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Step 1
Cocktail shrimp go great in a chilled martini glass!Food. If you want to throw a pool side party, or a dinner out on the patio, don't stress about spending money on costly food items or catering! Make food in bulk! Try making a fancy salad for starters, make enough for however many guests you are inviting over, but buy smart. Instead of buying separate vegetables, buy mixed salads and add something fun. Try lettuce, veggies, honey roasted pecans, dried fruit, and cheese then add a side of a sweet dressing! Try putting the dressing in a unique container for each individual guess, like small, plastic martini glasses (buy them in bulk at the Dollar Tree) or small plant/bud vases (cleaned of course)!
Entree. If you want to impress, make a simple chicken dish (a bag of chicken is around 8.00) bake with granny smith apples, and a marinade of a sweeter vinaigrette dressing then serve with the apples on top. Side dishes should be easy, stay green and crunchy, keep spring in mind! Like crispy green beans, carrots, or something simple. Dessert should be fun too, try serving dessert out of a large martini glass! Like a mousse, or dolled up ice cream! Even a sorbet! Buy a few sprigs of mint to keep the spring in the air. -
Step 2
Decorations. Go with a theme and use your decorations not only for aesthetic reasons but to serve with as well. Like mentioned before, use martini glasses to serve dessert or cleaned flower pots for salad dressing (any of these things can be bought in bulk at Dollar Stores). Serve the main dish on worn, wooden looking plates to add to a garden theme. You could even go to the local green house, pick up HUGE leaves, wash them thoroughly and serve a meal right off the leaf (make sure you're serving cold foods on the leaf). Or if you're going for a garden bar theme, make your guests drink their beverage out of old alcohol bottles! Throw some wine glasses on the table filled with a little less than half of water, add some petals inside to float and the table is ready!
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Step 3
Other simple ideas: Kabobs speared to mimic a flower bouquet, grill green veggies, browned steak for the stems then add a bright raw fruit at the top for color (petals) like red apples, honey dew, watermelon, not only does it look cool but the tastes and temperatures of the food never get old!
Crab dip and crab legs: serve the dip in a hollowed out bread bowl, make the bowl as round as possible, then after you cook the crab legs, just situate them under the dip to resemble a little crab! Goes great as a yummy centerpiece and appetizer!
