Saying Goodbye, but Party-style

I'm going to drown my sorrows that Wayne and Becky are leaving in my mini-cheesecakes. Waahhh!

Our good friends are leaving to go start a church in Walnut Grove, CA.

Check out their awesome church planting site/blog:

We had a big par-tay for them to say good bye to all their peeps, on Sunday.

These little mini-cheesecakes were a hit. See below for recipe.

We had over 40 people for an open house.

Entertaining can sometimes be intimidating, but I thought I'd share some tactics I use.

First, plan ahead...I prefer lots of homemade stuff.

We had Pioneer Woman chips and salsa, hummus and crudite (crew-de-tay) aka veggies, and the PDub's Mushroom Phyllo bundles! Yuuu-uuum! That is what will be coming around on a tray when we get to Heaven. So good.

Here's what I do right before I need to plate everything. Even hours before...just to make sure I have the right platters, etc.

I set them all out, and put little stickies on them to make sure I know where everything is going.

My BFF had to bail me out and go get plates. How do I have no paper plates in this joint? Anyhoo....

See my little Costco drink dispenser, w/ yummo Sangria, way over there on the table?? Was $19, now $15!!! Run, don't walk to get one. So handy...use 4 times this summer already!

There's "everybody"....it was an open house, which was so great because shifts of people would come, then leave, then a new shift would come in...really allowed Wayne and Becky to visit with each person.

Lastly, I had an 8x10 family pic printed, and put it in a super large matte. People were asked to sign their goodbyes, and then they can put it in the frame, in their new California home.

We heart the Phillips. May God bless you as you are leaving us, and planting a church for His  purposes!

Cheesecake Recipe

Crust:

Blend the following in Cuisinart: 1 box ready made graham crackers, crushed, 1/4c almonds, 1/2 c sugar, 1T cinnamon, and 1 stick of butter

Line cupcake foils with large spoonful of crust, and tamp down w/ bottom of cup or small round object.

Filling:

3 eggs

1c sugar

1/2t salt

2 t vanilla

1t almond extract

2 cap fulls of orange oil

2 T orange juice

1T Cointreau or Triple Sec

2 1/2 packages of 8oz cream cheese

16oz container of sour cream

Blend in Cuisinart til smooth. Pour over crust, in cupcake foils, til 2/3 full. Bake 15 min at 350. Top with cherry pie filling or shaved chocolate and 1 mandarin orange or topping of choice. Enjoy!

**Can also be modified to use as a full size cheesecake. Simply  pour filling over well formed crust in a springform pan. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.