FWF: Let’s Talk About Party Food

Hello Friday…and hello to Friday with Friends!  I’m genuinely happy you came by the blog today.  I hope you will join in the conversation.  But, before I get to my question, or food for thought (pun totally intended), I have to address two things.  One, of course, is the forecast.  Yep, for a lot of us, the winter weather is coming.  Are you in the (incredibly) large path of the storm?  What are the predicitons for your area?  Snow? Ice?  Maybe a bit of both.  We are in the “maybe a bit of both” swath.  Whatever happens, I think we are ready.  Yesterday we went to the grocery store.  Not to stock up necessarily, but Thursdays are senior discount day at our local grocery store – bahaha!!  (My husband qualifies, by the way.)  We often go on Thursdays, but yesterday we were clearly not thinking.  It was a madhouse! I will say the clerks were working hard and the lines moved fairly quickly.  I was just so surprised to see lines that wrapped up and down the aisles!  And, after all that, I came home with no milk.  There was no milk.  (And I am out of milk….)  Sigh.

We do have a new grocery store opening tomorrow.  A Sprouts.  Do you have them?  We have one other in our area but it is a bit of a drive.  This one is going to be right down the road.  Well, closer.  We have been planning to go….just to celebrate the grand opening.  But, hopefully, the lines will not be insane.  And, just maybe, they will have milk!  Hard to believe how excited I am over the opening of a new grocery store.  My mom would be proud.  She LOVED grocery stores, grocery shopping, making grocery lists,  and just all things groceries!!?  I dunno, but it is true.

And, on a second note.  I can hear again!  Can you hear me shouting amen??  I thought my hearing was pathetic (and it was) but on Monday this week, it got even worse.  I had a follow-up appointment but it was not until mid-February.  I was nervous so I reached out and they were able to see me yesterday.  I had a procedure done – which the internet had told me was an outpatient surgical procedure.  But mine was in the office.  It was a bit creepy for me (as I am a ninny) but it went well and there were immediate results.  I am beyond grateful.  I don’t usually blog about these types of things but I just want to thank the Lord here!  And thank you to those who have reached out regarding my hearing struggle.  I don’t have excellent hearing to begin with but I am back to my versio of normal (which is still a bit iffy) but no one has to yell at me anymore.  I know my family is thrilled!:)

Moving on.  Did you know the Superbowl is coming?  I will not ask if you care that the Superbowl is coming?  I have to admit, we are not huge sports followers around here?  We don’t have cable or other subscriptions, so it is not easy to watch too many games.  But there have been a few games, here and there, that we have seen.  And we enjoyed.  All that to say, I’m not sure if we will be watching the Superbowl or not.  We have gone to friends (after church) several times in previous years to watch the big game…but, honestly, I’m usually there for the food:)  There are always the yummiest snack and/or finger type foods at Superbowl gatherings!

Which has me thinking about snack foods.  We are also going to game night at church this evening and I wanted to take a snack food to share.  So many thoughts about snacks and party foods!  So, my question for this Friday with Friends:  do you have a favorite party food (I’ll call it party food but it could be game night food…or just cozying up at home food!)?  If so, I wish you would share in the comments.  If you have a recipe, or link to one on your blog or elsewhere, please include it, if you like.  I would love to increase my recipe binder.  And to be ready just in case an invitation should show up for the big game:)

As for me, one of my all time favorites is the ever popular sliders on King Hawaiian rolls.  Usually made with ham and swiss cheese.  My mom made these often (way back in the day) so they have been around awhile, but they are still that good.  And easy.  But one recipe I often bring along that always seems to please is one that was given to me years ago from a Longaberger consultant.  Fun fact:  many moons ago, I was a Longaberger consultant.  Meaning I put on house parties to sell baskets and pottery.  I loved the baskets and I enjoyed the parties, for the most part, but I am not a salesman.  The pressure and sales expectations really took all the fun of the business.  I did not last terribly long; however, during that time we had quarterly team meetings (to go over goals and expectations!)  At these meetings, someone would always share a recipe and it was at one of these gatherings that I discovered this delicious pizza dip – which explains the reference to a Longaberger pie plate.  Trust me, it is just as yummy made in any pie plate:)

When I was looking through my binder for this recipe, I came across another Longaberger favorites!  For the easiest peach cobbler type dessert ever.  It has been a long time since I have made this one.  I remember it circulated among several of my friends and was quite popular for awhile.  When I read it now, it does sound sweet.  Not sure you would need to add all that sugar to the fruit, but thought I would share it simply because I was reminiscing about my consultant days.

I only have two recipes left but, believe me, I have more than a few baskets left from my Longaberger era.  Sadly, you can hardly give them away these days.  They once were collectibles, sought after and, yes, rather pricey.  Today, most hold little to no value.  I’m sure there are more than a few lessons there.  But this is about recipes.  Yummy, fun food.  And snacks during a football game.  Maybe.  Whether you enjoy football or have absolutely no idea who might be in the game, I hope you will us know what your favorite snack food might be.  And thanks again for stopping by today.  Have a wonderful weekend!