I used the Breville Stand Mixer the first time for making Banana Nut Bread.  To start I added the sugar and shortening while slowly increasing the mixer’s speed until I reached the Cream Beat setting.  I must say the mixer is very powerful and the ingredients were completely creamed together within 20-30 seconds.

Another neat feature is the LCD screen with ten minute timer.  The timer has the capability to count up or down.  When the mixer is turned in the on position the timer automatically starts counting upwards so you don’t have to keep track, however if you’d like to mix your ingredients for a specific amount of time you can set the timer before turning the mixer on and it will count down for you and automatically shut off at zero.

After creaming the first round of ingredients I then added the nuts, eggs, bananas, baking soda and flour to mix all together.  During this process I hardly crossed the line between Fold/Knead & Light Mix on the mixer setting.  The mixing attachment I chose to use was the scraper beater.  I absolutely loved how it scraped the side of the stainless steel mixing bowl.  By using this attachment I was sure to have all the ingredients nicely mixed together with nothing left on the side of the bowl.

The final step in using the Breville Stand Mixer was cleaning it.  This step was very easy considering the mixing attachment came off without hassle and the bowl removes with ease.  I can’t wait to use the rest of the attachments and try out the higher setting when making whipped cream or meringue.

Ta-Da! My Banana Nut Bread!

Supplies You Will Need:

• 8″ x 11″ piece of paper
• Assorted colors of felt
• Chalk
• Glue
• Pencil
• Scissors (or my preference, a rotary cutter and cutting mat)
• Staple Gun
• 12″ dowel rod

Instructions:

1. Draw a large triangular flag shape on paper and cut it out. This is your pattern.
2. Place the pattern on a piece of felt and trace around it with chalk. Cut it out.
3. To decorate your pennant, draw letters or outlines of pictures (baseball, bat, football, etc.) on paper. Cut them out.
4. Place the patterns on the felt. Trace them using chalk (as above) and cut them out.
5. Glue your letters or picture cutouts to the pennant. Leave a 1/2″ space near the wide edge. You may want to decorate both sides of the pennant.
6. Wrap one side of the flag around the top of the dowel rod and use your staple gun to secure it in placThere are various ways to make pennants and depending on what age group is making them, the supplies will vary.  You could even do iron on transfers!

Have you ever made a team pennant?

FOOD

You must have food and I found a huge list of delicious football food, over at My Wooden Spoon, that will keep you out of the kitchen and enjoying the game yourself!

You need drink cups, napkins, and plates. I found some official NFL plates and napkins for my team, the Dallas Cowboys, for $2 bucks. Now that’s budget friendly and eliminates the dreaded dish-washing!  I also saw a cool football field runner online!! That would be a hoot to have. You could do a bean bag toss using that runner!

GAMES

Before the party, head to the store and get some prizes for the halftime games.

• Footballs
• Pennants (or make your own pennant)
• Team clothing (jersey, caps, t-shirts)

Prepare your game list and any items you might need to play them. Here are some of my favorite games to play before the game starts and during halftime.

• Football tossing contest– Much like the ones you see at the carnivals. You can use a hoola hoop or something smaller and see who can make it through the circle, and how many times (like xx out of 10 shots).
• Football Charades– Divide your teams and give each team 5 word cards that you already prepared. Everyone takes their turn, acting otu the word and trying to get their team to answer correctly. Most correct guessed words wins. Here are a few charade words to get you started.

1. cheerleader
2. helmet
3. football
4. touchdown
5. referee
6. coach
7. team
8. field goal
9. beer
10. buffalo wings

• Just like the baby shower favorite, ‘don’t say baby’, you can use the same game method but instead of baby, you can’t say “football”. What’s fun about this one is that you can get your kiddos or friends to make little footballs with double sided tape on the back of them and every time someone says “football”, they get a football on their chest. The person with the least amount of footballs on their chest, wins!
• And finally, try having a cheerleading competition. You can do with this kids but I have to say, it’s mighty funny once the beer is flowing among the adults. This game requires a few pom-poms made from crepe paper and sticky-tape (or bought from your local store), and lots of creativity. Players split into groups of 3 or 4, and have 10-15 minutes to devise, choreograph and perform a cheer-leading routine. Three people not participating act as judges, and give each routine a score out of 5. The group earning the highest score are the cheerleading champions.

What tips and ideas do you have for throwing a fun football/super bowl party?

1. Add cut up strawberries to your cereal. Strawberries are usually sweet and if cut up you may not even notice you’re eating them.
2. Use applesauce instead of oil when baking. Always check if this substitution will work. It usually works best when baking muffins.
3. Freeze grapes and then eat them. A whole bowl of them. Now tell me that you don’t like grapes.
4. Use a dip with apples, bananas, pineapple, melons, etc. You can make your own low fat dip using a sugar substitute, low fat yogurt and Lite Cool Whip.
5. Drink real juices or smoothies with real fruit. Check the ingredients for fat content and sugar on the smoothies.
6. Add fruit to when cooking. For example pork chops and peaches go well together as well as pineapple and chicken.
7. Make a trail mix and include raisins, prunes and apricots.
8. Eat yogurt with real fruit or add your own fruit.
9. Instead of eating plain chocolate, eat a chocolate covered strawberry or banana. Frozen chocolate bananas taste delicious!
10. Mix in real fruit juice with seltzer water instead of drinking soda. You’ll get the fizz and sweetness that you crave.

As you continue to include fruit using the above tips – through substitution, blending or mixing into foods you enjoy or trying them in new ways, begin to open your taste buds to trying the flavors of the fruit. You may be surprised to find that you do like them. Try unique fruits, like guava, star fruit, mangoes, kiwis, etc. You may find something more enjoyable. Experiment and add salt to slices of watermelon, add a slice of melon to a sandwich, do what you like!

Do you hide fruit in your cooking or snacks? Is there an unusual way that you like to eat fruit?

1. Buy a Battery Recharging Station. Toss those alkaline batteries!! A onetime investment of $40 bucks on a good recharging station, can save you as much $100 a year.
2. Close Closet Doors. Lower your heating/cooling bill by closing closet doors and doors along the exterior walls. If you have a room that isn’t used often, consider closing the vent to that room all together and only open it when when you plan to use.
3. Use a Smart Strip. Did you know that 3/4 of the energy that electronics burn is consumed while the equipment is off? It was a shock to me too. Plug them into a smart strip and when they are turned off, the smart strip automatically shuts down power until you turn them on again, saving you a possible $200+ a year.
4. Use a Laptop. Since it runs on batteries, you’ll be using 80% less electricity than a desktop. Plus, you can relax on the sofa.
5. Shop at Whitefence.com. It’s like Travelocity but for electric, phone, and cable services. You simply enter your zip code to find the best deal in your area. Could be big savings!
6. Use your Microwave. It consumes half the power of a stove and doesn’t heat up the house. A BIG plus for us since we have poor insulation.
7. Make your Own Cleaning Solutions. What do you think they used back before all these fancy cleaners? Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find that is much cheaper and just as effective.
8. Under-sink Water Filter. Install one. Why under the sink? To avoid a bulky head on your faucet.
9. Shorten your Dryer-vent Hose. Disconnect it and vacuum it out to rid of dust bunnies and anything that might be blocking a steady flow. Trip the hose down as much as possible. It makes your dryer run more efficiently.
10. Install a Shower Timer. Great for a kid’s bathroom but worth installing in all showers. Just set your shower timer for 5 or 10 minutes, conserving water which can save you $200+ a year.

Do you have any tips to share for cutting household costs?