Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Reed Diffuser Makeover and Superbowl Food

I have some yummy (trust me) recipes to share from our Superbowl menu. First, I'll start with a home makeover. Ok just a diffuser makeover but I'm pretty excited about it :) The best part is the makeover was under $3! YES!

 Here's my diffuser. Do you love reed diffusers? I'm a little bit into [ok obsessed] with them right now, just ask my husband... ok maybe don't ask him... it's not pretty lol. What? There are SO many scents I want to try. So I buy them often. Especially when they're on sale. I'm a sucker for a good sale. Moving on to the makeover... So this is the before of my plain "fresh fig" diffuser!



 Here's the after! I added a decorative napkin holder with a ring on the back the perfect size for the diffuser. I got the colors so they match my decor and I love it! Still simple, but is now more decorative as well as practical. I stole the idea at the store as they had some set up like this but I loved it so I did it on my reed diffusers using different styles for my different rooms :) Try it!


 Moving onto the FOOD!!! 
First up: homemade guacamole made by my wonderful hubby.
I swear he's a pro at making it! He mashed 3 avocados, added 1tbsp minced garlic, 2 tbsp lime and salt to taste. It was the best guac I've ever had! The avocados were very ripe/soft to the touch, perfect for mashing (and they're one of the life saving foods too!)


Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip
This was our mid-afternoon appetizer for the pre-game action
This stuff was TOO good. Just like the kind you get at restaurants. Cheesy, creamy, and tasty. Spinach is another life saving food too!


 Ingredients:
1/2 of an 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp mayo
2 tbsp grated parmasean cheese
2 tbsp grated Romano cheese (we omitted this)
1/2 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp garlic salt (we used garlic powder + salt... same thing!)
1/2 of a 14 oz can (or 6 oz if you can find it) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a small baking dish. 

In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayo, parm cheese, romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, and salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.

Transfer the mixture into the prepares baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in preheated oven 25 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned. Enjoy with your favorite dippers!

We enjoyed ours with whole wheat beer bread (recipe here)

And salt-free tortilla chips. Really, who needs salt on chips anyway, we usually eat them with a dip/salsa with salt in it!
 
Nick loved it too :)



 Texas Chicken Quesadillas
Our halftime dinner! Pre-made before the game to easily warm up in the oven.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp honey
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves cut into strips
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese (we omitted and used 1 cup cheddar)
8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
 
We got flavored tortillas - yum!
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat. Slowly cook and stir onion until translucent. Mix in honey. Stir until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place remaining oil and chicken in the skillet over medium high heat. Cook until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in barbecue sauce and evenly coat chicken. (Once cooled, I shredded our chicken a bit, personal preference).

Layer 4 tortillas individually with chicken, onions, cheddar cheese and monterey jack cheese. Top with remaining tortillas.

One or two at a time, place layered tortillas on a large baking sheet. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and tortillas are not TOO crisp. Remove from heat. Cut into quarters and enjoy! We made two for the game and used the rest of the ingredients to make two more the following night for another easy dinner!




 Mmmmmm 



We also snacked on Black Pepper Sugared Almonds (recipe at the bottom of this post). Always a winner!

Our Superbowl food was so good! The Superbowl was fun too. Too bad they had the seating incident. That may be one of the big memories of this big game in Dallas now. We'll always remember the crazy ice and snow storms the week of the Superbowl here too - they say it contributed to the seating not getting completed. I'm sure we'll here more about that fiasco. It sounds like a lawsuit is already in the works. Glad I'm not part of that committee! :)

Stay warm!

2 comments:

Maggie said...

what a great and simple idea to add a napkin ring to your reed diffuser! super cute. and i love that you incorporated life saving food into your super bowl appetizers...you're always thinkin':)

Maria Alban said...

All this food makes me hungry. Bart and I are going to try all this food :)

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