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Valentine’s Day Fondue Dessert Buffet

February 18th, 2014

Valentine’s Day is either a hit or miss for me!  Sometimes I go all out, and sometimes I just tell my husband to take me somewhere special.  This year, we decided to have another couple over for dessert, so I created a chocolate fondue buffet with a Valentine’s twist.  I found heart Peeps at the store, which is a HUGE treat for me, since I shamefully admit, I love Peeps!  I created Peeps heart-kabobs with Little Debbie marshmallow treats, brownie bites from the Target bakery, and heart Peeps.  The rest of the items were cut-up fruit and some other goodies to dip in a super easy chocolate fondue. I loved that this party required little prep time.  For drinks, we made champagne cocktails, which are simply glasses of champagne with an added sugar cube.  I also added a strawberry to every glass.

For my fondue, I kept it simple with a half a bag of bittersweet chocolates and 1/4 cup of condensed milk.  Worked out beautifully! Seriously, I wish all parties were this simple!

 

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peepshearts

Valentine’s Day Table

February 11th, 2014

Absolutely loving this gorgeous table design from Mary Tuttle’s for Valentine’s Day!

valentinestable

Bannock Corn Bread

February 5th, 2014

Today my boys and I had a snow day and decided to make something from my 5th grader’s history text book.  there was a recipe for Bannock bread so we thought we would go for it!  This was a bread that the pilgrims made during colonial times.  Our recipe  was made out of cornmeal but there are a number of different kinds which include regular flower and yeast.  I have to say, I don’t use cornmeal a lot since we try to limit our carb intake.  However, I thought… why not?!  It turned out surprisingly good and we coupled the cakes with low-sodium turkey sausages.  The boys really liked them and had a very filling lunch on a cold snowy day.  We even left a few for my husband who will be enjoying them with the leftover chili from Super Bowl Sunday.  Here’s the recipe, in case you are interested!  A great bread to make with your kids.

bannocks

INGREDIENTS

1 cup water
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of milk
1 egg
2 tbsp butter

PREPARATION

1) Bring water to a boil.
2) In another bowl, mix cornmeal and salt together. Add boiling water and stir with spoon until smooth. Sir in milk. Let batter sit 5 minutes and then add egg and mix.
3) Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Use a spoon or small ladle to drop the batter on to the pan and cook until golden brown. Flip and cook other side. Serve hot or cold.

My Super Bowl Snakadium

February 3rd, 2014

Two things I loved about yesterday’s Super Bowl… Bruno Mars and my healthy Snackadium which my kids helped me put together! Below are some photos of our snack table, we also had delicious white chicken chili, which our friends brought, and a spicy beef chili which I made (for the first time!). However, the Snackadium stole the show!

The snackadium was made with veggies and pigs in a blanket made with turkey sausages and low fat croissants.  I also made a low-cal 7 layer dip using fresh salsa and low-fat sour cream.  I changed my layers around so that the fresh guacamole ended up on top.

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Spring and Summer Place Settings

February 1st, 2014

I’m always excited to find out what the latest trends are in table décor!  I stopped in at Dillards and photographed a few of their displays for spring and summer.  I like all these ideas, but my favorite are the floral plates… so pretty!

blueandwhiteplacesetting

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floralplacesetting

neutralplacesetting

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orangeplacesetting