Cooking Thursday: Go-To Favorites

 

Hello Beautiful Blogging Besties of my Heart!

Happy Friday Eve to you. :) 

It's been gray all day...but they're saying it may clear up and we may even get some sunshine in a little while. Here's hoping! Hubby and I love to spend the evenings outside as much as we're able. 

How's everything with you? Do you have fun plans for the weekend ahead? We may get some rainy weather for the first part of the weekend, but it looks like Sunday will be lovely. The thing I'm most excited about is that my dear Annie gets home from her study abroad. Yay!! I've sure missed her. 😍

In case you wanted a yummy snack idea for the weekend - I thought I would re-share this favorite go-to dip that I make several times a year. I made it for the July 4th weekend and Matt's Mom literally said to his Dad, "Oh yay she brought that crab dip!" 😋 You could also put shrimp on top instead (but I can't eat shrimp)

It's always so tasty and it couldn't be easier to make. 

All you need are some pantry ingredients, cream cheese, a can of crab meat, and a little cocktail sauce. Make the cream cheese mixture in a bowl and spread into bottom of an 8x8 pan or pie plate. Top with cocktail sauce and then your drained crab meat. Chill in the fridge a while, then enjoy.

I like to serve it with buttery crackers (like Club) and fresh veggies - it's especially yummy with celery! The veggies are also a nice option for gluten-free folks. Or you can serve with Nut Thins crackers for a gf option as well. Here's the recipe:

CRAB DIP

1 block cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp mayo

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp lemon juice (fresh or from the squeeze bottle)

1 tbsp dehydrated onion flakes

cocktail sauce (just enough to cover the top of cream cheese mixture)

1 can lump crabmeat (I like Geisha brand with fancy leg meat) - you could use fresh crab meat or substitute shrimp too

crackers and fresh veggies for serving

Mix cream cheese with the next 4 ingredients in a bowl. Spread mixture into an 8x8 pan or small pie plate. Pour cocktail sauce over the top, just enough to cover but leaving a little of the cream cheese mixture exposed on the edges. Smooth out with back of a spoon. Drain the can of crab meat. Then sprinkle the lump crab all over the dip. Cover and put into the fridge to chill for at least an hour. Serve nice and cold with buttery crackers and fresh veggies. 

Another go-to favorite I thought I would share is how I love to use up veggies that are starting to get old in the fridge. I brush a little olive oil in the bottom of a sheet pan. Then I wash and cut up what needs using up and place in single layer in the pan. I like to do pretty rows like this but that's completely optional. 😉💗 

Then I drizzle more olive oil all over the top (you could also use some melted butter for richer flavor). And I season with whatever sounds good - I often use seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and any fresh herbs from the garden (this day it was some oregano, lemon thyme and some fennel fronds).

 Bake in a preheated 425* oven for 20-25 minutes - keeping an eye on it for how golden you want your veggies. Roasting them always makes them tender, sweet and delish! Sometimes I will drizzle a little balsamic vinegar, or lemon juice, when they come out of the oven. Or sprinkle with parmesan cheese. You can't go wrong....just do what flavors you like. And if you don't want to turn on the oven (hello Summer), you could do a similar method in a big foil packet on the grill! 

Have a blessed weekend. 

xoxo

Blogmas: Holiday Party Foods (& some recipes from Thanksgiving too)

 

Hello and happy weekend ahead to you Friends!

Today my Friend Tamy shared her blogmas prompt, from her blog chasing my life,  about party foods. So I thought I'd share a few recipes I have made from holidays past that you might enjoy. 

The first one I have made and shared on here many times. But it's always a go-to that everyone seems to enjoy. It's a cold crap dip. I often serve it with crackers (including gluten-free ones for my Bro) and veggies too. 

It has a cream cheese layer with lemon juice, mayo, worcestershire sauce, and onion in. Top with cocktail sauce and crab meat and chill a bit. You can find the full recipe here.

Next up is a recipe I made last year that was so yummy! It's a warm, cheesy, creamy swiss almond dip. It has flavored cream cheese at the base, swiss cheese, bacon, onion, cranberry & almond slices  - and you bake it until it's nice a melty. So holiday and so good with crackers, crostinis, veggies, apple slices. I highly recommend for a fun Christmas gathering - you'll be a hit! The recipe can be found if you click here.

The last one I wanted to share is a recipe I got from my Auntie for toffee apple dip. I love this one at Christmas time because I usually cut up red and green apples to go with it. I toss the slices in pineapple juice because it keeps them from going brown (like ever) and doesn't affect the taste. It's such a yummy sweet dip (my common denominator in all of these recipes is cream cheese - ha!) and who wouldn't love a dip covered in those little crunchy toffee candy pieces? You can find this recipe if you click here.

Now on to some recipes from Thanksgiving that I promised to share. 

First up is broccoli salad. I think many folks have their own versions of this. This has been a holiday staple side dish in our family since I can ever remember. It's crunchy, salty and sweet - so how can you go wrong, right? 

I always "marinate" the broccoli in the dressing the night before. It helps soften it just a little so it's not so hard to chew and too crunchy. I wash and cut up 2-3 heads of broccoli depending on the size. Enough to fill the bowl you want to serve them in 😉 I then make a dressing from mixing 1 and 1/2 cups of mayo with 3 tbsp sugar and 3 tsp of vinegar. Pour the dressing over the broccoli and mix well. If you have too much dressing throw in extra broccoli. Or if too much broccoli add a little more mayo. Then cover and keep in fridge overnight. The day you're serving it add about 6-7 pieces of cooked crisp bacon chopped up. About 1/2 cup of red onion (chopped fairly small), and a handful of raisins and a handful of craisins (about 3/4 cup total) Do all to your taste though. Salt and pepper just a little for taste and toss well and serve. 

Next up is the 2 hour turkey Matt made. His family has been doing this turkey for years and it never fails. It couldn't be easier and it literally takes 2 hours or less (we had a 14 lb turkey and it only took 1 hour and 45 minutes!)

He cleaned the turkey and took out the giblets etc in the cavity. 

Place the turkey in a roasting pan and be sure to have some liquid in the bottom (water, apple cider, chicken stock). You cook it at a high temp and don't want it smoking up when it drips. You also probably don't want to bake it in a really dirty oven. Lol Then grease the bird with olive oil all over and salt and pepper. That is it! He tucked the wings under and put foil on the small part of the legs. Then he baked it uncovered in a preheated 475* oven for one hour, and at that point he rotated it about 180 degrees and covered it all in a foil dome. He checked it after about  45 mins and it was up to temp. When you take it out to rest just keep it covered it comes up even more in temp (ours was over what was necessary) And it was one of the best juicy turkeys I've ever had!!

 And how easy was that? It didn't even take 2 hours! You just need to keep an eye on it to not overcook it (keep a meat thermometer handy) And keep 2 inches or so of liquid in the bottom of the pan. 

Couldn't be easier and 2 hour turkeys are a thing you can google it. Here's a recipe I found that's similar to give you more of an idea. Just click here.

 I highly recommend it!!

The last Thanksgiving recipe I was going to share was for yummy hot apple cider. I pour apple cider into a pot over medium heat. I add brown sugar (for a whole gallon add about 2-3 tbsp). Throw a cinnamon stick in the bottom. And stud orange slices with whole cloves and float on top. When it gets good and hot turn down to simmer to keep warm for folks to serve all through the day. Warming, sweet and a delicious sipper. At Christmas time I like to make more of a wassail and I also add cranberry juice along with the apple cider (about equal parts). I'll also squeeze in a little bit of lemon juice. So more fruity than just apple cider and I also still add the brown sugar, cinnamon stick and clove studded oranges. If you feel in the mood add in a splash of spiced rum or brandy to your mug. Wonderful hot toddy! You could do all this in a slow cooker and keep on low or warm.

Yay for the holiday season and all the goodies involved! Do you have some favorite snacks or drinks or traditions? 

A Couple of Easy (& Yummy) Appetizer Dips

 

Hello lovely Friends!

I hope you've been having a lovely week so far. ☀️ 

I thought today I'd share a couple of dips that I made for the gathering we had for my Cousin and family last weekend. They are always a winner and I come home with empty dishes. ;)

The first one is a dip that I've posted before. However, I had to change it up this time and I think I liked it more this way!

This is the original recipe my Aunt gave me many years ago:

However, I didn't have cool whip on hand. So I found another toffee dip recipe and I kind of combined ideas of both and came up with a recipe that I had 3 people ask me how I made it! 😋 

Here is the recipe I found at cookingclassy.com

And here are the ways I tweaked it a bit. When I made it I added only 1/2 c. of brown sugar. And I added about a Tbsp or so of caramel topping (you could do butterscotch too - I had caramel). I didn't want the dip so sweet with that much brown sugar. And then I whipped up the cream cheese, brown sugar & caramel mixture with my hand mixer until it was smooth. I folded in about 1/2 a bag of toffee bits (not the whole thing) I then spread the dip in a pie plate. I topped it off with a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkle of toffee bits.  It was absolutely scrumptious! I served it with red and green apple slices. 

BTW, I always share this pro tip for apples: if you toss the slices in some pineapple juice before you put on a tray, it doesn't change the flavor (like lemon does) and they WILL NOT TURN BROWN! It works beautifully! 

😋😋😋

Next dip...

This is the crab dip I have made for many many years. I have posted it on here a few times. You can find it under my recipes tab. You can click to it right here. It's made up of a cream cheese base where you add mayo, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, & dried minced onion. You then top with cocktail sauce and lump crab meat and let chill in the fridge an hour. It's so yummy served with a buttery cracker like Club or veggies too 

(like cucumber slices & celery).

Enjoy! xo

Easy Homemade Salsa

Hello All!

Sorry I'm late posting today but things have been busy. I'm sorry to say that my Mother-in-law has been getting worse and my FIL is having a harder time getting her to eat. She also had a bad fall today. My FIL is finally been open to discussing the need for her to go to a facility. So we are in the process of working on these things together as a family. I'm planning to continue posting - but next week may get difficult and I made need to take a little break from blogging. I will keep you posted on things, but for now business as usual. Appreciate any prayers you would like to send our way though!! You're such wonderful friends to me and I swear I feel those thoughts and prayers and they mean so much.

Now, can I just take a moment and share with you my love for salsa? It's just one of those wonderfully yummy things in life. I definitely tend to be a more savory person (my hubby likes sweets) and my weakness is chips, popcorn, nuts, cheesy things etc. And a favorite among those is chips and salsa together.  I especially love those crispy tortilla chips and yummy salsa in Mexican restaurants!  

I had been looking around on pinterest for different salsa recipes and I pinned this one recently and thought I'd give it a try. I like that it reminds me of the kind you get in a Mexican restaurant. I also was thinking about trying to make more of an effort to make the recipes I find off pinterest and then sharing them here with you - and an honest review of that recipe. So more of my cooking Thursday moments may be just that. Trying out new recipes from pinterest, and even some of my cookbooks, and letting you know how they went. For this recipe it was quite easy - and again so tasty so I would definitely recommend it. 

I just threw all of the ingredients in my food processor and then blended it up until it was the consistency I liked (nice and finely chopped up and more liquid to it - like in the restaurants). Plus, the fresh taste is so much better than the jar.   Here's the recipe from the blog The Chunky Chef:

• one 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes, including juice
• 1 small white onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 or 2 jalepeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, or to taste
• 1 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1/4 to 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, optional and to taste
• 1 or 2 handfuls cilantro leaves (I prefer 2)
• about 3 tablespoons lime juice

1. Add all ingredients to food processor in the order listed. Pulse a few times to break up the large pieces, then process until texture is as smooth as desired.
2. Taste the salsa and based on personal preference, adjust as necessary.
3. Transfer to airtight container and let sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or 1 day for best flavor.
4. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

You can also find this recipe on my pinterest board labeled "appetizers" and can find that here.

It takes minutes to make then dig in like I did! It's really good after it's chilled a while in the fridge. I put mine in a refrigerated container and it remained fresh for several days. 

Enjoy and Happy Cinco de Mayo!!