Black Bean, Corn and Avocado Salsa

This is one of my favorite snacks.

Note: These measurements aren't exact, for once in my life I just "threw stuff in" you can add more of what you love and less of what you don't.

1-1.5 cups frozen corn kernels I put them in a strainer and rinse them to unthaw them a bit
1 can black beans rinse and drained
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
1-2 avocados cubed
3-4 roma tomatoes chopped
3 green onions chopped (white and green parts)
1 lime juiced, more if you like
I used about 2 tsp of Wildtree's Italian Salad Dressing Mix you can use Good Seasons or any brand you have on hand.

Mix it all up gently and enjoy with chips, on salad or with any mexican dish.

Panko Breaded Portobello Mushroom Spears with Garlic Aioli

(borrowed this pic from Food Network, mine don't last long enough to take a picture of!)

Yes, if I could eat these for every meal, I would. I am not kidding. Thanks to my sis-in-law Heather for the recipe.

Ingredients:

Portobello Mushrooms washed and cut into 3/4 inch wedges
Panko Japanese Style bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
flour
Lawry's seasoning salt

Dredge wedges in flour then dip in egg and then roll till covered in Panko. Fry in 1/2 inch oil till lightly browned, turn and cook until other side is browned and drain on paper towels. Dip in aioli, eat, and die a happy woman.


Aioli Sauce:
mayonnaise
fresh garlic chopped fine

Add as much garlic as you like and mix with mayo. It's good to do this in advance (several hours, even a day) and let the flavors combine.

Toffee Apple Dip

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2-1 (11oz) pkg Heath milk chocolate toffee bits

Beat cream cheese, sugars and vanilla together until fluffy. Stir in toffee chips. Serve with sliced Granny Smith or Honeycrisp apples. YUM!

Pina Coladas

1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup cream of coconut
2 cups ice

Blend. Makes 4 (8oz) cups, and believe me you'll want more than one!

STUFFED BLEU CHEESE POTATOES

(recipe and photo from Our Best Bites)

Had these with Peppered Pork Tenderloin and Caesar Salad tonight. There was a fight over the last one, and yes, I won. ;)

4 baking potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup bleu cheese
1/4 cup buttermilk or milk
4 Tbsp butter cut into pieces
3/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4-8 pieces bacon, cooked crisp and crumpled (the recipe called for 8, I love bacon but there is no way I could fit a whole piece on each potato half. I think 5 would be plenty)
grated cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry potatoes. Rub them lightly with a bit of shortening or vegetable oil (helps crisp the skin) and place directly on oven rack, or a cookie sheet. Bake for one hour or until potatoes are done.

2. Remove potatoes and let cool just a bit. Cut an opening on the top and hollow out each potato, OR cut each potato in half to make 8 servings. You may want to hold them with a potholder as they will still be hot!

3. Scoop out the insides and place in a bowl. Mash, and add butter, sour cream, bleu cheese, milk, salt, pepper, and garlic. Beat with a hand mixer until fluffy. Carefully spoon mixture back into potato shells. Place in a baking dish.
Return to hot oven and bake for 12-15 minutes.

4. Remove and sprinkle bacon and cheddar cheese over each potato bake an additional 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly

CHAD'S SALSA AND GUAC

The Sunday after my husband was called to be in the Bishopric our home teacher and his wife asked if they could make us dinner. Their little boy ended up getting sick, but they were so nice that they made us dinner anyway and dropped it off. Does it get any better than that?

The meal was mexican and the best part of it was they made fresh salsa and homemade guacamole. It was to die for. The funny thing is that I don't like tomatoes, at least not whole or a big slice of one on a sandwich, but I love them diced in anything mexican! I of course asked him for the recipes and he gave them to me reluctantly saying I wasn't going to be as impressed when I saw how simple it was, but I assured him that wouldn't be the case. I made them tonight and wanted to share in case there are any guac and salsa lovers out there.

Fresh Salsa

6-8 roma tomatoes
1 small to medium yellow onion
1 bunch green onions
1 bunch cilantro
1 jalapeno
2 packets "Concord Foods" Salsa Seasoning Mix (I found them on a rack in the produce section)
lime juice

Dice tomatoes, onion, grn onions, cilantro, and jalapeno and mix in bowl. Add lime juice to taste. Then add seasoning packets and mix again. (If you want it spicier you can get the seasoning packets in hot and add more jalapenos).

Guacamole

4-5 avacados
1 packet "Concord Foods" Guacomole Mix (again I found them in the produce section)
lime juice

Dice and mash up the avacados. Add the seasoning and 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of the above salsa and mix. Add a little lime juice to taste.

Hope you enjoy these as much as we did.

BROWN SUGAR TOFFEE DIP FOR APPLES

1 (8oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 (8oz) bag Heath toffee bits

Mix all ingredients together and serve with sliced apples or refrigerate till ready to serve. Makes about 3 cups.

EDITED TO ADD: Okay, I made this today for us to snack on during conference (the last batch was all given away), and it was a huge hit. It's like eating a candied apple. Mmmm!

ANNIE'S DELICIOUS BEAN SALSA

Annie’s Delicious Bean Salsa

1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans
1 (15 oz.) can black beans
1 (15 oz.) can red beans
1 (15 oz.) can white beans
1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans
1 (11-15 oz.) can corn
2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
2 large fresh tomatoes—chopped
1 Vidalia or sweet onion—chopped
4-6 green onions—chopped
8 oz. fat free Italian dressing
Fresh lemon juice—about 2 lemons (I used 1/3 cup)
Fresh lime juice—about 2 limes
Fresh cilantro to taste (I used 2/3 of a bunch)
Fresh minced garlic cloves—about 4
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chili powder to taste
Garlic powder to taste
Onion powder to taste

Drain and rinse all the beans. Drain corn and mix all ingredients together. Chill at least 6 hours or longer, it helps the flavors blend and is soooo good. Enjoy with pita or tortilla chips or by itself! Also, this makes A TON! I gave a bunch away and still had plenty for us. But it's not really something you want to make half of because you end up with 1/2 of 6 cans of beans, corn, etc. Enjoy!

SPINACH DIP

So, I thought this was one of those recipes that everybody had a copy of, but I took it to that baby shower I went to last weekend and couldn't believe how many people hadn't had it before and wanted the recipe. It is definitely my favorite dip to go with veggies.

Spinach Dip

2 cups mayo
2cups sour cream
1 bunch green onions chopped
1 can water chestnuts drained and chopped
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 pkg Knorr's Leek soup mix

Combine all ingredients and chill. Serve with fresh veggies or chopped up French Bread.

CREAM CHEESE SHRIMP DIP

This is one of my new favorite appetizers (it's the front one in the pic). Cool, refreshing, easy to throw together, and oh so yum!

1 block cream cheese, softened
cocktail sauce
shredded cheddar or cheddar and jack cheese
green onions
1/2 lb baby shrimp
Ritz crackers

Spread cream cheese into a 10ish inch circle on plate. Top with a thin layer of cocktail sauce. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of sauce. Place shrimp on top of cheese. Add a little more cocktail sauce on top of shrimp, if desired. Sprinkle green onions on top. Place Ritz crackers in circle around dip on plate before serving.

SKEWERED PINEAPPLE SHRIMP

The Pioneer Woman has some tasty grilled shrimp and pineapple {here}.

GARLIC PARMESAN ZUCCHINI SPEARS

We order these every time we go to Claim Jumper and love them, so I decided to try making them at home with some of the zucchini from our garden. They weren't identical, but definitely delicious and I'm sure we'll have these lots more before the summer is over!

Ingredients:

Zucchini
Garlic Salt
Eggs
Milk
Panko
Minced Garlic
Fresh Grated Parmesan
Cooking Oil

Ranch Dressing

Cut as many zucchini as you like into spears about 1 inch in diameter by 4 inches long. Sprinkle them with garlic salt. In a bowl mix together an egg or two (depending on how many zucchini) and a little milk. In another bowl mix together some Panko (Japanese style bread crumbs) and minced garlic. Dip the zucchini spears in the egg mixture and then roll in the Panko mixture. Place in pan filled with about an inch of hot oil and cook turning to brown the crumbs on each side. When finished remove from oil and place on plate covered with paper towels. Then sprinkle with a little more garlic salt and fresh grated parmesan cheese. Dip in ranch dressing and ENJOY!

*Note: If anyone has the actual Claim Jumper recipe I'd love to have it or if you have a better idea of how to incorporate the minced garlic. I don't know that it really stuck on the spears with the Panko that well.

GRILLED MUSHROOMS

I first had these at a gourmet grilling night hosted by our Ward Relief Society. They were so good! We made them again on Friday night and loved them so I thought I'd post the recipe. The recipe calls for Portabello Mushrooms but any large mushroom will work.

P.S. I borrowed this pic from the Relief Society night.

GRILLED MUSHROOMS

Cut centers out of very large mushrooms.
Fill emptied mushrooms with pine nuts, chopped fresh garlic, slivered Parmesan cheese pieces.
Meanwhile, make a marinade consisting of:
1/2 C. Balsamic Vinegar
1 C. Olive Oil
1 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
12 leaves of fresh basil, finely sliced using a knife
Pour the marinade over the tops of the mushrooms, filling in around the pine nuts, cheese, etc.
Let sit for 30 minutes or more (up to 3 hrs.)
Grill over medium heat until tender, approximately 6-7 minutes. Rotate half-way to get cross-grilled look.

MONSTER MUNCH

(pic from Our Best Bites)

Tried this recipe for "Monster Munch" from Our Best Bites and loved it. It was quick, easy and of course delicious. In fact, Henry told me that he had to keep eating it (even after I told him to stop sneaking bites) because Heavenly Father wanted him to because popcorn is so "dawishus".

Monster Munch {Halloween Popcorn Mix}

Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 package Almond Bark (1 lb)

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels or 2 bags of microwave popcorn)

1 C candy corn

1 C dry roasted, salted peanuts

1/2 C Reeces Pieces

Pop popcorn and place in a large bowl. Much larger than you think you need. The largest you have. It will make mixing easier! Pour peanuts, candy corn, and reeces pieces on top.

Take a large knife and break up almond bark. Melt according to package directions. I just chop it up a little and microwave it in intervals until smooth and melted. Pour over popcorn mixture.

Stir until everything is well coated and then spread out onto waxed paper, parchment, or foil. Let sit until completely dry and then break up into clumps. Super Easy!

BACON WRAPPED TERIYAKI CHICKEN SKEWERS

(from ourbestbites.com)

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
About 8 oz. lean bacon, NOT thick-sliced (thick bacon is too hard to work with in this recipe)
1 large can pineapple chunks (you won't use all of them)
Kikkoman Teriyaki Glaze (NOT MARINADE, the glaze is better)
Kebab skewers or toothpicks

The easiest way to handle the bacon situation is to remove it from the package and while it's still all stuck together, stretch it out a little (lengthwise). If you're using center-cut bacon (and the "slab" is not as wide as regular bacon), just cut it in half. Otherwise, use kitchen shears to cut the slab into thirds. Refrigerate until ready to use, partially because it's easier to work with cold bacon and partially because you don't want to kill any dinner guests with dead pig germs.
Using kitchen shears, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. You can gauge about how many pieces you'll need by how many pieces of bacon you have; you probably won't use all the bacon, but you'll need about 8 oz. or 2/3 of a standard-sized package of bacon. So count the bacon pieces and keep that in mind when cutting up your chicken.

Drain the pineapple and set up a little work station with skewers, bacon, chicken, and a 9x13 baking dish (for big skewers) or a sturdy Ziploc bag (for toothpick skewers). Wrap a piece of bacon around a chicken piece, secure with toothpick/skewer, and top with a chunk of pineapple. Repeat twice if using large skewers.

When all chicken pieces have been sufficiently staked, pour Teriyaki sauce over everything, reserving about 1/4 c., and marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, no longer than about 8.

Preheat grill; when about 350-400 degrees, place skewers on grill and baste with reserved Teriyaki sauce. Cook about 7 minutes and flip skewers. Baste again and cook another 7 minutes.

*If serving at a party, you can keep the appetizer-sized skewers warm in a crockpot set to low or an electric roaster set to 170 degrees.
**If cooking in oven, preheat oven to 400 and bake about 20 minutes, turning once, following the same basting instructions.

CHEESY ROASTED RED PEPPER DIP

Cheesy Roasted Red Pepper Dip

from Our Best Bites

7oz jar roasted red peppers (about 1C diced) buy 'em or make 'em.

4 C grated pepper jack cheese (3/4 lb) *use good quality or you'll end up with oily dip

8oz cream cheese (I use low-fat)

3/4 C mayonnaise

2 T minced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350. Remove peppers from jar and blot excess water with paper towels. You want to make sure they are dry so they don't add moisture to the dip. Then dice 'em up.

n a bowl, soften cream cheese in microwave so it will be easier to stir. Add in mayo, onion, garlic, and dijon. Stir to combine and then add in grated cheese and the diced peppers. Place in an 8x8-ish dish (pie plate works). At this point you can pop it in the fridge if you're going to cook it later and you can even make it a couple of days ahead of time. Place in the oven and cook for 30-45 minutes. Baking time depends on the dish. It will start to bubble and brown on the outside edge, and you want it to be bubbly all the way through to the center. It will be nice and golden brown on top, especially around the edges. Mine usually takes 40-45 min.

Serve immediately. If the dip is done and your party hasn't started, just keep it warm in the oven. If you're eating left-overs, or you cooked it ahead of time, reheat in the oven as well. Funky things happen in the microwave. Don't ask me what, I'm sure Alton Brown could explain it, but I'm no food scientist. You can serve it with anything that sounds good- tortilla chips, pita chips, crackers (choose a plain flavored one) or veggies. However my favorite is soft, warm baguette slices. There's something about toasty, chewy bread with gooey garlicky cheese that just makes me happy.