Good food, good drinks at Spa Day

Hanging out with the girls requires some good food. During our recent Spa Day, we spent the first 2 hours around my buffet table chatting. Spa Day is a great opportuntity to catch each other up on what’s going on in our lives. We hit on both the high and low points, the small and the big.

The spread doesn't have to be gourmet. Ask everyone to bring a snack to share and there will be plenty for all.

To make Spa Day more relaxing, we don’t have any one person do everything. Instead, we split up the work. Each person brings a food item and a spa activity. When we have a really big group (5-10), we split folks between food and activity. We’ve never run out of either food or fun.

Here are a few tried and true recipes to try at your next gathering:

BEST CHEESEBALL EVER

2 8-oz. cream cheese

2 c. (8 oz) sharp cheddar cheese

3 T. chopped green olive and pimento

3 T. chopped green pepper

3 T. chopped red onion

1 T. Worchestershire sauce

3 t. lemon juice

Pecans, chopped

Mix all ingredients together. Roll into a ball. Chill. Roll in chopped pecans. Serve with crackers.

* I always add a little too much worchestershire sauce and lemon juice, and extra olives, pepper and onion. I like a lot of flavor, and this delivers.

MANGO MADNESS

(From Better Homes & Gardens February 2010)

2 c. Chopped mango

1/2 c. Chopped red pepper

1/4 c. Finely chopped red onion

2 T. chopped cilantro

2 T. lime juice

Pinch salt and pepper

*This recipe looks oh, so beautiful in a bowl with the vibrant reds of the onion and pepper, the orange of the mango and the green from the cilantro. Plus, when my hubby got home, he couldn’t stop eating it.

To stop her family from eating it before Spa Day, Jenni placed a warning on her granola.

JENNI’S DELICIOUS GRANOLA

Honey

Brown sugar

Quick oats (like quaker oatmeal)

Pinch of salt

Half cup of olive oil

Whatever nuts, coconut, or dried fruit

Chocolate chunks

Mix to a chunky consistancy and cook on foil or parchment paper at 350º for 15 min. Let cool completely before packaging or it can get soft and mushy. Do not add chocolate chips until granola has cooled.

Oranges are great both for sangria AND spa treatments!

WHITE SANGRIA

Sweet white wine (Reisling or Moscato are good options)

Mango-Orange juice

Sliced oranges

Marachino cherries (Pour the juice in for some extra pizzazz)

Mix the liquids together and then add the fruit. If it’s not sweet enough, add some more juice. Chill before serving.