Grilled Hot Wings + 6 Tips to Make Your Summer Cookout a Success

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MakeYourSummer #MADEFORDOERS #CollectiveBias

Summer time is party time!  My husband and I love to have cookouts during the summer, and we are sort of famous for our last minute impromptu get-togethers, featuring my husband’s grilled masterpieces, and my amazing sides and desserts.  Today I’m excited to offer you an easy but unique recipe for your next cookout, plus tips to make your summer cookout a success from prep to clean up.

 

Party Time Clean Up Essentials

When it comes to parties, most people focus on the food first and then the decorations, but you must not forget other essentials like plates, cups, eating utensils, and of course, something to help guests to clean their hands.  VIVA® Vantage® Big Roll Paper Towels come in a convenient 6 pack that is perfect for your party.  I love putting out a roll of paper towels, because it is easy, convenient, and cost effective.  Also, in the event of a spill, you just grab a roll and get to cleaning!

Paper towels can also be a big help for cleaning as you go before your party begins.  Just wipe down tables and counter tops as you work, so the messes don’t add up!  Then after the party is over, I like to grab my favorite spray cleaner and a roll of paper towels for quick clean up!

New Kleenex® Wet Wipes Gentle Clean are also a convenient product to have on hand.  These are safe to use on hands and your face.

Summer parties are often outdoors, which means no sink is immediately available, and so it’s great to offer guests some wipes for personal clean up (especially if you are serving a messy food like ribs, wings, or ice cream).

I recommend placing a package of Kleenex® Wet Wipes at the center of each of the tables where people will be eating, as well as an additional package next to your messiest foods, which may require the use of the wipes (ie – right next to your tray of hot wings).

You can find both of these products in the bath tissue, facial tissue and paper towel aisle at your local Kroger.  I used my Kroger Plus card and was able to save $5 on the VIVA® Vantage® Big Roll Paper Towels 6 pack!

The Kleenex® wipes found on the facial tissue aisle.  I actually found them on the same aisle as the paper towels.  I found them at the opposite end of the aisle, in between bath tissue and facial tissue.

Place Non-Food Essentials in One Place

I have been to so many parties and get-togethers where everyone appears lost!  Where are the plates?  I can’t find the cups!  I forgot to get a paper towel. Where are the forks?  The confusion can be solved rather easily, by placing all of these essential items at the end of your buffet, all together in one place.

Fun Theme

Even the smallest party can be made more fun with a few decorations.  My stepson recently graduated high school and will be leaving in August to join the army, so for his upcoming party, I would use some simple red, white, and blue decorations.  I LOVE patriotic decorations to begin with, so this is an especially fun theme for me.  Plus, with Memorial Day and the 4th of July being summer time holidays it is very easy to find paper plates, balloons, tablecloths, and other fun decorations and party favors to go with this theme.

Make Ahead Menu Items

To shorten prep time and make less mess on the day of your party, choose a few make ahead menu items.

  • Casseroles that can be mixed up the night before and simply warmed in the oven the next day are great.
  • You can also make salads the night before. (We always make our potato salad a day ahead!)
  • No bake desserts are also great for this, as well most other desserts from homemade cookies to pies and cupcakes.

Unique Menu

Think outside the box when planning your menu; just a few unique menu items can take your menu from bland and basic to original and full of flavor.

Right now we are brainstorming party ideas for Noah. My husband and I LOVE to do cookouts, and we also love doing appetizer parties, so my idea is to do a combination of the two.  I’d like to serve hamburgers and hot dogs (because it is easy and everyone loves it), but I also want to throw in some of our favorite appetizers like hot wings, sausage balls, and buffalo chicken dip.

You could also add a few appetizers to your menu if your are having a fish fry.  Or offer up veggie kebobs alongside your grilled steaks or barbecue chicken.

Fresh fruits and salads are also great additions to your backyard barbecue, and of course, you never want to forget the dessert!

Fire Up That Grill!

If you’re serving appetizers at your next cookout, I have a simple, yet unique recipe.  Where I live hot wings are not typically served at a barbecue.  They are usually reserved for tailgating parties and holiday parties, so just having them at a summer party is an interesting menu twist for us.  And if that’s not enough, these wings are GRILLED!  Usually when people think of wings, they think of wings fried in a fryer.

Grilling your wings will add extra flavor that frying just won’t do, and because you aren’t using any oil, and the fat from the wings drips down into your grill, your wings will actually be a lot more healthy!

 

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 Sweepstakes!

Enter the #MakeYourSummer Sweepstakes for a chance to win a Kroger gift card or a NASCAR experience!

  • No Purchase Necessary. The #MakeYourSummer #Sweepstakes begins on June 11, 2018 at 12:00:00 AM ET and ends on July 23, 2018 at 11:59:59 PM ET.
  • There are multiple Entry Periods during the Sweepstakes. Legal residents of the 50 US/DC only, 18+.
  • Void where prohibited. By participating, you agree to the Official Rules at https://makeyoursummerrules.pgtb.me/MRsDsl.
  • All shared entries should include: #MakeYourSummer #Sweepstakes. Ends 7/23/18. See rules at https://makeyoursummerrules.pgtb.me/MRsDsl.

Do you love cookouts and summer parties? Visit the Make Your Summer Social Hub for more unique grilling inspiration.  And as always, I invite you to join the conversation by commenting on today’s post!

Friday Favorites – Week 311 – With St. Patrick’s Day Goodies

Greetings everyone! Thanks for stopping by for another edition of Friday Favorites.  This week I’ve got some great looking St. Patrick’s Day goodies to share with you!  Hope you enjoy!

I also have a party update for you.  This is the last week that we will have just 6 party hostesses.  Unfortunately, Amanda from The Chunky Chef is no longer able to host.  She has been a great hostess; I’ve really enjoyed working with her, and she will be missed.  Please continue to keep up with her blog, as she shares some amazing recipes!

Christine from MustLoveHome will still be with us!  Yay!  And we have 4 additional co-hostesses to add to our roster!  They are Jennifer from A Heart Full of Love, Bonnie from Our Secondhand House, Gloria from Homemade and Yummy, and Dawn from LeroyLime.  These lovely ladies have fantastic blogs, and I know they will bring a lot to the party! [Read more…]

Friday Favorites – Week 310 – With St. Patrick’s Day Projects

Hello everyone! Happy March! And welcome to this week’s Friday Favorites party!  I’m so happy to start seeing some spring ideas rolling in from you guys!  Today we’re springing in to to spring with some St. Patrick’s Day projects!  Hope you enjoy them!

Also, one quick note, if you are still waiting for an announcement about our new hostesses, I hope to have that next week.  I’ve been sending out emails to applicants, but I still have a couple of people I’ve not heard back from, so the full list is not yet official, but once it is, I’ll have the names posted here, and  I can tell you already that we’re going to have a great group of ladies working on the party! [Read more…]

Friday Favorites – Week 301 – With New Year’s Foods + My Thoughts for the New Year

Happy New Year!  And welcome to our last party of 2015 and our first party of 2016.  Woohoo!  In honor of the new year, today I’ve got some foods that are perfect for your New Year’s celebrations!

But  first I have a few thoughts on the new year and what’s to come.  First off, I want to say thanks to everyone who’s linked up here at any time during 2015.  Whether you’ve come by each week or just a time or two, your visits are much appreciated!

Secondly, although I’m proud of the work I did on my blog in 2015, and I feel I accomplished a lot, I have to admit that I feel like I slacked a bit on parties this year.  My husband was in the hospital last spring, and I had to help him in his recovery time.  And then we also had a number of household projects to tackle and other things that came up.  Long story-short, even thought I managed to get a party post up each week, I felt like some of them were just “thrown together” and I didn’t get to visit you guys and comment nearly as much as I would like.  BUT I promise I will be getting back on track with that in the new year, as well as some other things that I feel I’ve “slacked on.”

Now in honor of me “not slacking” I am planning some posts for January, which will be on setting goals and getting things done in the new year.  In fact, my words for 2016 are “simplify” and “focus,” which I will be posting about this weekend.  So you can expect to see a lot of posts on my blog this year that revolve around these two things, especially “simplify” because simplicity is at the heart of my blog, hence the name “SIMPLY Sweet Home.”  So if you love simple solutions or feel you just want to get back to the basics of life and homemaking, please join me here in 2016.  And as always, I invite you to subscribe to my feeds and allow along on all my social media pages!

And last but not least, you can expect to see a bigger and better party this year!  Soon I will be posting a call for new party hostesses, and anyone who’s interested in being a Friday Favorites host will be welcome to apply.  And I’m also doing a little brainstorming with the current hostesses to see what we can do to make the party better.  If you have any ideas for me, or if you may be interested in being a hostess, feel free to email me.  Cheers! [Read more…]

Friday Favorites – Week 275 – With 4th of July Ideas

Hey everyone! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Favorites. And Happy early 4th of July! In honor of the holiday, we’ve got more red, white, and blue ideas for the 4th of July, including a collection of fun DIY/Decor projects and food!  Hope you enjoy!

Friday Favorites Link Party

Hosted by:

Simply Sweet Home
Twitter | Facebook | Google + | Pinterest | Instagram

MustLoveHome

Twitter | Facebook | Google + | Pinterest | Instagram

The Chunky Chef

Twitter | Facebook | Google + | Pinterest [Read more…]

4th of July Printable, Tutorial, and GraphicStock Giveaway

GraphicStock Disclosure

I always love decorating for holidays throughout the year, but I don’t always have a big budget to spend to spend on items I’ll only be using a few a weeks.  Luckily I’ve been able to score a lot of great items at the dollar stores and thrift stores, and I’m always able to find really cute printable art online, and when I can’t find anything I like, sites like GraphicStock and PicMonkey help me to make my own.

GraphicStock is a website which offers over 250000 graphics, vectors, icons, buttons, images, and more!  These can be used for home and party decor, invitations, stationary, greetings cards, and banners, as well as media for businesses and organizations, such as a logo, business cards, flyers, letterheads, and more!  And you can also use the images to create your own custom graphics for blog posts and general web design.

And with so many images to offer, you can find an image, vector, or icon for any project and to fit virtually any style you are looking for.  Today I’m sharing a printable that I made using an image from GraphicStock.  You can download it here for FREE and then frame it.  It will look great on your wall or mantel! [Read more…]

Corn Casserole + 5 Tips to Beat the Heat When Planning a Summer Party

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SummerYum #CollectiveBias

4th of July Picnic

The summer season is such a fun opportunity to spend time with family and friends in the great outdoors and host fun cook outs and picnics, but I, for one, have a hard time standing the heat!  There are certain times of day when I can barely go outside at all for more than a few minutes, much less have fun in the sun or play hostess!

I’m sure a lot of you ladies and gents feel the same way!

Today I’m going to share some ways I beat the heat when planning my party menu, and I’ve also got a recipe for an easy side dish you can make for your upcoming picnics and barbecues: a corn casserole! [Read more…]

Coca-Cola Happy Hour + Patriotic Coke-Inspired Table Decor

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CokeHappyHour #CollectiveBias
Coke Bottles

I’m so excited about the hot summer weather here! One of my favorite summer activities is just sitting on the front porch or the back deck with my hubby.  Whether we’re sitting out in the hot sun or under the stars at night, it is always good to have this time to spend with him just laughing and talking as we share a Coke!

This summer Coca-Cola has brought back their Share a Coke campaign, complete with fun personalized bottles and cans.  Coke has always been my favorite drink, and last year I had my fair share of cans and bottles with fun words like “Superstar” and Soulmate” written on them.  Then this year I’ve gotten bottles that feature emoticons and the words “Love” and “Amor.”  But even better than that, I found a bottle with my husband’s name on it! [Read more…]

DIY Orange Sugar Scrubs + Coty Love2Love Fragrances for Mother’s Day

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #L2LMom #CollectiveBias

DIY Orange Sugar Scrubs and Love2Love Frangrances

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, a day to celebrate, honor, and remember our mom, grandmother, and other special women in our life.  My mom is a wonderful person.  Here’s a recent picture of the two of us:

Jerri and Mom

She’s always there for us and is willing to help her children and grandchildren any way she can.  She constantly sacrifices her time, money (and occasionally her own sanity) and never asks for anything in return.  This is just one reason that I always like to get her something special for Mother’s Day.

When I go shopping for her gift, I run in to 2 problems: First of all, I’m shopping for someone who seems to have everything already.  Secondly, I’m working with a limited budget.  But somehow I always seem to work it out.  Today I’ve got a couple of gift ideas for Mother’s Day that are luxurious AND affordable! [Read more…]

10 Handmade Mother’s Day Gifts

Are you ready for Mother’s Day?  This year I have a set of really cute bird plates for my mom.  But in the past I’ve given her some of my own handmade jewelry from my shop:

Simply Sweet Creations Jewelry

As an Etsy shop owner, I appreciate and am thrilled about every sale that I get, especially right now, which is a slow time for me.  I also know how hard it can be to get your name out their and get advertiser (especially when you’re on a budget).  For this reason, I like to give other Etsy shops and handmade businesses exposure on my blog though low-cost paid advertisements and free features whenever possible.

Today I’ve put together a nice Mother’s Day gift guide featuring some lovely things that I’d love to have and items I think any mom would love!

[Read more…]