Fruit salsa with Cinnamon/sugar chips

When an Allrecipes.com recipe has like a bazillion positive reviews, there might be some truth there my fellow chefs. As in, you should make that recipe ASAP its that good. Over 2500 reviewers can't be wrong! Here's the link. Plus, it has my name in the recipe title. It was fate I tell you! All the book club ladies enjoyed this immensely. I.will.make.this.again.soon.

ps- no changes, I didn't sub any different fruit, made it exactly as laid out here. I used the costco cook yourself tortillas, made the tortillas and then followed with the cooking spray, etc.

Ingredients:

2 kiwis, peeled and diced 2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced 8 ounces raspberries 1 pound strawberries 2 tablespoons white sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar 3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas butter flavored cooking spray 2 cups cinnamon sugar

Directions:

1.	In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
2.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3.	Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.
4.	Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

Edamame, almond and parmesan crostini

Hard to tell by the picture, but the pile of toasted bread and the small dish to the side/front of the bread is the edamame with almond and parmesan. It was so delicious! This is again, from my cooking class called Downtown Cooking. While we were eating the appetizers, I had to constantly remind myself to save room for the entree, I just wanted to gobble the crostini right up! The warm toasted almonds were irresistible, good luck saving room for anything else.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked edamame, shelled
1/2 cup whole almonds (roughly 3 oz)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 lemons, zested and juiced
2 tbsp fresh mint, julienned
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Spread almonds on a sheet pan and toast in the oven until fragrant, about 8 minutes. Remove from sheet pan and allow to cool. Rough chop.

Prepare edamame beans as directed. Rinse with cold water. Combine lemon juice, zest, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp cracked pepper and olive oil in a medium bowl. Add almonds, beans, cheese and mint. Toss and season with salt and pepper. Serve with Crostini.

To make crostini, slice a small baguette on the bias in thin slices. Lay on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 375 until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

Deviled Eggs

Summer, to me, is full of BBQ, lemonade, watermelon and deviled eggs. YUM-O! Here is my recipe and some tricks to help you do it, they're tasty.

How to Boil an Egg:
(from my tried and true cook book "Just a Matter of Thyme")

1. Place eggs in a pot. (I usually boil a dozen at a time) Cover in cold water.

2. Bring to a rapid boil. Immediately place lid on the pot.

3. Leave the pan on the burner but the turn the burner off. Let set for 15 minutes.

4. Drain off hot water. Cover cooked eggs again with cold water. Let set for 2 minutes.

5. Drain off cold water. Leaving the eggs in the pot, shake pot back and forth several times, so that the eggs bump up against each other and crack. The shell should slide off easily now. Rinse under cool water and store in an airtight container or plastic baggie until use. Use within 3 days.

* a note. This method is perfect. It always yields perfectly hard boiled eggs, no yucky green line around the yolk. Also, fresher eggs are a million times easier to peel.



Deviled Eggs:

Hard boiled eggs (however many you need, remember each hard boiled egg yields 2 deviled eggs)
6 tbsp miracle whip (I use lite, you could also use real mayo if you so desire)
1 tbsp pickle juice
salt and pepper to taste (I like a lot of salt, probably 1/2 tsp)
paprika for garnish (not a fan, I always omit)

slice eggs in half, lengthwise.
scoop out the yolk (either with a small spoon or by gently squeezing the egg)
place all the yolks in a ziploc sandwich size baggie.
place miracle whip, pickle juice and salt and pepper in baggie as well.
squeeze out air, and seal baggie tightly.
mash the baggie until there are no lumps and mixture is creamy and very smooth.
cut the tiniest tip of the baggie and gently pipe yolk mixture into the empty egg whites.
can garnish at this point, serve immediately.

No mess and the piping makes the eggs look store bought deli pretty. :)

Seven Layer Taco Dip

from allrecipes.com 793 reviewers gave it 5 stars, its a winner! if i'm in a hurry, i'll omit the chopped tomatoes because, next to the salsa, it seemed a tad redundant.

• 1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 bunch chopped green onions
• 1 small head iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, blend the taco seasoning mix and refried beans. Spread the mixture onto a large serving platter.
2. Mix the sour cream and cream cheese in a medium bowl. Spread over the refried beans.
3. Top the layers with salsa. Place a layer of tomato, green bell pepper, green onions and lettuce over the salsa, and top with Cheddar cheese. Garnish with black olives

Black Bean Salsa

from my friend Sonja Glick. This is fantastic stuff, be prepared to break out lots of tortilla chips to dip with!

1 15oz can black beans, drained
1 15oz can corn, drained
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 purple onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp cilantro (i prefer generous amounts of fresh cilantro)
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

seed and dice peppers. chop the onion. combine peppers, onion, corn, garlic and cilantro. toss to mix. add olive oil, vinegar and lime juice. salt and pepper to taste, toss again and add beans lastly.

*a note. this is great freshly made or can be chilled for a few hours prior to serving. this can keep for a day or 2 in the fridge, after that the beans get mushy and all the liquid pools in the bottom. its best to eat the day you make it.

Wonderful Apple Dip

this recipe came from my friend Christy Miller who says she got it from Jenny Salter and well, once you taste it, you'll see how easy it is to share this recipe! and might i recommend pink lady apples or if they are in season, honey crisp apples are well worth the price.

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 bag toffee bits

stir together until very smooth. keep in fridge and keeps up to a week.

Spunky Spinach Dip

from the Gooseberry Patch Christmas Book 7. I have found these cookbooks to be great for many things, they have a very old fashioned, homey spin.

2 cups salsa (i use pace picante)
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 8oz cream cheese, softened and cubed
10 oz pkg. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup pitted black olives, chopped (optional, i never do this)

mix all ingredients together; stir well. place in a microwave safe bowl, cook until heated through. serves about 10-15.

crab rangoons

oh so delectable. for non-seafood lovers, omit the crab and have yourself a cream cheese rangoon.

8 oz crabmeat (imitation or real)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
16 oz pkg wonton wrappers
vegetable oil for frying
water for moistening wonton wrappers
sweet and sour sauce or hot mustard sauce for dipping

combine crabmeat, cream cheese, and seasonings. put 1/2 tsp of the mixture in the middle of each wonton wrapper. fold points of skin to make a packet, sealing the last point with a touch of water on your fingertip. deep fry until light golden brown. serve hot with dipping sauce of your choice. makes approx 4 dozen

Velveeta Roll

I know this sounds sketchy, but it is always a hit at parties!!

1 small box (1 pound) Velveeta
1-8oz block of cream cheese
1-4oz can diced green chilis

Place block of Velveeta between two large pieces of wax paper or saran wrap. Roll out to about1/8-1/4 inch thick, trying to keep it as even as possible. It will resemble a large rectangle when rolled out. Soften cream cheese to room temperature. Spread cream cheese evenly across Velveeta. Evenly spread green chilies on top of cream cheese. Starting at the short end, roll the cheeses and chilies from one end to the other like a sleeping bag is rolled. Cut off the ends to make it look nice. Serve with wheat thins or cracker of choice.

Mexican Fondue

8 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
4 oz gruyere cheese, shredded
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup chicken stock, (the recipe calls for mexican beer, what do you know? I'm fresh out)
2 tsp hot sauce, such as tabasco
zest of 1 lime, plus 1 tbps fresh lime juice
3 tbsp canned green chili peppers, finely chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish, optional

serve with:
grilled chicken or steak, cubed
grilled, chopped sausage
sliced zucchini
chunks of bell peppers

in a small bowl combine cheeses and cornstarch. add the chicken stock to a small pot and bring up to a bubble over medium heat. reduce the heat to simmer and add the hot sauce, lime zest and juice, then the cheese mixture in handfuls. stir constantly in a figure eight pattern with a wooden spoon, melting the cheese in batches. when the cheese has been incorperated fully, stir in the chili peppers. transfer to fondue pot and garnish with cilantro, if using, then serve.

Bacon Tomato Cups from allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 8 slices bacon
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (miracle whip is better!)
  
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 (16 ounce) can refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a mini muffin pan.
2. In a skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon into a medium mixing bowl, and mix with tomato, onion, Swiss cheese, mayonnaise and basil.
3. Separate biscuits into halves horizontally. Place each half into cups of the prepared mini muffin pan. Fill each biscuit half with the bacon mixture. (i use a regular muffin tin, not mini and it makes 16)
   
4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven , or until golden brown.

Naaaaacho Cheese Dip

mmmmm....good and processed. What could taste better?

Seriously though, this is some awesome nacho dip. Thanks to my MIL for this one!

1 pound Velveeta
1 can Rotel (that is a brand--found in the tomato section) tomatoes
12 ounces (or 16oz--can't remember) Jimmy Dean Sausage

Cut Velveeta in cubes and place in crock pot. Let melt on low (takes at least an hour). Drain tomatoes, but save the juice. Use the juice to thin the cheese to desired dipping consistency. Add the tomatoes. Cook the sausage in a frying pan. Drain and add to cheese. Serve with chips.