how to throw an easy DIY taco party

I really, really love throwing parties and little get togethers. 

there's something so fun and satisfying about getting a group of friends together in your home, spotify playing good jams in the background and enjoying food together. if eugene and I lived closer to our friends - we would have people over all the time! having your own place provides you the unique and amazing privelige to serve people you love. this is definitely one of my favorite things to do!  however- i confess it can definitely be a lot of work trying to cook enough food for a party (even if the party is just a party of 6 - especially if that party is full of hungry boys!) 

somethings I always try to be mindful of when hosting parties:

1) prepare as much of the food in advance as possible - to avoid wait time, of course!

2) find out if people have any allergies or huge dislikes before planning the meal

3) avoid spending the entire time in the kitchen -  enjoy the time with your guests!

4) do the prep but let the people make/arrange/serve the food themselves

i love all things DIY. so of course - i love DIY food parties. DIY food parties cut your cooking time in the kitchen in half and allow people to individualize + personalize their meal to their liking. and its so much fun! 

one of my favorite DIY food parties to host (besides spring roll, california roll making parties) is a DIY taco making party. tacos are so easy to prep for and you can be creative with it by changing up the meats (surf + turf, fried fish, carnitas, korean bbq). a few months ago - i hosted a surf-and-turf taco making party. I made salsa + guacamole (of course), cabbage slaw and a chipotle-inspired corn and bean salsa. of course we had limes, lots of limes! I cooked a medium rare steak on my cast iron and cut it into bite sized pieces and fired-up some cajun-lime shrimp. we served it with 4 different types of sauces: sour cream, creama mexicana, tapatio and a thousand island cream base spread. I toasted a few fresh tortillas (from Costco!) on the grill and it was go time! 

if you can imagine, it made for a pretty amazing taco slash burrito.

on our recent trip to the anchored conference, we rented a huge house with an amazing kitchen. we did DIY tacos/taco bowls with the leftover carnitas + steak that we had. we also had a bunch of day-old rice we needed to use, so we added some broth, salsa and fresh cilantro to make mexican rice. DIY parties are always amazing. 

you're gonna have to trust me on this one!

xoxo,

sharon

{Recipe: Peppermint Oreo Truffles}

This super easy, 4-ingredient holiday treat is probably one of the best things I've made this month. 

Not only is it super delightful and a huge crowd-pleaser - it's pretty dang easy (but just a little time consuming). This helped me to accomplish 2 of my goals for December: Make something with peppermint and do something sweet for the neighbors. I purposely made a huge batch so that I could share with co-workers (both Eugene and mine) and gift to our neighbors. It's a fun little thing to do with friends or family whilst listening to Christmas music in the background and/or watching a holiday movie. :) 

The four ingredients are super easy to find just about anywhere! (I usually get mine at Ralphs or Target) - but the CandiQuik is seasonal so get them while they're hot! You only need one package of each (candiquik, oreo cookies, cream cheese) for each batch. 

** I prefer Candiquik over melting white chocolate chips because it's less likely to burn and it's not as heavy in taste/texture.

Crush your Oreo Cookies and candy canes. I put them in large ziplock bags and crushed them with the flat surface of a fry pan. (It's actually easier to just run the oreos through a food processor - just requires more clean up time!) Try to get the oreo pieces as crumbly as you can! 

Let your cream cheese come to room temperature and then soften it up in the foiled package. Squeeze the cream cheese into the oreo crumbles and mix well (by hand or by mixer). 

Roll the oreo/cream cheese mixture into small bite sized balls. Try to make the surface as smooth and even as possible. 

Place your CandyQuik in a glass bowl and melt the candies via double broiler. by placing a non-plastic bowl over a pot 1/3 full of water. Bring the pot to a boil until the water creates a steam. The steam will melt the chocolate - voila, home-made double broiler. :)

 Mix the candy/chocolate when it begins to melt. 

Use two forks/spoons to cover each ball with the melted candy/chocolate. Shake off excess coating gently and transfer to a cookie sheet (covered in parchment paper). Sprinkle peppermint pieces over truffle before the coating firms up! Place in fridge for about 1 hour or until firm.

Eat em, gift em, share em and be jolly together! :o) 

Peppermint Oreo Truffles

{Recipe Adapted from Kraft}

Makes about 30 pieces

1 package Oreo Cookies

1 8-oz package of cream cheese (not non-fat)

1 package of Vanilla CandyQuik Melts (or white chocolate chips)

5-6 Peppermint Candy Canes

1. Crush Oreos, either by a food processor or by putting the cookies into a large zip-lock bag and crushing it with the flat surface of a fry pan/meat tenderizer, etc. Crush peppermint using the latter technique - do NOT put peppermint candies in food processor

2. Leave cream cheese package out until it reaches close to room temperature. Manually soften cream cheese with your hands, keeping the cream cheese in the foil package. Mix cream cheese into the Oreo crumbs thoroughly. Make small, bite sized Oreo truffle balls by rolling the mixture with your hands. 

3. Melt chocolate or candy melts - I used the double broiler method. Be careful

Not to burn the chocolate. Stir frequently. 

4. Coat each Oreo truffle with your candy melts and shake off excess. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Sprinkle with peppermint crumbs immediately. 

5. Place your tray of ready Oreo truffles into fridge for one hour or until firm. 

Serve within 2-3 days for best results. Keep in fridge up to 5 days. 

Enjoy!