Semi-Homemade Baby Shower Luncheon

I found out a few months ago my dear friends were expecting their first child. I was so excited to hear the wonderful news because I knew how much they've been praying to add this blessing into their family. Since I did not hear of a baby shower being planned, an idea popped in my head to throw them a surprise baby shower.

I contacted a few close friends and one of them who lives out of State already planned a visit to CA so we decided to have it the weekend she's in town...which also meant that we had less than 2 weeks to plan it.

They will be welcoming a baby boy in July so I decided to go with yellow, teal, and grey/white color palette and Bird theme. I ordered the graphics from Etsy to design the Menu Card, Place Card, and Banner.

We originally decided to order from a restaurant for the food since we're pressed for time. But then I took a trip to Sam's Club and discovered something new that I wanted to experiment with. There was a display stand, The Pantry Club, featuring samples of gourmet dip mixes. I had to try each one and they were very flavorful. There are 6 different mixes: Cucumber Dill, Sesame Garlic, Chipotle Chile, Bacon Cheddar, Onion Chive, and Tomato Pesto. They can be used as a dip and mixed with sour cream, yogurt, cream cheese or other plain creamy base. They can also be used to season veggies, beef, pork, chicken, and seafood.

I brought the idea to the group if I can prepare the food instead of buying. I knew I didn't have time to make everything from scratch or anything too time-consuming so I thought these mixes would be a great way to help me cook for the baby shower. This is the menu I came up with.

LUNCHEON MENU

• Crudités served with Cucumber Dill Dip (with Low-Fat Sour Cream base)
  
• Blue Corn Tortilla Chips served with Mango Salsa (Italian Rose Brand purchased at Sam's Club)
• Crab Cake Sliders (seasoned with Chipotle Chile Mix) and Sesame Garlic Mayo
• Italian Meatballs (seasoned with Tomato Pesto Mix) with Marinara Sauce over Linguini

SWEET DELIGHTS

• Chocolate Cake and Cupcakes with Butter Cream Frosting (Sam's Club)
• Wild Blueberry Tarte (Trader Joe's)
• Lemon Cheesecake (using Lemon Bar Mix)
• Mango-Blueberry Parfait Shooter

The parents-t0-be were very surprised and we had a wonderful time celebrating their upcoming bundle of joy. I can't wait to meet this baby in a couple of months!