Makeover your Supermarket Veggie Tray

We all lead busy lives and sometimes (or most of the time) when we entertain we just do not have time to prepare each dish with Martha Stewart level precision. Why not fake it instead of make it?!

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday, here is a great way to "soop up" a regular supermarket veggie display!

The beautiful display you see in the photo below is a standard large vegetable tray (photo above) without dip from Ralphs grocery store. I used a large, wide bowl with low sides and arranged the veggies by type/shape while also creating an attractive color story. I utilized a small condiment dish with three separate containers to offer a variety of dips. Dips included are: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Reduced Guilt Spinach and Kale Dip (both from Trader Joe's), and Opa Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing.

This display could easily be replicated with just one smaller dish in the center. This would make it easy should you use the dip that comes with many trays. Have a chip and dip bowl? That would be perfect for this too!

Just because you didn't make it from scratch doesn't mean your guests have to know!

Super Bowl Snack - BBQ Pulled Chicken Bites with Tex-Mex Feta Slaw

With the Super Bowl less than a week away, I thought it was way past due to share this super snack I made for last year's festivities! One of my favorite things to do when making a food item for a particular event is to take classic types of foods and give them a new spin. For example, the Super Bowl is all about American snack foods, meat, and beer. I went with BBQ and made a tasty treat that while a little higher end than what you might find at a Super Bowl party it fit in perfectly. Unfortunately the photos I took were not very good but I promise you the food is delicious! I probably could have made twice as many!


BBQ Pulled Chicken Bites with Tex-Mex Feta Slaw

The slaw was inspired by the Feta Slaw in Cooking Light.

1 package Trader Joe's BBQ Pulled Chicken (or your favorite local brand or restaurant)
1 package Trader Joe's Puff Pastry, thawed (2 sheets, total weight 1lb)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (I substituted red wine vinegar and it turned out fine)
1 tablespoon canola mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups angel hair coleslaw (I used one bag (10 oz) Trader Joe's Shredded Green Cabbage)
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled (I used Trader Joe's Fat Free Feta)

1. Heat the oven to 400. Combine vinegar, mayonnaise, and black pepper in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add coleslaw, cilantro, jalapeno, feta and green onions; toss to coat. As with most recipes, I suggest that you work with this as to your own preference. Want a little more heat? Add more jalapeno. Want more moisture in your slaw? Make more dressing. For best results, make at least an hour before serving so the flavors and meld.

2. Cut puff pastry into approximately 2 inch squares. I suggest that you measure you puff pastry and take those measurements into account so that your squares are even.

3. Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray and press a piece of puff pastry into each muffin cup. Top with pulled chicken.

4. Bake for approximately 15 minutes (you may wish to check beginning at 10 minutes. They are ready with the pastry is golden brown.

5. Serve either with the slaw on the side or top each bite with the slaw before serving. This will make about 36 bites though you will likely have leftover slaw. It was even better the next day!

Super Bowl Decor

Last year I posted some fun decor items for your Super Bowl party. There are so many great inspirational sites out there with great ideas from the simple to the elaborate. I was impressed that Target has created some cute items of their own for game day. You don't have to be crafty to elevate YOUR Super Bowl game! Here are two of my favorites - mini foam fingers and astroturf coasters! Of course the foam fingers aren't in either team's colors but they are in MY alma mater's colors (hint: Ohio University - buy these out!).

Have a great Super Bowl everyone!

Super Bowl Sunday!!!!

Growing up I was not a fan of the Super Bowl. Despite being a cheerleader for a few years, I just could never get into the game. Then in college (and for some years after) the Super Bowl conflicted with my birthday - some years being the same day. That is not the best way to turn me into a fan! Finally the NFL wised up and pushed it back a week. Now I can enjoy my birthday weekend AND top off two months of gluttony with a big greasy finish.

Of course you don't have to go crazy on the calories for the Super Bowl. My contribution to the festivities in 2012 was a wonderful Jalapeno Popper Dip. I found the recipe on Pinterest and then changed a few ingredients to lighten it up. It was delicious!

Last year's dish was a take on the classic sliders and the calorie content was not as closely monitored. If you are hosting a large party, this particular dish is great because it stays warm in the slow cooker so people can help themselves!

Cheeseburger Bites
From Pillsbury Fast Slow Cooker Cookbook

This recipe includes my changes. One the major changes was that I doubled the recipe. The existing recipe only called for 1 lb of meat for 24 burger bites. This was just over a tablespoon per bite. I couldn't imagine anyone (especially guys) that would use so little! I also changed the cooking time thanks to the reviews on the website. 3 to 4 hours sounded crazy!

Bites
2 lb lean (at least 80% - I used 90 or 95% lean) ground beef
4 tablespoons ketchup
4 teaspoons instant minced onion (I didn't have minced onion so I finely chopped some onion and sauteed it before adding the meat.)
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
16 oz (2 blocks) cheddar cheese, or whatever cheese you like (the recipe called for American and I used 1 block of cheddar and 1 Monterey Jack), cut into 2 inch cubes
24 miniature burger buns

Toppings
Dill pickle chips
Sliced plum (Roma) tomatoes
Shredded lettuce (I used butter lettuce from a bag of salad.)
Additional ketchup and mustard
Other toppings you enjoy - I also provided relish, sauteed onions, and mayo.

1. In 10 inch skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in ketchup, onion (unless you cooked fresh onion with the meat), and mustard.

2. Spray 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Spoon beef mixture into slow cooker. Top with cheese.

3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting for 1 - 2 hours. Check at one hour to see if the cheese is melted. It may still look "cubed" but if you start to stir it the cubes fall away. I found that mine was ready in a little over an hour. With occasional stirring, this dish will hold on Low heat for several hours. Eventually I did turn off the slow cooker and with the lid on it stayed warm. It can burn if left on for too long.

4. Serve with the buns and toppings. Either assemble yourself or create a buffet for guests to top as they desire.

Photo courtesy of Pillsbury as I forgot to take one.

Looking for some more great recipes for the big game? Thrillist posted some great recipes earlier today. You can find them here.


So now that you have your food squared away, you need to think decor. Here are a few easy ways to dress up your Super Bowl party.

Free Signage
There are a number of free Super Bowl printables available online. You can do a simple search via search engine or Pinterest. This set from A to Zebra Celebrations is both simple and cute. Here is a sample of what you will find.

Make Easy Signage
I made this little sign to fit the Tolsby frame from IKEA. A simple font was used so that anyone attending the party could make one for their dish. Just pulled the Super Bowl logo online and added a border and a text box in Word. Super simple!

Double Duty Decor
Get this great cylinder set from IKEA and fill with a variety of items including football shaped chocolates and plastic football or helmet rings. Guests can snack on the chocolate and wear the rings!

Hope you have a great Super Bowl Sunday and that you win your score square! If you have some favorite dishes for the Super Bowl, be sure to share them below!

Online Recipes Tested - Jalapeno Popper Dip

Now that I have discovered the crack that is Pinterest, I have found some fun new recipes that require trying. Of course I will ultimately pin about 1000% more recipes than I can ever hope to make but the ones that I do make will receive a write up here. Since the Super Bowl was last weekend, it only seems appropriate to start with my contribution to that gluttonous evening.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

(Note: The above link goes to the site and original recipe. The recipe below includes my alterations.)

Dip

2 8oz packages cream cheese (reduced fat), room temperature

1 cup light mayonnaise

1 cup light Mexican cheese blend, shredded

1/2 cup parmesan, grated

1 4oz can green chilies, diced

1 4oz can diced jalapenos or 4 fresh jalapenos, seeded & finely diced (I used four large fresh jalapenos and this had good heat but wasn't too hot. Add more it pump up the heat.)

Topping

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup parmesan, grated

1/4 cup light butter, melted

1. Mix the dip ingredients together and spread into a greased pie pan or 2 quart baking dish (I used cooking spray to grease the dish).

2. Mix topping ingredients until even consistency is reached.

3. Cover dip with topping being sure to cover evenly.

4. Bake dip in a 375 degree pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes. Dip is done when top is brown and dip is bubbling. (Note: I was cooking this in an older oven with other items and it took much longer than 20 minutes to cook. I recommend checking it at 20 minutes and go with your instincts from there. Also, the center of my batch was not quite as bubbly as the exteriors so be sure to check that area before removing from the oven.)

5. Serve with crackers, baguette or chips. I used a baked blue corn chip from Trader Joe's and it was fantastic.

So my overall review of this dish was that it was fantastic! Can you tell that I couldn't wait to try it - didn't even get the photo off first! It was really easy to make though cutting up the jalapenos did stretch out the prep time. I would still use the fresh over the canned or jarred for that fresh popper flavor. This dip was a huge hit and I don't think that lightening the calories up took anything away from the flavor. I highly recommend this dip for any party but particularly anything sports related.

Have you tried this recipe? Please let me know what you think!