Having your family and friends over for the 800th time can be a little repetitive if not a little boring. I have a Simply Different idea for you to surprise them with...a garage party! With a little work, a lot of imagination and a good sense of humor you can turn your garage into a fabulous place to hold a party.

The good news here...most of us have a garage. The bad news...mine was filled with a lot of stuff! I loaded up our snowmobile trailer until it looked like the Grinch's sleigh as he left Whoville, pulled it out of the garage and threw a tarp over the whole thing. I decided to embrace the rest of the garage fare (bikes, saws, shelves, etc.) to use as a backdrop for the party.

Next I pulled out the comforts of home. I am all about cozy so I brought out some rugs and layered them on the floor. I know this next idea sounds a little crazy, but it's easy to do: I brought out the kitchen table and chairs. It's much sturdier than a card table and will make your guests feel special.

The back of my truck made a great spot for the bar set up. The wagon and small chair worked well for varying elevations. I always use lots of napkins and towels to add warmth, interest and help with any spills. I put soda and beer into large tin tubs, added a few candles, and pulled up a couple of stools. The car bar was set.

As you can see I used the fall harvest to set my table and buffet. Use whatever you have around the house, but try to stick with your color scheme. I used a blanket as a tablecloth, placed pumpkins, gourds, and more candles on the buffet. For serving pieces I used wooden bowls, baskets, and copper to fit in with our rugged theme.

The table settings were also simple. The denim napkins were casual and made a nice accent color. They were topped off with small, painted pumpkins sporting Gerber daisy hats. (Tie the daisy hat to the pumpkin stem with a piece of raffia.) I hollowed out some gourds, filled them with votive candles and placed them between pumpkins in the centerpiece.

Every garage needs a chandelier, don't you think? This was so simple. I hung my votive chandelier from the motor of the garage door opener and decorated it with honeysuckle and a stuffed, imitation chicken.

I'd like to kiss the person who invented the portable fire pit. I pulled mine into the driveway and surrounded it with a few chairs. This gave us another conversation area in addition to warming things up. Since a fire beckons to have marshmallows roasted over it I have included an easy s'more recipe.

Every successful garage party (with kids that is) needs to have bobbing for apples. After all, in the garage no one cares about a mess. The kids will want all the parties to be garage parties!

The recipes I used for the party are simple, delicious, and best of all they can be made ahead of time. You get to relax, let your hair down and enjoy your party. Garage parties are supposed to be a gas!

Did you know?

You can make your own butter pats by cutting a cold stick of butter into squares with a sharp, cold knife? After cutting, place pats in ice water until it is time to serve them. For even fancier pats use chilled, miniature cookie cutters to cut shapes from your butter pats.

Michelle's Apple Cashew Salad

• 1 bunch spinach
• 1 head Romaine lettuce
• 2 red apples cut into bite size pieces
• 4 ounces shredded swiss cheese
• 8 ounces cashews

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp. grated onion
• 1 cup salad oil
• 1/2 tbsp. Poppy seeds

Do not add the dressing until it is time to serve, otherwise the rest of the salad can be made ahead of time.

Busy Day Beef Stew

• 2 lbs. stew meat, cut up
• 6 whole carrots, peeled
• 1 (2 lb.) can whole tomatoes
• 1 lg. onion, cut up
• 3 stalks celery, cut up
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1/3 cup tapioca, uncooked
• Pinch of thyme, marjoram and rosemary

Place raw meat in large casserole or roaster. Add the remainder of ingredients. Cover pan. Bake slowly at 250 degrees for 5-7 hours. Serve with flat noodles, potatoes or rice.

Easy S'mores

• Marshmallows
• Fudge-stripe cookies

Melt marshmallows and place between two fudge stripe cookies.

Pumpkin Squares with Whip Cream

Crust:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 2 tbsp. sugar

Mix the above and bake in 9x13 inch pan for 10 min. at 350 degrees.

Filling:

• 2 (15 oz.) cans pumpkin
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups half and half
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ginger

Mix all of above ingredients and pour over baked crust. Bake 30-45 min. at 350 degrees or until knife comes out clean.

Top with whipped cream.

Special thanks to:

Tonkadale Greenhouse
3739 Tonkawood Road
Minnetonka, MN 55345
952.938.6480

Antiquity Rose Cookbook
429 Second Street
Excelsior, MN 55331
952.474.2661

By Teri Bennett