Mexican Caviar

I have seen a lot of variations of Mexican Caviar and I finally made one.  I love the addition of black olives to the dip since I LOVE black olives, but I think next time I will chop them up myself because I didn't like the flavor the chopped ones in a can had. 

Mexican Caviar
From: Just Jenn

Ingredients:
3 tsp olive oil
3 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp tapatio
2 roma tomatoes, diced small
1/2 cup corn
1 (7oz) can chopped black olives
1 (7oz) can chopped green chiles
1 avocado, diced small
1 clove garlic, minced
squeeze of half a lime
pinch of salt
freshly ground pepper

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, toss the diced tomatoes, corn, chopped black olives, chopped green chiles, diced avocado and garlic.

2. Mix together the olive oil and red wine vinegar, pour over all ingredients and toss. Add the Tapatio and squeeze of half a lime and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Serve immediately with Chips, but can let flavors mingle in the fridge for a few hours.

Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese

I made this to bring to my small group and tried to double the recipe, but my crock pot didn't really hold a double recipe so I had to improvise.  It turned out pretty good.  But how can you go wrong with pasta and cheese!

Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese
From: Food.com and Paula Deen
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 1/2 hours

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked pasta
4 Tbsp butter
2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
3 eggs (I omitted the eggs)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:
1. Boil past in water for six minutes.  Drain.

2. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.

3. In slow cooker, combine cheese mixture and add the eggs (I omitted the eggs), sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper.  Add the drained macaroni and stir again.

4. Cook on low for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Saute of Baby Vegetables

I made this as the side to the Strip Steak with Rosemary Red Wine Sauce.  I tweaked it a little bit but not using pattie pan squash and just using regular green beans and small carrots but it was a great compliment to the steak and quite easy.  My variation is below.

Saute of Baby Vegetables
From: gmgaston
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb haricots verts (I used regular green beans()
1 lb baby or small carrots with tops
3/4 lb purple pearl onions, peeled
4 Tbsp butter
salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions:
1. In a large heavy saute pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Add carrots and pearl onions; saute until tender.

2. Add green beans and saute for 5 additional minutes until tender crisp.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

Strip Steak with Rosemary Red Wine Sauce

I made this for our Valentines dinner (yes it is taking me a while to post things).  I added mushrooms to the recipe and it was delicious.  It reminded me of the seared sirloin with shrooms - it was quite similar.

Strip Steak with Rosemary Red Wine Sauce
From: The Food Network
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
4 boneless strip steaks (1 inch thick)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cracked black pepper
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 cup canned condensed beef broth
1/2 tsp dark-brown sugar (omit for SB Phase 1)
1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)

Directions:
1. Season steaks with salt.  Press pepper on surfaces.

2. Heat oil in large heavy skillet over high heat.  Add steaks.  Lower heat to medium; cook, turning once, 6 minutes per side for medium rare, 8 minutes per side for well-done.  Remove to warm platter, keep warm.

3. Add onion to skillet; cook until browned, stirring, 2 minutes.  Add half the rosemary, half the garlic and cook, stirring, 20 seconds.

4. Add wine, increase heat to high; boil vigorously 2 minutes (I also added mushrooms at this point).  Add broth, sugar and meat juices that have collected on platter.  Boil 10 minutes more or until liquid is reduced by half, about 1 cup.  Add remaining rosemary and garlic.  Pour over steaks and serve.

Warm Winter Chick Peas with Brussels Sprouts

This is a great easy and healthy side dish.  I made mine without bacon because I didn't have any in the house and it was still delicious.  I highly recommend it!

 

***Obviously I forgot the chickpeas, butter, pepper, nutmeg, and parmesan for the picture ***

Warm Winter Chickpeas with Brussels Sprouts
From: How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Butter
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
6-8 brussels sprouts, thinly sliced (I used more like 10)
1 can (15oz) Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 slices bacon (I omitted)
2 Tbsp Toasted pecans, Chopped
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pinch nutmeg
grated parmesan for topping

Directions:
1.  Heat large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tbsp butter.  Add mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes, or until they begin to caramelize, stirring occasionally.

2.  Add brussels with a pinch of salt and remaining butter, stirring to coat, then cook for another 5 minutes.

3.  Add Chickpeas, bacon, pecans, pepper and nutmeg, then stir and let sit for 5-6 minutes until chickpeas are warm and the flavors come together.  Serve warm with grated parmesan on top.

Easy Chocolate & Salted Caramel Mug Cake

I see a lot of different types of Mug Cakes on Pinterest and this Salted Caramel one caught my eye.  I had all the ingredients in my cupboards except the caramel, but I did have caramel sauce so I tried that.  Note to self: caramel sauce does not work the same in recipes as regular caramel.  The cake turned out great and delicious, just not much of caramel flavor as I was hoping for.  So I just drizzled caramel sauce over the cake and the ice cream I put on it!

Easy Chocolate & Salted Caramel Mug Cake
From: The Family Kitchen
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 1 min 30 sec

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg - beaten
3 Tbsp skim milk
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Salted caramels

Directions:
1. In a small bowl add: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and vegetable oil. Mix to combine.

2. Pour mixture into a regular sized coffee mug.  Drop caramels into center of mixture one at a time.

3. Microwave on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds.  If needed [if cake is still gooey], microwave on high for up to an additional 30 seconds. Serve with ice cream if desired.

S'more Cups

 

When I saw these on Pinterest I knew I had to make them with my Homemade Marshmallows. I didn't have a mini muffin tin, so I made them in a regular muffin tin.  They came out just the same, delicious and just bigger. I'm sure the smaller ones would be a little better portion wise, but the larger portion did not deter me from eating several of them before they even cooled.

S'more Cups
From: Texas Cottage
Makes 24 mini cups or 12 regular cups

Ingredients:
7 whole graham crackers
1/4 cup powdered sugar
6 Tbsp butter, melted
4 bars Hershey's candy bar, divided
12 Large marshmallows

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a resealable plastic bag, crush graham crackers into fine crumbs. Combine Graham Cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and butter in a small bowl.

2. Place 1 Tbsp of crumb mixture in each cup of a mini-muffin pan.  Press crumbs to form shallow cups.  Bake 4-5 minutes.

3. Remove pan from oven and place one rectangle into each cup. Cut marshmallows in half.  Place one marshmallow half, cut-side down, into each cup.  Return to oven 1-2 min more or until marshmallows are slightly softened.  Place on cooling rack and cool 15 minutes.  Carefully remove cups from pan.  Cool completely.

4.  Break remaining candy bars and microwave on high 1- 1 1/2 min or until melted and smooth, stirring every 20 seconds.  Dip the top of each marshmallow in melted chocolate.  If you can manage to wait until the chocolate is set, then wait 40 - 60 minutes... I had to eat a couple of mine right away.

Orange Glazed Crock Pot Beets

 

I like beets, so I gave this one a try since it was in a crock pot.  I liked these, but they were a little too sweet for me.

Orange Glazed Crock Pot Beets
From A Year of Slow Cooking
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 2-3 hours

Ingredients:
4 medium beets, peeled and sliced in 1/4 inch slices
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice

Directions:
1. Peel and slice the beets, and place them in crock pot (be careful, beets stain terribly).  Add butter, brown sugar, orange zest, and orange juice.  Toss with spoons to distribute the zest and sugar.  Don't worry that your butter is still in a clump.

2.  Cover and cook on low for 5 hours, or on high for 2-3.  The beets are done when they have reached desired tenderness.  You want a fork to insert easily, and the beets to be able to be cut with the edge of a fork.

Twice-Baked Sweet Potato Cups with Sour Cream, Chipotle, and Lime

I poorly executed this recipe so they don't look so great, but these little sweet potato cups are very tasty.  It gives a little bit of a twist to a twice baked potato and the lime gives a good contrast to the sweet in the potato. 

Twice-Baked Sweet Potato Cups with Sour Cream, Chipotle, and Lime
From: Kaylyn's Kitchen

Ingredients:
2 Large orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
Olinve oil, for rubbing sweet potato skins
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 Tbsp soft butter or margarine
2 tsp fresh lime juice
pinch of chipotle chile pepper (I used chile powder and smoked paprika instead)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions, plus more for garnish

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray or olive oil.  Slice sweet potatoes crosswise into thick pieces about 2 1/2 inches thick (you will get 3-4 thick pieces from each sweet potato). Rub sweet potato pieces with olive oil, including end pieces.  Arrange standing up on baking sheet and roast until they can be easily pierced with a for, about 45 minutes, turning them once during the cooking time.

2. When sweet potatoes are soft, remove from the oven and let cool until they can be handled.  Then use a melon baller or small spoon to scoop out most of the sweet potato flesh and put it in a bowl, leaving enough flesh attached to the skin and on the bottom to make a 'cup.'  mash sweet potatoes. Stand the empty cups back on the baking sheet.

3. Mix sour cream, butter, lime juice, and pinch of ground chipotle pepper.  Stir the sour cream mixture and 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions into the mashed sweet potato in the bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4 .  Transfer the sweet potato mixture to a small Ziploc bag.  Cut off the corner of the bag and squeeze out the mixture to fill the cups, filling them so it rises slightly above the edge.

5. Put filled sweet potato cups backed into the oven and back 20-25 minutes, until filling is hot and very lightly browned.  Serve hot, garnished with thinly sliced green onions if desired.

Red Wine, Goat Cheese and Mushroom Risotto

This is another recipe I made while Bill was gone because he doesn't like goat cheese (GASP!) and I'm a big fan.  I love pretty much any type of risotto, and this did not disappoint. The goat cheese made it even creamier than the ones I make with Parmesan.  The red color is a little disturbing, but I got over it as soon as I tasted my first bite.

Red Wine, Goat Cheese and Mushroom Risotto
From: How Sweet it is
Prep time: 5 min
Cook Time: 30 min

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Butter
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup red wine
3-4 cups chicken stock
6 oz goat cheese
Mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
fresh basil for topping

Directions:
1. Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan. In a large saucepan, heat 1 Tbs butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil on medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring until nicely coated.

2. Add the wine. Slowly stir, allowing the rice to absorb the wine. Once the wine is almost completely absorbed, add 1/2 cup of stock to the rice. Continue to stir until the liquid is almost completely absorbed. Then add more stock in 1/2 cup increments. Stir often to prevent teh rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Continue adding broth and stirring until absorbed until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 Min.

3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp Olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter over low heat, then add mushrooms.  Let cook for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are juicy and caramelized.

4. Once rice is cooked to desired tenderness, reduced heat to low and add in salt, pepper, 5 ounces of goat cheese and mushrooms, then stir.  Serve with remaining goat cheese crumbled on top and a sprinkling of fresh basil.