Alright, these crackers are in no way healthy for you…but you won’t care a bit about that once you’ve tasted them. I’ve yet to serve these to someone who hasn’t loved them. They are so simple to prepare, extremely addicting…and they are the perfect thing to set on your end tables for your shower guests to snack on during the games/gifts portions of your baby shower!

Enjoy!

Seasoned Oyster Crackers
2 (12 oz) packages oyster crackers
1 cup your favorite oil
1 envelope dry ranch dressing mix
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp dill weed
¼ tsp lemon pepper

Place the crackers in a large bowl or jar with a tight-fitting lid, set aside. In a small bowl, combine the oil and remaining ingredients. Stir until well-combined, then pour the mixture over the crackers. Place the cover on the bowl or jar and shake them up until all the crackers are coated. Let them stand for at least 20 minutes (longer is better) and then serve. These will keep in an air-tight container for a long, long time…but you and your guests will eat them all up long before they have a chance to spoil!

Posted by Shannon, a Dot-arilla Blogger

If you’re looking for a different twist on a baby shower menu, you might consider simply offering a buffet of appetizers. An appetizer menu is extremely versatile—you can make the dishes as light or heavy as you’d like, ranging from a few simple platters of cheese, crackers, and fruit to a table full of trays brimming with enough food to rival a five-course meal.

Whichever direction your appetizer menu takes, these delicious Tortellini Skewers will fit right in—and they’ll be among the first disappear. Think of them as bite-sized pasta salad—the perfect bite every single time.

Mini Tortellini Skewers
This is a wonderfully adaptable recipe—the amounts here will make a good-sized platter of skewers, but you can make more or less very simply. If you’ve got leftover ingredients, just throw it all together in a bowl for a yummy pasta salad. I like to include a leaf of basil or spinach on each skewer for some added flavor and color. Some hunks of fresh mozzarella would be delicious here as well—have fun customizing!

1 (9 oz) package cheese-filled tortellini
1/2-3/4 cup Italian dressing
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 small can whole black olives
1 (3.5 oz) package sliced pepperoni
Toothpicks

Cook the tortellini according to the package directions, subtracting a minute or two from the cook time. Drain the cooked pasta and toss it with the dressing. Cover the pasta (or place it in a ziplock bag), and let it marinate in the refrigerator overnight. To assemble the skewers, thread either a tomato or an olive onto a toothpick, follow this with a slice of pepperoni (fold it to fit, if necessary), and finally a tortellini. Arrange the skewers on a platter and serve. These can be made ahead of time, if you’d like, and stored in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them.

Enjoy!

Posted by Shannon, a Dot-arilla Blogger

When a friend or family member of mine has a baby, one of the first things I do (after offering my congratulations, of course) is prepare a meal to deliver to the happy new family. Those first weeks (honestly: months) of caring for a newborn and adjusting to a new family dynamic can be so draining, and preparing a healthy (warm!) meal is often the last thing new parents want to worry about. An offer of food is such a simple thing—but a nourishing meal carries with it so much kindness, I really can’t think of a more perfect gift for a new family.

I was recently introduced to a website that takes delivering meals to a whole new level. Food Tidings is a wonderful resource that allows you to coordinate an entire food-bearing army to deliver meals to anyone in need. You can create an online schedule for meal delivery, and friends and family of the parents-to-be can view the entire schedule online and sign up to deliver a meal on a specific date.

What a perfect idea for a baby shower! You could collect email addresses from shower guests, and, when the baby is born, simply invite those interested in providing a meal to sign up on a schedule you’ve created at Food Tidings. The new parents will feel so loved, and most likely relieved to know that the cooking is done…leaving more time for new-baby snuggling.

Posted by Shannon, a Dot-arilla Blogger

Every year, about this time, I start craving the fresh fruit and vegetables that Summer brings. I try to buy our food as “in season” as possible, but as the Spring sun starts warming the air, I find it more and more difficult to resist those pretty, colorful displays of fresh produce in the grocery stores. And, more often than not, a carton of juicy strawberries finds its way into my cart.

Despite it’s name, I think this Winter Salad is exactly perfect for this time of year—it’s a yummy green salad chock full of crisp fresh fruit and crunchy cashews, all topped with a bright lemon poppy seed dressing. Delicious! Add it to the menu for any shower—in any season!

Winter Salad
1 head (or 1 bag) romaine lettuce, roughly chopped
2 oz shredded parmesan cheese
½ cup roasted, salted cashews (you can chop them roughly if you’d like, but it’s not necessary)
3 oz (about ¾ cup) dried cranberries
1 ripe pear, peeled and diced
1 apple, peeled and diced (Gala or Fuji varieties are delicious in this)

Dressing:
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp finely chopped onion
½ tsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup your favorite salad oil
½ T poppy seeds
2 ½ T lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients for the dressing and mix well (shaking it all in a jar works perfectly). Set the dressing aside so the flavors can mix—this can be made ahead of time and stored for a few days if you’d like. In a large bowl, assemble the salad ingredients. Just before serving, pour the dressing over all the salad ingredients and toss it well until everything is well-coated in dressing. Serve immediately and enjoy at your baby shower!

Posted by Shannon, a Dot-arilla Blogger