They say it's your birthday...

So my birthday was on the June 3rd and we decided to have a small, low-key shindig the weekend before to celebrate. One of my bestest friends since high school, Jamie came into town and surprised me! (Her and the hubster planned it.. tricky, tricky.) She brought lots of goodies from her store and helped stage my table with all of my mismatched dishes... Pyrex can make some pretty serving dishes. :P The fabulous Jules brought over some Caramel Birthday Brownies that were soooo good.

My life is so busy right now (hence not posting since the 22nd of May). It was the husbanator's idea for this shindig, so he did lots of the prep for it. Besides the cleaning he did....

Here he is making the jello shots. (I wanted to pretend I was back in college for the evening)



Here he is chopping the green pepper for Corn and Black Bean Salsa. I make this frequently and always forget to take a picture. It's always so pretty too!



He made beer dip (and forgot to add the ranch until he was done... doh! It still turned out delicious though), we also had veggies and various dips, and my friend Erin made my favorite artichoke dip.

At the last minute I decide to make a Bruschetta recipe my aunt made at Christmas. It is so, so good. I wish I would have thought about it earlier, because it only got to sit in the fridge for about 3 hours before our friends arrived. It's best to make it the night before or the morning of. The flavors really combine and are just excellent. These can be served on crostinis, bagel chips, or pita chips. I didn't take my pictures until the next day and I only had Triscuits left - still delicious!

Basil and Tomato Feta Bruschetta
Recipe: my aunt (not sure where it's originally from)




For Bruschetta:

6-8 Roma Tomatoes - chopped
1 red onion - chopped
Fresh Basil to taste - use lots, it's yummy!
2 tbsp Lemon Juice
4 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

For Cheese:

2/3 Package of Cream Cheese
1 Package (4oz) Basil & Tomato Feta
Fresh Basil to taste
Olives to taste (I omitted this)

1) Combine chopped tomato and onion, basil, lemon juice and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2) Mix Cream Cheese and Feta, add fresh basil and olives to taste.

I served the Bruschetta and Cheese separate and let our guests build their own little tasty appetizer.