What an absolutely gorgeous weekend! We had weather in the 70′s on Saturday and 80′s on Sunday. We got lots of yard work done and enjoyed some time outside. My 8 year old had a scrimmage flag football game on Sunday afternoon. His team of 1st & 2nd graders played a team of 3rd & 4th graders, and won! They were pretty excited, hopefully they can keep it up for their real game tonight!
Posted in Appetizers, Snacks
Tagged avocado salsa, avocados in salsa, fresh salsa, picky palate salsa, salsa, salsa from canned tomatoes, teedos salsa
The Super Bowl is days away, and I have yet to share one good party recipe with you. Time to change that! Friday I am putting together a round up of great recipes, so make sure you come back for more ideas then! This one I found over at my friend Megan’s site. I knew immediately I had to make it.
I have a fun announcement for you today. I am excited to now be a part of the Cooking Light Blogger’s Connection! I have always been a big fan of their magazine, so it was a huge honor when they asked me to be a part of this group. You can click on the little badge to your right, and it will take you to their page with a little blurb about me (don’t mind the unflattering picture), and you can see the other bloggers who are in this group. Seriously, not sure how they found me, when you look at who else is in the group, but I will take it 
So, what does this means to you? Not a whole lot. I share Cooking Light recipes fairly frequently anyway, but now you will get at least 2 a month. The first one is this Artichoke Dip. We made this for New Year’s Day, along with a few other appetizers for watching all of the bowl games. And by all, I really do mean all that were on that day. My husband, 7 year old, and Dad are all huge football fans, it doesn’t really matter who is playing. My mom and I were lucky to have escaped for a little while to go shopping.
This dip is a warm dip that is great with crackers, but veggies would also be great to pair it with. My husband actually made this dip. It was my birthday, and he was nice enough to help out as much as he could. He mixed everything together, in under 10 minutes, at about 8:00 am. We put it in the fridge, and then just warmed it in the oven when it was time to serve. It was creamy, and a great guilt free snack to have. This would be a perfect one to have for the Super Bowl!
Seems like forever since the last #chocolateparty, but it has only been a month! Maybe because I made my December edition early in November, I was just so excited for mint and chocolate together! This month has proven harder for me though. This month the theme is coconut. See, I don’t like coconut. There in lies the problem. But I got creative, and these granola bars are awesome!
I may not like coconut, but I do like using coconut oil. Not sure if it is a texture thing or what, but I just can’t do shredded coconut. I have made granola bars using coconut oil in the past, but they needed to be done again. And healthier, and better.
If you do like coconut, adding shredded coconut to these would be a great edition. Or chopped nuts, if that’s how you role. I decided I needed to get rid of the mini marshmallow bites that were in my pantry, so I added those. Not very many though, only 1/4 of a cup, so I am still going to consider these good for you. My son has already had 2 of them today, he loves them!
Popcorn is one of our favorite snacks. In fact we have a movie theater popcorn machine in our basement. It doesn’t get used all that often, but we still have it. So it is kind of surprising that I only have one other popcorn recipe on this blog. I am partial to just plain butter popcorn, but my husband likes to switch it up. I think his favorite is cheese flavored, but he also likes just about anything with some heat.
I actually made this popcorn awhile ago. We needed snacks for a road trip, and I thought popcorn would be fun and different. I made this in probably 5 minutes, at most. The spice mixture makes way more than you need. Store in a plastic container, and you can have this popcorn any night of the week. Just shake on a bag of microwave popcorn and you are done.
I think flavored popcorn would be fun to have out for a party. It isn’t expected, which is always great. Especially if you had fun containers to serve it in I got these at the Target dollar spot, so they aren’t pricey. You can adjust the heat level, by adding more or less of the seasoning to your popcorn. Or just set out a shaker with the seasoning, and let your guests make their own bag.
Posted in Snacks
Tagged flavored popcorn, healthy snacks, popcorn, popcorn snacks, spicy popcorn, spicy snacks
Did you brave the crowds for any returns or shopping yesterday? I went to Hallmark at 9:00 right when they opened, and it was a mad house. I walked through quickly, grabbed a few ornaments, and headed straight for the checkout. I didn’t second guess anything, just in and out. I was back in my car by 9:10. The rest of the day was spent at home, minus the girls night out for Mexican and Margaritas After Christmas shoppers are crazy!
I love having spiced nuts around the house to snack on. I often send in a container for my husband to have at his desk at work. They make for a quick healthy snack. I made these almonds as part of the gifts I gave my son’s teachers. They turned out way better than I had hoped for, so I will be making another batch after the New Year when my husband goes back to work. I am pretty sure these will be frequently around here.
These nuts came together very quickly. In less than 15 minutes they were done. I had a few of them warm, and they were delicious. These are a great savory snack to have out with drinks, or an appetizer for your New Years party. Put them out right away warm, and then people can enjoy them all through the night.
Are you obsessed with celebrity chefs? Do you watch Food Network and The Cooking Channel in your spare time? Do you have tons of celebrity chef cookbooks? If you answered yes to any of those, you are in for a treat today! The #SundaySupper event this week hosted by Tammi from Momma’s Meals at is all about our favorite celebrity chefs.
I had a hard time picking my favorite, I like so many! But in the end I went with Rachael Ray. You either love her or hate her, and I am a fan When I first started watching the Food Network, she was who I watched. I am not sure that she got me interested in cooking, because I always liked cooking, but she definitely made it more important to me. I remember watching 30 minute meals in my college apartment, probably when I should have been studying. I really don’t have a favorite recipe by Rachael, so I decided to try a new one this week.
A local popcorn store here sells Cinnamon Popcorn. I tried it, and I could have sworn it tasted just like Red Hots candy. It was a little spicy for my 7 year old, but I love it. Then the next week my Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine came in the mail, and she had a recipe for Red Hot Popcorn. I was excited to get in the kitchen and try it. It is super easy to make, and tastes just like the popcorn store. It is such a festive color too, it would be perfect to put in gift baskets or give to neighbors for the holidays.
I have never actually had a Larabar. Is that bad? I have seen lots of recipes recently for them, so I decided it was time to try them. They are full of good for you ingredients, so they are a great change from the regular granola bars. They also make a great, quick on the go breakfast.
It should come as no surprise that for my first step into these bars, I went with a peanut butter and chocolate combo. It has never steered me wrong before, so why question it this time. The possibilities are endless though; chocolate, oatmeal chocolate chip, raisins, cranberries, other nuts etc. Have fun testing out new combinations. There is no baking involved, so they come together very quickly!
These were great to have on hand for a quick snack. My 7 year old enjoyed them, and I felt good giving him a snack that was healthy, and not full of preservatives and chemicals. I did not run the nutrition information, so I do not know how it compares to the store bought variety.
Posted in Snacks
Tagged healthy snacks, homemade larabars, larabars, no bake bars, no bake granola bars, peanut butter larabars, protein bars, Snacks
Almonds are a great snack. They are full of protein, and healthy fats. But sometimes snacking on just plain nuts can be boring. And buying those pre-made mixes of mixed nuts or spiced nuts are so expensive. They are so easy to do at home, and I am sure they are much better for you.
Jean made these awhile ago, and I have had them in the back of my mind since. I have been playing with different nuts, and slightly different combinations of my Indian Spiced Nuts lately, but wanted to try something new. My husband likes it spicy, so I thought it was the perfect time to try these. They are great mix of sweet and spicy.
These really are super easy to throw together. There is about 5 minutes of hands on work, then bake them for 10, let them cool and you are done. I only managed to have a small handful of these before the disappeared to my husbands work. He likes to take them, so he has healthy snacks at his desk throughout the day. These would be great to have on hand for snacks, or to put on on your holiday appetizer table.
Did you know that November is Diabetes Awareness Month? I honestly had no idea. I am embarrassed to say that, but I just didn’t know. I have been very fortunate to not have diabetes touch my life, or anyone close to me. I recently met someone who has it, but he manages it very quietly, so you would never know. My friend Carolyn, from All Day I Dream About Food is my closest real connection to diabetes. She is constantly in the kitchen doing amazing things, making over the most decadent dish to make it diabetic friendly.
Today many of us are getting together to help spread the word about Diabetes. Did you know that 25.8 million people (adults and children) in the United States have diabetes. In 2010, 1.9 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people 20 years of age and under. It is a wide spread disease that can affect anyone.
Today Carolyn challenged us to share a recipe that was gluten free, lower in carbs, and didn’t use any type of sugar. I came up with this Greek yogurt dip. It is a little spicy, and you can never go wrong with chili and lime together. Serve with veggies, or your favorite gluten free crackers for a super healthy snack. You can easily serve this at any party, and no one will ever know that you are serving something healthy!
