One of my favorite occasions of the year is coming up next weekend: The Oscars! It’s the best excuse to snuggle up on the couch, live-tweet my expert opinions about ball gowns and celebrity hairstyles while wearing a sweatshirt and yoga pants, and of course: eating special on-theme snacks! I had so much fun sharing my Valentine’s Day Grazing Board, that I thought I’d create another one full of movie-theater sweets and red carpet themed snacks. I’ll be accepting my Academy Award for Best Supporting Snack Tray any time now, don’t you think?
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We are just about a week away from Valentine’s Day and I have all of the sweet, heart-shaped, pink and red, love-dovey inspiration to share today! My husband and I don’t generally make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day. We usually exchange cards, and use it as an excuse to abandon healthy-eating for the night and replace our usual meal-plan with something a bit more delicious. The idea I wanted to share today definitely falls into the delicious category: a Valentine’s Day grazing board.
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My goal of sharing more Instant Pot recipes this year is going well (you can check out a few more in my Instant Pot recipe collection) and I have one more to add to the line-up: Green Chili Beef Tacos! Tacos are the most-requested dinner in our household, and even more so since we got a tortilla-maker kit for Christmas (they’re so delicious). I’m constantly brainstorming recipes that I can quickly throw in the Instant Pot and then walk away from until it’s time to put dinner on the table — these easy green chili tacos are one of those dishes.
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I have a nagging resolution that I have made for the past few years and never really did anything about: updating my make-up routine. I’m slightly embarrassed to say my make-up bag contents are nearly identical today (at 34 years old) to what I was using in college. Those products that I’ve probably been using for the better part of a decade are about as simple as they get, and I keep telling myself that I’m going give my routine a revamp to feel more age-appropriate. My friend Amanda is a talented make-up artist and esthetician, and she offered to give me a little make-up therapy session to finally tackle this resolution of finding a refreshed make-up routine. I learned SO much from our lesson that I had to share her wealth of tricks, tips and favorite products here – it was too good not to share!
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I am recovering from the bonanza of calories that came with testing my Super Bowl recipes and have this meal in mind for a healthy-option to get me back on track! One-pan meals have so much appeal to me for weeknight dinners because I know the second we finish eating it’s a race to get the kitchen cleaned up, and start Jane’s bedtime routine. Anything that I can do to cut down on the clean up process is a huge win. I’m also a fan of these sheet pan type meals because they use up leftover vegetables from other recipes. A half an onion, a few pieces of broccoli – whatever I have in the veggie-drawer can get tossed on the pan and roasted with seasoning for tons of flavor that elevates the produce leftovers.
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The countdown is on for snackstravaganza 2019 (aka Super Bowl Sunday). I brainstorm new recipes every year for the big game, and this year is no exception. To make all of your snack-prep easy, I’ve pulled together two dozen of my favorite snack ideas to add to your Super Bowl party menu — from spicy bites to savory treats, easy to prep main-dishes and sweet desserts with a little football-spin. Scroll down to see all 24 recipes ideas, and be sure to tag me in pictures if you make some on Sunday night for your football festivities!
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I have been filling your feeds with delicious, indulgent, and yes, high-calorie snacks for the Super Bowl next weekend. We’ve made pizza muffins, flavorful queso, and loaded potato skins on latkes! I have one more recipe to add to the menu: Buffalo Chicken Meatballs. These spicy little meatballs are made with ground chicken and carrots and are baked in the oven; I won’t go so far as to say they’re healthy, but they’re a great option to add to your game day menu as an option for guests who are watching their calories. I’ve been making these recently not just as an appetizer, but also as an easy dinner served over broccoli and rice or even on a salad with some crumbled blue cheese on top. The recipe easily doubles, and you can make them in advance — just throw them in a saucepan over low heat to bring them up to temperature. Get the full recipe below: 
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If you are still on track with your healthy-eating New Year’s resolutions, you might want to look away. I have a new recipe for your Super Bowl menu that is rich and cheesy and full of flavor and spice: Green Chili Corn Queso Dip. It is the easiest thing in the world to make — you just combine all of the ingredients in a small pot and simmer them until they’re melted together. The queso gets tons of flavor from chopped green chilies, and delicious texture from folding in corn salsa. You can control the heat and add jalapeños to the mix too — depending how much your snack audience likes spice! I served this to my family when they were visiting recently and we used a variety of items to dip: salty blue corn chips, Trader Joe’s cornbread crisps, and soft pretzel bites (I got these at Wegmans — they were my favorite!). Get the full recipe below:
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I am working on my menu for next Sunday – the ultimate day of snacking is in my sights and I love to be ready with all of the tastiest bites I can think up! No game day is complete without dip on the menu – and I love to make a giant snack board with all of the fixings for dipping on Sundays. I have a few tricks for how I style these grazing boards, and wanted to share some of my best tips with you so you can recreate them at home for your own football parties!
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I always get asked by people: “what do you do with all of the food you photograph?” The answer is almost always: we eat it! I try to test a lot of my dinner recipes in the afternoon so I can photograph them and then reheat for dinner. If I’m working on bigger event-spreads, I try to make them on the weekends so I can invite family over to taste test and share in the photoshoot-feasting. I was testing recipes for the Super Bowl the same weekend as Jane’s birthday party, and decided to give this recipe a whirl so we could also serve it at the celebration. They’re just about the most toddler-friendly Super Bowl snack I could think of — we called them Pizza Muffins. They’re tiny, handheld, and filled with warm cheese, mini pepperoni, and a touch of tomato sauce. The kids loved them and the adults gobbled them up. The best part is that they were so quick and easy to make, we whipped up a fresh batch the following day too! These are going to be a favorite in our Super Bowl snack menu and at toddler parties in the future. Get the full recipe below:
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