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Cowboy Themed Parties Ring in Fall with a Yee-haw
by: ARA
(ARA) - Barbecues are not just for summer anymore, but the rich flavors can be enjoyed year-round and even in-doors. As kids head back to school this fall, a great way to celebrate is with a Cowboy themed BBQ.

“Kids of all ages have an inner-cowboy screaming to come out” says Dotty Griffith, author of “The Contemporary Cowboy Cookbook” and an expert on entertaining and cooking cowboy-style “Whether you are rounding up the gang for a back-to-school bash or just celebrating a birthday, a cowboy themed party is an easy way to engage children, have fun, and create an experience that is sure to be unforgettable.”

Here are a few suggestions to help you “rustle up” a good time:

Lasso the Gang: Create eye-catching, mood-setting invitations with your kids by writing out the party details on construction paper, rolling them up in a colorful bandana and tying with twine. Also, consider finding horseshoes and attaching the invitation to them, or if the invitations can be hand-delivered attach them to a cowboy hat. At the craft store, try to pick up themed stickers or hand stamps to decorate the invitations.

Show-Stopper Props: For the truly adventurous wrangler host who wants a sure fire way to impress the kids, try any of the following rentable props to make them feel right at home on the ranch -- OK Corral entrances, split-rail fences, bales of hay, long-horn steer or buffalo skulls, a covered wagon, three-dimensional farm animals like pigs, cows and lambs and a ranch scene mural for fun photos.

Character Building: Everyone loves to play dress-up, so encourage the children to come to the party donning a western-themed costume, i.e. a cowboy, cowgirl, or sheriff. At craft stores, look for straw cowboy hats and bandanas, just in case someone wants to touch up their outfit during the party.

What’s Cooking: As we all know, children can be very picky eaters. That’s why the simple cuisine of the Wild West – a true American BBQ -- is so perfect, as it can be interactive and fun. To help capture the flavors of the west while putting together a down-home American ranch BBQ for the little cowboys, look for recipes and products that do double duty and will make the your job as head rancher look effortless.

Griffith suggests delighting kids with finger food appetizers like chicken strips and sliced vegetables and recommends using a bold, creamy Ranch dressing like new Wish-Bone Ranch-Up! as a dipping sauce. The dressing does its double duty with its easy squeeze bottle that is great for allowing kids to make designs on their plates and dip away. Pick an easy to serve main dish like hamburgers and allow kids to get creative when topping them with other kinds of easy to squeeze condiments, like colored ketchup or mustard. Griffith also suggests side dishes that are sweet and tangy like a coleslaw or potato salad using Western Dressing, which is known for its sweet and smooth taste. And save the best for last by serving an assortment of ice cream in spatter ware coffee mugs. (For more Wild West recipe ideas, go to www.wish-bone.com)

Serving It Up: Purchase cowboy-themed plates and cups at any craft store; set the table with white paper table cloths and allow kids to draw their favorite western scenes around their eating area. Use colored bandanas as napkins, turn Cowboy hats upside down to use as chips bowls and try to find plastic cowboy figurines at craft stores to decorate the table.

Musical Cowboy Hats: For a sure to please game, play musical cowboy hats and have kids walk around hats until the music stops. The one who manages to get a hat after each round wins.

Ready, Set, Draw: Create a craft area for the children and supply them with all the usual suspects, glue, crayons, glitter, etc, but add a little Wild West flare, by giving them twigs, grass and wildflowers to see what they come up with.

Kiddie Tunes: Divide the children into small groups and have one adult teach each group the words to a favorite campfire song like, “Old McDonald” or “Home on the Range.” After the kids have mastered the tune and the words, have each team put on a show for the other cowboys and cowgirls on the ranch.

Go on now -- round ‘em all up for a celebration that will have them saying, “Ye-haw” for months! For more ranch-inspired recipe and entertaining ideas from Dotty Griffith, visit www.wish-bone.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content






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Courtesy of ARA Content




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Eat your Veggies! Simple Cooking Methods

Vegetables add colour, taste, texture and bulk to our daily diet. There are dozens of different vegetables that can be prepared in literally hundreds of ways. So what's best?

There is no best. The thing to do is to eat your vegetables, lots of them, everyday in a wide variety of ways and stop worrying about the preparation methods. Variety is the key...

Raw

Many vegetables taste fabulous just the way they are straight out of the garden. Lettuce, tomato, celery, cabbage, onion, radish, carrot are obvious choices here. But they are just as likely to find themselves next to chopped up broccoli, cauliflower, peas, beans and zucchini on a starter platter with dips. Wash 'em, chop 'em and eat 'em. Oh, yeah, you could also make a salad!

Steamed

Steaming heats the vegetable and softens it's texture. It's gentler than boiling and allows the vegetable to maintain it's colour if not overdone. Use a stainless steel steamer that will fit into most good size sauce pans. Make sure you use a pan with a tight fitting lid. There should be enough water to just touch the bottom of the steamer. Water should be simmering the whole time the vegetables are being cooked.

Boiling

Boiling vegetables is really going out of fashion, but it's a legitimate preparation method! The big concern is loss of nutrients. All cooking methods result in the loss of some goodness from the vegetables. If boiling, try to find a way to use the water the vegetables have been boiled in (i.e. to make a gravy or sauce) to bring those nutrients back to the table. Vegetables should be barely covered with water. Bring the water to a boil (covered) then slow to a simmer until vegetables are tender.

Microwave

Very popular for vegetables as it retains colour, flavour and nutrients. Trial and error will be your guide with microwaving as there are plenty of variables involved. However, a few guidelines will help...The more food you put into the oven, the longer it will take to cook. Underestimate your cooking time rather than overestimate. Undercooked food can be cooked some more. Over-cooked food is ruined. Food straight from the fridge will take longer to cook than that at room temperature. All food continues to cook after it has been removed from the microwave oven. It is part of the cooking process and should be taken into account to prevent over-cooking.

Stir Fry

Very rapid method of quick frying vegetables, meat (optional) and sauces in one pan to make a meal. Primarily associated with Asian cooking. The key to doing this well is preparation. All items to be cooked should be chopped to a size that will allow them to cook quickly in the wok. It is also important that the wok is heated to a high, consistent temperature throughout. Vegetables maintain their colour and crispness with this sort of cooking (if not overdone).

Baking

Brilliant! Especially for those 'root' vegetables like potatoes, turnip, carrot and beetroot. Chop into similar size pieces, brush lightly with olive oil and put in a hot oven to roast. Size of the pieces will determine the cooking time but expect at least 40 minutes. Outside is chewy, inside is moist and fluffy. Dress with sour cream and chives. Yum!

Barbeque

Does anything scream summer like the word barbeque? Love a barbeque. This is primarily open flame cooking, so could apply to a campfire as well. Cooking outside just changes everything about food. You'll need foil, fire and fresh veggies. Grease your foil, chop your veggies and put the closed packages on the grill. Be adventurous, it's really hard to mess this up!

Judy Williams (http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com) splits her time between being a media executive and an earth mother goddess. No Dig Vegetable Gardens represents a clean, green way to grow your own food. The site covers all aspects of growing, cooking and preserving your harvest.

 

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