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For most of us, cold weather and the Super Bowl are upon us and it is tradition to stay indoors watching TV and movies while the weather outside is cold and nasty. It is so appealing to snuggle under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate and our favorite bag of munchies! It is also true that many of us have made New Year’s Resolutions to get healthier and exercise. This is actually the #1 resolution in North America!

What I want to share with you are some healthy snacks that taste great and will be crowd pleasers for that fun game night, Saturday Family Movie Night, the crazy Super Bowl party you are going to host.

Happy Hosting!
Renee

Healthy Hot Wings

Irresistible hot wings done healthy, I tried this out on my husband and 17 year old son and they asked me to make more!

1pkg of chicken drumettes, 3 packages of taco seasoning mix, 1 package of ranch dressing mix, 1 large skillet

The hardest part of this recipe is de-skinning the chicken drumettes. Please note, though, this step is completely necessary for the healthy factor. By removing the skins, you are removing the biggest source of fat, turning your chicken drumettes into totally healthy!

Pour your seasonings into a zip lock bag and shake, making sure the mixture is completely blended. Next, drop in your drumettes, shake and completely coat each one generously and set aside until your large skillet is preheated and ready.

Place your chicken drumettes in your preheated skillet, lid tilted to allow oxygen in, and let cook for 8–10 minutes. Rotate chicken and recover completely, whistle closed, and let cook an additional 12–15 minutes.

You will have the most yummy, tender, healthy hot wings! Garnish with celery and low fat ranch or blue cheese.

Healthy Stuffed Mushrooms

1pkg ground turkey sausage, 1pkg low fat cream cheese, soften, 1 container large whole mushrooms, Parmesan cheese

This is another simple quick recipe to fix! In your large skillet, place the turkey sausage, cover, and cook on medium heat until it whistles, stir and recover, whistle closed. And turn the burner to low. Allow to cook 5-7 minutes longer until the turkey is cooked through. Add your softened low fat cream cheese to the turkey, cover, whistle closed, and cook for about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, clean the mushrooms and take stems out. When your sausage filling is melted together, remove from the pan and leave the juices. Put the mushroom caps into the pan, filling it completely. Place the filling dollop by dollop into the mushroom caps and generously sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cover, whistle open, and cook on medium heat. When the whistle sounds, turn the burner to low and allow to cook for 10 minutes! So very yummy!

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I love to entertain and decorate for any occasion or holiday! Well, really, I don’t need a reason to decorate…I just love to do it. It is my therapy…my stress relief! Tablescapes are a great way to add a whole new look and style to any table; they beautify and enhance the room they are set in. They can be simple and homey or sophisticated and elegant. Your design style and personal preferences will determine the look and feel of your tablescape creation.

The inspiration to create a tablescape can come from a variety of spots: magazines, napkins or tablecloths, stores, pictures, a favorite memory, floral design stores, home décor stores or even as simple as a favorite candle holder or place mat. Look around your home for items of inspiration that you want to give center stage to. Try to incorporate some items you already have on hand. I am a big repurposer. I take accent elements from around the house and repurpose them to another shelve, counter, room or tablescape.

A tablescape is a collection of items put together on a table to create a cohesive design statement beyond the tradition centerpiece. Tablescapes may or may not include dishes. Often these are used in place of a center piece on a buffet table. You may create your center design for a buffet and after the event, just leave it up for a special meal where you would use your dishes.

Before you can begin your design, you have a few key design elements to consider; these design elements will greatly influence your end results: color, size of items, height of items, shape, texture and quantity of items on hand. Including a wide range of design elements will ensure a uniquely gorgeous tablescape that you can stand back and admire!

The #1 consideration, and the place to begin, is color. Decide what color or color combinations you would like to use and begin to look for those colors in items you already have around your house. Think about your color scheme, there are many to choose from. For example, you could choose to go monochromatic, meaning one color. With this tablescape, it is important to include a variety of varying textures and shapes. Be sure to include an accent color for the pop factor and visual appeal with the monochromatic color scheme. You can go to www.worqx.com/color/color_wheel.htm and learn more about color combinations if you are not comfortable matching colors.

Another one of my favorite things to do during the holidays is create theme Christmas trees. You follow the same design considerations as for tablescapes. With theme trees, another design element that adds a lot of flair and interest is feathers and ribbons. Start by deciding if you want a green tree, flocked tree, or the new tinsel trees. Again you need to consider a variety of texture elements. Add your lights and you are off to designing a theme tree. Enjoy and have fun this holiday season!!

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Family, friends, football, turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, rolls and pumpkin pie are the beginnings of a great Thanksgiving. Can’t you smell the wonderful aromas? This holiday season, take some time to enjoy your family and guests. Create new memories that you and your guests can reflect back on. Don’t spend the entire day in your kitchen only to have that fantastic meal devoured in 20 minutes, leaving you with a gray blur of the day and how exhausted you are. Take time to reflect on the abundance in your life. Take time to enjoy your guests and get out of the kitchen. Here are a few fun suggestions:

Turn off the football and break out the home movies, have extended family and friends bring their’s and enjoy laughing and sharing.

Set out board game and make sure to include some of the old favorites: Monopoly, Clue, Yahtzee, Scrabble and Dominoes.

Have guests bring shoes or coats and donate them to such projects as “Souls for Souls” or “Charity Coats” for kids.

Ask guests to bring a few canned or boxed goods and donate them to your local food bank.

Have someone tell the Thanksgiving story or why we pull the wish bone or other harvest traditions from around the world. Make it fun and ask questions and those that answer right might be the ones to pull apart the wishbone or they are exempt from clearing the table or doing dishes or any other fun reward you can think of. This one could become the all time family favorite that creates memories for a long time to come!

Set out markers and colorful fall leaves you have cut from construction paper. Ask your guests to write what they are thankful for and then share them at the thanksgiving feast. A twist on this might be to have everyone write why they are thankful for their family. You then can take these colorful leaves and string them together to begin making a “gratitude garland.” You can add leaves to it each year and your garland will become a treasured part of your fall decorations.

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Festive Fun Treat

Here is a fun treat to make ahead and have on hand for entertaining. Print up the “Harvest Blessing” and put it beside the mix on a table in a pretty fall bowl or attach it to a bag with some colorful ribbon to give as a fun treat to teachers, friends or someone who needs a little lift. The sweet and salty flavors are such a yummy combination together!

Harvest Blessing

The Bugles are a symbol of the Cornucopia, a horn of plenty.

The Pretzels represent arms folded in thanks and prayer.

The Candy Corn reminds us that during the first winter, the pilgrims were allowed only five kernels of corn per day because food was so scarce.

The Fruit is a reminder that Thanksgiving is the celebration of the harvest.

The Peanuts represent seeds, the potential of the bounteous harvest for the next season if they are planted and well-tended.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember the daily blessings that are all around you!

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Every year I decorate my front porch for Fall. I start with some basic components the first of October, Pumpkins of many varieties, scarecrows, and mums. In mid-October, I throw in a couple of Halloween items and carve a pumpkin or two. When the first of November rolls around, I take out the carved pumpkins and the other Halloween accents and add my “pumpkin pics” to turn my pumpkin into a turkey. It is so stinking cute!!!! I also add my giant turkey flag to my flag post hanger. I always try to repurpose items because it saves me time and money.

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