Sunday, October 31, 2010

Monster Deviled Egg Eyes


A great addition to a Halloween party! Everyone loves deviled aggs and this brings an eerie touch to the recipe. My party guests loved these!

Ingredients:
12 hard boiled eggs
1/2 C. mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
2 Tbsp mustard
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried onions
blue food coloring, as needed
red paste food coloring, as needed
24 slices of black olives
pimentos or fresh red peppers


Instructions: 1. Peel the hard boiled eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Scoop the yolks out into a medium bowl and reserve the whites until needed.

2. With the back of a fork, mash the yolks until smooth.

3. Add mayo, onions, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix well.

4. Add a few drops of blue food coloring to turn the yellow mixture a soft green.

5. Spoon green yolk mixture into a ziploc bag. Seal the bag then cut off the bottom tip of the bag and squeeze mixture into the egg halves.

6. On top of each yolk filling, place one black olive slice. Add a small piece of pimento or red pepper for the pupil.

7. With a toothpick dipped in red food coloring paste, draw red veins on egg white's surface.

8. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Spider Web 7-Layer Dip


As soon as I found this recipe I knew I had to make it for my Halloween party! I made 2 of them and they were a huge hit! I am not a fan of shredded lettuce in my 7-layer dips, so I never add it to mine but feel free to add it to yours under the cheese ring.

Ingredients:
1 (16 oz) can refried black beans
1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope taco seasoning
1 can Ro-tel, any flavor
1 C. salsa
1 C. sour cream
1 C. guacamole (I always make my own)
1 1/2 C. shredded cheese
A couple large bags of tortilla chips


Instructions: 1. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the refried beans and taco seasoning.

2. On a large festive Halloween tray , spread the beans in an even circular shape. Leave room around the edges for the garnish.

3. Sprinkle Ro-tel over. Smooth salsa over. Smooth guacamole over.

4. Place your sour cream in the end of a ziploc bag. Cut the corner off. Squeeze sour cream on top of guacamole in 4 lines as if you were cutting a pizza. Connect the lines with swooping lines to get the feel of a spider web.

5. Sprinkle cheese around the edge of the dip.

6. Garnish with a creepy spider and serve with lots of tortilla chips!

Caramel Chocolate Toffee Fruit Dip


One good way to use up at least one variety of your Halloween candy! I incorporated Heath bars into this dip and it was absolutely delicious! To crush/chp them, I used my Pampered Chef food chopper and it made it so easy! Hope you enjoy, I know I did!

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened (you can use light cream cheese)
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla (you can add more to taste)
3/4 cup chopped Heath bars
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. (about a pinch) nutmeg

Combine cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla with an electric mixer. When ready to serve, stir in chopped Heath bar, sprinkle any extra on top if desired.

Potions Bar Sign




Ok, I know to a lot of you this is probably cheesey but I am so proud of it! Lol I started with a font I liked and then printed out the sign from my computer. I then took a lighter, stood over my kitchen sink and burnt the edges (please be careful when doing this). I then took a shallow dish, poured about 1/4 cup of soy sauce in it and dipped in the paper. Swish it around just long enough to get the entire paper covered. Take out and hang to dry for a few hours (I let mine dry overnight). When dry, I took fake blood, put it on my fingertips and make marks on the sign. Totally easy, ridiculously cheap and adds a cool touch to your Halloween bar!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Quesadillas


To me, quesadillas are a serious comfort food. When my late night cravings kick in, it's one of the top things I make. They're so easy to make and there are so many was to make them unique that quesadillas are something I don't think I will ever tire of. Here's a run-down of just one way to make up your quesadilla, feel free to get creative with your ingredients!

Here are the ingredients that I most typically use for my quesadillas, minus the mushrooms. (Make sure you cook over medium heat)



Spray your pan with cooking spray, add one tortilla and sprinkle cheese on top.



On top of the cheese, place your first ingredient (typically the key ingredient)



Next, place your second key ingredient which, in my case, was Ro-Tel, drained.



Cover with another layer of cheese and top with second tortilla.



Cook until tortilla is just slightly crispy, you don't want any burn spots.



Let cool just slightly, slice and serve with your choice of dip. I usually go with guacamole, sour cream or a sour cream-salsa mixture. Enjoy!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Rum Infused Apple Cider


We were having some friends over a couple nights ago to carve pumpkins and I wanted some apple cider so I decided to throw something together and it was fantastic! In my crockpot I combined a gallon of organic apple cider, 2 cups of dark rum, about 15 cloves and 4 cinnamon sticks. Set your crockpot on high and cook for about 1.5 hours. Turn down to low and keep it there until apple cider is gone! Simple and delicious!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Easy Turkey Enchiladas

These enchiladas are executed much diffeent than any others I've made before but they are still amazing! The ingredient that makes these pop is ranch dressing in the sauce. For those reluctant to try turkey in their enchiladas, I suggest not mentioning it until they are done eating because you honestly can't tell the taste difference from chicken and it's much healthier!

Ingredients:
1 package Honeysuckle White® Turkey Breast Cutlets, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup light sour cream
1 cup light ranch dressing
10 large (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup (8 ounce) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups bottled salsa
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 green onions, chopped, optional


How to prepare this recipe:

1.Preheat oven to 375°F.
2.Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
3.Cook turkey, stirring constantly until no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
4.In a small bowl, mix sour cream and ranch dressing.
5.In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup sour cream mixture and turkey.



6.Divide turkey mixture, cheese and salsa evenly over tortillas.
7.Roll up and place seam-side down in a greased 9 x 11-inch baking pan.
8.Bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes.
9.Top with tomato, green onion and any remaining salsa and/or sour cream mixture.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Mexican Cheese Log

I can remember my mom making this when I was little and hanging out next to the food table at family parties chowing down on it. It's amazing how something so simple to make can be so darn yummy!

Ingredients

1 Large Package of Velveeta cheese
2 8oz. packages of cream cheese (@ room temperature)
2 Cans of Ro-Tel -OR- 4 4oz Cans of Green Chilies

Directions

On either wax paper or parchment paper, roll out the Velveeta with a rolling pin in the shape of a rectangle. Spread cream cheese over the surface of the Velveeta. Drain either the Ro-Tel or chilies and spread out over the cream cheese.



Very carefully start rolling up the cheese log lengthwise. If the Velveeta is not soft enough, it will crack as you can see in my picture! Lol Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Dream Come True - Sublime in Concert!


I will be out of town for a couple days because I am fulfilling one of my life-long (Ok, 14 year) dreams of seeing Sublime in concert! Well, they are now called Sublime with Rome, due to their new frontman. I will be posting all about it when I get back along with pictures!