For kids – hot-dogs, baked
beans, potato salad, corn on the cob, and chips. Simple and easy!
For adults – big bowls of
chili, cornbread, cole slaw or salad.
Serve up Trail Mix a
concoction of breakfast cereals, mini pretzels, M&Ms,
chocolate chips, raisins, dried fruits and nuts, Boston Baked
Beans, and Rattle Snake Eggs (jelly beans), Golden Nuggets,
beef jerky, and Crunchy Critters in baskets – or simple tie
a
Bandanas
around baskets for a cute Western touch.
Serving ideas:
Make your party more
Eco-friendly by using regular dinner plates, flatware and
glasses, even if the party is outdoors. It's more cost
efficient, creates less trash at the same time, and your
table is prettier.
Fill different sized glasses
(goblets, tumblers, wine) or glass bowls with dried split
peas, lentils and beans, set on top of up-side-down terra
cotta planters of different sizes. Beans can all be one
kind/color or layer the beans for a unique look. Place a
candle inside (soy & beeswax are more Eco-friendly).
Place silverware into mason
jars. Mason jars also work well for holding votive candles,
celery sticks, pickle slices, carrot sticks and etc.
Turn bushel baskets on there
side and let chips spill out. Cover baskets with twinkle
lights. Rent a cactus from a prop shop or place an
inflatable cactus on the table.
Bake bread in small terra
cotta pots lined with foil and place the pots around the
tables (on wooden tongue depressors, write the name of the
bread and stick it down into the loaf), sprinkle loaves with
herbs and coarse salt.
Turn medium and large terra
cotta planters up-side-down and use as risers to elevate
foods on the tables to different heights. For a decorative
accent anywhere, just stack 5 or 6 small terra cotta pots
and turn them up-side-down on the table.
Sapling trees make great
favors and can be used as centerpieces prior to giving to
guests. Just cover the pot they are in with burlap fabric
and tie with raffia or jute. At the end of the night the
person sitting at the table with the closest birthday to
your event date, gets to take the tree home and plant it.
Place small bowl in the inside of
an upside down
Cowboy Hats. Fill it with
salsa and add chips. Do several of these with different
degrees of "hot".
Pour Sarsaparilla (root
beer) and other drinks into
Light Up Mugs
or Boot Mugs
to keep your cowpokes replenished.
Ice beer down in galvanized
tubs or cover a keg with a barrel.
Cake Ideas:
| Cowboy Boot
Cake (Use a rectangular pan. Cool cake completely after baking.
Use a toothpick to draw the outline of a boot on the cake. Cut cake
from your outline and frost. A guitar cake sets the tone for fun
at your party! Especially good for those singing cowboys.
Horseshoe Cake
Bake cakes a day or so ahead; store, covered. Or bake cakes
a week ahead; freezer-wrap; freeze.
Ingredients:
2 pkg. of favorite cake mix
2 pkg. or cans of favorite frosting
2- 9 inch round cake pans
1- 10" x 6" x 2" oblong cake pan,
(craft stores carry
horseshoe shaped pans.)
cowboy & Indian figures
birthday candles
1. Prepare and bake 1 pkg. favorite cake mix as label
directs, making 2 - 9-inch round layers. Cool as directed.
2. Start heating oven to 350 degrees F. Grease well a 10" x
6" x 2" pan. Prepare second package of cake mix as label
directs; turn into pan. Bake about 35 minutes, or until cake
tester, inserted in center, comes out clean. Cool as
directed.
3. The evening before the party, from center of 1 - 9" round
layer, cut, remove and reserve 3-inch circle. Then cut layer
in half and place one half on top of the other with
frosting, as filling. (Save second layer for a later
dessert).
4. Place a 14-inch x 12-inch cake board or foil-covered
cardboard so short end faces you. On it set filled layer,
rounded side at end of board away from you. Set oblong cake
on board, long side against cut sides of layers. Glue with
frosting.
5. Starting at ends of inner arc of layer, with knife, cut
down through oblong cake to form horseshoe shape. Remove
center piece of cake from oblong for a later dessert.
6. Now, where inner arc of layer joins oblong cake, whittle
off some cake to widen arc. Also, whittle cake into
horseshoe shape 2" up from both ends.
7. Cut reserved 3" circle of cake in half vertically. Set on
half on top of other, with frosting between; halve
vertically. With frosting, glue straight cut side of each
half to outside of each end of horseshoe forming straight
line to bottom.
8. Use frosting, to frost cake, keeping horseshoe shape.
Refrigerate.
9. Day of party, set cowboy & Indian figures, and candles on
and around cake. |
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