Today (writing this on Monday) is my birthday. To me this means 1 day of the year that I spend more time than usual reflecting on what I have and haven’t accomplished throughout the year. I try not to dwell on the negative, but growing 1 year older always has a way of making me think about where I imagined myself being and where I am.
Does anybody else feel like this around birthdays?
One piece of good news is that I now share a birthday with the new Prince of Cambridge. Is that the official title? I am basically obsessed with the royals. I like to think that being birthday twins with the royal baby gives me some kind of royal connection. Or maybe even good luck? A girl can dream, right?
Over the weekend I celebrated my birthday (big 28!) at this outdoor music venue called Ravinia. I went with my closest friends and the wine was definitely flowing. It’s basically a really nice outside area that people pack picnics, bring their own booze and enjoy music. In this case 90’s music. So into it! I learned that The Gin Blossoms sing Hey Jealousy…NOT Hey Chelsea. Who knew?!
Anyways, my contribution to Ravinia were these adorable vegetable cups. Have you seen them on Pinterest? They are so cute and convenient. We kept it simple with store-bought hummus and green goddess dressing. I made 4 of each. I just chopped up the most colorful veggies I could find and assembled these cups in less than 15 minutes. Time to party!
How to Make Simple Veggies and Dip Cups
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Fill each plastic cup with about an inch of whichever dressing you’re using. We made 4 with red pepper hummus and 4 with green goddess dressing. Set cups aside.
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Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans and blanch for 1 minute then quickly transfer to a bowl filled with ice.
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Add the veggies to the cups standing them straight up. Arrange the veggies in a way that the colors are spread out. Stick a toothpick in one of the celery stalks and secure a grape tomato on the end.
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Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Such a healthy snack!
Simple Veggies and Dip Cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup Green Goddess Dressing
- 1 cup Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
- 1 english cucumber, peeled and cut into 3 inch sticks
- handful green beans, stems removed
- 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch sticks
- 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
- 1 orange bell pepper, sliced
- snap pears
- 4 stalks celery, cut into 3 inch sticks
- grape tomatoes, rinsed
- short plastic cups
- toothpicks
Instructions
- Fill each plastic cup with about an inch of whichever dressing you’re using. We made 4 with red pepper hummus and 4 with green goddess dressing. Set cups aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans and blanch for 1 minute then quickly transfer to a bowl filled with ice.
- Add the veggies to the cups standing them straight up. Arrange the veggies in a way that the colors are spread out. Stick a toothpick in one of the celery stalks and secure a grape tomato on the end.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.