MURDER MYSTERY DINNER | 2016

I'm breaking up my Hilton Head girls trip recaps to share with you about the murder mystery dinner party my in-laws hosted this past weekend. To read about day 1 & 2 of our girls trip go HERE.

My MIL found this website and then they chose which one they wanted to do. They chose the Bumped Off on Bourbon St. themed one. There are SO many different options and they all look really fun. They had been planning it for weeks and everything turned out so GREAT. From the food/drinks to the decorations and printables. It was all so well planned and was a lot of fun. Disclaimer: this is a picture heavy post!

We were welcomed by a small gift basket on our bed filled with all things "Cajun" since the theme was a New Orleans/Mardi Gras theme.

We started off with our round one card. There were prompts in there to tell you what to talk about and some told you who to talk to. I don't want to give too much information about everything in case anyone reading this wants to buy this kit....which I definitely recommend! 

 While reading round one we snacked on appetizers. We all made appetizers and my MIL made the main dish, drinks and desserts. Matthew and I made Cajun Candied Bacon, Andrew and Christina made Cajun Shrimp Dip, and Nathan and Jenny made a Cajun dip as well, I just can't find the recipe.

The drinks my MIL made were absolutely DELICIOUS. I literally could have had about 5 glasses of that sweet liquid gold. Thankfully she sent the recipe home with me! I'll share the recipes from our party soon. 

After our appetizers we played a game. We had to all make up a rap with our significant other. The rap had to be about Murphy, their pup! It was hilarious, and Matthew and I found out very quickly that we could never quit our day jobs to become rappers lol. 

After everyone performed their raps they split the girls and guys up and we played another game. Then it was time for dinner and round 2! I am a HUGE sucker for cute tablescapes. So when I saw how they decorated the table I was alllllll heart eyes (hence the amount of pictures I took of the table lol). So cute and went so well with our theme! They also had two photo areas set up for us.

For some odd reason I didn't get a picture of our meal. Probably because it was so delicious. During dinner the victim was "murdered" so that moved us along to round three!

After our dinner and round two we made our way back to the living room for round three and dessert. They had music that followed our theme playing in the background the whole time, it was the perfect touch!

Our next game we had to draw a piece of paper from a cup and on the pieces of paper were types of dances we had to do, with our significant other. Matthew and I drew the funky chicken LOL. Andrew and Christina drew the robot, Nathan and Jenny drew ballet, and My in-laws drew ballroom dancing. It was so funny watching everyone and trying to guess what each couple had. After round three we had dessert and then all wrote down our guesses and evidence as to "whodunit", aka who was the murderer. My MIL made a delicious white chocolate dessert...seriously anything white chocolate send my way. I was so full from our meal that I was only able to eat a little of it. Thankfully the rest of it got sent home with us!

YUM.YUM.YUM.YUM.

And here are some other pictures from our night!

Everyone digging into some appetizers.

Everything was decorated so cute. Even their coffee bar got some Mardi Gras beads!

 These were the two photo taking places. So cute!

The victim and the murderer

And a group picture. Everyone did so great with their costumes, but I have to say, I think my MIL won best dressed!! Tattoo sleeves and biker studded gloves and all!

Jenny was a marathon runner, Nathan was a referee, Matthew was a S.W.A.T team member, I was a spunky cheerleading coach, Andrew was a chef, Christina was a street performer, Judy was a biker chick, and Thom was a musician.

A huge thank you to my in-laws for all the hard work and time they put into hosting this crazy fun dinner party! We loved it and can't wait until we are all together again!!

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MURDER MYSTERY DINNER | 2016

BEEFY-CHILI MAC - DINNER RECIPE

This recipe is so easy and we had plenty of leftovers for lunches the rest of the week. The best part about it is that you can change it up according to what you like or don't like. 

Beefy-chili Mac

Adapted from Mix and Match Mama

Ingredients 

- 1 lb of elbow noodles

- 1 lb of ground beef

- 2 (6 oz) cans of tomato paste

- 1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce 

- 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, halved. 

- 2 - 1-2 Tablespoon of chili powder

- 1/2 teaspoon of cumin

- 1 Tablespoon of parsley

- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

- Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350

- In a large pot, cook noddles al dente and then drain.

- Meanwhile in another skillet brown your meat and then drain.

- Once meat and noodles are done mix the meat in with the noodles. Then mix in all of the other ingredients listed above. Only mix in half of the shredded cheese. 

- Once everything is mixed together well in the skillet, add to a 9 x 13 baking dish and top with remaining shredded cheese.

- Bake in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes. 

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BEEFY-CHILI MAC - DINNER RECIPE

BAKED CHICKEN PARMESAN - DINNER

During the warmer months I like eating lighter dinners, and this one proved to be the perfect fit! I'm excited to make this one again, and soon.

Baked Chicken Parmesan
By Skinnytaste

Ingredients:

- 4 chicken breasts, sliced in half to make 8

- 3/4 cup of Italian breadcrumbs

- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- 2 Tbsp garlic powder (or more if desired)

- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

- 2 Tbsp butter, melted

- 1 16 oz spaghetti noodles

- 2 Jars of spaghetti sauce (Matthew's favorite is Bertolli Five Cheese)

- Cooking spray

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 450. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set to the side.

- Combine breadcrumbs, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese in a bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl. Brush the butter onto the chicken, and then dip into the breadcrumb mixture, make sure to coat both sides evenly. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet and repeat until all the chicken is coated.

- Lightly spray a little more cooking spray on top of chicken and then bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over and bake another 5 minutes.

- Remove from oven and add 1 Tbsp (or more if desired) of spaghetti sauce over each piece of chicken and then add 1 1/2 Tbsp of shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted. 

- Place on a bed of noodles and serve immediately. 

I used whole wheat linguine noodles.

So simple and delicious! Make this soon and enjoy it on the patio before it gets too hot outside. This also makes really good leftovers for lunches the rest of the week.

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BAKED CHICKEN PARMESAN - DINNER

EASY SALISBURY STEAK - DINNER

Last week I tried a new recipe and we really enjoyed it. Plus I already had most of the ingredients in my pantry, I love those kind of meals!!

Ingredients:
Patties:

1 lb Lean Ground Beef

1/3 cup Bread Crumbs

2 tsp Ketchup

1 tsp Mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

Gravy:

2 packets Brown Gravy Mix

2 cup hot Water

1 tsp Ketchup

1/2 tsp Worcestershire

Directions:

1. Combine all patty ingredients in a large bowl until all ingredients are mixed well.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

3. Cook patties on both sides until no longer pink.

Lower the temperature to low, so they don't burn on the outside.

4. Whisk together gravy mix and water until well blended.

Whisk in ketchup and Worcestershire. 

5. Pour over patties in skillet.

Allow to simmer until gravy warms and thickens.

This was a screenshot from my snapchat video that I made while pouring the gravy in, and you can hear Matthew sneezing in the background lol.

I used my whisk to stir the sauce every few minutes as it thickened. I also kept flipping the patties so they wouldn't burn.

After it was finished I placed the salisbury steak over a bed of garlic mashed potatoes and then served it with green beans and corn. Such an easy and delicious meal!

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EASY SALISBURY STEAK - DINNER

3 CHEESE MEATBALL CASSEROLE - DINNER

I am always looking for new recipes and when I found this recipe I knew I wanted to try it. I changed mine up just a little bit though, but I think it still turned out pretty good! Matthew was confused as to why there weren't any noodles in it lol, but then I explained it was a meatball casserole. Of course if you wanted to, you could add noodles.

Ingredients:

- 1 bag of frozen meatballs

- 1 1/2 cans of pasta sauce

- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese

- Italian seasoning (to taste)

- Garlic powder (to taste)

Step 1: Cook your meatballs according to the package. I bought these at Walmart and it only took them about 25 minutes!

Step 2: Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce in a 3 quart casserole dish. I put a thin layer of cheddar cheese down and then add the meatballs. 

Step 3: Add a thick layer of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Step 4: Add a layer of pasta sauce over cheese, and then add the rest of the meatballs. 

Step 5: Add final layer of cheese. 

Step 6: I added a little Italian seasoning and garlic powder with each layer and then added more on the very top.

Step 7: Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Just long enough for it to warm the inside and melt the cheese.

Directions:

Step 1: Cook your meatballs according to the package. I bought these at Walmart and it only took them about 25 minutes!

Step 2: Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce in a 3 quart casserole dish. I put a thin layer of cheddar cheese down and then add the meatballs. 

Step 3: Add a thick layer of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Step 4: Add a layer of pasta sauce over cheese, and then add the rest of the meatballs. 

Step 5: Add final layer of cheese. 

Step 6: I added a little Italian seasoning and garlic powder with each layer and then added more on the very top.

Step 7: Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Just long enough for it to warm the inside and melt the cheese.

This was really good and there are definitely plenty of leftovers since it's just the two of us. We plan on using the leftovers to make meatball subs, and use the other half of that pasta sauce (since this only calls for 1 1/2 jars) to add on top of the subs. You could cook noodles to add to your leftovers, too!

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3 CHEESE MEATBALL CASSEROLE - DINNER

CROCKPOT POTATO SOUP - DINNER

I made this a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. It was really easy to make and turned out better than I thought it would!

Ingredients:

- 1 (32 oz) bag frozen hash browns

- 1 (32 oz) can chicken broth

- 1 (10 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup

- 1 (8 oz) cream cheese

- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

- 1 teaspoon basil

- 1 teaspoon garlic powder 

- 1/2 teaspoon parsley

- Bacon bits (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in crockpot

2. Stir together so that everything mixes well.

3. Place lid on crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or until potatoes are tender. 

4. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Garnish with bacon bits and extra cheese!

As you can see I used one of my slow cooker bags. I love these things and they make clean up so much easier. Of course I still clean my crockpot after each use, but this helps with stuff sticking to the sides and with leaving an odor in the crockpot. I have a had a couple of bags tear a little, but I think it's from where I was scraping food away from the sides, but even with the small tear clean up was very quick and easy. 

Add these to your next grocery list! They are usually in the aisle with the Ziplock bags.

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CROCKPOT POTATO SOUP - DINNER