We had such a great time and a large turnout at our JCA Friends and Family Picnic in the Park on Sunday, April 22! Everyone gathered at Limestone Park in Frisco. Some of our fabulous business partners sponsored the event and gave away some great prizes.
Joe, Chris Moucka and Cory Neal cooked Joe’s delicious “Big as your face” burgers and hot dogs while Eddie Cadena supervised. The JCA team brought some of their favorite sides and desserts to share. The kids had fun with the face painter, basketball and playing at the park. We missed those who couldn’t make it, but don’t worry, we will be planning another fun event soon.
Carla Nelson and Lisa Stevens with Republic Title provided a huge gift basket full of goodies, purchased some food for all and brought the decorated JCA cookies. Laura Lembke, Amy Neal & Cory Neal with First Choice Loan Services hired a face painter for the kids, brought burger fixings and juice boxes. This gang also gave away a beautiful Yeti cooler package with pool floats and popsicle treats for the kids to take home. Justin Wiggains with Goosehead Insurance brought the sodas and Gatorade for all to enjoy as well as a Weber grill tool prize giveaway. Clay Goo with Goo Lawn Service brought plenty of cold waters and gave away drink tumblers for a few lucky winners. Chris Moucka with IMS Relocation had koozies for the drinks and gave away some grill tools. The JCA team gave away a Big Green Egg and a Premier Grilling gift card. We are so thankful for our partnership with these sponsors. Please let us know if you need their information as we highly recommed them! We had some requests for recipes from the party, so we included some below!
Party Recipes
Beth White’s Cheesy Mac
Ingredients:
- 8 pounds elbow macaroni
- 1 1/2 pound margarine
- 3 cups flour
- 8 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 gallons milk
- 8 pounds velveeta cheese, cubed
- 3 packages (8 ounce size) shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions
*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
*Cook the macaroni until al dente as directed on package. Drain and evenly distribute amount long, shallow pans (hotel or catering pans are usually 12x20x4 and for the 100-serving size recipe you’ll need 3 pans).
*In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt the margarine. Stir in the flour until smooth. Add the salt and pepper and slowly add the milk, stirring constantly, until smooth. Stir in the Velveeta cheese and continue stirring until the cheese is melted and the mixture is smooth and creamy.
*Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni in the pans to evenly coat. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar over the top of the macaroni (8 ounces per pan).
*Bake the macaroni at 350 degrees for one hour or until bubbly in the middle.
Serves 100!
Allison Noon’s Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, pressed
- 3/4 cup olive oil
(Or you can omit ingredients above and buy jarred pesto!) - 1 (16-ounce) package small shell pasta
- 1 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 (3-ounce) package shredded Parmesan cheese
- Garnishes: mixed baby salad greens; grape tomatoes
Directions
*Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain
*Whisk together vinegar and next 5 ingredients. Gradually whisk in olive oil.
*Add vinaigrette to pasta. Add basil & cheese; toss to combine.
*Garnish, if desired.
Serves 8
Kim Moucka’s Cookies & Cream Cupcakes
Ingredients:
- 1 box Classic White cake mix prepared according to box instructions
- 2 TBS vanilla pudding dry mix
- 1 package Oreos
- 1 jar Classic Vanilla Frosting
Directions
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*Prepare cake mix according to box instructions adding 2 TBS dry vanilla pudding mix to the batter. Separate the Oreo cookie, place the half with the icing, icing side up in the cupcake liner. Crumble the other half to fold into the cake batter.
*Use an ice cream scooper to fill the cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool and frost.
*Crumble Oreos to garnish the top or cut Oreo in half and place on top of each cupcake.
4 Things Homeowners Should Do in May
#1: Chill out with a new fridge
Is yours leaking water, cooling less efficiently, or just too limited on storage space? May is the best month to purchase a new refrigerator. New models hit the sales floor in the summer, and stores need to clear out the old ones to make room. Need a new oven instead? Best to wait until fall for other kitchen appliances which is when those typically go on sale.
#2 – Spruce up exterior of home with paint
Winter’s temps and wet weather can be tough on your home’s exterior, making it look a little drab come May. But make that an opportunity to freshen it up. The weather in May (in most regions) offers the optimum temperature range for painting your home’s exterior. While you’re repainting, also repair damage to trim and siding and plant some flowers to boost that curb appeal.
#3 – Get a great deal on a new mattress
The older your mattress is, the more dust and mites you’ve got hiding in there. Eeewww. Trade that yucky mattress for a new one in May when the matress industry has to make room for new merchandise. High quality ones can be found at deep discounts, saving you lots of money.
#4 – Declutter your closets
Downsize your wardrobe now for cleaner closets and faster dressing. Put the sentimental clothes you can’t bear to part with (keepsake kids’ clothes, college sweatshirts) and clothes you rarely use but still might need (a suit, formalwear) in storage bins. Look for deals on storage items at Memorial Day sales.
From all of us at JCA Realtors and our partners, we wish you a wonderful spring! We are always here for you with any real estate needs or questions! Please click below to follow our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages!