{ Oh The Places You'll Go Party }

I'm finally sharing Bean's graduation party!

I wish I could tell you that everything went off without a hitch and that I have beautiful photos to share with you, but that is not true.

After having not rained for weeks, the weather report was for, you guessed it, rain.

We went ahead and set up the tent and got things ready, but then, it started to rain. It was a few hours before the party though, so we thought it would be ok. Well, hubs was more convinced than I.

One and a half hours before the party, I decided it would be best to move the location from our backyard to our church.

A lot of scrambling to get things moved and set up took place in that amount of time. I arrived at the church less than one hour before the party began. Thanks to awesome friends who showed up to help, everything got set up.

It may have not been how I'd pictured his party, in our lushy green backyard with hot air balloons hanging from the trees, but this was the party that we had and Bean was still thrilled.

Also, I left my camera at home in the rush. Oops. These are all taken with my phone.

I found the poster decorations on Amazon.

These are what were supposed to hang from our trees. Instead they hung from the basketball hoop in our church gym. Oh well.

I found the tiny baskets on Amazon as well and tied them onto balloons.

For the food I had a Walking Taco bar.

Bags of Fritos and Doritos along with taco meat, salsa, nacho cheese, shredded cheeses, onion, sour cream, jalapenos, onion, and lettuce.

Multi colored Goldfish crackers became Fish in a Dish

Truffala Treats (make the same as Rice Krispy Treats but with Trix cereal instead)

Dipped Marshmallows and Pretzels in Seuss colors

And a Candy Bar

I went the day after Easter and snatched up all the pastel colored candy I could grab for this. The colors match perfectly and 50-75% off, heck yeah!

You can barely see them off to the side in this second photo, but I had fry boxes and crayon boxes for people to take their candy home in.

I have cotton candy in the large cookie jar, which was a huge hit, but be sure to put it in something with a lid and to make sure it gets put back on. It will quickly shrink and harden otherwise.

Lastly, the cupcakes.

These are made with my Cotton Candy Cream Cupcake recipe & my Chocolate Filled Cupcake Recipe (using Red Velvet instead of straight chocolate).

To make the swirled icing you will need 3 small icing bags, each filled 1/2 full with a different color. Snip a medium sized opening off of the bag. Insert the three bags into a large pastry bag fitted with a large tip. It will take a good bit of squeezing, but the result is lovely :)

For the guest book, everyone signed a copy of Oh The Places You'll Go, which I had already had gotten signed by his teachers K-12.

So, there you have it.

Not how we wanted it, but still a very happy grad party for my Bean.

Pictured here on his graduation night with my niece.

National Honor Society, Honor Thespian, and Honors Diploma Graduate. Momma Bear is proud

And will you succeed? 
Yes! You will, indeed! 
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.) KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS! 

<3

Tina

{ Easy Cheese Balls & Dips }

I'm digging back in my archives for this post. WAY back for some of them. You'll notice the difference in photography alone.

Who cares what the pics look like though, because the recipes are still YUM.

I've rounded up some quick, easy, and tasty dips and cheese balls for your party tonight.

I've yet to decide which we will have tonight. I should probably figure that out soon.


1.2.3. Cheese Ball

(recipe)

This is my mother-in-law's recipe and it is a HUGE favorite around here. So, so easy.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

(recipe)

This recipe is from my mom and is equally loved.


Buckeye Cheese Ball

(recipe)

The idea for this recipe started with the above Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball and ended up here, in Deliciousland.

Ranch Cheese Ball

(recipe)

This recipe came from a reader named Donna.


Now on to the dips!


Holy Moses Dip

(recipe)

This recipe came from my friend Lori, but the name is all me ;)


Reuben Dip

(recipe)

My recipe for Reuben Dip.  Sauerkraut is our "lucky" food for New Year's in Ohio.



And finally-

The Big Cheesy Dip

(recipe)

My Bean's favorite dip!

Wishing you a dippy, cheesy new year with many memories, blessings, and good things.

Tina

{ Sweet, Simple Christmas Tree Cupcakes }

As the Christmas holiday closes in, we all begin to panic, if even just a little.

There's just SO much to do. Every year I tell myself I'm NOT GOING TO DO ALL OF THAT, and yet, every year I still do it.

Case in point, Gingerbread Houses. Now, I do it the 'easy' way (see here), but I said I wasn't doing them this year. Yet, what did I find myself doing at 9 pm the night  prior to the party? Making Gingerbread Houses. Christmas comes but once a year. What's an hour of my time and a few dollars in candy? It's a tradition, after all!

I often think about how calm Christmas would be if I didn't host & attend parties. If I didn't bake, and bake, and bake, and candy make. If I didn't do gift boxes of treats, etc. It would be so calm. So peaceful. So... BORING, and SO not me.

So, I go. I do.

It's Christmastime, after all, and I love a good tradition!

One of my favorite traditions at Christmas is watching the Harry Potter movies with the best Christmas scenes. No, I don't watch the whole series at Christmas, I pick and choose. Goblet of Fire for the Yule Ball, Order of the Phoenix for Christmas at Grimmauld Place, Half Blood Prince for Christmas at The Burrow (until those dang D.E. ruined it!). The best of the best, is, of course Sorcerer's Stone. It makes me feel oh, so merry! I love all of the trees in the Great Hall. After watching the other day, I decided to make these cupcakes.

They are the sweetest little Christmas tree cupcakes evah. Totally cute and way easy. Don't tell though. What people don't know won't hurt them.

You just bake up any cupcake flavor of your choosing, frost with a little white, sprinkle on a little sanding sugar, pipe on a little green swirly tree, decorate, and... done!

You can make the trees any shade of green you choose (or, hey, get funky with some colored trees!), but I made mine a more 'natural' shade of green. To achieve this color I used (Wilton Gel food coloring) Leaf Green, Kelly Green, and wee bit of black.

Me gusta.

Hagrid would approve.

So, be it calm or be it hectic, I hope your Christmas is classically YOU.

Tina





Christmas Tree Cupcakes

needed:

Cupcakes, baked and cooled
Buttercream
Green food coloring
piping bag
Wilton 1M tip
White sanding sugar
Decorations


Make sure your buttercream is sort of stiff. You may want to add a little more powdered sugar to your normal recipe.

Scoop out some white and set aside.

Tint the rest to the shade of green you prefer.

Frost cupcakes with the white buttercream. Sprinkle the edges with white sanding sugar.

Using your green icing, in the center of the cupcake, pipe your tree. Make 3 swirls, then lift up. Look! A tree! <3

Decorate as desired. Sprinkle with more white sanding sugar or powdered sugar, add silver dragees
or colored nonpareils,or other sprinkles, etc! Leave top plain, or add a star, snowflake, sixlet, etc.

{ Mummy Munch Party Mix }

Hey, hey, hey, here's my Mummy Bones & Mini Mummy Cookies in action. Cute, no?

But, before we get to that, let me tell you a little story.

Last week, I awoke to a delicious smelling breakfast. It was all mapley and wonderful smelling. I thought, aw, my sweet Bean has gotten up and fixed breakfast! What an awesome guy! What a total champ! I drag myself out of bed and to the kitchen to find... I'm the only one awake. Whut?

Hubs was at work that weekend, but I knew it was definitely not anything lingering because the man eats Cheerios every day. Huh. Maybe I was dreaming in Smellovision.

The next day, I awoke to the same smell. This time, totally convinced nothing was going down in my kitchen, I was starting to worry for my Old Factory sense along with, hello, my brain.

The third day it happened, I was really becoming concerned. Should I consult WedMD for 'awaking to delicious smells'?  Probably not. That never ends well.

On the fourth day, I noticed something. A basket I'd recently placed not far from my side of the bed. A basket I'd removed from my closet for fear it would smell up Bean's tuxedo which was hanging just above where said basket used to sit.

A basket... full of Scentsy wax melts.

Bad news? No specially made, delicious breakfast for me.

Good news? My nose and brain are in tact.

Better news?

I have an awesome Halloween Snack Mix for you.

I really like making party mixes. I have a few here on the blog.

They are so easy to make, always a big hit, and can be dressed up for any occasion. This party mix requires a bit more time than most, having the Mummy Bones, and Mini Mummy Cookies. They are definitely a fun addition, but if you are in a time crunch, the mix is still totally delish without them.

You'll just need a few basic ingredients and you are off.

Serve it at your Halloween party, bag it up and give as treats or party favors, or enjoy on your own while gathering around the TV and watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

For more Halloween goodness you HAVE to go check out Darla's Mocha Cookies and Cream Cupcakes with Skull Cameos. They are AH-MAZE-ZING. Gorgeousness. You won't be sorry, so click on over to Bakingdom!

Happy Halloween!

Tina



Mummy Munch Party Mix
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

3 Cups Frosted Cheerios
3 Cups Rice Chex
3 Cups Popped Popcorn
1 Cup Mini Marshmallows
1 Cup Fall colored M&Ms
Fall sprinkles
6 blocks White Chocolate Almond Bark (or other white chocolate), melted
A few Mummy Bones (I only used about 12 for this mix)
A few Mini Mummy Head Cookies (I only used about 12 for this mix)

Line counter with parchment paper. Spread out cereal and popcorn. Pour white chocolate over. Allow to slightly cool, then toss with hands. Scatter sprinkles and M&Ms before chocolate is fully dried. Add marshmallows just before serving. Lay Mummy Bones & Mummy Head Cookies on top of the mix after you've put it into a bowl for serving. If packaging it up for party favors, add 1 mummy bone and 1 mini mummy head to each bag.

Store in airtight container.

{ Mini Mummy Cookies }

Mummy Madness 3.0! Here we go...

These lil guys are KEY-YOU-TAH, right? They are also A. SUPER easy, and 2. Delicious!

You can make these little guys from any mini cookie, but for mine I chose Mini Nutter Butters because yum.

After the cookies, all you need is white chocolate, an piping bag, and sugar eyes.

These guys are totally adorable just piled up in a bowl, bagged up as party favors, or for trick or treaters. Imagine them bagged together with the Mummy Bones and Mummy Donuts. Too much cute! Or... how about in this snack mix?

For now,

Mummy out.

Tina


Mini Mummy Cookies

Mini sandwich cookies (I used mini Nutter Butters)
Melted white chocolate (I prefer Almond Bark)
Sugar Eyes
Piping bag

Dunk cookies in white chocolate to cover. Tap to remove excess chocolate. Place on parchment paper to dry. Snip a tiny end off of a piping bag and fill with melted (but slightly cooled) white chocolate. Drizzle on cookies to give a mummy look. Add sugar eyes and let dry completely. When dry, break off excess chocolate drizzles from sides of cookies. Store in airtight container.

{ Mummy Bones }

These little gems are quick, quick, quick and easy for a super fun spooky treat.

This is a three ingredient 'recipe'. You'll need pretzel sticks, mini marshmallows, and white chocolate (I use Almond Bark). Maybe a wee bit of oil to thin the chocolate. That's it.

This is a fun project to get the kids on. They can assemble the 'bones' while the adults handle the hot chocolate. These are great on their own, or in this snack mix. These would be great bagged up for Trick or Treaters, or as a party favor. Fun all around.

They taste yummy too, of course!

More mummy madness to come...

Tina


Mummy Bones

Pretzel Sticks
Mini Marshmallows
White chocolate (melted)

Assemble the bones by inserting a marshmallow onto each end of a pretzel stick. Coat with white chocolate. Allow to dry.

Store in airtight container.

{ Mummy Donuts }

Hey there! Remember me?

I'm sorry, but I've been BIZZZZY. Like super busy. My friend's daughter just got married this week and they asked me to help them out with planning and decorating. I also shot the wedding photos, something I only do for super, duper special people in my life!

And now, suddenly, it's Halloween. How did that happen?

I've got a few super simple mummy posts in the works for you. This is the first.

This requires only a few items. Heavy weight paper stripey straws (or lollipop sticks), white chocolate, sugar eyes, an icing bag, and small powdered donuts.

You can also leave these guys off the sticks and just have a pile of mummy donuts. Either way, these are easy and cute for your little monsters or for a Halloween Party.

I'll be back with more mumminess soon!

Tina



Mummy Donuts

Items needed:

Small powdered sugar donuts
Heavy weight paper stripey straws (or lollipop sticks)
White Chocolate
sugar eyes
icing bag


To Assemble:

First, dip your stick in the melted white chocolate. Then insert into the donut. Allow to dry. After fully dried, snip a tiny end off your icing bag and fill with melted white chocolate. Drizzle the chocolate over the donut to look like mummy wrappings. Add sugar eyes, and... done!

Store in airtight container.

{ Budget Friendly Disney Party }

So, we've had a BIG secret for the last couple of months! We are taking Bean's girlfriend, a HUGE Disney fan and an EXTREME Potter fan, with us to Florida! Her birthday is Monday, but last night, I had her party. We started off with this video, made by my awesomely talented friend Darla and her hubster.

Forgive my shaky camera work on this. (Video doesn't seem to be available on mobile, sorry :( )

 I own no copyrights, all logos and music belong to the original owners. This was for personal entertainment use only.

She came into the house blindfolded so she wouldn't see the theme until after we'd watched the video. I told her it was a movie and it was going to show her the theme for her party. In reality, it was just over a minute long and told her she was going to Disney World and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Happy Birthday to her, right?!

The themed I decided to go with was Casey's Corner/Mickey Mouse. Casey's Corner is a hot dog restaurant on Main Street, USA in the Magic Kingdom, and we are planning to eat there the day we go.

I used a Casey's logo I found on google images and made up a menu. (Note, these items are not all available at the real Casey's Corner).

This party is mostly brought to you buy the Dollar Tree (an everything's $1 store). I bought the little baskets in packs of 3 for $1, which I lined with red napkins (from the Dollar Tree), and chevron treat bags, just for color (from Pick Your Plum).

The hot dogs/sloppy joes were served in these.

You can see the Oreo pops right in front. Those are simple. Just use Double Stuf Oreos, dip a little chocolate on the lolly stick, poke it into the Oreo and allow to dry. Then use the mini Oreos for the ears. I only use the non cream side. Dip the edge of them in chocolate as well, and insert.

The hats came in packs of 8, but also had green in them. I only used the red, gold, and silver.

I added the ears and accents. Tutorial coming soon!

Her hat was individual and cost a whole $1 itself. I added the crown to it.

Behind the hats you can see the tiny, adorable cans of Coca Cola!

It's great for Disney parties because, one, it's the right color, and two, they serve Coca Cola at Disney World! I had planned to get the glass bottles of Coke, but ran into issues finding them. Then I saw the tiny cans (7.5 oz) and decided they were perfect (and, hello, cheaper! score!). I cut down my dotty straws a bit, and tied them on with bakers twine.

I have the old fashioned look tabletop popcorn machine. It just fit right in the theme. I found a Main Street USA sign on google and used it on the front of the machine.

I bought red, yellow, and white boxes to put the popcorn in, because, well, Mickey colors! You can see them here in the cupcake photo and also in the Coca Cola photo.

For the cupcakes, I did her favorite, chocolate chip cookie dough. Then I added the creamless side of the mini Oreos again (basically, I have a ton of cream sides still in the bag. Like that's a bad thing? Nope). These are SO cute and so easy! Any cupcake, swirl of buttercream, and Oreo ears. Bam. Done. I had a little tragedy when a couple fell off the stand. Don't look for them, ok? Ok.

I made this cute little centerpiece out of a mug I found for a few bucks, a $1 store Mickey, a Mickey hand I found and printed, little flags and a balloon I cut out, and ribbon. All of the objects are on a bamboo skewer inserted into a piece of styrofoam. I covered the skewers with paper straws.

I bought two sizes of black plates at the Dollar Tree. I just laid them out like this. They are not glued together or anything.

For wall decor, I just used bakers twine and scrap pieces of cardstock and paper I had. I cut out little pennants, and taped them on with Washi tape. I also stuck some stars on the wall (from Walmart, but still only $2 for 5).

That's pretty much it! A Disney Party on a budget. Including the food, I spent under $50 on this party. Can't complain about that.

And the birthday girl? Well, I *think* she liked it. ;)

Happy Birthday, Sid!

Love, Tina


See my other Disney posts here!

{Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookie Dippers}

So, I've totally been MIA. Sorry 'bout that.

In the last few weeks the Bean has gone to two proms, he was sick for an entire week, and it was Mother's Day. It's been quite a time!

Now there are only 6 days left of school, so let's see if we can get this 'normal life' thing moving again, eh?

Bean LOVES to dip cookies in milk or tea. I'll be honest, I'm not a dipper. He was joking the other night about his cookie not fitting in his cup, and, well, lightbulb!

These shortbread cookies are cut to fit into any glass or mug. Great for you and your dippin' friends!

They are a simple shortbread cookie with chocolate chips added in. After you roll out the dough, just cut into rectangles. These will never be perfect due to the chips in them, but cut them as nicely as you can. To retain the shape better, put the cookie sheet of cut cookie into the freezer for 30 minutes prior to baking.

After cooling, you have a light, crispy, perfectly dippable cookie!

Easy, eh?

Tina

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookie Dippers

by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar (for dusting)
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together until fluffy. Add the salt and flour. Continue  beating until everything is fully incorporated and the mixture resembles wet sand with large clumps. Add in chocolate chips.

Using your hands, press all of the crumbs together in the bowl until it all forms a dough.

Sprinkle counter with flour, turn out the dough onto the counter and roll. Cut into rectangles.

Place on parchment or a slipat mat. Freeze for 30 minutes to retain shape while baking.

Sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden.

Allow to fully cool.

Adapted from Bakingdom's Buttery Shortbread Cookie