Entertaining as a New Mom

My sister told me after I had my baby that I wasn't responsible for doing any hosting of family dinners until Baby G was at least a year old.   Now I know why.

Yes, this type-A, over ambitious, pinterset obsessed mommy decided to host a small dinner party on Saturday night.  And while it wasn't a total disaster, I do understand now what my sister was trying to tell me.  It's absolutely exhausting!

Pre-baby we lived in a very small 2 bedroom apartment and were never expected to entertain.  And after two years of struggling with infertilty, I'll admit it - we lost touch with our closest friends.  Afterall, they all had children and we were self concious about the fact that we didnt.  So, one of my goals when we moved into our new house was to entertain our friends more. I figured we would have "home court advantage" with the baby.  That I could set limits of when and how many friends we would invite over.  That I could keep it simple.  Afterall -that's the point of this blog right?

HA.  I'm waaay too much of  perfectionist for that.  So, I ran around like a crazy lady on Saturday. I cleaned the whole house, made a completely homemade dinner, bought flowers and did centerpieces, set up the back patio, made a playlist on the iPad and got baby and momma all dressed up.  The friends we invited over had a 4 month old and a 4 year old.  They certainly were not expecting all of this effort - but I felt completely compelled to make everything perfect.

Why? Oh, I'm not sure. Blame pinterest, blame my mother's perfect hostess abilities, whatever. The point is...I am not making this mistake again. Sure, it was nice to see friends...but it would have been easier and much more fun to have met them at a pizza parlor or park.  I won't be trying to entertain again at home until Baby G is at least 2!

Sunday Recipe - Key Lime Cheesecake

Since Sunday's and Tuesdays are really the only two days that I have time to cook - my plan is to try a new recipe and share it here!  Tonight we are heading over to my parents house for dinner (my little brother is making the trek from North Beach to cook for us).  After being inspired by Pinterest, I decided on  trying my hand at a dessert.  So, today's recipe is for Key Lime Cheesecake.

I found Key Limes at my local Safeway, and everything I've ever heard about Key Lime Pie, is that it's the limes, the limes, the limes that make it so good!!

Easy Key Lime Cheesecake

what you need

3 pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

3/4 cup  sugar

1 tsp.  grated lime zest

1/4 cup key lime juice
3 eggs

1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)

Whipped Cream topping

Make It

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, sugar, peel, juice with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix just until blended. 
 
POUR into crust.
 
BAKE 45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Top with whipped topping just before serving. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.