Jonah's 1st Birthday: Desserts

Hello All- today I'm sharing part 4 of Jonah's birthday preparations: the sweets!

I've recently been very outspoken (I know...shocker) about how I despise buying disposable products: ziploc bags, paper napkins, paper plates and many more. With birthday prep in full swing however, I faced how deeply devoted I was to keeping the budget for my 'Poky Little Puppy' party at almost zilch- buy disposable plates/cups etc... or not???

Always ready for a challenge, I plunged ahead, firmly deciding NOT to buy disposable (deep breath)...so what to use instead???

And then it hit- I brainstormed to re-use all of Jonah's baby food jars as dessert cups- this would save me buying something disposable (I can see Betsy grinning already as she's heard my recent tirades about disposable products that have wreaked havoc on my grocery budget!!!)

The baby food jars would be fabulous containers to house my 3 proposed desserts and be just the right size for little puppies:) ***I haven't seen anything like this even on Pinterest so I'm hoping this will inspire you:)

Poky Little Puppy Dessert #1: Rice Pudding:


I served the rice pudding cold (it was 100 degrees outside!) and topped with orange sugar crystals- this transported me right back to childhood:)

Here's the recipe for Stovetop Rice Pudding (courtesy of Cook's Country):

Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 cup long grain rice
1/4 tsp table salt
4 cups whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1) Bring water to boil in large saucepan; stir in the rice & salt. Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally until water is almost absorbed, approx 15-20 minutes.
2) Microwave the milk until steaming, approx 1-2 minutes. Stir the hot milk & sugar into the rice and bring to slow simmer. Cook, uncovered, stirring often until the mixture is thick, approx 45 minutes.
3) Off heat stir in the vanilla. Let the mixture cool slightly before serving or refrigerate until chilled, approx 2 hours.

Poky Little Puppy Dessert #2: Chocolate Custard


My Mom aka Sweet Stamper graciously offered to help me out by making these and they were delish! An old fashioned recipe, freshly whipped cream and blue sugar crystals= fantastic!

With all the hullabaloo, I neglected to snap a pic of the Strawberry Shortcake, Poky Little Puppy #3 dessert- they were little bites of cream cheese pound cake topped with strawberries, freshly whipped cream & pink sugar crystals housed in a huge picnic basket...

...Jonah is digging into the strawberry shortcake here and getting the hang of using a spoon:)

Here's the recipe for the Cream Cheese Pound Cake- always a hit!

Ingredients:
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, room temp
1 1/4 cups butter, room temp
6 large eggs, room temp
1/4 cup buttermilk, room temp
3 cups all purpose flour
3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1) Preheat COLD oven to 325 degrees. Grease & flour a 10 inch tube pan.
2) In large bowl, cream butter & cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy.
3) Add eggs 2 at a time, beating well with each addition. Add buttermilk & vanilla & blend.
4) Add flour all at once & mix until just combined. Pour into prepared pan & bake for approx 70-80 mins or until toothpick comes out clean.


I did take the trouble to dip some pretzel rods with semi sweet choc and then dust with sugar stars- it only took a few minutes & they've been a huge hit...Livy eats the choc end and Jonah eats the plain end:)

I also dipped some strawberries as I had extra on hand and they made for an additional sweet GF option- the acacia platters were another thrift find...this platter was a whopping $0.99:)

And remember my post about dearest Megan in Wales and how I entreated her help for Jonah's birthday? Well, my cry for help was for teaspoons- Brits use proper teaspoons for the endless amount of hot drinks consumed and these little cutlery items are a rarity here in the U.S. I knew they would be the perfect size for my baby food jar treats so I had them sent all the way from Wales for this special occasion:)

And that completes our home birthday preparations for Jonah's 1st birthday. It was worth every moment and all the sacrifice of sleep & time- thanks to all who participated with us:)

I'm already looking forward to planning Livy's next birthday (will be her 3rd) and now have more experience at party planning/hosting resulting in less fuss and more fun for all:)

As always, thanks for stopping by,

Tiffany