Halloween

Comic Book Themed Halloween Party

October 27, 2017 No Comments Halloween

Halloween for me is a dream. It is a chance to truly create a one-of-a-kind world within a party each year. There have been some years in the past where I’ve just had all of the crazy life things happening and I’ve opted for a traditional, creepy black and orange style Halloween party. There will always be a special place in my heart for those traditional Halloween shindigs. However, my favorite years tend to be the years where we create a party around a theme, including this past year’s comic book themed Halloween.

For me a theme gives me boundaries to be creative within which helps in pulling back and focusing on the most essential details. Some of my favorite themes of the past include a Joss Whedon themed party (still to be posted!), fairy tale themed Halloween dinner, and a Mad Tea Party. Last year we decided to try out a comic-book themed party. It was a blast! Read on to discover some tips for creating your own comic book themed party.

Our bar was inspired pretty heavily from the Evite ‘Comic Book Party Super Bar‘ – I had drew a similar design from their inspiration post. Theirs is about 50 times more fabulous, but the idea made an impact for our bar as well. Kudos to their in-house party stylist for some seriously awesome inspiration. If you don’t already follow the Evite party planning blog then I recommend you check it out!

I created a few fun cocktails including a punch bowl. In addition we had beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Comic Book Themed Costumes

Hosting parties that have a theme give guests a small idea of what to expect and it also helps bring together some pretty great costumes. The comic-book theme made me get creative with my costume. I like doing family costumes so I finally landed on a Felicity Smoak costume and the family and I pulled from the Arrow and Flash comics for our outfits.

Comic Book Decor

I really wanted to have fun with the comic book decor, but honestly, didn’t have a crazy budget. So, instead, I ordered a batch of comic books off of Amazon (affiliate link) and was pleased at the crazy mixture that I received. I held back the best books for part of my favor bags and then used the other ones to create a table cloth for the tables, tags for our favor bags, and wraps for the cups. I also created large comic book images utilizing a roll of white butcher paper (affiliate link) and a projector.

Our really big cityscape wall was created with black kraft paper (affiliate link), yellow construction paper, and cardboard boxes. A very good friend of mine came over and built the whole city knowing that the kids were going to destroy it afterwards!

I also found some great comic book characters at local thrift stores for about a dollar a piece. It was a great addition to the party and then my sons got to play with them afterwards!

FOOD… the food was hard for me because I wanted it to be tasty and easy, but also in theme as much as possible. We did ‘Hero Sammies’ and Super Salad to make sure that there were some hearty and healthy dishes. We also created some super hero cupcakes with a mini-hershey bar and a store bought cupcake!

Comic book party favors

I love giving guests something to remember the party by… typically, for Halloween, I get some candy or edible treats that the guests can enjoy. For the comic book themed party I put in a comic book (super affordable when buying in a mixed group!), stickers, and candy. We also had a costume contest with small comic book character prizes and tasty chocolate.

Check out more ideas for a comic book themed party via my Comic Book Party Pinterest Board.

Tell me, what is your favorite comic book themed character?

A Well Crafted Pantry

Berry Good Cosmic Cocktails: Dark Side of the Moontini

October 25, 2017 1 Comment A Well Crafted Pantry

Whether you just want a tasty mysteriously dark cocktail to impress your guests at a Halloween party or something fun to spice up a space themed party, this cocktail packs a punch. Dubbed the ‘Dark Side of the Moontini’ this drink utilizes a ice ball created out of a triple-berry syrup that then melts into a mixture of bourbon and splash of berry soda water.

This post is in partnership with Oregon Berries. All opinions are my own. See my other collaborations with Oregon Berries: Triple Berry Smoothie with Miso & Marionberry Champagne Cocktail.

The star of this cocktail is the slowly melting ice ball created with a triple-berry syrup. The syrup is SO easy to create. I used Stahlbush Island Farms frozen black raspberries, raspberries, and Marion blackberries. I kept to the darker berries for a rich flavor that would pair well with the bourbon, but also to make sure my drink had a very dark color to it (naturally).

Triple Berry Simple Syrup

This triple berry simple syrup can be made to mix with cocktails or non-alcoholic drinks. I love this syrup in Italian Creme Sodas or mixed with lemonade. YUM.

Use the below portions to create a batch of syrup in any amount that you need:

1 part each type of berry
2 part water
2 part granulated sugar

Or, to make approximately 2.5 cups of syrup:

1 cup black raspberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup Marion blackberries
2 cups water
2 cups sugar

Directions:

Put the frozen berries and water in a saucepan and cook over medium heat (stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick) until the berries soften. Approximately 5 minutes.
Add the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Approximately 5 minutes.
Strain the liquid from the berries. Squish the berries as you go to get all the lovely juices.
Refrigerate the berry syrup for up to two weeks

Create the Berry Ice Ball:

I use the individual ice spheres (affiliate link) to create my ice balls. I literally have these in my freezer at all times with at least two ice balls ready to go for when I want a bourbon on ice. I love the way they look, but even more, I love the way that they melt. To create the berry ice ball I didn’t want it to be TOO sweet, so I first filled the ice sphere mold a third of the way with water. I then complete the sphere with my berry syrup. I do freeze my ice balls overnight so that they are pretty hard. To release from the mold I put under running water for about 30 seconds.

The berry ice ball would be great with a delicious lemonade or even a plopped into a lemon drop cocktail. However, I wanted the cocktail to be both dark in color and in flavor. I wanted something complex. So, bourbon was my go to liquor.

Dark Side of the Moontini

(A Bourbon and Berry Cocktail)

Ingredients:

1 Berry Ice Ball
2 oz of your favorite bourbon
1 oz of berry flavored soda water

Directions:

Put berry ice ball in a martini glass
Add 2 ounces of your favorite bourbon
Top with 1 ounce (or to taste) of your favorite berry flavored soda water

This drink starts of strong and as the ice melts gets sweeter. It is a sipper for sure!

A Well Crafted Pantry

Portobello Caprese Burgers + Free Printables

July 3, 2017 No Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

I’m a meat eater. I love, love, love me a good beef burger. However, for a variety of reasons, my family and I do try our best to NOT eat meat one day a week at least. As much as we enjoy meat, we enjoy vegetables just as much. I really thrive on creating meatless menu options for our weekly dinners. This Portobello Caprese Burger is a great substitute if you’re wanting to cut back on the meat a bit but still want something hearty and flavorful. It is also a fantastic for a vegetarian burger option at your next cookout! (Just remember to cook BEFORE cooking your meat on the grill so that you’re not giving your vegetarian friend meat drippings on their vegetarian burger!)

Portobello Caprese Burgers

Portobello mushrooms are rich and earthy. They are also fairly affordable. I substitute portobello mushrooms for beef often because it creates that bold flavor and bit of chew that beef typically gives a dish. We chose to serve the burgers with a side of grilled zucchini spears. This made for a really tasty and fairly healthy meal!

Serves 6

Ingredients for Balsamic Marinade:

Olive Oil (approximately 3 tablespoons)
Balsamic Vinegar (approximately 3 tablespoons)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper

Ingredients for Portobello Caprese Burgers:

Hamburger Buns
6 Portobello Mushroom Caps whole with stem removed
6 slices of mozzarella cheese
6-12 slices of tomato (I did roma tomatoes so the burgers had two slices each, but if you use a bigger tomato then 1 slice would work.)
Fresh Basil leaves (you’ll want enough to top each burger)
Balsamic Marinade

For Grilled Zucchini Side:

5 medium sized zucchini cut into spears
Balsamic Marinade

How to Make Portobello Caprese Burgers with Grilled Zucchini Spears:

Directions for Balsamic Marinade:

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl

Directions for Portobello Caprese Burgers:

Brush the Balsamic Marinade onto each side of the clean, de-stemmed portobello mushrooms
Put on a grill, smooth side down over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until tender
While the portobello mushrooms are cooking add mozzarella to your top bun and place your buns on a toasting tray on your grill or above a cooler side of the grill to toast the buns and melt the cheese. Be careful to not burn the buns.
OPTIONAL: I chose not to use any condiments on my burger because the mushroom with the balsamic marinade was plenty moist and flavorful and I’m currently watching extra calories. However, if you’d like I’d suggest using a nice garlic aioli or a really good quality mayo on the bottom bun. Topping the burger with a balsamic glaze would also be delish!
Top your bottom bun with a few basil leaves, the portobello mushroom, slices of tomato, and a few more basil leaves. Top with the mozzarella covered bun. ENJOY!

Directions for Grilled Zucchini Spears:

Toss your raw zucchini spears in the leftover balsamic marinade. If you use all of your marinade up brushing them on the mushrooms then go ahead and make some more marinade. Also, you’re going to have some seriously tasty mushrooms! 😉
Put in a grilling basket or on top of a foil lined grill. Grill until tender, approximately 6-8 minutes. (We grilled our mushrooms and zucchini at the same time and everything was ready to go around the same time.)
Serve alongside the burger. Add an optional dipping sauce of garlic aioli for a nice flavor punch.

We served these tasty little burgers with some of the Julian Hard Cider that I shared yesterday. The portobello was especially nice with the Cherry Bomb cider!

4th of July Free Printable Food Tray

I of course had to serve up my Portobello Caprese Burgers in something fun for the holiday. I created these fun stars and striped food trays to make serving these burgers a little more festive.

Directions for Use:

Click on file and save to computer
Print on white cardstock in full color
Cut around the outside of the food tray and on the dotted lines
Fold where there are white solid lines.
Glue the tabs into the panel directly to the right of the tab you are gluing.
Once complete, line your food tray with wax paper and top with food. The heavier the weight of your card stock the more sturdy these food trays will be.

Download your Free Printable 4th of July Food Tray

Have a fantastic 4th of July holiday tomorrow! Stay safe and have fun.

Holidays

Comic Book Themed Costumes

Comic Book Decor

Comic book party favors

Tell me, what is your favorite comic book themed character?

Triple Berry Simple Syrup

Create the Berry Ice Ball:

Dark Side of the Moontini

Portobello Caprese Burgers

Ingredients for Balsamic Marinade:

Ingredients for Portobello Caprese Burgers:

For Grilled Zucchini Side:

How to Make Portobello Caprese Burgers with Grilled Zucchini Spears:

Directions for Balsamic Marinade:

Directions for Portobello Caprese Burgers:

Directions for Grilled Zucchini Spears:

4th of July Free Printable Food Tray

Directions for Use:

Download your Free Printable 4th of July Food Tray