"Cheers" ... to you in Margarita-ville!

Today was a fun day! (to say the least) I hosted a party of 8 here in my home. & loved every minute of it. It's always exciting to plan and prepare and come up with things that are good, different, creative, pretty to look at, and yummy to eat. Hopefully that is the way it came off. I feel good about it.

The waiting is always the hardest part for me. I had everything lined up and ready to go... The guests arrived right on time and I had only a few more things to do. Here's the menu:

Margaritas! Nothing kicks off a party like a good beverage... No Tequilla only happy spirits.

Mock Margarita Punch
1 12 oz. can lemonade concentrate
1 12 oz. can limeade concentrate
1 c. sifted powder sugar
6 c. water.
mix and freeze
2 liters club soda or sprite chilled.
shave frozen mixture into large punch bowl... add sprite serve with salt rimmed glasses and a lime for garnish!

Next: Fresh Avacado with seafood salad cocktail and mango slices
slice avacado, rub in lime juice
place seafood cocktail in cavity and drizzle with lemon juice
slice mango and arrange on plates

(*cocktail sauce on the side for those who wanted it)

next: Southwest Chicken Pitas

Southwest Chicken: Marinate chicken in 3/4 c. oil and the zest and juice of 2 limes for 4 hours
seer chicken in skillet and place in crock pot for 8 hours.
during that cooking time shred chicken and add chopped red peppers *i added a little bit of bottled salsa

Assemble: Greek Pita Bread (Mom, you are my hero!!!! thanks for finding those)
chicken mixture
shredded monterey Jack cheese
*broil*
top with sauted red peppers and onions
tomatoes
lettuce
cesar dressing
~fold and eat~
the cherry tomatoes are from my garden and were a garnish.

next: and not pictured was sweet potatoe and black bean salad as a side dish.

and finally....
Chocolate Malted Tart

Tart:
8 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 c. chocolate wafer cookie crumbs
11 oz. milk chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 c. heavy cream
1/3 c. malted powder

melt 6 Tbsp. butter, add to cookie crumbs to form a crust. place crumbs in 8 inch tart pan. set in freezer about 20 min.
place chocolate in medium heatproof bowl. in a small saucepan bring cream to a simmer over med.-low heat. remove from heat and add malted milk powder, whisk until smooth. pour over chocolate and let sit 1 minute until chocolate is smooth. stir in remaining 2 Tbsp butter small piece by piece until evenly incorporated.
turn mixture into prepared tart crust and spread evenly. cover loosely and refrigerate until filling is set at least 1 1/2 hours.

whip cream for topping

and here she is the reason for the party enjoying what she called "HEAVEN"