10 Game Day Snacks

The Super Bowl is just a few days away. 

Hubs and I decided to throw a last minute Super Bowl get together.  

Since we only have a few more days to plan, I started looking for things to make immediately.  

I put together a list of things that are either tried and true or looked perfect for the big game.  

Buffalo Chicken Kabobs from A Night Owl Blog

Nieman Marcus Dip from Simply Made with Love

Crock Pot Bourban Little Smokies from Tammilee Tips

Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza Puffs from Plain Chicken

Artichoke Dip from Simply Made with Love

Buffalo Wing  Hummus from Skinny Mom

Twisted Pretzel Bites from Six Sisters Stuff

Cheesy Spinach and Bacon Dip from Simply Made with Love

Buffalo Chicken Nachos from The Girl Who Ate Everything 

Sweet Potato Pulled Pork Sliders from Lauren's Latest

What is on your menu for the big game?  

Nieman Marcus Dip

While planning our super bowl menu I realized I never posted this dip I made back in September.  When we first moved we had my parents in town along with friends visiting for the weekend.  It was also one of the first weekends of football season. This dip had rave reviews all over the WWW.  

It was easy to make and a big hit with our family and friends. It was VERY rich, I could only have a little bit at a time.  Nonetheless, it was full of flavor.  Definitely worth making, especially for a game day party. Enjoy! 

Courtesy of Just a Spoonful of…

Ingredients: 

5 - 6 green onions

 8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1 jar Hormel Real Bacon Bits 

1 pkg. slivered almonds

Directions: 

Chop the green onions.

Shred the cheddar cheese.

Mix the onions, cheese, mayo, bacon bits,

 and slivered almonds together.

Chill for a couple hours.

Serve with Ritz crackers.

Crock Pot White Chicken Chili

A friend posted this recipe on her blog this week, I knew I had to make it.  I already had leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge, so it was a quick trip to the grocery store for the remainder of the ingredients. The original recipe was stove top, but looked easy enough to be done in the crock pot. The dish turned out more like a soup but it was delicious.  I knew it would be a repeat winter meal when hubs finished his bowl in no time.  We had it the next night for leftovers, I looked forward to it all day.  It was still just as good! Enjoy!

Crock Pot White Chicken Chili

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups cooked shredded chicken
• 2 (15-oz) cans Great Northern beans, drained
• 2  7 oz cans of salsa verde 
• salt and pepper to taste 
• 1 avocado (sliced)
• 1 cup mexican cheese mixture 
• chopped cilantro (about 1 TBS)
• tortilla strips (I used Archer Farms southwest tortilla strips (salad toppers) 

Directions

Place chicken broth, chicken, beans and salsa verde in the crock pot, stir to combine.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  When it's time to serve top with cheese, avocado, cilantro and tortilla strips.  

**I added my cheese to the bottom of my bowl and poured the soup/chili over the top.  It melted and mixed in perfectly that way**

{Toddler Approved} Fruit & Pancake Bites

Last week I hosted a coffee playdate. My moms group started doing one a week this year.  It's a chance for the moms to catch up, enjoy some coffee and let the kids run wild.  I wanted to have a bunch of bite sized snacks for the kids. Since it was a 10am playdate, I decided to make these pancake and fruit bites. 

I used an entire box of pancake mix to make about 60 mini pancake bites.  I put half out for the playdate and froze the other half.  They were a hit with the kiddos, definitely a recipes I'll be making for years to come.  Enjoy! 

Ingredients: 

A box of your favorite pancake mix.  

Fruit of your choice

 *I used an 8oz bag of mixed frozen fruit, which included peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries*  

Directions: 

1.  Preheat oven to 350. 

2. Spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray. 

3.  Prepare pancakes according to the directions on the box.  I used the entire box and made about 60 muffins. 

4. Use a small cookie scoop, fill with a scoop of the pancake batter. 

4. Top with fruit, pressing the fruit down just a bit. 

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. 

6. Remove to a cooling rack after a few minutes & let them cool. 

***You can also top with bananas, chocolate chips, bacon, nuts…the possibilities are endless***

Red Velvet Donuts

Looking for the perfect Valentine's Day breakfast? 

You've come to the right place.  

These cake mix donuts are a family favorite and oh so easy to make.  

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Donuts

Ingredients:

1 box of red velvet cake mix

1 cup of milk  (I used almond milk)

2 large eggs

1 stick of butter (melted) 

Icing: 

Confectioners sugar mixed with milk.  I started out with a 1/2 cup of sugar and a tsp of milk.  I added and mixed until I had the consistency I was looking for.  

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease donut pan.  

Mix eggs, butter, milk and cake mix.  

Stir until smooth. 

Pour batter into donut pan (1/3 filled). 

Bake 11-13 minutes.  

Let them cool completely.  

Prepare the icing.  

I dipped some of the donuts and drizzled frosting over the others. 

 After I was done with the frosting, I let them set out for a bit to let it harden.  

Store in an air tight container for 3 days.  I also froze the leftover donuts in a freezer bag.  

Valentine's Sweet Treats

Now that Christmas has come and gone (and my decorations are FINALLY put up), it's time to think about Valentine's Day.  I'm not sure about you, but the one thing that comes to mind when I hear Valentine's Day is CHOCOLATE (and sweets). 

This year I'm hosting a Valentine's play date, will be sending in sweets to hubs' work and will be planning a dessert for Valentine's dinner.  That is a lot of sweets to make.  To get a head start I started browsing Pinterest for recipes.  I decided to share some that looked amazing with you.   Here are 20 sweet treats that caught my eye.  I can't wait to try some out for Valentine's Day.  

Now I need to start thinking about what I'm going to do for hubs this year.  It's going to be hard to beat my Date Night In Jar and Basket full of Love from last year! If you have any ideas, I'm all ears! 

 Red Velvet Brownie Truffles from Cookin' Cowgirl

 Be Mine Cherry Brownies from Gooseberry Patch

Red Velvet Puppy Chow from Your Cup of Cake

 Valentine Dipped Wafer Cookies from Craft-O-Maniac

 Cupid Crunch from Plain Chicken

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies from Simply Made with Love 

 Sweetheart Cupcakes from Echoes of Laughter 

Chocolate Cherry Bark from Confession of a Cookbook Queen

 Rice Krispy Valentine's Treats from Chef It Up

 Chocolate Cherry Valentine's Scones from Betty Crocker 

 Marshmallow Cherry Kisses from Kraft

Valentine Oreo Truffles from Mom Endeavors 

Chocolate Cherry Glazed Cookie Bites from Simply Made with Love 

 Sweetheart Cupcakes from Posh Pink Giraffe

 Valentine Petite Fours from Echoes of Laughter

 Valentine Cheesecake Nibbles from Very Best Baking

 Valentine's Day Brownies from Ingredients, Inc

 Brown Sugar Blondies from The Recipe Critic 

 Chocolate Cherry Chip Cupcakes from Bird on a Cake

Fudge Cake Truffles from Koot Hoot

Almond- Crusted Pork Chops with Creamy Mustard Glaze

I have to admit, most of the pork chops I've made recently have been in the crock pot.  With a little one climbing all over the kitchen, I have been looking for quick and easy recipes. Which usually means another crock pot dinner! 

Now that the new year has arrived, I've set some new goals.  One of which is eating more clean.  Not only do I want to do this for myself, but I want to do this for my daughter. I want to know everything that is going in that little body of hers and teach her the importance of eating healthy at an early age.  

When I received my weekly eMeals menu (yes, directly to my inbox!) I knew this was one of the first recipes I would make.  It reminded me of one of my most popular recipes, pretzel chicken but a much lighter version! 

It was easy to make, even with a little one pulling out all the pots and pans at my feet.

  

Almond Crusted Pork Chops with Creamy Mustard Sauce 

Courtesy of eMeals 

20 minutes prep time, 10 minutes cook time 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat panko breadcrumbs

3/4 cup sliced almonds, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 egg whites

6 pork loin chops (boneless)

2 TBS olive oil

1 can (14.5 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth 

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 TBS cornstarch 

3 TBS Dijon mustard

1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream 

Directions: 

Place breadcrumbs, almonds and garlic in a shallow dish: beat egg whites in a small bowl until foamy. Dip pork ships in egg white, dredge in panko mixture. 

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add pork chops. 

Cook 10-12 minutes, turning once, until browned and done- remove from skillet and keep warm.   

Whisk together chicken broth, wine and cornstarch, add to skillet, and cook, whisking often, over medium high heat until thickened. Stir in mustard and sour cream until blended; serve sauce over pork chops.  

 eMeals is a subscription service that sends weekly meal plans to your inbox based on information you provide. We've been very happy with the recipes so far! 

Sign up in just 4 simple steps:

1. Pick your meal plan (I have the clean eating plan)

2. Recipes for the WEEK along with sides will be emailed to you.  

3. They even give you a grocery list to take shopping.  

4. Enjoy an easy dinner that your husband will think took hours to make! 
USE CODE DINNER15 to save 15%

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

A staple side dish over the holidays is potatoes.  They can be made so many different ways.  I'm sure I've tried hundreds over the years.  For this Christmas, I was looking for something that I could prepare ahead of time.  Something that would serve my entire family and that the mini would like.  I decided on this twice baked potato casserole.  I would actually call this mashed potato casserole. You can't go wrong with mashed potatoes.  You definitely can't go wrong with mashed potatoes mixed with cream cheese, sour cream and cheddar cheese topped with bacon and chives!  The dish was easy to prepare ahead of time and pop in the over when the time was right.  The entire family (along with the mini) gave this recipe two thumbs up! 

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Courtesy of Six Sisters' Stuff 

Ingredients:

• 5 lb russet potatoes
• 10 sli bacon
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 0.5 c unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c sour cream
• 0.25 c chives, minced
• 2.5 c cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 t kosher salt
• 0.5 t pepper

---

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel potatoes, and cut into 1-inch chunks. Place in a large saucepan, and add enough cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain; return to pan, cover, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp and browned, turning once. Transfer to paper towels to drain; let cool, and crumble into pieces.
3. Using a fork, mash the potatoes in pan until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, butter, and sour cream, and stir until combined and smooth. Add the chives, 2 cups cheddar cheese, half the bacon, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined.
4. Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Bake until top is slightly golden and potatoes are heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; garnish with remaining bacon. Serve immediately.