Are you Ready for Superbowl 50? How to Host the Big Game in Style!

Superbowl 50 is this weekend (Sunday February 7) in the fine city of San Francisco and the Panthers and Broncos will battle to claim the Superbowl title.

So while you are watching the game, rooting for your team and awaiting the crazy and funny commercials, you must serve up game day nibbles in style.

Let’s start with the Great Plate. This ingenuous server does it, keeping dips and finger foods from running into each other plus holds your beverage- always keeping one hand free! Perfect for any entertaining and parties. 

It is dishwasher safe, microwave safe, stackable, storable, reusable and recyclable. AND- The Great Plate™ is proudly made right here in the USA.

A slow cooker is a must for dips and sandwiches! All-Clad's top-of-the-line cooker is perfect for making those essential Super Bowl dishes such as pulled pork, chili, wings and more. Its automatic functions will keep food warm from kickoff till game’s end and push-button controls and an easy-to-read digital display eliminates guesswork.  The 7-qt. nonstick aluminum removable insert easily goes from stovetop to slow cooker to table and is perfect for large parties.  Available exclusively at Williams-Sonoma $249.95

Grilling is a top priority, and with the All-Clad Electric Indoor Grill, your party will be a hit! 

With two separately controlled cooking surfaces, this All-Clad Electric Indoor Grill is perfect for cooking hot dogs and hamburgers.  An extra-large 20" x 13" nonstick grilling surface ensures you’ll have enough space and dial controls provide precise cooking temperatures. Available at Williams-Sonoma $299.95

Now it’s time for dessert! 

Matthews 1812 House, specializing in handmade specialty desserts, has a brand new line of mouthwatering bourbon infused treats, like Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Torte, Bourbon Blondie Bar, Caramel and Chocolate Bourbon Sauce and more. These tasty treats can be shipped!

Leftovers? Wrap everything up easily with use Bowl Huggers. Bowl Huggers are reusable silicone-edged bowl lids that fit on your everyday dishes. Serve, seal and store your food all in the same dish. All you have to do is pop the lid on your bowl and the Bowl Hugger will adjust itself just the right amount to create a secure seal. Just pull the tab to release the seal. This keeps your yummy food fresh and makes for an easier clean up too! 
Bowl Huggers are dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. Perfect for pot-lucks and bringing food to the party as well as a great gift for the one who is hosting. 
Set of 2 $15-17 http://foodhuggers.com/

And if the next day you are feeling just a little dehydrated, try DripDrop, a powder electrolyte solution that you add to water to treat dehydration. 

Invented by Dr. Eduardo Dolhun, a Mayo-clinic trained physician, as an alternative to sports drinks (i.e. Gatorade) and pediatric solutions (i.e. Pedialyte) It has been clinically proven to hydrate 150% better than plain water and 43% better than sports drinks and contains 3x the electrolytes and half the sugar of most sports drinks. 

DripDrop comes in powder packets that can be added to a water bottle and it's easy to carry in your purse, backpack, laptop bag, or pocket.

So what’s it gonna be, superfans? You ready to rock this Sunday! Who's gonna win?

Pantry Escapades: Tacos Bake, Mason Jar Oatmeal, and Scones

Since our wedding, we’ve gotten into the takeout routine, and now are trying to cut back on that to save money. 

We belong to the local CSA, and yesterday Steve got some wonderful cantaloupe, tomatoes, squash, carrots, onions and peppers. Being a part of the CSA is interesting because every week we anticipate what we are going to get, as opposed to going to the farmers market and specifically picking out corn, etc.  It’s made me a more innovative cook.

Last night I pulled out the canned chicken, seasonings, cornbread mix and thawed black beans and corn (that I had made from a bag o beans, soaked and had several containers of beans, for 49 cents). Steve chopped up the peppers and onion, and we had ourselves a taco bake- I poured the prepared cornbread mix (Jiffy, 25 cents) on top of the seasoned taco mixture and baked. YUM! Plus, lunch for today.

I also made chocolate chip scones (thanks to pal Ronnie’s present for my bridal shower- a basket of Trader Joe’s goodies!).

AND I tried Mason Jar Oatmeal. We got many generous wedding gifts, many of which were gift cards to Williams-Sonoma. I got the apple cinnamon cranberry steel cut oats for $5.99 (not a terrible price, but still too high and too full of sugar and flavorings).

I didn’t love all the added stuff, so I added a pouch of Trader Joe’s organic flax and oats to the Mason jar to cut the sweetness, along with a scoop of the WS oats, a cup of boiling water from my glorious Cuisinart PerfecTemp kettle, plus nutmeg, honey, and walnut. I mixed it up, put the lid on, and let it sit, and cool. Before bed I put it in the fridge.

I wasn’t sure how it would be bc I usually do microwave insta-oats in the am, and it’s never any trouble.

But, early this morning at work, there were no bowls, spoons or even cups to be found, so I ate it cold out of the jar. (the mason jar wouldn’t fit in the microwave either!)

And it was good!

I was sick earlier this week, and still have a cough, but I decided to work out today, and was hungry. The oats-in-a-jar were creamy, satisfying, and tasty. I’ll make a bigger portion next week and add in more things from my pantry: cranberries, almonds, cashews, nutmeg, cinnamon, and honey.

DINNER: Seafood Alfredo Trimble…cream, parmesan, peppers, onions, tomatoes, frozen shrimp and canned crabmeat (again, all pantry and CSA items!) over pasta