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Thank you PB, Shell, Isthisreal-

I think that is what we will do, you have convinced me. 😀🤗
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Smeshque, it is not the lazy way. It is the smart way.

Getting to go out always felt special for my dad. I always opted for his favorite food at a restaurant and he always bragged about being taken out for special days. Win/win!

Good choice and labor saving.
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Smeshque, I'm with Polarbear that is a great idea. No cooking and no clean up. Let the restaurant do all the work and you can enjoy your mom's special day!
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smehque - invite guests to restaurant for mom's bd is a great idea. If there's an all you can eat buffet, that would be even better. Guests can come within the time frame you give them and food will be ready, and they can pick and choose what they want to eat.

Another option, depending on the size of your party, maybe the restaurant can reserve a private room for you, and provide the foods in hot/cold trays, so guests can come and serve themselves. And you get to take the left-overs home to eat the next day or two, and not have to cook.

Relax and have fun.
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We had pizza.

I think for Moms birthday dinner, DH and I have decided to invite the guests to a restaurant. No cooking, no cleaning, and it seems a good option.

What do you think? Is it the lazy choice. :(

I sure appreciate all of your ideas on finger foods, I have wrote them down for future use, I truly appreciate you taking the time to respond on the matter. I Still will use them.
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Frozen tamales from Aldi. (Hustling all day today. Needed something fast and no-fuss. Not my finest. But better than McDonald’s!)
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Meatloaf and steamed spinach, with a side of infected ingrown toenail. We saw "The Farewell' today; highly recommend it!
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Another day of heavy duty canning. I’ll probably have two more batches of green beans and maybe three of tomatoes. Apples seem never ending right now. The trees are loaded. Plenty more corn and lots of blueberries. I have a guy coming tomorrow to rake blueberries.

I had roasted chicken, green beans, sliced tomatoes for dinner.

I baked blueberry muffins and blueberry scones this afternoon.
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Hahaha, msmadge, I was trying to figure out why anyone would make asparagus gelato.

When I came over to the post it showed it as a line item. Spacing is important.

Sounds like a wonderful meal.
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Bloody Mary
Caesar salad
seafood
prime rib
🥦
asparagus
gelato

saving room for a cappuccino for the drive home
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Your bounty sounds wonderful, Becky
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Been canning since 6:00 this morning. Apple pie filling, green beans, tomatoes, beets. I’ve moved on the getting corn ready to freeze. I have a 5 gallon pot full. All cooked and seasoned. Cooling down to put in freezer containers. Also finished pork sausage patties to go in freezer. Tomorrow will be another full day of tomatoes and green beans. And starting a batch of pickles.
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Tonight I am going to my friend’s birthday party. Party food and cake! Yum.
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Boy MsMadge,My Mom wouldv'e Loved that~She loved fish and chips and clam chowder.
I bet it was really tasty~
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Clam chowder
fish n chips with cole slaw
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It is fig season
coworker has a tree and when he’s ambitious he makes homemade jam
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Ms Madge,

I have wonderful memories of my grandma making fig preserves. She had a lovely fig tree in her backyard.

I have never done any canning. How long do canned foods last? I always feel like if I have too much food it will go bad. We can’t eat it fast enough. That’s why I don’t buy in bulk. I tried to before and the food expired before we could eat it.
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Becky,

Nice balance! Veggies and desert. My kind of eating. Yum!
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Neighbors are having a cookout/potluck. I was asked to bring broccoli cauliflower salad. Also going to make a pan of apple dumplings.
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Ah, you're doing an open house!
I think the way to go there is to stick to foods that can easily be replenished so late comers are not greeted with sad looking half empty bowls and the least popular items (speaking as a late comer to such parties I know that this can really feel unwelcoming).
So I would go with trays of finger sandwiches, relishes, veggie and fruits along with a few fun items like chips and dips. And since there is cake I don't think I'd add too many other dessert choices.
I do like those flatbread pinwheel sandwiches, so pretty and easy. And Ms Madge's sammies sound delish, and the shrimp too! And the stuffed baby tomatoes, mushrooms or peppers are fancy and can be made ahead.
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Pork Tenderloin, baby red potatoes, carrots, with a mushroom gravy.
An iced brownie for dessert.

MsMadge,
We have some fig jam, it is very good, goes on everything.
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I’m enjoying a summer treat at the local family owned ice cream shop-
black raspberry sorbet
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Mini croissants 🥐 filled with cream cheese fig jam and thinly sliced ham

if you’re near a Costco they have a shrimp 🍤 cocktail platter that’s very good
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Here is a few of my party favorites that my guess love: bacon wrap shrimp, bacon wrap pinapple and bacon wrap waterchestnut; spinach dip in a rye bread bowl; ham and pinapple kebabs ( let the kebabs soak in pinapple juice and five spice powder for an hour to hour and half) and the kebabs can be bake in the oven or grilled. The great thing about all this they taste good hot or cold! Well not the spinach dip...that dip should be cold!

Have a wonderful party.🎉🎊🎂🎈🎶
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smeshque - a few more to add to the collective list..

Egg rolls, taquitos, tortilla rolls, beans and cheese quesadilla wedges, chicken wings, omelet muffins, stuffed mini bell peppers, cucumber slices with cream cheese or humus topped with an olive or chopped tomatoes, skewers of roasted meat, mushroom, onions, pineapple cubes, etc., and mini sandwiches.

Have a great party!

Do tell us what you end up making.
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Smeshque, you can always do none perishable meats, Italian salami, smoked bacon type meat, no mayo required and they are flavorful and can set out for indefinite periods of time.

One thing I do because of the heat is place my serving bowls in larger bowls, fill the larger bowl with water and freeze. This way I am serving from an iced bowl that is in a block of ice. Scatter some mint on the ice and it keeps the flies away. Great for salads of any kind.

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM🎂
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How about a cold meat and cheese platter with hawaiian rolls. Build your own sandwich, small enough for little appetites and can have more if wanted. Another staple is guacamole or taco dip with baked or low sodium chips. Bbq for sandwiches are a good choice, can be kept warm in a crockpot. Fruit kabobs or chunked fruit with fruit dip (cream cheese, cool whip, marshmallow fluff)another treat grand kids love is jello coated grapes wash grapes after removing from vine damp dry, favorite jello flavor in a ziploc bag, add grapes, shake to coat, remove from bag to let them finish drying, put in bowl for serving. Kind of like sour patch kids candy, little bit of a tang depending on flavor used, but better. Use large aluminum containers or roasting pans from $1 store, put ice in them, place items that need to stay cold in bowls in the pans, ice keeps them cool, pans deep enough to let ice come up sides of the bowls.
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Smeshque,
The food service could be a problem in this heat.
I suggest that the invitations read: Food served between (a two hour period max).
Birthday cake served @ (specific time).
Let people adjust their schedules for the party, not the other way around. Imo.

It should be an honor to attend.
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I think I am going for cold or things that can be kept warm in crockpots, like some suggested. Not really looking to keep heating stuff up. Mostly durable foods that will make it a couple of hours without any fuss.
So what it is for, is Moms birthday, all the people we know have different schedules and cannot all come at the same time. So I thought maybe like an open house sort of thing, where folks can drop by and have a snack and visit Mom for a bit as their schedule permits. Just an idea, not sure if it is a good one. But that is what I am thinking, and so I was thinking if I could just do finger foods or if I should just have a desert bar.
I am lost here so I appreciate the help.
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Mini Quiche, Mini Pizza, (yes, CWillie); and Meatballs, using a pretzel stick instead of a toothpick.
Lil smokie links (tiny hot dogs) in a crock pot, sauce of Durkee's dressing (Honey mustard) and Cranberry sauce (equal parts).

A vegetable plate with celery (filled with cream cheese or peanut butter), sugar snap peas, baby carrots, radishes.

Oh, and one of my favorite, roll up ham and salami with cream cheese inside.
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