Superbowl Snack Time

Of course I had to make healthy snacks for the Superbowl :)...and erin pointed out that ironically this is the first year that we are in Boston for the Superbowl...and the Pats aren't even in it :(. OH well we figured why not indulge anyway!! Erin opted to root for the Cards and I went with the Steelers, just in the spirit of rivalry.

We had planned to have some people over and so began the planning of my spread...


I have really wanted to try some snack recipes for awhile so this was the perfect opportunity. I opted to make: HG Jalapenos Swappers, HG Pig in a blanket, and mish-mosh of HG ATE-layer dip and Eating Well's Southwestern Layered Bean Dip AND finally Oven Fried Zucchini stick french fries!
These were all super simple to make.



I have made the Pigs in a Blanket before and even had the leftover Veggie-dogs in the freezer. Yummy as always. This swap out really tastes exactly the same as the full fat version...give it a try!!!







Having such great results with HG's snack food I tried the jalapenos poppers next. Now erin is a HUGE fan of these snacks so I was anxious to see if she liked them. The process of making them was a bit messy but oh so worth it. I took a picture of them stuffed and ready to be breaded and then post cooking. You can prep these ahead of time and that way all you have to do is pop them in the oven when your guest arrive are ready! She seriously FLIPPED over these. A must make again!!


Moving on to the Mexican Dip I had mentioned before that I made a mish-mosh of two different recipes but erin isn't a fan of some of the ingredients in the HG dip (Soy Crumbles specifically) however I was really intrigued at her use of Butternut Squash for the refried beans...so I definitely wanted to try that. The Eating Well dip was more along the lines of what we were looking for.

Best of both worlds Mexican Dip:

-bag of frozen butternut squash (of course you can use fresh...but to save time:), defrost in the microwave or on the stove and mash up to desired consistency.
-can of black beans
-1/2 cup salsa
-chopped cilantro to taste
-tsp of cumin and tsp of chili powder
-1/2 chopped red onion
-six diced jalapenos (and by six i mean six slices out of a jar NOT six whole jalapenos!!)
Combine all of the above items in a microwaveable dish. Sprinkle with cheese (I used Fat Free cheddar but of course you could use Mexican...any kind you like!). Microwave for 3-5 mins or until cheese is fully melted. This takes longer if the cheese is fat free!

Next I topped the hot concoction with:
-Fat Free Sour Cream (spread out)
-can of diced tomatoes (these were flavored with green chiles)
-shredded lettuce
-diced onions
-one diced avocado

This was SOOOO good. erin tried to capture the layers of the dip...but it didn't last long! we ended up scooping our portions onto a plate to get all the taste together:







The last addition to the spread were the Oven Fried Zucchini sticks. They were fairly straightforward to make came together fast. NOW, I cook on a "stone" and you never spray it or use foil because it is non-stick! Obviously the recipe says to spray these...but I didn't because I couldn't on my bake ware. Needless to say...they did not turn out great. As instructed I went to flip them half way through cooking and they would not budge! The ones I could get up totally lost all their "crunchy skin". I just popped them back in for a few more mins to continue to crisp up but they never really got there. Also I found the flavor of the coating to be rather lack luster :(. Ah well you can't win them all. I'm sure I will attempt these again but i plan on using a regular cookie sheet (so i can spray the heck out of them) AND adding something to the coating...we shall see! (these were the sticks prior to being cooked...but they looked pretty similar after being cooked haha :).

All in all the spread was delish. Erin and I nibbled away as we watched the game.
I think perhaps we had just enough food to feed one of those large football players!