Memorial Day Winners!

So this year the Hubs decided he wanted to have a Memorial Day party at the house. No biggie. We sent out invites probably a month ago and apparently that sort of pre-planning results in a lot of party attendees! Ok, now its a biggie. We spent every waking hour on Thursday and Friday cooking and cleaning and preparing for the party. I was exhausting but oh so worth it. We had a great turn out despite the oppressive heat and humidity and it was so wonderful to have all our friends together. We really had a ball. For this cookout I came up with 2 great dishes that went over really well. One was an appetizer - Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms - and the other a dessert - White Chocolate, Coconut and Strawberry Shortcake Kabobs. Both were super easy to put together and were made in advance. I almost took pictures of them but didn't want to dig out my phone - I was afraid it might actually ring and distract me from all the fun, lol! Anyway, Here are the recipes for you to try.

Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms

3 packages white button mushrooms
2 Tbs olive oil
8-10 saltine crackers
2 Cups pizza sauce, divided
3 cloves garlic
2 Cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
20-25 pepperoni slices

Preheat over to 350F
Rinse mushrooms and remove stems. Place caps bottom side up in a baking dish
Remove woody parts of mushroom stems and mince remaining stems.
Mince garlic and combine with mushroom stems
Add olive to a saute pan and heat, add minced mushrooms and garlic and saute until soft.
Add 1 Cup of pizza Sauce and stir to combine
Crush saltine crackers and add to pan. Stir to combine and remove from heat.
Take stuffing mixture and fill each mushroom cap.
Top stuffed mushrooms with a spoonful of the reserved pizza sauce
Top stuffed mushrooms with mozzarella cheese and then with a slice of pepperoni
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes
Serve hot

White Chocolate, Coconut and Strawberry Shortcake Kabobs

2 pounds fresh strawberries
1 prepared angel food cake
1 bag white chocolate chips
1 cup sweetened coconut

Rinse and hull strawberries
Remove Angel Food Cake from packaging and cut into cubes
Thread strawberries and cake cubes onto skewers, alternating between them
Once skewers are prepared, gently melt white chocolate in a double boiler
Drizzle melted chocolate onto skewers
While still warm press coconut flakes into the chocolate and allow chocolate to harden
Watch them disappear!