Tea Party, September 2011

"Favor is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, 

but the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Proverbs 31:30

Our September tea party, with the theme, "That Girl in Your Mirror," was a big success.  Our focus was on developing the inner beauty of the heart.  My heart's desire is to see these girls become as beautiful inside as they are on the outside.

The girls brought goodies for the "dips" party

They looked beautiful as always.

Only 8 of them.  Where's Lilly?

Tea, of course, in each girl's favorite tea cup

Fresh flowers for the occasion

A simple but pretty table

fruits, graham sticks and cookie bites for chocolate dip and mixed fruit dip

pizza dip with homemade bread sticks (recipe at the end of post)

spinach dip with veggies

They decorated mirrors for their craft

 Thanks for joining our party.  I hope you enjoyed it!

Pizza Dip

--1 cup pasta sauce
--1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
--10 pieces pepperoni, diced
--1 cup shredded mozarella cheese
Put in crockpot on low for 1 hr.  Serve with bread sticks.

Bread Sticks

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dry parsley (optional, for decoration)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup milk

1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)

1 more teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

These are good and easy and they get eaten up so fast that you may have to make a double batch.
Begin with your favorite big bowl. Measure your flour, salt, garlic powder, parsley and baking powder into it. Stir the dry ingredients together so that the salt, garlic powder, parsley and baking powder are evenly distributed throughout the flour. Now pour in your milk. Stir with a big spoon until you get a ball of dough that leaves the sides of the bowl. You may have to dust the ball of dough with a little flour if it seems sticky to you. Gently knead the ball of dough right there in the bowl about 5 or 6 times. Now place your dough on the counter. You may place a sheet of waxed paper under it you like. Using a rolling pin or sturdy bottle roll the dough out into a rectangle shape. If the edges get all scraggly then use your hands to press them back up into main rectangle. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You are aiming for a rectangle that will fit into a 9 by 13-inch pan. When you get the dough the right size, set it aside.
Meanwhile place the margarine in a 9 by 13-inch pan. Place the pan in the oven at 425°. Allow the pan to preheat and the margarine to melt. When the margarine is melted, carefully remove the pan from the oven. It will be very hot, so don’t burn yourself. Sprinkle the second teaspoon of garlic powder and the 1/2-teaspon of salt into the pan. You do not have to use the extra salt. My crew likes their bread sticks salty so I always use it, but it isn’t vital. Now, very carefully lay your rectangle of dough into the pan, over top of the margarine. Next cut the rectangle into narrow strips. I use a pizza cutter for this because it seems to work the best. A sharp knife will work too though, so use what you have available. My method of cutting is to cut the dough in half and then cut each half in half and then each quarter in half, going on and on until I have a lot of narrow strips of dough. The margarine will creep up between the strips. This is normal. It is what gives these bread sticks their texture. After cutting your strips, place the pan in the oven, still at 425°, and bake them for 20 minutes. They will be brown and crispy when they are done. If desired you may serve them with small cups or bowls of spaghetti sauce or seasoned tomato sauce as a dip. Alternatively, they make a great hot bread with any Italian style meal like lasagna, spaghetti or anything of that ilk.

I'm linking today to the following tea parties:

Marty at a Stroll Thru Life

Lady Katherine at Teatime Tuesday

Martha at Teacup Tuesday