Food Storage.....at a Wedding Reception?

My Niece recently was married (sealed in the LDS Temple) to her best friend...and now husband.  Her mother (my sister) did a lot of work to make this day be a very special one for her daughter. Not only is this sister very creative, but all of my sisters are.  There are 4 of us, and 3 of us are very creative in many ways....and one of us (me!) is very analytical.  However, through the efforts of my sisters, a patient Step-Father and his daughters...this reception was beautiful.

Some of my sisters (and nieces) put together bouquets and boutonnieres, others were cooking and decorating.  I was volunteering for dish duty, ran the errands, hauled items in and out of the house, and made suggestions of how to organize and sequence how things could flow better.  I also took a lot of behind-the-scenes photos and some special family photos.

I loved the food that was planned and prepared for the reception.  It was delicious...and much of it could have been made from your pantry.  No kidding, several were made from shelf-stable foods.  Let's take a look.....

 

These are Cake Balls.  They are very simple to make, but are delicious and make a nice presentation.  Here is the recipe.....don't blink! Prepare any cake mix and cook in a 9x13 inch pan.  Let cool, and then shred the cake.  Take either a package of Cream Cheese or a container of prepared Frosting. Microwave to soften. Then mix the cake with the softened cream cheese or frosting.  Roll into ball.  Freeze the balls until they are firm...not hard.  Pull out of the freezer and place sucker stick inside.  Dip into dipping chocolate and adorn with the sprinkles of your choice. These are placed into little wrappers (think Reece's Peanut Butter Cup papers).  These are delicious and unique.  They were a crowd favorite.

This is Tortellini pasta that was cooked, placed on skewers and refrigerated.  The sauce is a bottled Alfredo Sauce.  People dipped and spooned away all night eating this entree.

Here it is again with Marinara Sauce....yum!

This is baked Brie cheese.  Brie and Frozen Pastry sheets are easily found in most grocery stores. Here is how it was served...

I have several types of these crackers in my storage.  I actually have had pastry sheets in my freezer to have on hand. The Brie can be easily purchased just  prior to making this dish.  By the way, there were plenty of crackers left...but the Brie disappeared fast!

Also, don't forget that you have to transport some of these things from one location to the other.  Here, my sister had purchased several disposable cake plans very inexpensively.  They stack nicely......

Think outside of the box......Food Storage does not have to be boring!