Jarrod's homecoming party food

At long last, Jarrod is home from North Dakota. His company is providing him with extra swanky housing in the River Oaks district. So what to do? Invite people over for a Jarrod's home/Olympic kick-off/Jason's birthday party!

Jarrod hates when I bring this up, but two years ago I was invited to Jason's birthday at Papasitos. Now, granted it was a big group of us and granted, I did have a date with me, but Jarrod put me on the pay-no-mind list! Back in those days I had a glamorous job at a newspaper so I regaled the gaggle of engineers with tails of crime and whoa. To no avail. I could not catch Jarrod's eye. Sigh.

It wouldn't be until months later that Jason would set Jarrod and me up on a semi-blind date. The rest is history. So they say.

Anyway, who cares about all of that, right!?! Let's get to the party food. Recipes brought to you by my boss Lonna.

Lonna's Baked Potato Dip

Ingredients

1 tub of sour cream 1 bag of bacon bits 1 bunch of green onion ( just use the ends, not the bulbs) 1 bag of shredded sharp cheddar sprinkle of garlic powder sprinkle of salt sprinkle of pepper

Directions

Mix it all together.

Lonna's Crock Pot Meat Balls

Ingredients

1 bag of frozen meat balls 1 jar of real grape jelly 1 bottle of barbecue sauce

Directions

Cook on low for 8 hours in the slow cooker and stir at the half-way point. Use tooth pics to serve.

Veggie shots

Ingredients

Chopped small strips of assorted vegetables (I used differently colored bell peppers) 1 bottle of Ranch dressing

Directions

Put about 1 tbsp of ranch dressing in the bottom of a small plastic shot glass. Garnish with chopped vegetables. Can be scaled up or down based on the size of your party.