You Guys Want Some Pistachios?

I'm trying to ween my chip dependency, but some days I still need something salty. Meet my friend pistachios.

49 pistachios are equivalent to the calories in 13 potato chips!

Plus, pistachios are naturally gluten free

Get crackin'

Super Bowl Snacks: Part 2

A Pinterest inspired recipe for the Super Bowl! 

Salt and Vinegar Broiled Fingerling Potatoes

Start with 2 cups of vinegar to boil

The original recipe calls for fingerling potatoes but I couldn't find any at the commissary so I had to improvise with regular Russet potatoes. I actually only used 2 Russet potatoes and cut them into thin strips.

I brought the vinegar to a boil then simmered liked the recipe called for. However, I noticed that these potatoes took a little longer to cook. They probably took a good 5-10 minutes longer of simmering. Next you let the potatoes cool for about 30 minutes in the vinegar.

 I drained them, patted dry with a paper towel, and placed them into a Ziploc bag. I poured olive oil, salt, and pepper without measuring any of it. I was pretty generous in my amounts. Shake.

I only have a small broiler pan, so I tried to squeeze all the slices on it in a single layer.

Then I broiled them like the recipe called for, 7 minutes on one side and 5 on the other. Again, they seemed to need longer to brown.

I kept a close eye to make sure the potatoes didn't burn, but waited for them to turn a golden brown.

Justin grilled some ribs too, so these made a nice pair. 

The salt and vinegar potatoes were definitely different from the usual fry. They were salty and pungent, yet a refreshing take on the chip version. If you like salt and vinegar chips, I recommend you try these!

Super Bowl Snacks: Part 1

Simple Taco Seasoning Dip: 1 of several finger foods we enjoyed during the Super Bowl.

3 Main Ingredients for the base are cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning

First soften cream cheese a little. (I left it sit out for a bit before making the dip.) Then mix equal parts cream cheese and sour cream; I mixed 8 oz. of each. Do not use the whole packet of taco seasoning, it will be too much. I probably used about 2 - 3 tablespoons. My recommendation would be to add a little then taste, that way you can add more if need be. Using a hand mixer allows the cream cheese to mix better with the sour cream.

Spread the mixture into a container. Ideally a pizza pan would make it look the best and would spread it out a little thinner, but I wanted to use a container with a lid. As a result, it was a little thicker than I would've liked.

Sprinkle with cheese to cover the cream cheese mixture.

Then layer with vegetables of your choice. I like to use tomatoes, green onions and black olives. I don't really care for black olives but I use them because they add more color. I can tolerate them while I'm eating the dip as well because there are other flavors that overpower them. I'm sure you can add some refried beans as a bottom layer too. The nice thing about this dip is that you can make it your own and it's fairly simple (because it doesn't consist of 7 layers!)

We bought these Jalapeno tortilla chips to use in the dip.

GF!

I'll leave you with an Imported from Detroit commercial.

Quick Trip

Last weekend we were able to go to Michigan for the weekend. We were able to see tons of people; if only we could've had longer conversations with everyone. Justin set up a tacos and euchre tournament on Saturday night at his parent's house. I feel gracious for everyone who thought of me and brought GF treats! My mom made GF chocolate chip cookies, my sister Jill made GF brownies, my sister Kristen made regular GF Rice Krispie treats, Amanda made gourmet GF Rice Krispie treats, and Ashlee made GF cannolis! Not to mention Justin's parents had the house stocked with loads of GF foods from frozen waffles to bars and even marshmallows.

Unfortunately I didn't take many photos. I had told Justin that I was going to take many pictures, but I seemed to have gotten caught up too much into cards, desserts, and conversations.

Amanda's GF Rice Krispies: half are made with caramel and chocolate while the other half consisted of peanut butter and chocolate. I loved her plating of them too.

O-M-G GF cannolis!! They were so delicious that I ate two. (I would've ate more but everyone else gobbled them up too.) While I was eating my second one, I was completely distracted during cards and probably cost my partner a few points.

I was able to get one picture of actual people (not just food.) Hmm...here's wishing I had more people photos.

I was also able to spend time with my niece, Maren and my nephew, Jett. We bought Maren some Tom's for her birthday, which is this month. (You know how much I love my Tom's. I'm hoping to get some of the new ballet flats soon.)

In the summer I posted about my favorite Michigan things. Thinking about this weekend trip, I was able to repeat 4 out of my 5 favorite things! I saw family, drank Faygo courtesy of Aunt Sally, ate too many desserts, and bought more Jenna Kator purses!

I was on the hunt for the Peninsula Drive purse. Prior to our trip, I noticed it was sold out online and wasn't sure if I'd be able to find one. I had told Justin my one request of the weekend was to go to the boutique in Monroe that sells the Jenna Kator handbags. I wanted to look at them for myself because things often look slightly different in person. When we pulled up to Belle Fleur, it was closed! I was disappointed because I had checked the store hours earlier. However, there was a phone number on the sign, so I gave it a ring. The store owner said that January is a slow month and they were at shows so they decided to close for the weekend. But she was so kind to drive to the store to see if the Peninsula was in stock. Fifteen minutes later she called me and they had one more in stock! So Justin and I went back to the store and were able to look around at everything.

The Peninsula Drive

I began to fall in love with more of the purses as I browsed the store. With a little encouragement from my hubby, I decided to purchase another one! I also bought the Huntington in brown.

Like our Detroit rug that I scored an awesome deal on from a Groupon? I figured it was a fitting place to take photos of my new handbags since they are Michigan inspired and designed.

If only weekends were longer...

Bugs Can Be Good

Kefir is a probiotic yogurt that I've written about before here. Justin and I went grocery shopping on Tuesday night and spotted these ProBug packets. (This was not the first time we were attracted to kids' yogurt: look here.) Justin wondered what this Orange Creamy Crawler flavor tasted like...

Well we sort of found out...

Because he dropped a box and one of the packets burst. Not only did it burst, but it completely missed him and was aimed directly at me. It was on my jeans, my arm, my shirt, my watch, and later we even found some in my hair. I'll even admit that I did taste some off of my arm and decided to buy some for home. 

 Gluten free and it made the prefect snack to eat in the car on the way to class last night.

Superbowl Snack Ideas

We love football and the Superbowl is quickly approaching. While I'm not a super fan of either team playing, we'll definitely be making some appetizers to enjoy throughout the game. I plan on trying some new recipes but for now...here are a few ideas for y'all.

Potato Skins

Calgary Hot Wings

Stuffed Mushrooms

GF Onion Rings

Jalapeno Poppers

Living Social Deal

My sister, Jill, sent me an email yesterday about a Living Social deal for glutenfreely.com. You will get $50 to spend on food, when you buy the deal for $25. For some reason, I had a ten dollar credit; so I decided to buy the deal for only 15 bucks.

I was a little hesitant to purchase the deal, because my other sister, Kristen, made a valid point: most of the prices are comparable if not less expensive at Whole Foods (and she lives in Chicago where things cost more!) Plus, on the website you have to pay for shipping. (However, if you spend $75 shipping is free.)

Eventually I decided to buy it because I thought it would give me an opportunity to try some new products. I figure I can think of things as being half off. When I buy stuff, I'll let you know what I think of the prices I paid and about the products.

Check it out here: only 1 day left! Hurry!!