Simple Entertaining « Diva (in Demand)

Palmolive Fresh Infusions Dish Soap

By Original Diva, on January 27th, 2013%

Over the Christmas holidays I helped my father deep fry a turkey. Afterwards my stepmother and I had a conversation about the best dish soap to cut grease in the kitchen. I had been using some unknown brand from the cheapo deapo store across the street from me and she said that I need to step it up and not go cheap on my dish soap….because it makes all the difference. Well a few weeks later I received an email from Influenster asking me to test out Palmolive’s new Fresh Infusions Dish Soap and I was super excited!

Although the package was a gift to me at no cost from Influenster and Palmolive, all of the opinions expressed here are my own.

The instructions said that I was to pick my favorite scent (the three included were Lime Basil, Lemon Thyme, and Ginger White Tea) and then give another to a friend. It took me a minute to decide but I loved the lime thyme scent so much that I put it on my sink. I’ll be giving one to my stepmother as well to try out. Listen to me y’all…SHE WAS RIGHT. I have never used a fancy name brand dish soap so I can’t give you an opinion on Palmolive vs. Dawn. But I CAN tell you that Palmolive Fresh Infusions cuts the grease like it says it will. I have washed casserole dishes with it, a crock pot, and tupperware containers that I accidentally left in the car too long. The grease and the dried on food just wiped away. I am a new convert people. From now on my house will use Palmolive!

Yours should too!!!!! I have 5 coupons to give away and an extra bottle! Leave a comment on this post telling me which scent you’d like to try and at the end of the week I’ll pick a winner to receive a bottle. The first 5 comments will receive the coupons. And if you want an extra entry….share this post on Facebook (#Palmolive), tag moi (DivainDemand), and your name will get tossed in the hat every time. And as I look around my stash of brand freebies….you might get a little something extra too!

The deadline is this Friday – February 1st.

Simple Entertaining…St. Patrick’s Day (Part III)

By Original Diva, on March 9th, 2012%

Green shamrocks and flower arrangements create striking and meaningful St Patricks Day and Easter table centerpieces. Green leaves and flower arrangements are symbols of colorful spring decorating. Native to South Africa, oxalis plants are very attractive, easy to care for and fast growing house plants with small flowers. Shamrocks, bought for St Patricks Day party or Easter table centerpieces, can be enjoyed for years. Shamrocks are impressive and cheap ideas for table decoration. With seasonal, winter or spring, flower arrangements, candles, ribbons or floral table cloth and napkins, these small house plants create elegant and cheerful table centerpieces. Shamrocks can attractively decorate porches, decks and patios in late spring, summer and early fall, surprising you with delicate small flowers. Oxalis plants have spicy taste. Shamrocks can be used for cooking, table decoration and food presentation. Unique green leaves of shamrocks and flower arrangements bring beautiful spring decorating colors into homes, creating festive, bright and fresh St Patricks Day party.

For those of you who consider yourself less “gimmicky”, embrace the moss green of the holiday instead of aiming for lucky charms scattered throughout your house.

Table Décor: The dining room table runner and napkins can be a Moss Green paisley pattern. To add a little Irish fun,use beer mugs instead of wine glasses on the table and stock the fridge with Irish stout.

Centerpiece: These centerpiece was fairly simple and straight-forward. I bought a large Shamrock plant, put it in a white flower pot and placed votive candles down the runner.

Party Favors

Here’s an easy little cookie for St. Patrick’s Day…

Pipe the outline of a shamrock in white icing, using a #2 tip.
In the center of the cookie, pipe an outline of a heart in red, using a #2 tip. (AmeriColor Super Red)
Thin red and green icing to the consistency of syrup and let sit covered with a damp dishtowel for several minutes. Run a rubber spatula through the icing to pop any air bubbles that have formed on top.
Fill in outlined shamrock in green using a toothpick to guide into corners. Use a squeeze bottle for easy filling. (Spectrum Leaf Green)
Fill in heart with thinned red icing following method above.

***a note on green icing: a deep green like these shamrocks is susceptible to humidity. Sometimes, the icing will get a blotchy look and turn slightly darker. Not to worry, eventually the entire cookie will darken to an even shade. Although red and blue will do this as well. Just try to keep the cookies in a non-humid environment and never put in the refrigerator.***

Lastly, to ensure the Hors D’oeuvres table had a touch of Irish fun, buy some green and white stripped paper napkins and put a cluster of green poms in a small bud vase.

Here is another great idea for decor courtesy of The Thrifty Crafter!

I was inspired to create a new table setting for St. Patrick’s Day this year by the looks of a leprechaun hat. Notions normally used to create belts were fashioned into napkin rings and linen napkins in the perfect kelly green were sewn up in a jiffy.

Here’s what you need:

1 yard of Dritz black woven belt material
six Dritz gold fashion buckles
black thread and needle
1 2/3 yards kelly green linen fabric (Joann’s)
kelly green thread
sewing machine and pins
ruler and scissors

For the napkin rings:

Cut belt material into 5.25 inch pieces.
Thread a gold buckle onto each piece of belt material.
Overlap ends of belt material by 1/4 inch and use needle and black thread to sew together.
Cost: $11 for 6 napkin rings

For the napkins:

Iron material, then cut fabric into 19×19 inch squares.
Fold over 1/2 inch of material at edge, tucking free edge underneath for a clean seam. Pin and sew two opposite edges, then repeat for the remaining two.
Cost: $7 for 6 napkins

Simply Entertaining for St. Patrick’s Day (Part II)

By Original Diva, on February 21st, 2012%

So you’ve seen every episode of Ida’s Barefoot Contessa show and own of her cookbooks on throwing a dinner party. You’ve even written in or called Martha Stewart for tips.

Well actually you’ve done neither because all though everything they do on television looks fabulous, it also looks time consuming and only attainable with a production stff to continuously pour liquid over the corn beef as it’s being taped.

Throwing a dinner party doesn’t require a staff and creating your guest list and sending out your invitations in advance are half the battle. Let me share with you a recipe for a hearty, traditional Irish meal that can stretch to serve plenty and create a cozy, family feeling over the dinner table.

Lamb stew is Irish penicillin: a rich stew full of potatoes, leeks and carrots that’ll cure whatever ails you. In traditional fashion, nothing here is browned first, just all stewed together. To keep it healthy make sure to trim the lamb of any visible fat before you cook it.

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 3/4 pounds white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 large leeks, white part only, halved, washed (see Tip) and thinly sliced
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped

PREPARATION
Combine lamb, potatoes, leeks, carrots, celery, broth, thyme, salt and pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker; stir to combine. Put the lid on and cook on low until the lamb is fork-tender, about 8 hours. Stir in parsley before serving.

TIPS & NOTES
Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
Tip: To clean leeks, trim and discard green tops and white roots. Split leeks lengthwise and place in plenty of water. Swish the leeks in the water to release any sand or soil. Drain. Repeat until no grit remains.

Serve this stew with that fabulous Irish Soda Bread recipe I posted yesterday and a huge salad and hope that everyone saves room for this dream dessert.

Ingredients
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
6 tablespoons key lime juice
2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped, divided
1 graham cracker crust (9 inches)

Directions
In a large bowl, combine milk and lime juice. Refrigerate 1/4 cup whipped cream for garnish. Fold a fourth of the remaining whipped cream into lime mixture; fold in remaining whipped cream. Spoon into crust. Cover and freeze overnight.
Remove from the freezer 10-15 minutes before serving. Garnish with reserved whipped cream. Yield: 6-8 servings.

That’s for the adults of course. Because the kid in all of us will love these:

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
4 cups large marshmallows (about 40)
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
6 cups crisp rice cereal
6 ounces white candy coating, coarsely chopped
4 drops green food coloring, optional
Green sprinkles

Directions
In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add marshmallows; cook and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat; stir in extract and cereal. With buttered hands, press mixture into a greased foil-lined 13-in. x 9-in. pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Turn onto a cutting board; remove foil. Cut with a 3-in. shamrock cookie cutter; reshape shamrock stem if needed (save scraps for another use).
In a microwave, melt candy coating at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth.
Stir in food coloring if desired. Spoon over cutouts and spread evenly. Decorate with sprinkles. Let stand until set. Yield: 15 servings.

Tune in for decor ideas and what drinks to serve at your party.