Baxter's birthday celebrations began on Wednesday with cupcakes and a few presents...
The actual party was Sunday afternoon. While my husband took B and some friends to play at Recreation's Outlet, I worked on the food and festivities...
I like to make some kind of flavored water and enjoy trying different combinations. I had some apples so I wanted to use them. First I cut the apples into thin slices then I threw in a couple cinnamon sticks and a star anise. Lastly, to give it a touch more sweetness, I stirred in some honey. It was subtle but quite good!
Our friend Melinda brought a homemade fruit salsa and cinnamon pita chips for the appetizer. It was winning combination as well.
While the adults mingled and nibbled on these starters, the boys took their small guests out to meet the birds and see the farm. Josh went out with the kids. He said there was much excitement to get to feed and hold a chicken and collect eggs - a little taste of life on the farm.
Back to the food...
For the salad, my mother-in-law made a recipe I found online for a winter salad using beets frozen from my garden last summer. It also had caramelized walnuts and goat cheese topped with a homemade balsamic.
For the main course, I made oven grilled cheeses and chicken chili. I found the recipe to make this classic in the oven so you could make a lot of them at once and I wanted to try it out for a party. They were a hit and so easy to make. I think what made them extra delicious was that I made the bread for them the day before - nothing makes a great sandwich like homemade bread!
I did the chicken chili in the crockpot - also super easy. Are you noticing a theme here?
You can't have a birthday party without a birthday cake! Josh's aunt Robyn is our family cake maker. She asked Baxter what he wanted and he answered without hesitation: Minions! He also had a minion cake last year, but she managed to make this year's special all over again. It was so beautiful we didn't want to cut it.
But the time came for singing and candles and eating!
The cake was half chocolate, half white cake - something for everyone - and it was as yummy as it was pretty!
Another birthday on the farm: filled with family, friends, good food, and good conversation. We are blessed with much to celebrate!
Erin was too polite to mention that her father came but could only look because he had a colonoscopy the next day. Take home soup and bread was a real treat post-procedure.
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