Over two weeks ago I told you that I was having a little get together with some friends for a craft night. Well, I am very behind on the recap of the evening. Of course as is to be expected I didn’t take nearly enough pictures, and we didn’t get that much crafting done because we talked way to much, but the evening was a hit!

For the evening I decided to make homemade mint and feta ground lamb gyros and lemon and berry cupcakes. YUM! Everyone loved the gyros (forgot to take a pic, oops!). I made them by using ground lamb and mixing in several tablespoons of chopped mint, some feta cheese, salt, pepper, finely grated onion, and a little garlic. I formed it into a loaf pan and baked it in the oven at 400 degrees F until browned and cooked through. Then I removed it from the oven and drained the fat and set a foil wrapped brick on top to condense the meat. Once cooled slightly, I cut into strips and placed on warmed Naan bread (tastes better than pita bread to me) and topped it with cucumber and dill yogurt sauce. So good! It make me want some right now just thinking about it!

For dessert I made lemon and berry cupcakes! I did remember to actually take a picture of these. Check them out. Don’t they look good?

Here is the recipe that I used for the cupcake part:

2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour
3/4 cup canola oil
2 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 & 3/4 cup sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup Almond milk (or regular milk)
1/4 cup lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons

Mix the ingredients together, fill cupcake wrappers, and then bake at 350F until golden.

For the “icing”: whip heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form, add sugar to taste, and the zest of one lemon. Decorate the cupcakes with the whipped cream and then top with berries. These cupcakes are a great light summer dessert and perfect for a 4th of July barbeque!

After the food was cooked and ready, everyone started to arrive! Of course the first part of the evening was spent playing with Madeline who almost seemed to demand a piece of jewelry from everyone before she would let them play with her. Just take a look at this little diva in training!

Later on she ended up getting a watch from someone as well! After play time ended, we started to munch on the food and craft a little. My friend Holley of Dead Flowers Shop (deadflowersshop.etsy.com and deadflowersblog.blogspot.com) began working on a pretty ribbon flower hair clip.

My sister-in-law Melanie made a beautiful pair of yellow wood earrings.

My other friend Sally made a mirror, a pair of earrings, and really neat t-shirt. But alas, I forgot to take any photos! Boo 🙁 Here is a little graphic image of what her shirt ended up looking like. Sally drew that image herself! What talent!

Overall I would say that craft night was a huge hit! I know that I had a lot of fun. And talking to the girls was just what I needed (that is when I decided it was time to move my craft room out of my tiny cramped studio).

I can’t wait until the next time!