Individual Seven Layer Dips with Homemade Salsa

During one of my tireless google searches for cute Superbowl appetizers, I came across these adorable individual seven layer dips on The Girl Who Ate Everything. These are perfect appetizers and party snacks for any kind of get together, especially a game day party or a summer BBQ. They're perfect because they prevent double dipping and you avoid that unappetizing mess that most seven layer dips turn into after a few people have dished themselves out a serving. These have a wow factor to them that make you look like you put a lot more work into them than you did!! So what are you waiting for? Plan on making these for your next party - you and your guests will love them. :)

I only made mine with five layers because I don't like veggies on top of my seven layer dip, but you can add green onions, tomatoes and olives if you want. My layers were as follows:

Refried beans - straight out of the can
Guacamole - this is a good recipe
Sour Cream - mix sour cream with some taco seasoning to taste
Salsa - recipe below
Cheddar Cheese - I used Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, but Pepper Jack would also be delicious
Garnish - I garnished with a tortilla chip

I piped in all of the layers except the salsa and the cheese using a freezer bag with the corner snipped off. Its far less messy and your layers will be prettier!

I am slightly concerned that this salsa recipe isn't going to get the attention it deserves because I've lumped it in with this seven layer dip recipe. But if you only try one thing from this post, try making the salsa - its quick - you can make it in under 5 minutes and it tastes soooo delicious. It is the closest to mexican restaurant salsa I've ever tasted and I LOOOOVVVVEEEEE that stuff. I found this recipe on Mountain Momma Cooks. I only changed the recipe a little because it was honestly such a delicious sounding recipe on its own!!

Speedy Salsa
Recipe minimally adapted from Mountain Momma Cooks

Ingredients:

• 2 14-oz cans of fire roasted, diced tomatoes
• 1/2 small onion, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jalepeno, seeded and roughly chopped (leave the seeds in if you like additional heat)
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• large handful cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• juice of 1 lime

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in the large bowl of a food processor and pulse until your salsa reaches the desired consistency. I like mine quite finely minced, but you could pulse it for a very short time for a chunkier salsa.

Yep, thats it!! So easy and flavourful. Do you have a favorite salsa recipe or do you put something unexpected in your seven layer dip? I'd love to hear what you do!

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Super Bowl Recap

I hosted a small Super Bowl gathering at my place tonight. I made enough to feed an army... but isn't that always the way? I'm going to keep this post short because I will go into more details regarding some of these items in posts later this week. :) For now though, just a preview of what is to come this week - just some quick photos I snapped with my iPhone.

 As you can see in the photo above, I made some football themed chocolate dipped strawberries. Not perfect, but they're cute! And easy!

Cute little mini meatloaf bites - mini meat loaf brushed with bbq sauce with creamy mashed potatoes piped on top and then sprinkled with bacon. These were a hit! Recipe will for sure be posted this week, so definitely check back soon.



These were the strawberries, post dip, but pre-decorating. They look beautiful as is, but it was fun to do the extra step just in keeping in theme with the Super Bowl/ football thing!

Then I made some individual seven layer dips (but mine only had 5 layers because I'm fussy and don't really like veggies on top of my dips!! They were delicious. I made salsa (again, recipe will follow this week) and guacamole for these bad boys and topped with some Tillamook Sharp Cheddar and they were a hit.

Also made a couple of other things tonight that I didn't manage to snap some photos of with my iPhone. Made an amazing Reese's Peanut Butter & Oreo Frozen Pie (recipe will be up this week... sooner rather than later because it was sooooo good!) that was an absolute hit!

And the favorite cocktail of the night was Raspberry Beer Cocktail. Check out this easy recipe here.

Oh yeah, and we had some spectacular weather this weekend! So I got out with the dog on Saturday morning at one of our local parks and enjoyed it (yep, that pic is from our walk).

Oh yeah, congrats to the NY Giants on their win! They played hard and it was definitely a nail-biter toward the end of the game... I totally thought New England would pull through for the win, but I guess it wasn't in the cards this year. Sorry to any of you New England fans out there!!

What did you make for your Super Bowl get together? Do you make the same thing every year, or do you try to mix it up?  I would love to hear from you!

Happy Baking my Friends!

Healthy, Quick & Delicious Roasted Asparagus

In case you haven't noticed, I'm not really a fruit and veggie kind of girl. Yeah, I try to get in the proper servings of fruit and veggies each day (though I don't always succeed), but I don't really enjoy eating those good for you foods. But one vegetable I actually enjoy and I always go for seconds of is asparagus. I think asparagus has got a bad rap due to the fact that the majority of people overcook and underseason it. But its actually really delicious when its done right. Here are some tips and tricks to make sure your asparagus turns out delicious every time.

1. Pick out good asparagus! Garbage in = garbage out right?! Asparagus gets bitter and tough if the stalks are thick (which is the case with most veggies - the longer you let them grow, the less tender and sweet they are). So pick the skinniest stalks of asparagus you can find. Make sure the tops of each stalk are tight and well in tact - this indicates they are fresh!
2. Don't cut the ends off the stalks. This will result in woody, inedible parts being left for you to consume and those parts don't taste good. Instead, place one hand at each end of the asparagus and bend the stalk in half. The stalk will break at the point where the woody portion ends, leaving you with only the top tender part of the asparagus (don't worry if it seems to break a lot off - the woody part can actually go up to halfway up the stalk).
3. Get your oven good and hot! Before you start getting your asparagus ready, preheat your oven to 450F. You want to be able to cook them hot and fast to ensure the inside doesn't get overcooked!
4. Season well! Lay out your trimmed asparagus in a single layer on a large cookie sheet (line with foil for easy cleanup). Drizzle lightly (go easy here - you want this to stay healthy right?!) with olive oil. Shake the pan a little to coat the asparagus with the oil. Grind lots of fresh black pepper over the asparagus. Sprinkle with coarse salt (I used about 1/2 - 3/4 tbsp of kosher salt for 1 pan of asparagus).
5. Don't over cook the asparagus! You've gone to all this work to make the perfect asparagus and now you're in the home stretch!! Place the tray into your preheated oven (see step 3) and put your timer on for exactly 5 minutes. At five minutes, pull the pan out and give it a good shake. Then rotate the pan and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes - exactly!! No more, no less.
6. Finish it with a little extra flavour. If you've got any balsamic reduction, plate the asparagus and then drizzle with a tiny bit of balsamic reduction. If you want that extra decadence (though not as healthy), sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese (freshly grated of course).

So there ya go - easy, healthy, quick and delicious. What more can you ask of a week night veggie dish?! Oh yeah, you could also bust this one out at your next dinner party and you will impress even your foodie friends. :)

This post has been linked up with Fusion Fridays at Jennifer Cooks! Head over there to check out all the amazing Superbowl treats people have baked up this week. :D

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Cinnamon & Ricotta Scones

You may have noticed I've been making a lot of scones and biscuits lately. They're quick and they're easy and they always taste delicious. These ones were no exception! I had some leftover ricotta cheese from my ricotta making experiment (in case you missed my post yesterday about making your own Ricotta Cheese, you can find it here) and looked for a way to use it up in scone. I found this recipe on West Side Baker and it didn't disappoint. If you have some leftover ricotta, or if you want to try out making your own ricotta, make these scones.

Cinnamon & Ricotta Scones
Minimally adapted from West Side Baker

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup sugar (coarse sugar if you have it)
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and baking powder. Add butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg and vanilla. Add all at once to the mixture in the food processor. Pulse until dough just comes together.
4. Turn dough out onto counter. Divide into two pieces. Pat each piece into a 6" round and then cut into 8 wedges.
5. Place all  16 pieces on one large baking tray or two small baking trays that have been lined with parchment paper. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Brush with a little milk and then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until top of scones is golden. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Hope you enjoy these! We devoured them pretty quickly in our house.

This post has been linked up with Whatcha Baking Wednesdays over at Cajun Sugar Pie. Hop on over for a look at other yummy baked goods fellow bloggers have been whipping up this week.

This post has also been linked up with Fusion Fridays over at Jennifer Cooks. Head over there to check out all the Superbowl yumminess going on in the blog-world this week!

Happy Baking my Friends!

How to... Make Ricotta Cheese

I sometimes suck at taking pictures of the food I make. Sometimes out of laziness, sometimes out of lack of time and sometimes I just forget. This time I was lazy and I also forgot to take photos of my ricotta cheese until I was halfway through putting together a batch of scones (see my post tomorrow) that used up the rest of my homemade ricotta cheese. So I snapped a quick pic of the cheese, right before I put it into my scone dough. No effort = very bad results. But trust me, this stuff tastes about one million times better than this picture makes it look. SERIOUSLY.

I have never made cheese at home before. I've always seen other bloggers post about it and somehow thought it was out of my league. I don't know... I just always thought it was difficult and time consuming and that I'd have a bunch of batches that failed miserably (and wasted a lot of ingredients in the process). But after reading about Julia's experience on her blog Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body, I HAD to try this stuff out. She raved about how good it was even just spread on toast or crackers and boy was she right! Its so amazing. I ate it on toasted english muffins with jam or honey every day for a week. Then used the rest to make the above mentioned batch of scones. Mmmmmm!!! Make it! Right now!!!

One other thing to note about this at home cheese making process - its pretty economical. Buy yourself a $3 package of cheesecloth. It is washable therefore you can use it a bunch of times. Also, you can use whatever fat content milk you like! I made my first batch using high fat milk products (see recipe below), but you can use a combination like Julia to come up with a better-for-you version that tastes just as good. Making a batch with lower fat content milk products results in making a far cheaper batch of ricotta than you could ever buy in the grocery store. So get on it now and you can have yummy ricotta in less than 3 hours! Woot!

Ricotta Cheese
Recipe slightly adapted from Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body

Ingredients:

• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

1. Pour milks and salt into saucepan. Attach a thermometer to the side of the pan. Heat gently, stirring often to avoid scorching the bottom of the pan, until temperature reaches 190 degrees.
2. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice. Stir very gently. Let mixture sit for five minutes - don't touch it for five whole minutes. Set the timer and just walk away.
3. Double layer a cheesecloth and line a colander with it and place the lined colander over a large bowl to catch the whey. Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let strain for 2 hours.
4. Scrape the ricotta from the cheesecloth into a small container. Chill the ricotta. It will firm as it cools, so the texture after it is finished straining will be completely different than the ricotta you scrape into your container.

Julia also notes that you can save the whey and use it by freezing into ice cube form and plunking a couple into your morning smoothie. Thats what I've been doing and it helps to keep you full longer because its a great source of protein.

Hope you enjoy this little tutorial! I will update my post with step by step photos next time I make this, because I will be making it again in the very near future!!

This post has been linked up with Fusion Fridays at Jennifer Cooks! Head over there to check out all the Superbowl yumminess that was whipped up this week in the blog-world. :)

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Parmesan and Black Pepper Biscotti

This is my favorite biscotti recipe. I've made it many, many times, but each time it has never lasted long enough to get a couple of photographs!! Hubby and sister eagerly devour it every time I make it. I know you're a little skeptical due to the fact that biscotti is usually sweet, but give this one a go! Its great with a nice chilled glass of white wine. I promise you, the entire batch will not last long in your house.

Since its Sunday and I want to go and do something today, I'm going to keep this post short! So here's the recipe - you must try this ASAP! Its a great way to use up leftover parmesan and it come together really quickly.

Parmesan and Black Pepper Biscotti
Recipe adapted from Food & Whine

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup finely grated parmesan (fresh stuff, not the powdered stuff, you need good quality for this recipe)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground, coarse black pepper
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• extra parmesan and black pepper for sprinkling

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line large baking pan (or alternatively, two smaller baking pans) with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a large food procesor, pulse the flour, parmesan, baking powder, back pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper together until just combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the whole milk. With your food processor running, gradually drizzle the egg-milk mixture through the feeding tube until the mixture comes together to form a slightly sticky dough.
4. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball of dough out into a 10" long log. Place logs onto prepared baking sheet(s) and press to flatten slightly.
5. Brush each log with a little whole milk then sprinkle with parmesan and additional coarse ground black pepper. Bake in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, until just golden and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool in pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
6. Transfer logs to a cutting board. Using a large sharp knife, carefully cut into 1/2 inch slices. Place slices back on baking sheet with cut side up, about 1/2 inch apart. Bake in 350F oven for 10 minutes, then flip biscotti over and bake for another 10 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack to cool completely.
8. Store between waxed paper in airtight containers for one week or freeze for up to one month.  

After sharing this recipe with you, I'm struck by the urge to make another batch of these delicious little treats.... Sunday afternoon activity?!! Enjoy your Sunday whatever you're up to!

Happy Baking my Friends!

Curry Turkey Burgers with Mango Chutney



Happy Saturday peeps! Hope your weekend is off to a good start. I've been racking my brain trying to come up with a "healthy" post for you this week after my healthy mac and cheese was an epic fail... I guess some things just aren't meant to be low fat and healthy right?! Is that the wrong attitude to have? Maybe I just need a better recipe... Any way, I was browsing through some of my instagram photos and found this one (apologies for the quality of the photo... I still haven't got the hang of taking photos with my iPhone yet) of Curry Turkey Burgers with Mango Chutney and an Asian Slaw Salad. This is definitely a lightened up burger and the asian slaw salad is a delicious substitute from ceasar salad or french fries. So this is going to constitute my healty post for the week - fitting into the light/ lower-fat category.

Even my hubby who has an aversion to lightened up versions of his favorite foods, really liked these burgers, so I am convinced that even your toughest critics will love these burgers and ask you for seconds. Oh yeah, and they're easy and quick to make, so its a win win situation. What are you waiting for? Whip these up tonight and feel good about your dinner.

Curry Turkey Burgers with Asian Slaw

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray

Ingredients:

For the Burgers

• 1 1/3 lbs lean ground turkey or chicken (I used a combination of both)
• A handful of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, finely minced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• A couple pieces of roasted red peppers, finely chopped
• coarse salt
• 2 tbsp mild curry paste or a handful of curry powder
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• Multigrain buns (4-6)
• lettuce (optional)
• guacamole (optional)
• mango chutney
• Light mayo (optional)

For the Slaw

• 1 package prepared shredded cabbage mix (coleslaw mix)
• 1/4 seedless cucumber, chopped
• 10 fresh basil leaves, shredded

For the Dressing

• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp vegetable/ canola oil

Method:

1. Combine the chicken, cilantro, ginger, garlic, roasted peppers, salt and curry paste in a large bowl. Form into five patties. Brush or drizzle patties on both sides with a tiny bit of olive oil.
2. Pan fry the patties in a non-stick pan for approximately 6 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Pile patties onto buns and top with lettuce, mango chutney and guacamole (maybe not if you're watching your fat intake), and light mayo (again - go easy on this if you're watching your fat intake).
3. For the slaw, combine the cabbage, cucumber and basil in a large bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in a small plastic container and shake vigorously for one minute. Drizzle sauce evenly over vegetables and toss to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes and re-toss salad. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds if desired.   Serve with the turkey burgers.

I'm off to start up on my Saturday kitchen project... top secret productions in preparation for the February Secret Recipe Club!! Woot! Can't wait to share with you. :)

Happy Cooking my Friends!