Jersey Disco Fry Dip

I have such a fun Allstars assignment this month, guys!

I get to work with McCormick- you know the spice company.  They've created a bunch of game day dips- one for each state.  Yep, 50 Dips for 50 States.  We're talking Smoked Salmon Dip for Alaska, Lobster and Spinach Dip for Maine, Cincinnati Chili Dip for Ohio...you get the idea.

While I definitely don't have the time- or the metabolism- to make my way through all 50 of them in one month I've made a couple of them already and I plan on making my way through a bunch more because most of them sound so fun!

I started out this weekend with Tennessee Sausage 'N Cheese Dip and Jersey Disco Fry Dip and we enjoyed both of them.  More about the cheese dip in my next post- lets lead with the disco dip, shall we?

The Best Apple Pie You'll Ever Eat

When I was a kid I absolutely hated pie.

(Except lemon meringue, that is.)

In general I just didn't like any cooked fruits- no cobblers or pies or fruit-filled pastries for me.

Crazy, I know.  I had a back yard absolutely loaded with fruit trees (apricot, peach, plum, cherry, pear, apple...) but my mom had no luck getting the loads of leftover fruit we always had to deal with into me in the form of dessert.

My tastes have certainly matured over the years!

In fact- while generally speaking I don't have much of a sweet tooth- pie is my favorite dessert by far.

Cherry pie.  Berry Pies.  Apple Pie.  Pretty much any pie or cobbler or whatever you put in front of me is going to be difficult to turn down!

Lets just say that at this point I have plenty of experience with pie baking.

Let's Talk Pie Crust

This is one of those posts that I have been wanting to share for a long time- a very long time.

There have been a couple of things getting in the way of that- first of all, when I make pie crust for desserts I am generally serving it to a crowd.  While some of my close family know I'm a crazy picture-taker that doesn't mean that I want to stop the festivities and make people wait for their pie while I get that perfect shot.

The second problem is that when I make pie crust for savory pies, like Chicken Pot Pie, I generally serve it for dinner- which might sound irrelevant but for a large portion of the year that means the sun has already gone down...which means the lighting isn't great for picture-taking either.

Ah, the problems of a crazy photo-taking blogger. :-)

Anyway, when my husband asked me to make an apple pie for a family gathering this past weekend I decided to go ahead and snap some pictures before we brought it.

I might have even cut out a slice of pie for picture taking purposes and replaced it before we left.

It's family...I'm sure they don't mind.

RSVP's and the Decline of Common Courtesy

Birthdays have changed since I was a kid.

When I was little you picked a date, sent out some invites, kids showed up with presents for cake and ice cream.  There was never a question as to whether or not people would attend or not.

Was I the most popular kid in school?

Not at all.  I was totally middle ground when it came to popularity.

These days I'm terrified of my kids' birthdays.  

This is how it goes:

Invites go out.

No one RSVP's.

The day of the party I tremble with fear, hoping that ANYONE will show up.

A handful do- the kid is happy.

My alternate plans in the case of no one showing are abandoned.

At least that's how things have gone down thus far.

It sucks.

It's not that they are outcasts- they're not at all.

This is just the way things are these days, at almost every party for every kid I've ever been to.

There seem to be two exceptions: the über  popular kids and the kids whose parents have sprung hundreds upon hundreds of dollars for the A-list Birthday locations.

Very Valentine's: Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Treats

How in the world is already almost Valentine's Day?

I'm so behind, you guys.

While I grabbed gifts for the kids and put them up as soon as the Valentine's stuff hit the stores I have absolutely no idea what to get for my husband.  It's really too late to order anything and honestly I generally make him a sweet and sentimental gift anyway- but I'm at a loss.

I have exactly four days to figure this one out.

While I may not know what to do for my husband, the kids and I have already played around in the kitchen with some holiday-inspired treats.  In the past I've made a variety of pink baked goods- Pink Sugar Cookie Bars, Pink Pinwheel Cookies, super yummy Pink Snickerdoodles, even Pink Marshmallows.

Super Snacks for the Super Bowl: Sausage Stuffed Jalapeños

I think we've been over my penchant for stuffing things in jalapeños when I'm looking for a low carb option.

Kind of the perfect, flavorful vessel for getting goodness into your mouth when crackers and chips are off limits, you know?

Since my husband and I have been doing the low-carb thing again since the beginning of the year I definitely found myself exploring my jalapeño options when I was looking around for Super Bowl options this week.  I didn't want anything breaded and to be honest I've done the bacon thing.

Super Snacks for the Super Bowl: Lasagna Stuffed Mushrooms

Well guys, another Super Bowl is in the books- for the blog that is!

Every year the week before the big game gets a little crazy with people flocking to those Super Bowl friendly game-day recipe- by the time Super Bowl Sunday rolls around the traffic is at a fever pitch.

Then come kickoff?

Crickets.

Total drop off until the next day when things get back to normal.

Honestly every year I find it kind of hard to turn away, it's just so much fun to watch.  :-)

This year was no different, though I do have to admit that I really slacked off this month when it comes to posting new recipes.  I normally spend the month of January ramping up and sharing new fun foods with you guys for your party planning but this year my low-carbing took a bit of the wind out of my sails.