Raspberry Oatmeal Squares

I first had these raspberry oatmeal squares after Holly brought them to work one day in the fall. I loved them then, but frankly forgot about this recipe until they showed up in Nashville this spring at one of our tennis matches. They went fast!

I knew it would be the perfect thing to make for our end-of-the-season team celebration. Go Team Overserved! Champions again. . . so movin' on up!

Raspberry Oatmeal Squares

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

Directions:
Add jam to a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
Combine first five ingredients. Rub in the butter using your hands or a pastry blender to form a crumbly mixture. Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 casserole dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spread the jam to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top, then lightly press it into the jam.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.
Note: I doubled the recipe and used a 9x13 casserole dish.

A Georgia Southern Graduation

My dear friend's daughter, Natalia, graduated from GSU this past weekend. Unfortunately, I couldn't make the ceremony; however, I sure was there in spirit! Damaris and I had more fun planning the graduation festivities!

The planning began just like Keely's UT graduation party I hosted several years ago. That is, we first brainstormed for foods that matched either the school colors or food items that could easily be re-named GSU-style. For starters, party-goers could have GSU Guacamole or even Georgia Southern Salsa served with Go Big Blue & White Chips.

For the cheese platter, rolled slices looked like diplomas, turning them into Commencement Cheese. Since GSU's mascot is an eagle named Gus, deviled eggs became Eagle Eggs and a bowl of sunflower seeds became Gus' Feed.

For savory items, party-goers could choose GA Southern Chicken & Cornbread Salad or even Milestone Meatballs. No chicken wings served here. . . as you guessed it, they became Eagle Wings.

Italian beef sandwiches were re-named Boro Beef Sandwiches. (Why? Well, GSU is in Statesboro.)

Not surprisingly, there was no shortage of foods to satisfy one's sweet tooth. Damaris' long time friend Anita makes the best thumb print cookies - "You're one smart cookie!"

A bowl of Smarties candy came with the message, "Good luck Smartie pants (not like you need it)." How about Diploma Cookies (wafer rolled cookies) or True Blue Cupcakes?

A healthier option was provided, too: Freedom Fruit, or skewers of pineapple, blueberries, and mini marshmallows.

I must say my personal favorite was Freedom's Flight Cookies. These little guys were just too cute displayed in their nest.

Perhaps the crowd favorite was Southern Pride Popcorn. This recipe is so versatile! It's Keely's Christmas Crunch just modified with blue and gold variations. It's even the same recipe I used for Buffy's baby shower as well as Hayley's baby shower.

Now for the drinks. Of course, any Southern event must have sweet tea. Since one of GSU's well-known landmarks is Sweetheart Circle, we just re-named this beverage Sweetheart Circle Tea. There was lemonade punch, too. We called it Southern Pride Punch.

Since Pineapple Fanta matched the color scheme so perfectly, it made the list as Soaring Eagle Soda. You could even find bottled water cleverly tagged as Class of H2014.

For the party favors, we just made a variation of the Easter s'mores I used for my sister's 50th birthday party. I'll never look at Peeps the same way again. From here on out, these are Baby Gus!

"Wasn't it just yesterday? Wishing you s'more years of love, laughter, and learning. Happy Graduation!" My sentiments exactly.

Congrats again, Natalia! So very proud of you! :)

Milk Punch

I first heard about milk punch last fall from some of my new tennis buddies. This group of ladies sure know how to host visiting opponents. I knew we were kindred spirits as soon as I saw such a beautiful spread even for just a simple round of tennis. Southern hosts that we are, our opponents are offered fruit as well as a variety of salty and sweet treats, beautifully displayed and accented with some kind of seasonal flower arrangement.

We also provide cold drinks, including a "special drink." (Remember our team name? Over Served!) Today's special drink was milk punch. Our team captain, Margaret Ann, tells me, "It's an Ole Miss thing." In fact, last year Ole Miss won the SEC tailgating experience. Now my family and friends know my blood runneth orange, but hey, let's give credit where credit is due. We can all learn a thing or two about tailgating from the Rebels. (Hey, wait a minute. I'm a Rebel, too! Er, West High Rebel that is.)

Milk punch sure did live up to its hype. I really liked the slushy texture. I can see this becoming a new tailgating tradition in my family, too. Hmmm. I can also see this becoming a new Christmas Eve tradition. Or shoot, why not Mom's upcoming Mother's Day brunch? I can already see the twinkle in her eye. ;)

Milk Punch

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon whole milk
• 1 box powdered sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons vanilla
• 1 fifth bourbon
• ground nutmeg (optional)

Directions:
Mix together the milk, sugar, and vanilla. Add bourbon. Chill or put in freezer overnight and serve partially frozen. Optional: sprinkle each serving with nutmeg. Serves 32 (6 oz) cups.

Go Eagles!

My sweet friend Damaris is getting ready for her daughter's upcoming graduation from Georgia Southern University. When I found these cookies on Pinterest, I just knew they would be the perfect addition to the post-graduation festivities. So, last week, we practiced to ensure they were in fact doable.

 
Too cute! GSU graduate? Philly fan? Eagle Scout? 4th of July bash? These would be perfect! I hope to share more of our graduation party planning ideas later. Don't want to spoil any more surprises!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 12 large marshmallows
• 1 package finely shredded coconut
• 12 chocolate covered Oreos (or similar)
• 12 cashews
• 1 tube black decorating gel for eyes (or mini chocolate chips)

Directions:
Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave for approximately 1 minute. Stir well.
Coat marshmallow with melted chocolate then roll in coconut.
Place a small amount of melted chocolate on top of Oreo for "glue."
Place coconut ball on top of cookie. Let chocolate set.
Use a toothpick to make a hole for the beak. Insert cashew, using more melted chocolate for "glue."
Use the decorating gel or mini chocolate chips to make eyes.

Source: Family Fun magazine.

Hayley's About to Pop!

What a fun theme for a baby shower! Not only was it fun to attend yesterday, but for me, I had just as much fun helping with planning and executing this party for my niece, Hayley. You can find the invitations here that started it all. I promised more POPpin' party details, so here you go:

For the savory table, Jackie, Damaris, and I served ham sandwiches, fruit, cheese dip, jalapeno poppers, shrimp, and meatballs. Sounds fairly conventional for a party. Once you jazz up the names a little and add a cute tag, then you get the idea how we continued the POP theme throughout the menu.

 

This little sandwich, originally called ham party sandwiches, is already in our family cookbook. For this party, they became Ham & POPpy Seed Sliders.

Chunks of fruit on a skewer became Fruit POPs:

I have mentioned this pineapple cheese ball before on this blog. It became the POPular Cheese Ball.

 

Of course, Jalapeno POPpers as well as POPcorn Shrimp didn't need name changes. 

At the last minute, my sister Jackie wanted to add meatballs to the menu since we were planning on having some hungry fellas there. Admittedly, my first thought was, "Noooooooo! We've got to stick to the theme!" After a little bit of thinking, they became Crock POPpin Meatballs. Yes, it's a stretch. But, the hungry fellas are happy. And, I'm happy.

Another side table contained a variety of party favors as well as a diaper cake.

The adorable diaper cake was gifted by one of Jackie's friends, Mary Anne. POP goes the elephant!

POP Rocks and Blow POPs were a hit with the young-at-heart. ;)

The main party favor was Parmesan POPovers. This was Keely's idea along with the message, "Thanks for POPping Over!" I created the tag using the same adorable photo of Hayley that I used on the invitations. This was my first time making popovers. I'm glad I didn't invest in one of the popover pans because honestly, I won't be making these again. (Thanks to my sweet and generous neighbor Mary for loaning me hers!) If you've never made popovers, first know that they're quite time consuming, especially when you only make six at a time. I didn't realize that. Secondly, pretty much all of the recipes that I found for popovers warned that you should serve them immediately. I didn't know that either. Nevertheless, I plowed ahead. Why? The theme! That's right, the theme! So, even if they weren't very tasty a day later, I must admit they looked pretty darn cute.

For drinks, we had bottles of water and a variety of Soda POP. We decorated one of the buckets with the same pink tutu that my sister Vicke used for Buffy's shower.

Now for the main table with all of the goodies: Rice Krispie treats, popcorn, poppy seed bread and cake. By the way, all of the fresh flower arrangements were made by my brother-in-law Greg. They were beautiful!

 

Rice Krispie treats are always a hit. Jackie added just enough pink coloring to make them even more perfect for the party. 

I made another batch of gourmet popcorn that I used as favors for Buffy's shower. Another name change, though: Pretty in Pink POPcorn.

Here is the POPpy Seed Bread that I wrote about earlier. It's different in that you'll not find any lemon in this recipe. Sooo good!

How adorable is the cake? We were so grateful for Jackie's friend Kim who gifted this to Hayley. Her daughter made it and did a great job!

Thanks again to all who POPped in to shower Hayley with lots of love and gifts. Her sister Hannah is next in line. In fact, Hannah surprised us all with the gender reveal at the shower. When the blue balloons POPped out of the box, we all celebrated knowing that the next little one is a boy! This party is gonna be hard to top. So, let the thinking and planning begin. Can't wait!