Well Surprise Surprise and Happy Friday!  I was thinking Wednesday night as I watched Team Canada wipe out Russia in Men’s hockey and now last night the Woman’s hockey Team capturing Gold that a fun post would be to chatter about TV snacks – specifically Olympic TV snacks.

For me TV snacks are what I think about the whole day.  Lately I have been devouring chips into as if I had just heard a break news story on CNN that come the end of February all potato chips will be ceased and no longer allowed to be sold.  Enough of me and the chips…. Here are some other tasty snacks I really enjoy while sitting in front of the Olympics.

1. Cashews - I love the crunch and I find these way to addictive.  I can quickly find myself at the bottom of the bag or tin before I even realize.  These are dangerous!



2. Licorice Babies – Anything black licorice I am all over like a plump kid on a rolo bar.  I cannot get enough of these.  And lately Ganong has not been letting me down.  The bags are super fresh and almost melt in your mouth like.  I also love the black Ju Jubes as well.



3. Chicken Wings ( I know not technically a snack but it is for me ) – One of my all time fav foods.  Chicken wings RULE!  Love Love Love them.



4. Ice Cream Sandwiches – Me and ice cream are not super close friends but sometimes we have little sessions where we feel inseparable.  I definitely go through phases with Ice cream.  Lately I just love these Ice cream sandwiches



5. Chocolate - Enough said!

Open Sky Exclusive: An Open Sky Dinner Party

Two weeks ago I was contacted by the great folks at Open Sky to be part of the 8 person team assembled to pull off a Dinner Party Exclusive: The expert guide to throwing a dinner party.  Of course I jumped at the opportunity because it involved food.  They asked me to come up with a salad course for the dinner party – I was happy to oblige.

So you may ask yourself, What the heck is he talking about.  It’s OK – sometimes I struggle at explaining stuff in full detail just ask Mrs. Zesty.

Throwing a successful and memorable dinner party is no easy undertaking. Table settings, recipes, food prep and more…Where does one even begin?

OpenSky has assembled a team of experts who know just how to throw the perfect dinner event. We’re calling them the Dinner Party Dream Team!

With combined knowledge and experience, we guarantee your next party is a success. Whether you’re entertaining close family or greeting new friends, this is your ultimate dinner party guide!

So, how do you join the party!?

• Check out the promo page

• Buy ANY product featured below from their OpenSky Shop and you will receive “Dinner Parties: The Complete Expert Guide for FREE.

This guide provides tips and recipes for a complete and impressive dinner party. A complete list of our experts, recipes, and featured products below:

1. Hors d’oeuvre – Hummus and Crudités Provided by Denise Hazime of Dede Med
2. Butternut Squash Soup From Alison and Shannon of Cooking With Friends
3. Whole Lotta Avocado and Orange Salad From Cory of Zesty Cook ( That’s Me)
4. Pinot Braised Short Ribs From Michael Ruhlman
5. Vegetarian Entrée – Sundried Tomato and Feta Frittata From Lori of Finding Radiance
6. Creamy Potato Mustard Gratin From Greg of Sippity Sup
7. Grapefruit Panna Cotta From Michael Laiskonis

I do not want to give away too many details as it is a MUST SEE!  Go check out the promo page, peek your interest and grab the dinner party exclusive.

Enjoy your weekend and have fun!

Take care

zesty

Happy Wednesday!  Let me first off say thank you for all the comments on my latest BLOG Makeover Giveaway.  It really is fun to give back to the blogging community and help friendly people out.  I am really impressed with the excitement level and I cannot wait to announce the winner next week.  So many people have tweeted about it and mentioned it on their blogs… so great.

On to the Food

Who loves vegetables?  Who loves simple, easy to make stews that require no really thought and monitoring at the stove?  Who like to eat?  I am hopeful you answered yes to at least two of those questions.  Neither here nor there – I have come up with a recipe that even kind of impressed Mrs. Zesty ( who is not a huge vegetable lover ) which to me means WHOOO HOOOO.

I have been really into lentils as of late and I wanted to come up with an easy way to put these babies to good use.  I had also found a couple of cans of tomatoes on sale.  Loving the sales and I will even use a coupon every now and again if I have them.  Want to see a cool site about cost saving ideas, coupons galore and wicked recipes?  If so check out 5 Dollar Dinners – Erin’s site is jam packed with cool information.

So with the tomatoes and the lentils I had built up an urge for a nice warming stew packed with flavor.  How do you pack it with flavor?  Low and slow and a few key spices.

Ingredients

• 2 15 Oz Cans of crushed tomatoes
• 1 Clove garlic
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 6 Cups water
• 1 Cup pearl barley
• 2 Cups lentils
• 2 Large carrots ( cubed)
• 8 baby Potatoes ( quartered )
• 1 Turnip ( cubed)
• 1 Cup frozen peas
• 1 Cup frozen corn
• 1 Tsp. Celery salt
• 2 Tsp. Chili powder
• 1/2 Tsp. Red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat large sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Add olive oil, turnip and carrots and begin to brown for about 5-7 minutes



3. Toss in garlic, tomatoes, celery salt, chili powder and red pepper flakes;  let simmer for 5 minutes



4. Add lentils and water; let cook on low for 15 minutes
5. Add barley and cook for 10 more minutes; then toss in potatoes and let simmer for another 20 minutes
6. Remove the lid and check for consistency.  If you think it needs more water – feel free to add some.  if you find it is too runny keep simmering with the lid off for 15 minutes.



7. Once the consistency is right, add peas and corn and stri through for 3 minutes.
8. Serve it up with a nice piece of beer bread if you have an.
9. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: By sauteing the root vegetables before simmering the stew you are packing the base of the stew with flavor right out of the gate.  For a more traditional base you may use carrots, celery and onion but I didn’t have any celery and Mrs. Zesty is not a fan of onions at all.

This was a really fun post to write and an even funner stew to make.  I would love to hear your favorite stew ideas if you have any.  Feel free to post your all time fav stew ingredients in the comment section.

Around the Blogsphere

• I guess we better keep voting for me at Goodbite.com and my Campbell’s debut.  I can only assume I am not winning the contest so VOTE now!
• An unbelievable pancake over at Healthy Tipping Point.
• Like Omelets?  try this one from Jaden

I hope you have a great Wednesday and don’t forget to enter the makeover giveaway if you have not done so already.

Take care

zesty