Penny's 3rd Birthday!

So, my Penny-face had QUITE a good birthday party last night!  Please note that until we got Penny 3 years ago, my prior experience with 'pets' was a fish tank.  Not exactly warm & cozy;)  Sooooo...am I the LAST person on earth that anyone would expect to throw her dog a birthday party???  11110% YES!  But oh well, I've "crossed to the dark side" and lovin it;) HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA:) 

So anyway, we'll get back to the Penny portion in a minute...but first:  The people portion;)  Dinner last night was a slam dunk, as we had Turkey-Thyme GRILLED meatloaf patties with mashed sweet potatoes and pan roasted creamed corn...

Now, I was following the "gravy" portion of this recipe and was just thinking "I can't imagine how this is going to turn out well," and yet: It did!  Who would have thought chicken broth, orange juice, orange zest, ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire would go so well together???  And the grilling of the 'meatloaf patties' gave it an extra little smoky taste to go with the sweet gravy...yum!

Now, the corn was a little cheat...but it turned out SOOOOOOOOOO good!  I was planning on making Grilled Creamed Corn that I had just found in this months issue, but I just could NOT bring myself to BBQing the corn and THEN bringing it back in the house to cook LONGER last night.  So I cheated, and emptied a bag & a half of frozen corn into a dry skillet (with 3 minced 'leftover' leeks) and let it 'roast' for about 20-25 minutes...flipping and stirring occasionally...

Once it was nice and toasted, I made a well in the center of the skillet and melted two tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour and let it cook for a minute.  And then stirring in a 1 1/4 cups of milk, 3 tablespoons of reduced fat cream cheese, salt & pepper and let it cook for a few minutes to thicken up...

Just that little extra creaminess really bolstered the sweetness in the corn!  It was perfect!

And it's not a party without cake, right???  And since I was ALREADY making 2 'dinners' and a puppy cake...I admit that I took a little help from Trader Joe's for OUR dessert and picked up this perfect little chocolate cake...

Like, how cute is this??  Perfect size AND it even came on a doily! :) hahahahahaha....

Andddd...it was a celebration all around;)  Since 'Penny' was SO thoughtful to get me some delicious Jeni's ice cream for 'Mother's Day'...she thought Scott would like some Graeter's Ice Cream for an early 'Father's Day' present...;)  (yes, Mr. JP...we look for any excuse;) hahahahahahahha....

So it was another sampler party in the house!  We had Toffee Chip, Mocha Chip, Coconut Chip, Buckeye Blitz, Peanut Butter Chip & the one that sent 'Penny' over the edge to order: Blueberry Pie:)

Now there are 2 things that make Graeter's ice cream stand out...# 1.- Their "French Pot" process that they make in single batches.  And # 2.-(which you might have guessed...) their CHIPS!  But these are not chips, as much as they are CHUNKS of chocolate swirled throughout!!!! 

Chocolate CHUNKS surrounded by smooth and silky ice cream= to die for:)

(And might I add:  Who knew Ohio was such a hot bed for ice cream????  They're doin somethin right over there!:)

Anyway...so let's get back to the MAIN star of the evening:)  You didn't think Miss Penny ate just regular dog food for dinner last night, did you??  Oh no!  WE had meatloaf and sweet potatoes and so did she! :)  But never fear, I did make a "dog friendly" Labrador Loaf!! :) hahahahahaha

(For the record: you can get Amaranth in the bulk bins at "Whole Foods."  One cup was 81 cents!)

And I had to go with 2 of Penny's favorite things for her cake:  A peanut butter cake with banana frosting:)  The frosting was 1 banana, a 1/2 brick of cream cheese and some cinnamon:)  And of course, her name in peanut butter;) hahahahahahha....

And yes....there was candles & singing...

Gifts....

And note: I was NOT the one who purchased OR wrapped that box;)...good thing Penny got 'Father' some ice cream;) hahahahhaha....

And lastly, a "family photo shoot"...which is never easy;)....

But we ended up with the most imperfectly perfect picture ever! hahahahhaha...so funny!! :)

So, in conclusion: Do we know how to party, or WHAT??? :) hahahahahahhaha...we had SUCH a fun night and why not celebrate EVERYONE you love with a peanut butter cake??  Life's too short NOT to, that's my motto! :)

We're off to celebrate my friend's son's 3rd birthday today too!!  And then Father's Day at my in-laws tomorrow, so there won't be too much cooking from me the next 2 days...but maybe a couple of surprises!  ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!