4 red plums, sliced
10 oz. frozen snow peas (pea pods)
6 green onions, sliced
1/2 - 1 cup walnuts, chopped

1. Mix dressing.  Set aside.
2. Cook pasta (spaghetti).  I did about 12 oz. or about 3/4 of a 16 oz. package.
3. Mix the cooked pasta with 1/4 cup dressing.
4. Combine remaining dressing with chicken mix.
5. Refrigerate.
6. Mix the chicken mix in with the pasta when ready to serve. 

Enjoy!

Graduation Party

Sunday, June 1, was my graduation from high school.  We had my graduation party shortly after the ceremony.

We rented a tent.  We don't really have any good space at our house for large groups of people.  When my mom ordered the tent, she thought we would be getting 4 sides for it.  Well, when my dad went to pick it up, he decided that we really only needed 1 side.  But, then they forgot to give us the one side.  It rained all day.  Luckily it wasn't very windy, so the rain didn't blow into the tent.  My dad did manage to create a bit of a side with some tarps.

But, the rain actually made our place really cozy.

We put watermelon taffy around on the tables.  The color theme was pink, green, blue, and red.

For beverages we served coffee, raspberry lemonade, and water.  The water was little water bottles in ice in the metal stand next to the table.

We made these fabric chandlers to decorate with.

 

My dessert was cookies.  I made butterscotch chocolate chip, monster, and chocolate crinkle.  We had brown paper envelopes so that people could have a cookie then and/or take one home.

My mom's friend Michelle came to help get ready for the party and brought my mom this chalk board.

We had the display table right away after the guest came inside.

This was a wall I did up, with my mom's help, of some pictures.  I hung baker's twine up with washi tape.  My mom had found little mini close pins and that is what we used to hang the pictures.

Our guests signed a sheet of scrapbook paper for my mom to put into my scrapbook.  On one page was the front of my invitation and on the other was the back of the invitation.

We served pork tacos.  There were soft tortilla shells, the pork, rice, black beans, and all your typically taco toppings.  We served it with tortilla chips and mixed fresh fruit.  We had WAY to much.  We probably used 1/3 to 1/2 of everything.  But, I guess it was better to have too much than to be running out.

My dad's brother from Florida and his wife came up.

Here are some pictures of everyone!

Thanks everyone for helping me celebrate!

A Busy Start to Summer...

It has been a very busy last couple weeks.  But, they were fun!

Sunday school ended the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.  After church that day, there was an all church picnic.

Track had ended for me the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend.  So, I was able to run the Memorial Day 10k.  I LOVE running road races.  They are so much fun!  It felt so good to get out and run this.

Wednesday, May 28, was the last day of school for us seniors.  Last day of high school... forever.

Last Friday, my mom and I ran some errands.  We needed to get groceries for my graduation party.

On our way back, we stopped at my friend Betsy's graduation party.  The Maddy, Betsy, and I have been friends since pre-school.  It was fun that Maddy and I were at Betsy's at the same time.  We have moved a part so we don't get to see each other too often.

We had been busy getting the house in order for the graduation party.  We repainted the deck, got some little projects done around the house, planted flowers, and kept very busy.

Sunday, June 4, was my school's high school graduation ceremony.  There were 47 students in my graduating class.  The ceremony was under an hour long - short and sweet.

My friend Liz and I

Sunday evening is when I had my graduation party.  (Pictures from that will be coming soon.)

Last weekend I got a babysitting job.  I have always wanted to babysit, and now I got the opportunity (I did have a babysitting job a few years ago for an older girl)!  So, last Monday I babysat.  Then, my friend Liz asked me if I wanted to go polka dancing with her that night.  So, I did.

Polka dancing was actually really fun.  I was just a bit tired.  It was so cute to see the older couples out dancing!

The next morning, Tuesday, my mom and I got up and headed down to Ames for orientation at Iowa State University.  It as a two day ordeal.  We stayed in the dorms.  I got to meet new people, learn more about the university, and sign up for my fall semester courses.  I am really excited to go there and to major in food science.

Now, there isn't too much on the schedule for a while.  Relaxing, enjoying my summer, finally getting our garden in, and doing some working (babysitting and at the drug in store in town).