Search Results for: blog creating the perfect dip table

Healthy Summer Dips

My 4-year-old loves hummus! I feel like screaming it from the rooftops. (But, I’ll settle for announcing it in cyberspace.) Like most kids she doesn’t exactly embrace new foods, but the “smooshy” substance that sat on my plate during a rare lunch out last month intrigued her and she asked to try it. I obliged and to my surprise (make that utter shock) she announced that it was “YUMMY!” After that meal I went out and bought several containers of hummus (infused with different flavors including artichoke, lemon and smoked peppers). However, at $3 for just a few ounces I … Continue reading →

Ask a Food Blogger: Ode to the Divided Plate

Question: I am curious to ask you, what do you consider a necessity to have that helps you feed your family? I’m sure that this question was referring to what kitchen gadgets I consider a necessity but honestly, I consider anything that I have space for a necessity. The more versatile, good quality cookware that you have, the more you can do in the kitchen. However, since the question technically asks what do I consider a necessity to feed my family, my answer is simple: the divided plate. This is the best tool that I’ve found to get healthy food … Continue reading →

What to do with Leftover Raw Vegetables

Well, I guess I won’t be cooking for a Super Bowl party after all. Now that the Green Bay Packers blew their chance to compete for the title of best team in the NFL not only am I left with a bitter taste in my mouth, I have a ton of leftover raw vegetables to boot. For those of you who haven’t been following my guest blogs here in the FOOD category, Valorie has been kind enough to allow me to share the recipes I have been furiously preparing for the numerous playoff and championship game parties I’ve attended during … Continue reading →

Creating the Perfect Dip Table

A big bowl of chunky dip surrounded by chips, crackers, and veggies solves a lot of life’s entertainment problems. The quick and easy dish serves as an attractive table centerpiece, doesn’t require utensils and is one of the only ways my kid will eat raw vegetables without being bribed. If you’ve been reading my recent guest blogs in the FOOD category then you know that I’ve been on a dip kick as of late. Blame the Green Bay Packers. Our hometown football team is on the road to the Super Bowl and ever since they made the playoffs, party invitations … Continue reading →

Dipe and Wipe Baby Shower

Want a great theme baby shower for a frugal friend? Try this idea that is guaranteed to be appreciated by any soon to be parents. Today, we were out shopping at Baby’s R Us for a lock for the lazy susan in our kitchen. Our entrepreneurial 17-month old figured out a way to get it open, by using his brute toddler strength to break it! As we contemplated the choices in safety at the store, I couldn’t help but notice how many pregnant ladies there were in the store. Okay, so it is a baby store, but the point was … Continue reading →

Halloween Recipes: Creepy Zombie Cookies

Any other time of the year the aforementioned recipes wouldn’t sound very appetizing. But when you are creating a creepy buffet for a Halloween party or a festive pre-trick-or-treating meal then they’re the perfect additions. The first recipe for Creepy Chili is a Cheplic classic. While my mom didn’t create it (someone from Hormel Foods gets the credit) she did make when I was a kid—-only she used homemade breadsticks not the refrigerated kind. You can’t top this dish when it comes to simplicity and creativity. If you struggle to get your excited little ghosts and goblins to eat something … Continue reading →

Super Easy Super Bowl Finger Foods

The NFL’s biggest game of the year is just a few days away and today my local grocery store was packed with shoppers loading up for Super Bowl parties. (At least according to the folks standing in front and back of me in line.) Frankly, I was a bit surprised that so many Wisconsinites planned to go all out for a game they were convinced they would be watching in person while cheering on the Green Bay Packers. Alas, it appears those same fans plan to replace the bitter taste in their mouths with chips and dip and other spicy … Continue reading →

Beans, Beans the Magical Health Food

Beans have a bad reputation — probably in part because they’re the “magical fruit” that can cause some serious gas. But beans are a health superstar! Some good news about beans: One cup of beans provides thirteen grams of fiber — that’s half of what you need daily. Beans are full of protein. Beans are full of nutrients like calcium, potassium, and magnesium — three things that many women don’t get enough of in their diets. Red, pinto, and kidney beans are FULL of antioxidants — more than even blueberries or cranberries. Personally, I love beans. I make a mean … Continue reading →

Simple and Tasty Ways to Use Extra Ground Beef

Ordinarily there is nothing remotely close to “extra” ground beef anywhere near my kitchen, but since I committed to making Spicy Sloppy Joes (among other dishes) to take to a football viewing party tomorrow I happened to have a few extra pounds of beef in my refrigerator. As such I was able to prepare two tasty and affordable one-dish meals to feed my family this weekend. (Both can be modified to feed more than four people.) Two other perks of these dishes are their simplicity (all of the ingredients are kid-friendly and take less than 30 minutes to prepare) and … Continue reading →

New Uses for Straws

With all the cleaning and purging we are doing as we prepare the house to go on the market, we are coming across dozens of items that we seem to have a lot of. The other day I opened a kitchen cabinet and way in the back behind bottles of seasoning and other things, was six – yes you saw that correctly – six unopened packages of straws. Four of them have more than 200 straws in them. Why in the world do we have so many straws? I seriously have no clue, but I do know what I will … Continue reading →