Cauliflower Poppers 3 Ways: Buffalo, Honey BBQ, & Cheesy Jalapeño

Ah, the super bowl. The best snack-eating, commercial-watching, couch-potato-ing day of the year! Oh yeah, and the football too. I'm not a huge sports fan, if you couldn't tell, but I mean no disrespect. There absolutely is something electric about game day that draws even the non sports-watchers in. For me, there is a certain level of excitement and camaraderie about it that I miss from watching games with my dad growing up. If nothing else, it's fun to hang out with good friends, eat yummy snacks, and pretend to be part of the sports community for a day. This year I'll be eating these delicious cauliflower poppers and rooting for whichever team my dad is rooting for - it's my little nod to him - love you, dad! I hope you'll give these a try and let me know what you think!

Roasted Yams & Orange Slices with Ginger, Garlic, and Honey

I've been mentally chewing on this recipe for a while now. I knew I wanted to do something with yams and oranges ever since my mom told me that she secretly adds a splash of orange juice to her candied yams at Thanksgiving - sorry for spilling the beans, mom! Her candied yams are usually the highlight of the Thanksgiving meal for me, so I knew it would be a winning combo from the start. What I didn't know was what the heck else to add. I bought the yams and oranges and watched as they sat in sadness day after day until finally I knew I needed to use them or lose them. In the end I decided to add ginger and garlic to spice things up a bit, and drizzled the whole thing with honey to kick up the natural sweetness of the yams and oranges. It turned out looking gorgeous and tasting even better. The sweet caramelization of the yams and honey mixed with pungent orange, ginger, and garlic flavors were spot on. Next time I might try adding some red pepper flakes for a bit of heat, or some cardamom for another layer of spice, or maybe I'll just leave it as is. It was pretty darn good.

Creamy Cherry Pistachio Smoothie

Mmmmmmm. Cherries. This has to be hands down the best smoothie I've ever made. It was delightfully creamy, tangy, and sweet with a distinct flavor kick from the roasted pistachios. Usually I lean toward almonds when making anything with cherries, but I'm glad I decided to switch it up a little and try something different. I also used a honey flavored Greek yogurt, which added tremendously to the creamy texture and gave a soft sweetness to combat the tang of the cherries. It was really good. I'm already thinking about making another batch!