February 1, 2018

Super Bowl Menu + Trader Joe’s Favorites

So the Super Bowl is this weekend! And what is the Super Bowl without yummy snacks to enjoy during the game? We’re planning to stay in for the game so it’ll just be us three. Still, I want to make sure that there are plenty of snacks to last us through the 4+ hour game. Yesterday I drew up a little menu for us and after daycare pick-up Lavinia and I headed to her favorite store, Trader Joe’s, to pick up the necessary supplies.

Sidenote: does anyone else’s toddler absolutely LOVE Trader Joe’s? Liv is getting really good at pushing the cart, knows exactly where the samples are and it can take up to 5 minutes to pull her away from the alphabet magnet board by the checkout lines. I think it’s safe to say it’s her happy place. haha

Super Bowl Snack Menu

Chips & Dips (Salsa, Spinach & Artichoke Dip and Guacamole)
Cheese & Cracker Platter
Boneless Chicken “Wings”
Jalapeno Poppers

I kept things relatively simple since it’s just our little fam AND we’re going out to brunch at my favorite spot in Orange County after my half marathon the morning of the Super Bowl – mostly I’ll just have to throw some cheese and crackers on a plate and pour some chips in a bowl the hardest thing I’ll have to do its fry up some pieces of breaded chicken and toss them in BBQ sauce. 🙂

Trader Joe’s Haul

Longboards – These are my favorite chips at Trader Joe’s – some of the ones they have are just too much (flax, chia, whole wheat… etc), the Longboards are perfectly thin, crunchy and salty. AND they are a great shape for dipping
Salsa Autentica – Just a good, restaurant style salsa. Love it!
Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Dip – I first heard about this a few months ago from Sarah at Sweet Miles and it is soooo good! I’ve only bought it once but Henri’s been asking me to buy it ever since so this seemed like the perfect opportunity!

All the ingredients for homemade guacamole: avocado, roma tomato, cilantro, red onion, lime & jalapeno. Also – since there are so many jalapenos and I have string cheese in the fridge I told Henri I’d make him a few jalapeno poppers. (I hope it goes well because I’ve never made those before)

Cheeses: When I’m making a cheese platter I pick out 3-4 different cheese that fall into different cheese categories. For this weekend I went with Boursin in Garlic & Fine Herbs (great for spreading on crackers), Marinated Fresh Mozzarella (delicious by itself or with some prosciutto), Triple Creme Brie (just YUMM!) and my all-time favorite cheddar cheese – the Unexpected Cheddar (this cheese is AMAZING! It’s very sharp – my favorite kind of cheddar – and it has surprising hints of Parmesan… seriously, you need to grab this on your next Trader Joe’s trip!)

Cheese Vessels: For a good cheese platter you need good things to put the cheese on! I went with my two favorite crackers from TJ’s – the Pita Bite Crackers (the whole wheat ones are good too), the 3 Seed Sweet Potato Crackers. I also grabbed a sourdogh baguette that I’ll slice and toast, it’ll be really yummy with the brie!

Meats – Calabrese Salame (we also like the Columbus peppered salami that Trader Joe’s sells) and Prosciutto

Cheese Platter add-ons: a good cheese platter has some fun add-ons, especially when the cheese platter is being treated as a meal or the main star of an event. You need to switch things up a bit from just cheese and crackers. I’m going to include some grapes that we already have in the fridge and I also grabbed a favorite of mine, Marcona Almonds with Rosemary, and a favorite of Henri’s, olives.