Ole! Our almost son-in-law recently turned 40. Marissa and Mike took a trip to celebrate, so before they hit the road we delivered a birthday party to go, complete with a “muy bueno” meal made easy! Feast your eyes on our Four 3P tips to a fantastic 40th fiesta!
Fiesta Fact #1: Be sure to choose a theme! We went Mexican for the night!
Fiesta Fact #2: Choose a perfectly themed menu for your birthday meal! Work through what you’re delivering and define what’s doable, both for you and your host. We divvied up both decor and meal so that upon arrival, our party prep was less than 15 minutes. We saw this tasty looking taco bake from the Canadian Milk Calendar and had to give it a whirl. The reason this worked so well, was that it could be made ahead of time, and baked “on the spot”. When going “on the road”…less is more. The results were “muy bueno”! We bought an easy-to-prep Southwest Salad kit, Marissa accompanied our main dish with her famous fresh guacamole appetizer, and of course provided a delicious chocolate ice cream cake for dessert.
Taco Bake!
Ingredients: Serves 4-6 (We doubled this for our hungry crew)
(Photo Courtesy of www.dairygoodness.ca)
1 tbsp butter (We opted for Olive Oil)
1 lb ground chicken (We chose turkey)
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely diced
1 to 2 tbsp chili powder (We subbed individual spices for a low sodium taco seasoning packet)
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
19 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup Milk
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups grated Cheddar, divided
1 cup tortilla chips, barely crushed
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large skillet, melt butter or stir olive oil over medium-high heat; cook chicken or turkey with onion, red pepper, seasonings and salt, using a fork to break up meat, for about 5 min or until meat is cooked through. Stir in beans, corn and salsa. Whisk milk with flour. Gradually stir milk mixture into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil, then stir frequently for 2 min.
Remove from heat; stir in 1 cup of the cheese. Transfer into an 8-inch square dish. Sprinkle mixture with tortilla chips then remaining cheese. Bake for 10 min or just until cheese is melted. Let stand for 5 min before serving. Scoop out into bowls. Serve with additional salsa, sour cream and guacamole.
Fiesta Fact #3: Deck out the house in simple yet festive decor. When planning a party mid-week, and after work…it’s best to keep things easy breezy as to not stress out pre-party. the 3P team came prepared with party platters, plastic primary colored table clothes to be repurposed, paper goods, sombreros, noisemakers and more! We even had a laugh while improvising a bit with tealights for birthday candles…sometimes you just have to wing it and have fun…and not let little things stress you out. 😉
Fiesta Fact #4: Making dinner into a fiesta! Marissa was ready with fiestaware plates, perfectly colored placemats, and or course: balloons that Mike had a blast with.We had a ball listening to mariachi music, playing with noisemakers, and munching on tasty Mexican fare.
3P is on the go again this month with a Party on Wheels as we travel from One Man Cave To Another…stick around for more Practically Perfect portable birthday plans!
