notes, quotes & anecdotes of a year fast passing

hi friends! is everyone getting excited for the super bowl? i’ll admit that even though i work in sports, football is one of my least favorite to watch.. it’s growing on me, though. in total girl fashion, though, my favorite reasons to tune in are the commercials and halftime show! i still remember when i had a super bowl celebration with my friend katie in middle school just so we could watch ‘nsync at the halftime show. and who could forget the wardrobe malfunction, too?! my dad’s favorite commercials usually involve monkeys or talking babies. what about you?

living in connecticut, it seems like this is the perfect battle ground for giants and pats fans to duke it out on sunday. if i didn’t have to work, i’d certainly make a spread fit for a fantastic super bowl party. even though i can’t cook up a feast, here are some healthier ideas for you to whip up for your friends while you watch the big game! and i promise that most are pretty easy to make and easier to enjoy, too.

baked brie

if you’re planning a little upscale get-together, this is the perfect dish. SO easy to make and since it’s not covered in puff pastry like lots of other brie recipes out there, you can indulge on some other treats during the game, too! click here for the recipe.

bruschetta

two great things about this dish is that it’ll seem a heck of a lot fancier than it really is AND the farther in advance you make it, the better it’ll taste. no need to rush around just before kickoff! click here for the recipe.

buffalo chicken dip

i admittedly am not a huge fan of spicy foods, but since you can control the heat in your own variation of this recipe, i say go for it! perfect on chips or veggies (especially celery!), i love my mild take on this favorite. click here for the recipe.

guacamole

if you’re looking for another dip to complement your spread, go for guacamole! so fresh, healthy and delicious, i can never keep the bowl full enough. click here for the recipe.

turkey chili

throw some corn bread in the oven, too, and this is such a hearty and delicious addition to your table. plus, if people get too stuffed on all the appetizers and finger food, this will make great leftovers! set out some fixin’s like sour cream, extra onions and cheese for people to dress up their own bowls. click here for the recipe.

turkey meatball sliders

last year for the super bowl, i made a huge pot of turkey meatballs to freeze and eat for leftovers, but also grabbed some fresh dinner rolls from the grocery store. i split them open, popped one turkey meatball on each, sprinkled some mozzarella and quickly browned them in the oven to make the cutest turkey meatball sliders to add to everyone’s plate! click here for the recipe.

crispy shrimp tacos

even though i call these crispy, they’re not even fried, so you don’t have to feel too bad about eating them. if you want to incorporate some seafood into your dishes, this is a perfect way to have some finger food from the ocean. similar to the chili, you can put out the cooked shrimp, avocado, lettuce, tomato, mango, onion and tortillas and let your guests create their own! and trust me, people will be impressed. the colors in these are so stinkin’ beautiful :) click here for the recipe.

black bean, corn, tomato & avocado salad

this dish is so versatile, i would HIGHLY recommend serving it. you can put it next to chip as a dip, people can sprinkle it on top of their crispy shrimp tacos or chili and it makes a great vegetarian option for people that want some protein but aren’t interested in the turkey, chicken or seafood options. click here for the recipe.

then, of course, if anyone has room for dessert, you could make some fun cupcakes (like these hamburger slider cupcakes. you’ll really throw your guests for a loop!) or cookies that are simple to serve and people can just grab them on their way back to the couch. keep all these delicious snacks and plenty of beverages on hand and i guarantee you’ll have some happy campers, whether the giants or the patriots win :)

if there are any other recipe ideas you’re looking for, check out the recipe rundown page for some more inspiration. happy cooking!

xxoo,

eliz

okay, okay, so nothing beats movie theater popcorn, i know.  but sometimes we have to compromise and i was really happy that i incorporate a good number of these suggestions from the huffington post (10 movie snacks to pack instead of buying popcorn - she forgot to say buying, but that’s what she meant…)

some of my favorites include:

-puffins (new obsession: pb/chocolate puffins. i think i’ll write a post about these babies soon!)

-club soda. yum!

-100 calorie bag of popcorn (see why i think she meant to say buying popcorn in her title? it’s not the popcorn that’s a bad idea, it’s the salty, buttery, oversized movie theater popcorn that is ;))

-sliced bell peppers (love the weeks when these are on sale!)

-sliced apples (i think fruit is so much “snackier” when it’s sliced. is that weird?)

-100 calorie pack of almonds (i bought these at the store and once i got a feel for about how many almonds were in 100 calories [about 17], i started just buying a bigger bag and individually wrapping them myself. much more cost effective!)

-edamame (you can buy the pods, fully cooked and slightly salted at trader joe’s - they’re frozen, but i keep them in the fridge to defrost - and they make a GREAT snack full of protein)

-grapes (the more “poppable”and fun a snack is, the happier of a girl i am!)

what are some of your favorite snacks to bring to the movies when you don’t want to indulge too much in the prices and calories at the concessions?

what movies are you looking forward to this summer? i haven’t gone to the movies in ages and have such a long list i want to catch up on.

weirdly enough, it feels like the super bowl was a week ago. beanpot monday = a long monday, and with that, we are rewinding and going back to super bowl foods. at the request of my friend julie, i’m sharing PRETZEL BITES today!

i think i did something wrong, somewhere along the lines, because these don’t look like pretzel bites. they aren’t all brown on the outside or anything, but they taste like pretzel bites. in fact, they taste better than pretzel bites, so i’m going to share anyway even if they aren’t picture-perfect.

what’s your favorite part of a soft pretzel? for me, it’s the little knots on the bottom half of the pretzel because they’re so doughy. well imagine an entire snack of knots and that’s what these taste like. they’re light, just a little salty and have a nice crisp on the outside before the soft and fluffy inside.

i’m glad i only made two dozen and had to share… or else i would have eaten the whole plate in one sitting!

1/2 cup warm water plus 1/4 Tablespoon water, divided

1/2 Tablespoon light brown sugar

1/4 package active dry yeast (appx. 1/4 Tablespoon)

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking soda

2 Tablespoons of egg, scrambled

1 Tablespoon kosher salt (optional)

in a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, yeast, melted butter and 1/2 cup warm water. whisk briefly to combine the ingredients and let it sit for five minutes or so, until it becomes frothy (a little more than the picture above).

once it’s frothy, add the salt and flour. mix the dough until everything is well-incorporated and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until you can form it into a ball. lightly spray or coat the inside of a bowl with nonstick spray or oil. put the dough ball into the bowl and cover it with saran wrap. put it in a warm place and let it sit for an hour or until it doubles in size.

while it’s rising, preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. lightly flour a cutting board and get a medium pot of water boiling. mix in the baking soda. also, prepare your egg wash by mixing the eggs and final 1/4 Tablespoon of water. set it aside.

separate the dough into 3-4 smaller chunks and roll them out into snakes. pretend like you’re playing with play-do! then slice the snakes into 1 inch squares.

drop about 5-10 squares into the boiling water at a time and let them boil for about  a minute. remove them from the water with a slotted spoon, let them drip dry for a second and then transfer them to the parchment-lined baking sheet.

take your egg wash and paint it onto the top of all the bites and if you’d like, sprinkle lightly with the kosher salt.

bake in the 425-degree, preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. let them cool on a wire rack while they’re piping hot, but you can serve them warm. they’re really great, any which way you serve them.

while they’re still hot, you can sprinkle with garlic salt, toss in cinnamon sugar or eat them plain. i dipped mine in honey mustard for the first couple of bites, then i went plain all the way because they were just so perfect and warm and doughy and delicious!

click here for a printable version of the recipe!

when i first looked at recipes for this idea, i thought it was going to come out like a caramel corn-esque, chocolate COVERED popcorn. imagine my delight and surprise when it ended up being a lighter, delicious, sweet treat that resembled a little more of a harry & david’s moose munch!

when people ask me how i come up with ideas for my recipes, i usually have a decent story or some legitimate train of thought on how i got there. this one… i don’t really know. yesterday was a snow day and i knew i had hours and hours to kill, so i whipped up FOUR new recipes. at this point, i don’t remember how this one was born, but i’m glad it was.

keep in mind that this isn’t the type of popcorn you’d bring to the movies and eat a bucket of. but for a little sweet treat, it’s fantastic! next time i need to make little gifts to hand out, i’m going to toss some in cellophane bags (like i did for my holiday cookie collection), find some cute ribbon and make a lot of people happy!

12 cups 94% fat free popcorn (i used two 100 calorie packages)

3/4 cup whole almonds, roughly chopped and toasted

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

3 Tablespoons butter

1 1/2 Tablespoons dark chocolate  unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea)

once you’re done collecting these treats, move onto the doing!

give the almonds a very rough chop. none of them should be smaller than 1/2 or 1/3 an almond, really. i just figured that if i had 50 whole almonds, that’d only be in 50 bites of popcorn. if i chopped a few and maybe had 100 almonds, then they’d be more well-distributed throughout the snack. that might not make sense, but that’s my logic. rough chop = spreading the wealth.

put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 250 degrees for 15 minutes or so, until they’re lightly toasted. when you take them out of the oven, reduce its heat to 200 degrees and leave it on.

while they’re toasting, pop your popcorn and pour it into a large mixing bowl. then, add the almonds. i suggest not shaking the bowl after you pour them on top or else they all settle at the bottom and when you pour the chocolate on, they’ll all be stuck together in one big clump.

in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter and cocoa powder. stir frequently until everything is melted, mixed together and has come to a simmer. remove from the heat and drizzle over the popcorn and almond bowl.

shake the bowl to toss the popcorn and coat as much as possible. pour it onto a large, parchment-lined baking sheet in the 200 degree, preheated oven for an hour. stir every 20 minutes.

after an hour in the oven, sprinkle it with the coarse salt (very lightly, while it’s still hot). let it cool completely and break up the HUGE chunks. leave some clusters, though!

watch out, this stuff is addicting!

click here for a printable version of the recipe!