It’s Game Day week! My husband is already thinking about what his food requests are going to be for Sunday. It’s been four years since I’ve shared a Game Day recipe round up so I’m sharing an updated one today! Here are my Top 20 picks from the blog!
There is less than two weeks until the Super Bowl and while I still don’t care about the game, good food is a must!
My sweet in-laws got me an air fryer for Christmas and this felt like the perfect opportunity to give it a test drive. Most foods we want to consume for game days is fried, like wings, french fries, mozzarella sticks, etc..
One of my most favorite fried indulgences is jalapeño poppers. I love the crispy outside, spicy pepper, and creamy and cheesy filling. I’ve already made skinny jalapeno poppers, but thought more of a jalapeño popper bite would be really yummy to try! And if you don’t have an air fryer, do not worry! You can also bake these right in your oven!
I’ve been soaking up the cool weather and rain we’ve had in Orange County over these past few weeks. I don’t necessarily want rain every day, but the cool weather can definitely stay!
I recently had a big bag of cubed fresh butternut squash in my fridge from another recipe I made to use up and had a craving for pasta. Butternut squash actually makes for a perfect sauce for pasta. When pureed, it takes on a creamy and almost cheese sauce-like texture. I love a good carbonara so I thought why not combine the two into one delicious and comforting dish?!
I’m interrupting our regular healthy January recipes today to bring you something that would just be wrong for me to try to sell as healthy, but seriously, it’s so delicious, I have to share it! If you like burgers and quesadillas, then this is the recipe for you!
Plus, the Super Bowl is almost here and I always like to test out new Game Day recipes and these Cheeseburger Quesadillas are a definite winner! These quesadillas are easy enough to make for a quick weeknight dinner, but I also love them to serve as an appetizer for the big game.
I mixed up a batch of my favorite best ever burger and fry sauce for these. It’s so good for spreading on the quesadillas and for dipping! If you don’t want to make it though, you can also just mix up some mayo and ketchup.
If you’ve been following the blog for some time, you might know we are team #nomustard in my house, but if you love it, you can also spread some on these guys with extra on the side for people to dip in. Basically, whatever your favorite burger topping is, you can totally work it into these. I made mine with ground beef, plenty of cheddar cheese, pickles, and the burger sauce. Bacon would also be delish and/or some grilled onions, whatever you like really! Just make sure not to overstuff the quesadillas as they can be hard to flip!
One other thing to note – in the recipe directions, I have you assembling the quesadillas on the side and carefully transferring them to the pan to cook. But, if you can move fast enough, you can assemble them directly in the skillet. I do it this way, but realize it may not be the best method for everybody. It’s easy enough to assemble in the skillet as long as the pan is not super hot, so whatever method you are most comfortable with is fine!
I’ve had Chicken and Dumplings on my to-do list for some time now. Chicken and dumplings are basically the best of both worlds between chicken soup and pot pie. Instead of noodles or pie crust, you’ve got some delicious and comforting homemade biscuits on top.
This recipe may seem like it has a lot of steps, but it is really very simple and most of the time is just cooking time. The dumplings only require basic ingredients. I like to season this recipe with Italian seasoning. Thyme and rosemary work well here, but if you don’t want to buy the seasoning, I’d at least use fresh thyme.
You may also note that this recipe makes a more soup-like dish rather than a thicker chicken gravy. I prefer it this way, but if you want yours to be thicker, you can add less of the broth.
Note that the very last step in the directions involves putting the pot under the broiler for a few minutes. This helps the dumplings get lightly browned on top. This step is not required, but I prefer to include it as I like the look of the dumplings a little golden on top and the slight crispiness it gives, but if you are pressed for time, you can skip it. If you do plan to stick the pot under the broiler, just make sure you are using an oven-safe pot! I love using my Le Creuset dutch oven for this recipe!
Every year when January rolls around, I always go into smoothie detox mode. I want ALL of the smoothies and all of the time. I’ve been feeling like I need to incorporate more veggies into my diet throughout the day and putting them into a smoothie is such an obvious idea, but truth be told, I’ve never really been into “green” drinks.
The the flavor of the greens HAS to be covered otherwise its a no for me. I’ve tried different recipes quite a few times and have never been content with the flavor so I just move on with life, but I finally got a recipe down where you really cannot taste the spinach!
In fact, even Madeline, one of the pickiest eaters ever, LOVES this smoothie! We’ve been drinking these almost every day.
My favorite “trick” for creating thick and creamy smoothies is using a frozen banana. You’ve probably heard of “nice cream”, right? Blending up frozen bananas for a couple of minutes gives them that ice cream-like texture and thickness. So, I recommend letting your blender run for up to 4 minutes or so. This may seem like more time than necessary to blend everything, but the extra time really helps that banana get thick and creamy creating the dreamiest smoothies!
I also add frozen mango to this smoothie and a couple of tablespoons of nut butter. You can use almond butter or peanut butter, though peanut butter has a stronger flavor to cover up the spinach which is probably why I can get Maddie to drink it!
This green breakfast smoothie is definitely going to be sticking around in our house!
Welcome to Eat. Drink. Love.! My name is Stephanie. Here you will find healthy and easy recipes with a few indulgences thrown in for good measure! Why the name Eat. Drink. Love.? Well, I think this is what life is all about!
