Date Night Nachos!

Nachos!

2 bags of tortilla chips (I used blue corn and hint of lime!)

1 batch of re-fried beans

1 chopped jalapeno

1 chopped red pepper

1 chopped green pepper

1/4 cup sliced black olives

2-3 cups of tex-mex shredded cheese

3 chopped green onion

*Layer chips, then beans, then veggies, then cheese.  And repeat one more time ;)

*Bake at 300 for 20-25 minutes.

*Top with green onion and serve with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole (recipe to follow)

Jill and Dana's Guacamole

1 ripe avocado

1 chopped roma tomato

1/2 small chopped onion

4-5 cloves minced garlic

1 chopped jalapeno

juice from 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper

1/2 tsp dried cilantro (out of fresh)

 *In a bowl, mash avocado with a fork.

*Stir in remaining ingredients and refrigerate until cool.

Game Night!

My kids have been really into games lately (mostly cards but any board game will do).   After spending most of the day running around and snacking, a big supper would not have gone over well, so we had a snacking kind of meal while we played many (many) games!  Homemade pitas, roasted red pepper hummus, raw veggies, black bean dip, artichoke and spinach dip and chips.  It was as delicious as it sounds :)

Black Bean Dip

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

4 cloves of minced garlic

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

 2 tbsp olive oil

juice from 1 lemon

*Add all ingredients to food processor and pulse until you've reached desired consistency

*Chill before eating

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus 

 3 red peppers, roasted and blended

2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

4 cloves of minced garlic

1/3 cup tahini

2 tbsp olive oil

juice from 1 lemon

salt and pepper

*Pulse all ingredients together several times in a food processor

*Chill before eating

Pitas!  from Leora

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1+ tbsp olive oil

*Combine water and yeast and set aside for a few minutes

*In a large bowl mix together flour and salt, add yeast mixture and oil, mix well.

*Knead for several minutes on a lightly floured counter top

*Place in well oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 2 hours

*Divide into 10 pieces

*Flatten each piece into a disk and roll quite flat

*Bake at 500 for 3-5 minutes

The recipe for this spinach and artichoke dip can be found here. 

Oscar night!

While planning our menu for the week I forgot about our annual Oscar party.  So tonight was a deviation from our menu and it wasn't really a meal at all. It was a lot of good food for my husband's favourite night of the year. We managed to fit a few of our good friends into our attic and feed them some delicious snacks, appetizers and desserts. To wash it all down, I made some of my very special lemonade.  What a great night!

 We had homemade (vegetarian) sushi, mozza sticks, stuffed jalapenos, veggies and dip, hummus and pitas, spinach and artichoke dip, and a curry dip.  (Not pictured: housepoets cookies and lemonade!)

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I recently bought my sushi loving husband a sushi-making kit.  There couldn't have been a better night to try it out and he was so eager.  Glad they turned out :)

Mozzarella Sticks

1 block mozzarella cut into strips

3 cups panko bread crumbs

basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper

chili powder

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups flour

*Mix together spices and bread crumbs

*Dip cheese into flour, then egg, then bread crumbs, then egg, then bread crumbs again!

*Place on baking sheet and broil for 2-3 minutes per side

Stuffed Jalapenos

10 jalapenos

1 package of cream cheese

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp basil

salt and pepper

*Core and wash jalapenos

*Mix together rest of the ingredients and stuff jalapenos

*Place on baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil

*Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, turning once

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

1 package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup grated Romano cheese

3 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

2 cups of fresh spinach, chopped

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

*Saute garlic and spinach in olive oil for a couple of minutes

*Combine with cream cheese, mayo, parmesan, romano, and spices

*Gently mix in artichokes and transfer to a lightly greased baking dish

*Top with remaining cheese and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes

Casserole Sunday

My friend Shannon and I recently had a talk about how neurotic we were for designating certain days of the week to a certain way to cook food or to certain foods. For example, our family has Slow Cooker Tuesday and Pizza Fridays. What is quickly become another of those designated days is Casserole Sunday. My husband has been pining for the "meal of his childhood" for a little while now, that meal being Chicken Fried Rice Casserole. We all have those specials meals that we remember as adults, the ones we loved as kids. So, I took on the task and tonight we had (Veggie) Chicken Fried Rice Casserole. I've had this phyllo pastry in my freezer for a little bit and decided to make Veggie Spring Rolls as a side along with steamed brocolli. All in all, it was a great success! 

(Veggie) Chicken Fried Rice Casserole

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 cup water

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup soya sauce

4 tsp vegetable bouillon

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp celery salt

1 chopped onion

2 stalks chopped celery

1 chopped red pepper

1 recipe of this mock chicken, or one package of pre-made stuff

*Mix all ingredients together and cook in covered casserole dish for 1 hour @ 350

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

1 cup bean sprouts

Handful cabbage (julienne)

3 carrots (julienne)

1 red pepper (diced)

1 inch ginger (grated)

3 garlic cloves (diced)

3 green onion (julienne)

1 tbsp soya sauce

juice from one lemon

cilantro (to taste)

12 phyllo pastry sheets

*Mix all ingredients together (minus the phyllo sheets of course!)

*Saute in oil for just a couple minutes

*Lay one phyllo sheet out and spray with olive oil, cover with one more sheet and repeat.

*Cut sheets in 4 lengthwise

*Spoon 1-2 tbsp filling on each section and roll

*Place rolls on baking sheet, seam down, and spray again with olive oil

*Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until slightly crispy

We rarely have dessert in our house.  Mostly because I am a sugar FIEND and would eat it all.  Casserole Sundays though, I mean... that calls for a desert, right??  Tonight I made Angel Food Cupcakes with fresh whip cream and sliced strawberries.  There isn't even a crumb leftover, seriously.  

 

Angel Food Cupcakes  taken from here

3/4 cup sugar (divided)

1/2 cup flour

5 large egg whites (room temperature)

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup whipping cream

 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp sugar

strawberries

*Sift together the flour and 1/4 cup of sugar in small bowl

*In larger bowl beat eggs until frothy

*add cream of tartar, rest of sugar and salt and beat until soft peak forms, add vanilla

*Fold in Flour mixture

*Spoon into muffin tin and bake @ 350 for 16-18 minutes

*Whip together cream, vanilla and sugar until soft peak forms

*Top cupcakes with cream mixture and sliced berries!