Creamy Avocado Dip

I'm a dip kinda gal...I love salsa, sour cream, hummus, guacamole, ranch and the list goes on!

When I saw this dip I knew I'd love it.

*Greek Yogurt - YUM

*Avocado - YUM

*Garlic - YUM

*Lime - YUM

Seriously? How can you go wrong with those ingredients?

Here's where I got the idea: Link. 

We enjoyed our dip with black-bean/corn oven quesadillas

What I ended up doing was a tad different but still delicious - here's what I did....

Creamy Avocado Dip
inspired by TwoPeasAndTheirPod.com

Ingredients: 
1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt
2 Avocados, peeled and pitted
1 Clove Garlic, grated
2 Tablespoon fresh Lime Juice
1 teaspoon fresh Lime Zest
1/4 teaspoon Cumin

DO IT: 

1. Mix everything in your food processor (or blender) till almost smooth. I like to leave a little texture to mine.

2. ENJOY!

*Don't forget the lime juice - or your avocados beautiful green may turn to a non-appealing brown.
*Other add-in ideas: Jalapeños, Cilantro, Purple Onions

**I bought jalapeños specifically for this dip and guess what....I forgot them! So, if you're not a jalapeño person the dip is still AWESOME sans peppers. Next time I'm totally adding 'em in though.

Kid Plate - I wish my plate had little sections! 

This dip is perfect for chips, quesadillas, on tacos, burritos, or anything else that's dip-able! 

Jalapeño-Bacon Cheese Ball!

Wow. Make this.

If you like bacon (who doesn't??) and if you like cheese (again...who doesn't??) then you need to get this in your mouth ASAP.

For Easter yesterday I brought a Jalapeño-Bacon Cheese Ball with some fancy crackers to add to the appetizer spread.

It was my first attempt at a cheese ball. I thought it looked easy enough and had a cool presentation...plus I got to make a sphere! I was a little 'type-A/perfectionist' with the whole sphere deal...and it paid off! Finally - all my PLAYDOH skills were put to good use - I knew they'd come in handy someday!

Jalapeño-Bacon Cheese Ball
Adapted from BrownEyedBaker

Ingredients 
8 ounces cream cheese - room temp
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6-7 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
2-3 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
1 garlic cloves, grated
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon garlic powder

In a bowl, mix together cream cheese, cheddar, bacon, jalapeños, grated garlic, parsley and cumin.

I started with a spoon and quickly realized this wasn't going to cut it....I re-washed my hands extra good and got in there! Mix 'er up really well and then use your mad playdoh skills to form it into a perfect sphere.

On a big plate mix your pecans and garlic powder. ROLL your sphere around in the pecans - slightly pressing them in as your turn it.

Lay your beautiful-nut-covered-sphere on a piece of plastic wrap and wrap it up. CHILL for at least an hour (more if possible) to set.

ENJOY spread on some crackers! 

Notes:

*I BAKE my bacon in the oven - by far the best method! 

*I baked 12 pieces of bacon....and then ate 1/2 of them. Leaving me with the perfect amount. Totally planned. Or not... I like bacon. 

*I used 2 BIG jalapeños...I'm sure 3 normal/small peppers would work too! 

*I have a sweet microplane tool I use to grate my garlic...highly recommend it! If you don't have one you could easily chop the garlic too. 

*When not devouring the cheese ball store in the fridge. 

You're Welcome. 

Food in Review (week 9)

So, I'm a little late in the game but here's what I fed my crew last week!

SUNDAY: Oven Tacos with Rice

I've linked to this before...here it is. We LOVE this method of hard shell tacos! They don't fall apart. They stay nice and crunchy. They all come out of the oven at the SAME time -- no major assembly required! We also love how you can customize them to your liking. This last time I loaded mine with fresh avocado...MMMMmmm.

Photo from Recipe website

MONDAY: Santa Fe Beans and Rice with Chips

Another WIN for a meat-less meal! I like to try and have at least one meal per week without meat to help the budget and this one will definitely be making regular visits on our menu.

Here's the recipe I followed. I did a few modifications -- here's what I did different:

*instead of sour cream I used Greek Yogurt.
*instead of brown rice I used Jasmine Rice.
*instead of baking it in a casserole dish I used my Pie Pan (and it looked super cute!)

Photo from Recipe website 

Like I said - we loved this meal. I'm making it tonight and serving it wrapped in tortillas. Mmmm I'm drooling...

TUESDAY: Bourbon Chicken with Rice and Broccoli (crock pot) 

Good Ole Crock Pot helped me out this day! I love that I can get everything set in the morning and come dinner time I have a delicious meal waiting for me.

Here's the recipe I used. I doubled the sauce to have extra for over the rice. The recipe doesn't say to use the crock pot but I did - and it worked beautifully. So, if you don't have hours to let it hang in the crock pot use the stovetop method.

Photo from Recipe website. 

I steamed some broccoli and made some rice to round out this meal.

WEDNESDAY: Chicken Fajitas 

I made up the chicken in my crock pot with some classic fajitas seasonings: cumin, chili powder, garlic, and I accidentally (ha!) put some cinnamon in there (I thought it was cumin and then I realized....) --- side note: cinnamon on chicken with those other flavors ROCK. It was actually really good! Who knew.

Right before dinner I chopped up some bell peppers and onions to sauté on the stove top. Pair this with some rice and you have an easy dinner! We wrapped and rolled our fillings in a soft tortilla and ate away.

THURSDAY:  Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Carrots

I'm a broken record I know. I've done this meal before...a lot. We love it. It's good homestyle cooking! Can't go wrong with a delicious turkey meatloaf and classic mashed potatoes and those super sweet roasted carrots. 

Photo from Recipe Website

A friend of mine gave me the tip to bake my meatloaf in muffin tins to speed up the baking time and make them little individual sized! I ran with that concept and formed my meat into big meatballs and baked them in the oven (I lined my baking dish with foil so I would have less cleanup). 

I was feeling a little crazy with my mashed potatoes and stirred in some roasted red pepper HUMMUS while mashing them.

Verdict? Delish. It added some nice color and some spectacular flavor! 

We all know how obsessed I am with roasting my carrots. I love 'em.

Photo from Recipe website 

FRIDAY: PARTY! 

We celebrated my Grandma's 73rd birthday this day! We all worked together and created quite the spread of Asian dishes. My personal contribution wasn't that Asian though...I was in charge of FRUIT. Gotta have fruit. Especially with the amount of kids we have at those gatherings! I brought Pineapple and Strawberries. 

Speaking of Pineapple....check out this SWEET gadget I scored at Target the other day! 

It's a nifty little contraption that cores the pineapple and slices it is perfect rings! Depending how hard or soft you push on the handle dictates how thick or thin your slices will be. I used it last night (pineapple with turkey burgers? yum) and it was soooo handy to have perfect slices to go on our burgers! 

Best thing? $9.99 at Target. I adore fresh pineapple but am horrible at getting the fruit out. Win in my book.

There ya have it folks....Happy Cooking! 

Food in Review (week 7)

This past week was semi-boring on the food front....and I'm cool with that. Busy weeks call for fool-proof food and that's what this week *almost* was. I say almost because I tried something new - that looked super easy and fun - and it was a total FLOP. Ah well. You win some...and you lose some.

SUNDAY: Chicken Fried Rice 

I used leftover chicken and leftover rice for this weekend meal. I get a rush out of trying to use EvErYtHiNg in my fridge/freezer/pantry to get my money's worth. This meal was just that! Using leftover (cooked) chicken and leftover rice as my base this meal was easy to throw together in minimal time.

Ingredients: 
*Leftover Rice
*Leftover Chicken (I shredded mine with forks)
*Frozen Peas
*Soy Sauce
*Ginger
*Eggs

Do it:
*Fry your chicken in some oil (I used vegetable this time)
*Add your rice in
*Pour soy sauce and sprinkle a little ginger (I never measure here...go by the look and smell)
*Add a few handfuls of peas and keep on frying....
*Move everything over to the side (or remove from the pan if your pan is small) and scramble your eggs (I used 3 this time)
*Mix all together gently and EAT!

MONDAY: Pineapple Ham, Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Carrots

Sounds involved but it wasn't at all.

I put my ham in my trustworthy Crock Pot in the early afternoon with a can of crushed pineapple and a handful of brown sugar on top. It hung out in there for about 3-4 hrs on LOW (you don't want your ham to fall apart...eww).

During nap/rest time I peeled and chopped everything (while balancing my phone on my shoulder and socializing! Take that multi-tasking!) I peeled/sliced my carrots and peeled/chopped my potatoes.

I learned this sweet trick (via Pinterest of course!) to put your chopped potatoes in a pot with water (like you're going to boil them) in the FRIDGE until you're ready to actually make them. This way the potatoes don't get all brown and gross...but they're all chopped and ready to roll when you are!

About 45 min before dinner I started my tators and threw my carrots in the oven. Remember last week how I said we discovered roasting them? Yep. I'm obsessed. They're soooo good. I like to roast them with a sprinkle of thyme....Mmmmm.

After dinner I packed up our leftovers and smiled knowing they'll be put to good use later (I planned on leftovers and had them incorporated in some of the meals later in the week).

TUESDAY: **FAIL** Fried Mashed Potato Balls with Salad

I was so excited to try this recipe!  I specifically planned mashed potatoes for Monday so I could make these little fried goodies with the leftovers....

Picture from recipe website - aren't they cute?

....and they didn't work at all:(

Who knows. Maybe my mashed potatoes were too creamy? Maybe my oil too hot? Ugh. All I know is that I put a batch of them in my oil and they fell apart. Completely. I fished out the remnants and tried again after tweaking the temp....same result.

Cue calling hubby..."Ummmm dinner kinda flopped....can you pick something up? I have a salad"

So he did. And saved dinner. Thanks Man.

WEDNESDAY: Double Stuffed Potatoes and Ham

Double stuffed potatoes - there's a story behind these....

....years ago I met a guy. I liked this guy. I couldn't cook very well. Said guy was coming over for dinner and I wanted to make something to wow him (remember...I liked him) so I made DOUBLE STUFFED POTATOES. And it worked:) He liked the potatoes. And me. Proof of that is sparkling on my ring finger! Now, when I make these I always remember the first meal I made him *sigh*....

The wonderful thing about these -- they are SUPER easy and look SUPER fancy.

Double Stuffed Potatoes
*Potatoes
*Sour Cream
*Milk
*Green Onions - chopped
*Cheese - shredded

-Bake your potatoes (either in the oven or crock pot)
-Slice in half (like boats) and scoop out insides - set scooped insides in a bowl
-mash/mix potato insides with some sour cream, little milk, shred cheese and green onions (like making mashed potatoes)
-Line up your empty 'boats' on a baking sheet and fill 'em up full with your loaded mashed potatoes
-Top with more cheese
-BAKE 350* 20-30 min till top is beautiful and crispy

**Face palm** I never took a pic. Shame. When Joe loaded his plate he looked and me, winked and reminded me of the time I made these for him years ago...*sigh*...

I served these with our leftover ham from Monday. Gotta put my leftovers to good work!

THURSDAY: Egg Bake

Not sure what normal peeps call this - but I dub it an 'egg bake'. Easy. Fast. Cheap. Love.

Egg Bake: 
*Hash-browns (any cut - I used shredded this time but it's equally as delish with cubed)
*Meat (I used cubed ham this time - sausage works well too!)
*EGGS (8-10)
*Cheese
*Milk
*Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Salt/Pepper, Oregano

Assemble ("Avengers -- Assemble!!" Yep. I live with 4 boys.) 
*Put your potatoes in a big bowl
*In a medium bowl whisk your eggs with a splash of milk and your seasoning (like making scrambled eggs)
*Mix Eggs in with potatoes and add in meat. Stir well.
*Pour into 9x13 SPRAYED pan (I've also used a pie pan...looks fancy)
*Top with a handful of cheese
*BAKE 350* COVERED 30-40 min then 10 min UNcovered till nice and brown on top. (and not jiggly on the inside...no one likes jiggly eggs).

FRIDAY: Chili 

This was a busy day. Calls for an easy - no fuss meal.

Cue crock pot chili! 

I've mentioned before my non-recipe chili method. I dump a little of this and that and walk away. Haven't made a bad batch yet! This time I made a ground turkey chili.

Crock Pot Chili
*Meat (ground beef, ground turkey, shredded chicken, etc...)
*Diced Tomatoes
*Tomato Paste
*Onions
*Garlic
*Chili Powder, Cumin, Oregano
*Black Beans (or any kind you like)
*Corn

*Prepare your choice of meat.
*Mix remaining ingredients in your crock and stir in meat. Set for HIGH 2-4 hrs or LOW 6 hrs.
*Walk away.
*Serve with shredded cheese and chopped green onions on top!

Sooooo.....sorry about the basically picture-less post. Remember how I said it was a busy week? Well, I guess busy translates to lack of pictures. Good to know.

This week should be a little more sane. Hopefully resulting in a more interesting picture-full post next time! Ha.

Over and Out. Happy Cooking. 

Ethan the Chef

I promised you a story about my little chef....promise delivered. Read on and enjoy the warm fuzzy's you'll feel from the massive amount of cuteness I'm about to throw at you...

So - my smart Kindergartener E recently created a 'cookbook' of sorts. He was flipping through a SpiderMan coloring/activity book of his and got super excited when he found a recipe in there. Then he found another - then another. These exciting discoveries were the first of many entries in his 'cookbook'. We ripped out the super-hero recipes (Think: SpiderMan Stromboli and Sandman Slushy), put them in page protectors and secured them in a handy-dandy folder (you know - those sweet ones with the metal clips inside?). E also found recipes he liked in random cooking magazines, ripped them out and put 'em in page protectors.

Then one day while I was cooking, E got the idea that he wanted to CREATE a recipe of his own.

So he did.

And it was awesome.

In the morning we (E and I) sat down and wrote the recipe. He drew the picture and dictated the steps to me (which I wrote word-for-word of course!) - said recipe went in a page protector and into the ever-growing cookbook folder.

*This is the recipe for Darth Vador Pizza* 

When lunchtime rolled around E proclaimed that he was going to make us lunch! Yes, please.

He started with cutting up mozzarella cheese with his knife...

**did I make you nervous?? It's a butter knife I promise**

He ripped up some delicious salami (I was too busy staring in awe that he was making me food and forgot to take a picture -- I'm sure you can imagine it).

Then he laid out the crescent rolls in triangles and topped them with his meat and cheese...

And then into the OVEN it went! E made it very clear to me that I had to do that part since it was HOT. Smart kid I tell ya. 

As his little Darth Vador Pizza's were cooking away, E went digging in the fridge to find something to go with it. As a result of his searching the DARTH MAUL SALAD was born. 

*Mmmmmm veggies*

Carrots, celery, sweet peppers and cherry tomatoes were the ingredients Chef E combined for our salad. I love that he didn't put lettuce in...lettuce in a salad? Sooooo expected. 

Beep. Beep. Pizza's done! 

Ethan plated up our lunch and enthusiastically explained to us what we were about to enjoy:

Darth Vador Pizza 

Darth Maul Salad

R2D2 Oranges

And you know what? It was really good! 

Thanks E for the great lunch! Can't wait to taste your next new recipe :) 

Black Bean and Corn Salad

I first made this recipe for a Christmas party and got wonderful reviews! Everyone that has tasted it so far has fallen in love with it - as have I! I have eaten it plain; with tortilla chips; on top of chicken; in a quesadilla; and am currently thinking of more ways to enjoy it! It is so simple to make yet jam packed with flavors and textures! hmmm. And healthy to top it off!

Black Bean and Corn Salad
*Rachael Ray; recipe from foodnetwork.com; photo from Food Network
-1 can, 14 ounces, black beans, rinsed and drained
-2 cups frozen corn kernels
-1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
-1/2 red onion, chopped
-1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
-1 lime, juiced
-2 Tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
-salt and pepper
-2 tsp hot sauce (optional) - I haven't added this to mine yet.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Let stand for at least 15 minutes for corn to fully defrost and flavors to combine, then toss and serve. The corn will also place a quick chill on this easy side-salad as it defrosts -- no need to refrigerate!

I just brought this to a baby-shower this afternoon and everyone loved it! Not all of it got eaten so I was able to bring some leftovers home...yeah for us! I'm off to enjoy some now....

Thanksgiving Cranberry Goodness...

Happy Thanksgiving!

We went to my grandparents for dinner and we each brought something to share - my contribution: orange-cranberry relish. yummmmmm. It was absolutely delish atop the turkey - now I want 3rds! (1st for lunch, then 2nd for dinner) I got the idea to jazz up your normal cranberry sauce from Rachael Ray - thanks Rach!

Here's how I did it:
12 oz bag of fresh whole cranberries
1 C water
1 C sugar
zest of 1 orange

boil sugar and water in a pot
add fresh cranberries and bring back to boil
reduce heat and boil lightly for about 10 minutes (or until cranberries pop)
move to a glass dish and cool to room temperature
(after cooled) stir in the zest of one orange
EAT EAT AND EAT SOME MORE!

I put my relish on my turkey, mashed potatoes, and anything else on my fork. It was the perfect combo of cranberry and orange....oh.so.good.

This was my first time working with fresh cranberries; a little intimidated -yes...but it was worth it! Yummy yummy in my tummy:)