This post was sponsored by Heluva Good! Dip as part of an Influencer Activation, like always, all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
So chips and dips… I will use any portal necessary to get the biggest bite from my dip, anyone else with me on this???
I’m proud of my snacking skills, my hosting abilities, and how HUMBLE I sound right now haha I’m also really passionate about working with companies that are philanthropic. You’ve seen me talk about this during the release of my Gift Guides this month so you’ll understand why I’m proud to have teamed up with Heluva Good! Dips and Walmart today!
I love that we’re helping to raise awareness about 1) their delicious dips and 2) ’tis the season of giving and Heluva Good! Dip will be donating a portion of sales to Toys for Tots that will run through the remainder of the year. I mean, talk about my two favorite things teaming up … spreading dips and spreading joy.
Dips make for delicious snacks perfect for anytime aka when everyone is waiting for dinner to be made this holiday season, just set out some chips (and some pita, oh and some crackers too) and Heluva Good! Dips for them. This is a for sure crowd pleaser every time!
Easy snacking, a time to gather around the table and catch up with friends and family, chips and dip are nostalgic for me. During this time of year when we can’t be with our families due to the pandemic, it’s so wonderful to have some tradition here at home. My mom always had her favorites in the fridge and can you guess what it was? French Onion! That’s my go-to flavor as well, it’s so creamy and SO yummy.
If you’re passionate about benefitting great causes and supporting brands that are like minded, please join me in purchasing your Heluva Good! Dip at Walmart or Walmart.com (pssst available for pick up or Walmart grocery delivery) and help donate to Toys for Tots this month. How convenient and wonderful it is to do some good, simply by purchasing something your family will enjoy while helping to make someone else’s holiday just as wonderful.
It’s a Heluva Holiday to give back … see what I did there? 😉
Happy holidays from me and mine to you and yours <3
Love it or leave it Valentine’s Day is this Sunday and there’s been a flood of holiday themed treats and DIY posts. Who am I to stop the momentum? We’re celebrating Galentine’s Day today so grab your favorite gal pals, a bubbly drink, and lets start baking!
Today’s menu includes frosted cinna-hearts, pita heart-wiches, and a dessert skewer … not in the shape of a heart. See, we’re themed! Hearts everywhere!
For your frosted hearts you’ll need one package of cinnamon rolls and some sprinkles!
Unravel the cinnamon bun and split it into two halves and then shape the two into a heart!
Bake per the directions on the packaging and then drizzle the frosting over top and sprinkle with ALL the sprinkles!
These pita heart-wiches are super easy and super yummy! Just take 2 pitas and layer them up with turkey, cheese, cucumber, or whatever your favorite fillings are. Then cut them up and enjoy! They’re especially enjoyable when you use a heart shaped cookie cutter!
I sliced a few of these in half which made them look like broken hearts, which still tasted delicious AND fit the theme of my next post ‘the achy-breaky Valentine’.
The macaroons were from Trader Joe’s and after you thaw them out it’s as if you picked them up fresh from the bakery! Salted caramel is my favorite!
For the dessert skewers just take a paper straw (I got these from the dollar store) and stack your favorite pastries, alternating between them. I chose snickerdoodles and blueberry muffins! Almond milk and another straw for sipping and we were set!
That red glowing drink you see in the background is cherry-cranberry juice spiked with our favorite vodka!
I hope this inspires you to enjoy a holiday with your friends, Valentine’s day ins’t just for lovers! It’s a day to celebrate all the loves! If you really don’t feel like celebrating and you just hate the holiday all together, then I have a post for you on Sunday (yes ON Valentine’s Day, see what I did there) with menu items like Bleeding Heart Brownies and Sour Cherry Puckers, so stay tuned for that!
Here is my most recent video, our first installment of Pinterest DIY-Not! I made Melt My Marshmallow treats and Cherry Whiskey Smashes! They were just as delicious and they sound!
Do you have any plans for Valentine’s Day? A Galentine’s day celebration perhaps? Share with me your plans so we can all live vicariously through one another and P.S. if you aren’t Subscribed to me on YouTube please do, I post videos twice a week! See, so much sharing! xx
I once joined a fantasy football league just so that I could bring goodies and have gigglefests with my friends. As I began to pick my lineup based solely upon how “cute” I thought the players names were, I also realized that it was a BIG deal! So I decided to redeem myself by giving you 3 of the most yummiest best game day recipes ever! Even if you are only there for the food and fun, at least you’ll be contributing by way of deliciousness! Enjoy babies!
DESSERT PIZZA! A crowd pleaser and worthy of any occasion really, this ‘pizza’ takes 10 minutes to make and will be gone even quicker than that!
You’ll need:
– a small package of strawberries and blueberries
– (1) 8oz package of softened cream cheese
– 2 cups of Reddi-wip whipped topping
– 2 teaspoons sugar
– 2 tablespoons honey
– 2 tablespoons minced basil
– 1 crescent roll dough
Method:
Bake the ‘pizza’ crust per the instructions and while it’s baking cream together the whipped topping, honey, and cream cheese. In a separate bowl chop up the strawberries and blueberries, add in the sugar, and toss. Allow the pizza to cool, top it with the whipped cream cheese mixture, spread the berries on top and then sprinkle with the basil. ENJOY!
COCONUT CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH HOMEMADE SPICY PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE!
What you’ll need for the skewers:
– 5 boneless chicken breasts
– 1 can coconut milk
– 1/4 cup soy sauce
Method: cut the chicken into chunks and marinate for a few hours in a bowl with the coconut milk and soy sauce. You have time for the peanut sauce now!
– 1/4 cup Peter Pan creamy peanut butter
– 1/3 cup sweet and sour sauce
– 3/4 cup water
– 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
– 1 1/2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
Once you’re ready to grill the skewers brown them until fully cooked and then combine the peanut sauce ingredient in a bowl and whisk together and ENJOY!
CHILI CHEESE DIP!
An oldie but goodie, this is a crowd favorite! I don’t think I’ve ever been to a sports gathering and not had a cheese dip or layered dip of some kind. This is spicy, creamy, and cheesy!
What you’ll need:
– a bag of your favorite chips (I love blue corn tortilla chips!)
– (1) 16 oz Velveeta cheese
– 1 can of vegetarian chili (or you can go with turkey or ground beef)
– 1 can of diced tomatoes with chilies
– paprika
Method: Cut the cheese into chunks and in a pot add in the cheese, chili, and drained can of tomatoes. Stir the mixture up over medium low heat until the cheese is melted and then sprinkle with a few dashes of paprika! DIP AND ENJOY!
If ever you invite me to your party or you see me out at an event, you’ll most likely find me near the snack table or food cart 😀
Do you have any special game day recipes?! I love trying new things, share with me what you like to bring to a cookout or game day gathering!
Today’s the day of green pancakes, green beer, pinching, and Irish kisses! In honor of my partial heritage … I’m half Irish ya know … I decided I’d make some shortbread yumminess with a twist of holiday, and a festive mason jar that you can give away or keep for yourself!
If ever you needed a reason to drench everything in whiskey, here’s your chance.
Notice the bottle of Jameson, it’s drunk and should go home, but before I get into the debauchery of our dessert dish, I’ll share with your my St. Patrick’s day munchie filled mason jar! I got this festive jar at Target for $0.99, yes under a dollar for this cuteness and I filled it with the world’s softest and most sugary sprinkled cookies I could find because, time saver.
Keep it for yourself or take it in to work or school and give it to someone as a gift, a sort of Valentine’s Day-esque kind of exchange and it’ll be sure to make them smile … I mean, it’s a sugar cookie! 😀
Moving on to the drunken story part of it all, these are Drunken Leprechaun Balls, I got the recipe from Pinterest and it’s rich like a fudge and creamy … like a shortbread dipped in powdered sugar and drenched in whiskey would be. Side note, these cookies are not minor friendly, you don’t cook the alcohol out at all, in fact you can really taste the whiskey in them which is awesome for adult whiskey lovers, not so awesome for 21<ers.
The taste of these reminded me of Italian wedding cookies except less crunchy and more tipsy! I’m sure you can make these without the alcohol, perhaps a sugary substitute or milk would work? Turn to Google if you want to recreate these for your family or the work place and let me know how they turn out! P.S. yes that would be a light up four leaf clover necklace, because why be at a bar if you can’t glow in the dark.
To see me make these live and in action, here is the video on my YouTube channel! Please Subscribe if you haven’t, more recipes to come on our Pinterest DIY-not series 😀
I hope you have a happy and safe holiday, as a mom it’s my duty to tell you not to drink and drive and to not let your friends do it either, so I’ll step off my soap box now and give you a half Irish green hug. Green like the color not green like the clean.
What are you doing today or this weekend to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Do you have a tradition like green pancakes or green beer? Let me know xx
When I hear ‘Netflix and chill’, my ideal scenario looks a lil something like a bottle of vino, a cheese platter, assorted chocolates, and a rom com. Yes a romance comedy y’all! Not necessarily my fiancé’s idea of the phrase but hey, today is all about how to properly Girl’s Night!
Step 1: Call up all your best girls (or text, who even calls anymore)
Step 2: Stock up on your go to beverage … I either grab for vodka or wine and one of my favorites right now is a buttery white wine, La Crema.
Step 3: Snack time. The usual suspects are an assortment of cheeses, butter crackers, and some fruit for the wine like pomegranate seeds or blue berries! Don’t forget the chocolates, pairing wine and chocolates is one of the yummiest combinations – preferably ones with almonds in them nommms!
Step 4: Eat, drink, be merry, repeat.
Girls night, date night, time by myself to read or draw, this combination is hands down my preferred method of winding down the day … I mean cheese and wine! All your missing is the bread and ice-cream!
What is your favorite snack/beverage combo for a Netflix and chill night? You can never have too many treats to choose from!
It’s super bowl Sunday!!! Cheers to your home team, your parties and all the celebrations! Make these dishes for your party and they’re sure to be crowd pleasers! Here are two of the most loved dishes of the day…of any game day really; the burger and the dip! [this is a tee shirt slogan in the making]
So I took the traditional burger recipe and teamed it up with a recipe I got off of self.com- threw in some secret ingredients of my own, and created a “stacked bison burger atop a toasted brioche bun, and layered with spicy aioli and smoked bacon”!!! Now THAT’S the right way to burger!
I added in some fresh cilantro, avocado slices, and pepper jack cheese!
But wait, there’s more! I didn’t stop at the bison burger, oh no… I took it further and stepped up my dip making game! I tried (for the 3rd time) to make my friend Michelle’s famous buffalo chicken dip! It’s delicious, it’s delicious, it’s…. delicious!
I don’t know if you can tell from the photo, but that red layer you see on top is Frank’s Red Hot! It MAKES the dip! I totally evened out the healthy to unhealthy ratio by using organic tortilla chips also!
For the bison burger you’ll need:
1 pound of ground bison meat (I used grass fed bison from Wholefoods)
half of a medium white onion- finely chopped
1 tsp coconut oil
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 cup soy sauce
fresh ground pepper
4 brioche buns (or opt for your favorite low carb bread)
spicy aioli (recipe to follow)
avocado
pepper jack cheese
uncured, nitrate free, smoked bacon
The method: In one skillet cook your bacon slices. In another skillet heat up the coconut oil and saute the onions. Toss the onions in with the bison meat, along with the ginger, soy sauce, ground pepper, garlic powder, and roll into patties. Cook to your liking on an un-greased skillet and set aside.
Melt some grass fed butter on a pan and place the brioche buns face down on the pan until they are golden brown and crispy. Remove and top with spicy aioli, the bison burger, bacon, cilantro, avocado and cheese! Enjoy!
For the aioli:
1/3 cup mayo (I used the Ojai Cook brand made with cage free eggs, free of hydrogenated oils, and organic)
1-2 teaspoons sriracha sauce or your favorite hot sauce (depending on how hot you want it)
garlic powder to taste
Mix it all together in a small bowl and serve it up on your toasted brioche buns!
Michelle’s famous buffalo chicken dip! What you’ll need:
1 1/2 cup cubed chicken
9-12 oz Franks Red Hot (psst, this is a hot sauce NOT a sausage brand….errr I made this mistake on try 1)
3/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 (8oz) cream cheese – cubed
1 cup bleu cheese dressing
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
The method: Cook the chicken and add in the red hot sauce, remove from heat and toss in the celery, cream cheese, bleu cheese, and pour into a 9×13 in. pan. Top with the cheddar cheese and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Enjoy with your favorite tortilla chip!
I hope you enjoy your game day and tag me in any food posts so I can see what you’re making for your party! Cheers to winning! We.are.all.winners.here.
Hello! I hope your week is going amazingly! I have some exciting things for you. Yes YOU! So I’m super excited to announce that I’ll be hosting another Twitter Party ahhhh!!! Yes I’m a pro now at this Twitter Live thing! This time I’m bringing on some friends to host with me! My amazingly hilarious and talented friends Nikki Limo and Sean Klitzner will both be joining me and we’re so excited to get to chat with you all!
So the prizes given will be:
(1) Samsung Galaxy S5 phone
(1) Samsung Galaxy Note 4
(1) Miroir portable projector
(1) Portable Speakers
(1) $500 AT&T Gift card
(1) Portable phone charger
The Twitter party will take place next Wednesday, November 19th at 5pm PST (two games are on this day and we’ll get a chance to talk about it!) So mark your calendars! We’ll talk about the game, tailgating, and of course #Techgating and how you’re implementing tech into your game day! I mean I did share all of my hostess secrets with you all in my last video (click here if you haven’t seen it). I really want everyone to partake in our party so I’m so happy to announce that we have SIX amazing prizes to give to you all during the event, all courtesy of our sponsors @AT&T @FanForAll! Yes you’re correct, that is another form of love. Gifts=love. Makes sense.
I mean whoa! Pretty awesome right?! So all you have to do to enter for a chance to win one of these rad prizes is sign up for our Twitter Party in the form I’ve provided below. You’ll list your ‘name’ as your Twitter handle (i.e. @jess_lizama) and your URL as your Twitter web address (i.e. http://twitter.com/jess_lizama). Leave us a comment after you’ve signed up I love responding to comments.
You’ll have to be RSVP’d to the Twitter Party in order to be eligible to win, and at the end of the party we’ll DM all of the winners for their information. You’re going to want to participate in our party where we’ll be asking you some fun questions, challenging you to participate in some fun interactive games, and testing your DIY skills! Just kidding, no but really what are you making for your game day? Perhaps a recipe from my #Techgating party? (hint hint). The games will be a lot of fun, you’ll be sharing with us your game day parties, how you’re techgating and implementing tech into your game day, all while entering for a chance to win these amazing prizes listed above.
Be sure to use our hashtag #Techgating so we can see all of your responses. Be sure to follow myself, Nikki (@NikkiLimo), Sean (@SeanKlitzner) and AT&T Fan For All (@FanForAll) so you’re sure to be included in all of our conversations. I’ll be passing some questions and games over to them during the party so you won’t want to miss out!
I really can’t wait to chat with you all, check out all of your photos from your game day, see your game faces (literally), and give you some cool prizes that we teamed up with @FanForAll to send you home with! So please RSVP below, follow us all on Twitter, and use that hashtag! Easy like 1, 2, 3!!!! Ready set go! 😀 Cheers and I can’t wait to chat with you all LIVE! All the hugs, Jess
Why yes, my title would make an amazing hashtag! Sooo if you know me personally then you KNOW I’ll take any reason to get dressed up and host a shindig of my own! The football season is upon us and I may be THE walking definition of a ‘footbal noob’, but I still throw the best darn football party anyone’s ever seen! I even made a video about it, 2 of them! I’m so excited to share that I’ve teamed up with AT&T for their #TechGating campaign, which takes tailgating, technology, and social media, and marries them all together to bring you the most interactive and fun social experience, while enjoying the game! Below is a still from our shoot, it’s a sketch I wrote for my YouTube channel where I show you how to throw your very own #techgating party, while giving you all the things you’ll see and experience at every.single.tailgating.party. Ever.
I mean look at those faces. I love them, I literally have the most awesome friends who also just so happen to be L.A.’s best actors! So we filmed 2 videos in 2 days and they’re so fun! Check out my video blog here, I invited all of these lovely people back the day after we filmed my sketch and we watched the game and did some techgating of our own. Check out the video! My sketch will be out next week and I can’t wait for you to see it!!!! In the mean time, I’ll share with you some of the goodies I made for them..and you..and the video, of which you’ll see in my video blog up on my channel 😀
So techgating is tailgating, just integrating your technology- which we already do with Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook -updates and statuses. So tailgating and techgating is being brought to you in the most ultimate way- the Fan Zone Tour Truck, which will be traveling the nation, bringing fans the game while giving them awesome swag, and featuring interactive ‘stations’! Stations like the t-shirt canon, pre-gaming paparazzi, and mobile DJ! So what did I do? I recreated these fun stations in my own home (umm can you say DIY queen over here?! lol) and we filmed the party on day 1 and then we had a party of our own- watching the game on day 2 (click here to see the video on my channel). Win win!!! I love hosting parties but I really love winning and lets just say I totally won that day. Go team go! <—- I’m also a cheerleader!
Here are a few of the stations I set up in preparation of our big party!
I know what you’re thinking, ‘Jess, how did you make these awesome stations!?’. Well admittedly I am not the most enthusiastic DIY- do it yourself-er. I mean I get hot glue just everywhere. But these were all so easy to put together that I was so excited to complete them! And get this…..I didn’t glue any of my fingers together y’all! So some features you’ll find on the Fan Zone Tour truck that you can totally recreate for your own techgating party with friends among other things?
Well, I created a really fun and colorful photobooth similar to the ‘pre-gaming paparazzi’ you’ll find on the trucks. My ‘charge-ing station’ (see what I did there? Charge-ing….charge….football?…you get it) I made out of a shoe box and got really crafty with making a ‘football field’ and cutting out a place for all of the chargers to be installed, and my ‘mobile DJ’ features my phone and a speaker in a box to give you a literal DJ box! I know….so cauuutte! I’m so stinkin’ proud of these, but wait there’s more (I’m like that infomercial you can’t peel your eyes away from at 3am lol) I also made some signature foods and goodies for our party! 1st thing though, lets go over how fun you can make your photobooth!
I haven’t been to one party or event where a photobooth wasn’t present. I mean, if you don’t take a picture than it didn’t happen right?! So set up a fun photobooth and create your own hashtag so that photos from your party can be easily found! My hashtags were #LizamaPartyRama, #Jessknowsbest, and #TechGating. Why yes I do love hashtags! lol Check out those photos under the hashtags btw when you get a chance..we are ridiculous and fun! So my photobooth was a wall of metallic fringe and the most fun props evarrrrr (see below for the proof).
My charge-ing station was made out of a shoe box and I mod podg-ed (word?) some textured color paper onto it, took a wooden post and cut them into equal parts and painted them yellow to be the ‘goal posts’, and drew the lines in place onto the football field. If you cut out a small square in the front of the box, the cable can be fed through the front to charge the phone, and the charging unit itself can be hidden in the box and then plugged into the wall via the other square hole you cut into the back of the box. Now all of the wires are hidden and you have the world’s cutest charging station. Every party is in need of some jams so I created a special Fantasy Football playlist for my party and plugged it into the DJ Box which is a jewelry box from Michael’s actually, and I spray painted the outside silver, like a helmet, and then hot glued some festive stickers onto the outside. Just like most people aren’t allowed into the DJ booth at parties, no one was allowed to change my music in my DJ box! lol We had a dance party and that WILL be in the video so stay tuned. Awkward dancing is alive and well people! Here’s a closer look at the charging station I made. You have to try this! It’s so much easier than it looks!
So now that you’ve seen my awesome stations….there is one station that isn’t tangible..it’s the ‘Fight Song’ which you’ll see and oh Lordy, HEAR me perform in the video. Haha prepare your ears! Now on to the foodssss!!!
I may or may not have a passion for feeding people. I’m a mom, it’s what I do! I decked out my entire apartment to be the most fun football themed lady’s apartment you can imagine, and this is just 1/4 of the food that was waiting for my guests. Complete with finger foods, sugary goodness, traditional favorites like chicken wings, and cotton candy, and then there were some special treats I made to bump up the WOW factor…like my very own techgating signature beverage! The Lizama-party-rama fruity and fun drink, it had equal parts of coconut, pineapple, and orange juices. It was very refreshing, tropical, and totally me!
I got this chalk label at Target and it made the perfect accessory to this perfect party punch! But wait there’s more…I told you I went all out! I also made these football shortcake minis! The perfect game day dessert! It’s sweet but not too sweet, the guys loved that they didn’t need a plate to eat it haha and the ladies loved that it’s a childhood favorite! I was winning them all over, t’was the best!
These were SO yummy that it was hard to believe that it was under 5 ingredients! I took the guys favorite: the pound cake much like the taste palette of a lady finger cake, combined it with the ladies favorite- the strawberry, and macerated the berries in a mixture of 1/4 cup coconut sugar, 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint leaves, 1 cup heavy whipping cream, and the fresh juice of half a lemon. I topped them with fresh whipped cream and BAM! Best dessert ever! (see below for the full recipes)
I have to say, I don’t mean to toot my own horn but ‘Toot toot!’ lol we had such an amazing time filming for my channel and then enjoying some game time on game day. Two days with friends isn’t a bad way to spend the weekend I tell ya! Try making these recipes and DIY #techgating stations at your next party, and please let me know in the comments- what about throwing a #techgating party of your own do you think you can most easily recreate? And what do you most look forward to this football season?!
The Fan Zone Tour truck will feature all of the stations I created, so be sure to check out the site here for the schedule to see where the trucks will be at a school near you! Then you can stop on in and take some pre-gaming paparazzi photos and tag me!!!! The hashtag is #LizamaPartyRama and I’m going to pick my favorites by Thanksgiving week and send you some fun prizes! Also hashtag #Techgating so I can easily find you and others using the hashtag can share in the fun with you also!
I saved the best for last, if you want a chance to win a trip to the 2015 College Football NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP game, simply share your #TechGating photos, videos, or tips on Twitter and check out the site here for more information <3 I can’t wait to see all of your parties, your posts, and your game day recipes!
Thank you for sharing part of your day with me and I’ll see you right back here very soon!
