A Day of Parties

Last weekend was my grandson Connor's fourth birthday. He had asked for a "knight and princess" party (the princess part was his mom's idea, since there would be some girls), so that became the theme. Fried chicken, corn-on-the-cob, watermelon and corn muffins were the feast of the day, with plenty of Capri Sun and bottled water. The weather that afternoon was perfect, special ordered for the day, although Connor's dad was a bit too warm in his knight costume. After games and snacks, there was a knighting/"princessing" ceremony, complete with inflatable swords and plastic tiaras.
  

 A parade down the cul-de-sac was followed by the slaying of the dragon piñata. As usual, Laura outdid herself with the cake. A knight needs his castle, and that's just what she created. Four tiers high, the strawberry cake was frosted with chocolate icing and embellished with Hershey nuggets and M&Ms. The turrets were built from ice cream cones. Just in case the cake was not large enough, she added a tower of lemon cupcakes.

Since Lloyd and Terri were up visiting, and most of the family would already be at the house, Laura decided to have Terri's baby shower that evening. Melanie brought her Pampered Chef expertise and some cool tools to make an amazing cucumber-lime dip and veggie platter, with a chocolate lava cake for dessert. Along with spinach dip, a fruit tray and sparkling tropical punch, the dining room table was full of girl-food. The men, evidently still hungry after the afternoon's festivities, descended like a herd of locusts and helped us with the leftovers. Everyone got plenty to eat, and Mel's party games had us all laughing hard.

I tried a new recipe for the shower, and it was a hit. I can only imagine how good it would be with real crab.

Crab Puffs
Makes about a dozen
Heat oven to 375f

1 can butterflake crescent rolls
1 - 8oz package of Krab
1/2 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tbsp. mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. onion powder or 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion
Salt & pepper to taste

Chop the krab coarsely. Combine krab, cheese, mayo and seasonings. Set aside
Unroll the crescent dough and seal up the perforations. Cut into 12 equal rectangles.
Place about 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each rectangle. Fold in half and seal the edges, ravioli style.

Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 14 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Serve warm.