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A Quiet Super Bowl Sunday 2018 with a Paleo / Keto friendly Appetizers!

February 5th, 2018

We had some big plans for Super Bowl Sunday 2018! My sister was having a big party and I was planning to bring several of my favorite dip platters.  However, life had other plans for us.  Our poor little doggie got super sick and we couldn’t leave him at home alone, so we called my sister, canceled our plans and decided to have a Super Bowl Sunday at our house.

My husband eats paleo, so it was important we had non carb options for him to enjoy.  I loaded our coffee table with plenty of vegetables and a few pork rinds,  as well as some fun snacks for my kids, which included Chex Mix and tortilla chips.  My husband’s two favorite dips were on the table… my famous Smoked Bacon and Gouda Spinach Artichoke dip (super low carb), which I will include in my book as well as a paleo Seven Layer dip recipe which I found on the internet. I also added some  lettuce leaves for him to create delicious wraps, he loved it and so did my kids!

Although our plans changed last minute and we didn’t get to go to a large party, we appreciated the time with our family and our sick little doggie, who actually felt a lot better on game day!

Super Bowl Snackadium – Well, sort of!

May 9th, 2016

What can I say, my friends know how to party!! I am just IN LOVE with this gorgeous and super sophisticated “snackadium” my friend Robynn assembled.  Most of the plates were elevated, although it’s hard to see in this photo.  And although it didn’t have a traditional stadium look, it still fit the bill.  If you think it looks good in the photo, you should have seen it live in person!  I also loved that she incorporated some healthy buffet items.  Two thumbs up!!

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Love “Salt and Sweet” Together? I’ve Got The Perfect Recipes For You!!

May 17th, 2015
kctv5

How lucky am I? I got to spend this morning with the beautiful ladies from KCTV 5’s Better Kansas City! Today, I shared my two recipes for something sweet and salty… my “caramel” popcorn made with real maple syrup and lavender sea salt and my apple and goat cheese Phyllo/Filo cups quiches. Get ready, because they are absolutely delicious!!

popcorn

Enjoy the delicious taste of caramel while benefiting from all the wonderful and beneficial nutrients that come in maple syrup. They include minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and iron. Plus, this syrup is non refined and contains no fat. Below is a recipe for the most simple version which includes the maple syrup and lavender salt. But I got a little creative (photo I posted above) by adding almonds and pretzels to my popcorn. You can add anything you want! And if you want to get super creative, add a “savory” element with a bit of diced turkey bacon!!

SWEET & SALTY “CARAMEL” POP-CORN

1/4 – 1/2 cup – Grade A Maple Syrup (Doesn’t matter if it’s medium or dark, whatever you like best). The range of syrup depends on if you want a heavily coated popcorn or slightly coated.

1/2 cup of pop corn

2-3 tablespoons of butter

Lavender sea salt ( plain sea salt will work as well)

Pop your popcorn. You can do air popped, bagged, or microwave, although I prefer air popped.

Put the popcorn in a bowl and set aside. In a small sauce pan, bring your maple syrup to a boil. Add the butter and let the combination boil for 2-3 minutes. You can mix the butter and syrup slightly, you don’t have to constantly stir the mixture in the pan, move your spoon through it once or twice and leave it alone. Have your popcorn, baking sheet, and salt on standby and ready to go. While your syrup is hot, you have a small window to work with the popcorn. Once the caramel is ready, pour it over the popcorn and mix (I use a wooden spoon) while the caramel is still hot. Keep mixing until the popcorn is well coated with the caramel, then quickly spread it out on a cookie sheet and begin salting with the Lavender salt.

Once you are happy, give it 5-10 minutes to dry. Once the caramel popcorn is dry, you can place it back in the bowl and serve.

WARNING: No matter how good the popcorn looks, don’t serve it when it’s wet. Your guests will have sticky caramel on their fingers which is difficult and no fun to get off. Additionally, you can add other things to the popcorn. Salted nuts, pretzels, bacon (for a bit of savory), dried cranberries (for a bit of sour), or anything else you like. Just remember to add these items while the caramel is hot and you are mixing it with the popcorn.

quichecups

These are super easy and can be made for wine tasting parties, breakfast parties, brunch, lunch, dinner… you name it!! They are beautiful to serve and delicious!!

APPLE AND GOAT CHEESE FILO/PHYLLO QUICHES

12-24 Filo/ Phyllo Cups (available in the refrigerated section)

1 Red & Delicious Apple

2 Eggs

1 tbsp Half & Half

1/2 package of Goat Cheese

Nutmeg

Dried blueberries and cranberries

Honey

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the Filo/Phyllo Cups in a lightly greased mini muffin pan. Dice the apple and place a few small pieces in each Phyllo cup. Mix eggs, half & half, a dash of salt, and a dash of nutmeg together in a measuring cup. Carefully pour a little bit of the egg mixture in each cup. Finally, put a generous amount of goat cheese on top of each Filo cup. Place the mini muffin pan with the Filo/Phyllo cups in the oven and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Let cool for 2-3 minutes and arrange on a plate. Drizzle with honey and serve.

Swiss Cheese Chips – Low Carb!

October 18th, 2014

swisscheesechips

If you love swiss cheese, this is your recipe!  It’s so easy and it is such an interesting way to enjoy your cheese.  Plus, it’s wonderful for parties and scores big with the low carb party guests.  It’s a win-win, so try it today.  The recipe is so easy, you can literally enjoy it in about 5 minutes!  Oh, and before I forget to make everyone’s day… this works pretty much with any sliced cheese, including CHEDDAR… my other favorite cheese :-).

INGREDIENTS

5 slices of swiss cheese (Yep, that’s it!)

PREPARATION

Rip your cheese slice in half, and place it on a plate.  Cook in microwave for 3 minutes.  Once done, peel the cheese off the plate and place on a paper towel.  Wait for it to cool and dry and enjoy your cheese chips.  The longer they dry, the crispier they’ll get.  You can also serve them with your favorite dip, although I prefer to eat the chips all by themselves!

Sub Sandwich on a Stick!

May 17th, 2014

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If you love sub sandwiches but hate having to consume the extra calories from the massive buns, you will LOVE this sub sandwich on a stick! Much lower calorie than the real thing, less carbs and perfect for parties! Super easy! CLICK HERE TO READ THE RECIPE

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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Better Kansas City Segment on “Mobile” Super Bowl Snacks!

January 27th, 2014

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I had a blast today hanging out with Alexis and Dave from Better Kansas City Morning Show on Channel 4, here in Kansas City! I demoed three great “mobile” snacks to take to a Super Bowl party.  Hot Wing Pretzels… Roasted Flavored Nuts… and Hot Wing Pretzels!  All were super easy and with just a few ingredients!

arina

beerbread
BEER BREAD

3 cups of Self Rising (very important!) flour
3 tabspoons of sugar
12oz container of beer (any brand)

Pour beer into bowl. Then add flour and sugar. Mix until you have a dough
that is not sticking to the sides (you can add a little extra flour if you
like). You can place the dough directly in a well greased loaf pan. Or,
you can put the dough on a floured surface and knead it until you like the
consistency. Either way, your bread will be perfect (kneading or no
kneading).

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until you see the top of
the bread get brown. Keep an eye on your bread because ovens can bake
differently. If you like, you can pour some melted button on the top of the
bread 10-15 minutes before it is done.

pretzels
HOT WING PRETZELS

1 bag of pretzel sticks or regular pretzels. Do not use large pretzel
sticks.
1/2 cup of Butter
1/2 cup of Hot Wing Sauce
2 Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp Garlic Salt

In a pot, heat up the sauces and garlic salt. Once everything is mixed and
well heated, place the pretzels in a bowl and coat with hot sauce mixture.
Make sure that you coat the pretzels little by little, you don’t want there
to be extra sauce on the bottom of the bowl or a puddle on your baking sheet. Mix the pretzel sticks so they are well coated. Then place on a baking pan and bake on 300 degrees for 30
minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

nuts
SEASONED NUTS

3 cups of any nuts or mixed nuts… make sure they are RAW!
1/4 – 1/2 cup of butter
Ranch, cheese, or any pop-corn seasoning. You can also use seasoning packs
made for salsas and dips.

Place your nuts in a bowl. Melt butter and pour it over nuts little by little. Mix well
until all nuts are coated. Then simply add your favorite seasoning… as
much as you like. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes. KEEP
YOUR EYE ON THE NUTS SO THAT THEY DO NOT BURN!! After nuts are taken out of
the oven, sprinkle some more seasoning on them and wait for them to dry
fully 3-5 hours. Great to make a day in advance.