Super Bowl Party 2012

Our Super Bowl Party is about to begin and my cookies are made.

Since our party is always a potluck, everyone brings plenty of food. We are also cooking a ham which always feeds plenty of people and I make my cheesey potatoes which is my own version of Potatoes Au Gratin which is a MUST with ham…then I include a few yummy mustard sauces such as the one with the Mustard Crust Beef Tenderloin - Creamy Mustard Sauce. I have fun making my Super Bowl Cookies using the recipe from those Halloween Cookies back in October which is my favorite decorative cookie recipe. I always have to print off photos of the teams so I get their colors and logos correct since I am NOT a football buff at all. That's why we have a party…so I can have fun too without watching the game since I really haven't a clue…I do like to watch the commercials and the half-time, tho! Anyway, back to the cookies…we have people bringing dessert, too, so my cookies aren't really a necessity, but they make the table look very festive and fun-looking and since I put them up on Facebook, everyone who is coming sees them and it puts all in the mood. You know, I'm all about the mood when it comes to eating. Food is not just "nutrition". The emotional element is a large part of it and I want to make sure all my party guests are in the mood before they arrive. Then, as people leave the party, I make sure everyone takes home some Super Bowl cookies as a memento or "party favor"- an edible one, of course, since Super Bowl Sunday is all about FOOD.

You won't see me posting "healthy" Super Bowl food options because it's ONE day so enjoy yourself and stop the guilt. I put out foods I like which are basically simple and nutritious. Back in the day when we had two teenagers at home who played sports year-around, we offered lots of Super Bowl recreations I'd never put out now. Like this Taco Dip made with Velveeta cheese which I couldn't even find in the grocery store the first time I made it because it's not in the refrigerator section since it's not real food at all! My kids use to LOVE Super Bowl Sunday because they were always starving. Incredible.

We have the betting board set up and ready to go. You can't have a Super Bowl party without the betting…

Our betting board is super friendly…HA! We invite people 2 hours prior to kick-off because it takes awhile to fill out our betting board. There are at least 20 items to bet on so you need to take your time to put down your answers.

You can "buy" as many columns as you want, each column is $1.00. Then you answer questions such as the sampling of the ones above. The thing that makes watching the game fun (if you're like me…) is that whenever anything happens during the game, everyone runs out to check-out the betting board to see if they answered correctly. We have winners for 1st place, last place and second place with the most correct answers - we're very nice hosts. Let the games begin.

Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Oatmeal, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't have very many gluten-free cookies on my blog because quite frankly, I usually don't like gluten-free. But occasionally, I do find a good recipe and this is one that is from the back of the Trader Joe's oatmeal and it's a good one. My friend brought some over to our house last weekend when Nick and family were here for our birthday celebrations and we all loved them. My friend lives a few blocks away and we walk the neighborhood together on weekends. We can easily go 5 miles in no time, talking non-stop. She loves exploring our neighborhood as much as I do and we discover so many favorite little spots. We even found a property with a horse (or more like a pony, I should say.) The views are always quite lovely, too. Bruce and I had our thirty-ninth wedding anniversary on July 18th and I made a point of walking past the house where we had our wedding reception. I told my friend, "Thirty-nine years ago today, t...

Meatloaf by Mark Bittman

Once again, I turned on the television yesterday and saw that Mark Bittman was on the Today show and was making his version of meatloaf . This must be meatloaf season. It was surprisingly similar to the Pioneer Woman's version who was also recently on. I was a little surprised of his version because Mark Bittman is into healthy eating and has lost a lot of weight and improved his health by changing his diet which he writes about in his book, Food Matters . His meatloaf recipe also included bacon and cheese! I must be doing something wrong. The thing to remember, which he writes about in his book, is that you can eat healthy without going extreme or changing your whole life. If you don't know who Mark Bittman is, he is a food writer and a four star chef with multiple cookbooks who loves to eat but changed his food philosophy to improve his health. He tells his story in Food Matters and provides ...

Two-Bean Soup with Kale

This hearty vegetarian soup warms up chilly nights. Use any type of canned beans you happen to have on hand and add chicken or Italian sausage for a heftier dish, if you prefer. Makes 4-6 servings 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped carrots 1/2 cup chopped celery 1/2 tsp. salt, divided 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 cups vegetable broth, divided 7 cups stemmed, chopped kale (about 1 bunch) 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed, drained and divided 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary or 1 tsp. dried rosemary 1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, carrot, and celery, and saute 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in 1/4 tsp. salt and garlic; cook 1 minute. 2. Stir in 3 cups vegetable broth and kale. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simme...

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