7 layer mexican dip

My family loves Dips n Chips.. This 7 layer dip is a favorite at our house.

Its so simple...

All you will need is the following:

(be creative and add extra stuff if you'd like)

this is what my fam, loves.. ♥

Mix the Taco season ing with the refried beans, and that will become your 1st layer.

Layer sour cream and then salsa.

Shredded cheese is next, topped with scallions, olives and tomatoes.

And Wa-la..

To see this blog post & Others, please

stop by SOCIAL BUTTERFLY.

..with ♥, SB.

Dark Chocolate Jumble Cookies (With Whole Wheat)

My daughter was begging for chocolate chip cookies today. I thought it might be fun to try some made with only whole wheat flour. We pulled out the wheat grinder and threw together these yummy cookies in a very short time. They were a hit! I'll definitely make them again.

You'll need:

1 cup softened butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

(Yeah, okay I never said they were health food...)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 cups whole oats, blended in the blender (measurement BEFORE blended.)

1 cup extra dark chocolate chips (with at least 60% cocoa.) My new favorite.

1/2 cup chopped almonds

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

1/2 cup shredded coconut

and next time I'm going to add 1 teaspoon almond extract. I think it's a secret ingredient for perfect cookies, but I forgot this time.

Cream together butter, eggs, and sugars. Sift together dry ingredients and combine it all together. Stir in chips, nuts, and coconut at the end. And remember the almond extract. You can thank me later.

Here's the dough. And you can just stop right there if you aren't opposed to consuming raw eggs, because the cookie dough is always superior to the cookies. And this dough doesn't disappoint.

Make the cookie balls small because these babies can really grow.

I shape them and flatten slightly.

Bake at 375 degrees for eleven and a half minutes. Well, if you have my oven.

Somewhere between 10 and 12 minutes should do the trick.

I'm at a high altitude that makes it difficult for trying new cookie recipes, and this one did just fine. They are a *tiny* bit crumbly, but plenty chewy and nearly a perfect texture. Especially for not having ANY white flour. Give them a try!

Oh my! I gained 5 pounds just reading your blog tonight! Just plain awesome. . .

Tomorrow morning we are trying the buttermilk syrup. I have never been a fan of maple syrup. I usually eat my pancakes, waffles, etc. with fruit only. This may be my new favorite.

I'll let you know.

Thanks for the blog. By the way, you girls are just down right beautiful--inside and out!

Salsa Bar for Dinner

Sometimes it's nice to have options. We had a lot of these ingredients sitting around, and I decided to make them all at once. Why not? One nice thing is that they share a lot of the same ingredients, so you only have to chop once. Love that!

Clockwise from the top we have pintos and cheese, salsa cruda, mango salsa, and guacamole.

(all completely from scratch)

These are all so easy to make, delicious, and healthy to boot. We ate them on tortillas and dipped with corn chips. (The not-so-healthy part.) But I can't complain when the kids are gobbling down this many good things.

[By the way, you may notice that the traditional peppers are missing from my recipes. I have a hard time digesting bell peppers, so we rarely use them, but if you love peppers, feel free to throw them in the mix. We find that omitting the peppers also makes it more "kid-friendly".]

Here are my recipes:

Pintos and cheese

Soak about 1 1/2 pounds of dry pinto beans overnight. Wash and rinse them well. Place them in the crockpot covered with plenty of water. Turn the crockpot on HIGH for about 4 hours. Sometimes I add a can of green chili's here for some extra flavor.

[*Sidenote* This particular batch of beans was getting old and had what we call RHB (Really Hard Beans). They were cooking for about 18 hours, but that is another story. They did eventually soften and worked great for the refried beans. Usually it works much faster.]

After your beans are pretty soft, drain off most of the water and use a stick blender (immersion blender) and blend those little darlin's to bits. A regular blender would probably work well too, but you might have to leave a little more water. After the beans are thoroughly mushed I season with cumin, garlic salt, salt, and pepper. Then top with cheese and leave your crockpot on warm until everything is ready to go. Easy as can be.

Guacamole

2 mashed avocados

juice from 1 lime

1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

1/4 cup finely chopped white onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon cumin

black and red pepper to taste

Combine and enjoy! Cover tightly and refrigerate if there are any leftovers, but there won't be.

Salsa Cruda

4 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 white onion, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

3-4 cloves minced garlic

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

juice from 1 lime

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 jalapeno, finely diced (We left it out this time.)

Stir, mix, and enjoy.

Mango Salsa

2 fresh mangoes, diced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup white onion, finely diced (or red onion is beautiful! But we used white this time.)

1-2 cloves minced garlic

2 Tb fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/2 avocado, diced

juice from 1 lime

1/2 Tb sugar

dash of salt

Sweet and Sassy!

Favorite Marinade

This favorite marinade came from my favorite aunt! And it's fabulous on chicken and beef...

Give it a try...you won't be sorry!

½ c soy sauce
¼ c red wine vinegar
¼ c olive oil
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp Basil
¼ tsp Pepper

Marinade for 2-4 hours.

Tea time, anyone??

My sisters and I have always dreamed of traveling to the British Isles together and doing the castles, history, and literary tours there. Since we haven't been able to do that yet, we dream of doing it by watching Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown. Boy, does she have the life or what? Anyway, in one of the episodes she was in England and they are famous for their multiple time outs for tea. They eat cucumber sandwiches, shortbread, and scones with clotted cream, lemond curd and jams. We had to try them out. It's all as wonderful as it looked on Samantha Brown. It might not be the healthiest habit, but it sure brightens my day when I can sink my teeth into it's creamy goodness.

Clotted Cream:
1/2 cup heavy cream OR 8 oz. cream cheese or neufchatel (do not use light or fat-free)
2-4 T. powdered sugar (or to taste)
1/2 cup sour cream (do not use light or fat-free)
1 tsp. vanilla

If using heavy cream, beat until stiff. If using cream cheese, beat until smooth. Fold in sugar until dissolved. Fold in sour cream and vanilla. Chill. Keep refrigerated.

Lemon Curd:
Juice of 4 lemons OR 1 cup lemon juice
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter (do not use margarine), cut into cubes
2 cups sugar

Combine ingredients in a double boiler and cook, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth and translucent. If you do not have a double boiler, use a heavy-duty saucepan and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. This mixture can burn easily. Microwave is not recommended. For a stronger lemon flavor, add the grated zest of the 4 lemons. Pour mixture into a Mason jar with a tight lid and keep refrigerated. Use within two weeks.

Sorry, the picture didn't turn out very well.

English Scones:
2 cups flour
1 T. baking powder
2-4 T. sugar (depending on add-ins)
1/2 tsp. salt
6 T. butter (do not use margarine), cut into cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender. Blend in buttermilk. Knead lightly a few times. Do not over-knead. Roll dough into a circle (not too thin). Cut into wedges, as if cutting a pizza. Place wedges on greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10-20 minutes, depending on oven variations. Scones are done when golden brown on the outside, but fluffy on the inside.
Add-ins: apples, currants, ginger, orange or almond flavorings, vanilla, cinnamon, dried apricots, fresh blueberries, cranberries, chocolate chips, candied ginger, walnuts. Experiment with the add-ins, adjusting the sugar as necessary. If a bold ginger flavor is desired, add finely-chopped fresh ginger. If a mild ginger flavor is desired, use candied ginger. You can also try sauteing the chopped fresh ginger lightly in a little butter and sprinkling with sugar before adding to dough. If a bold nutty flavor is desired, try using toasted walnuts. Toast in a warm oven, stirring occasionally, until the nuts have softened slightly and have a strong scent. If using fresh blueberries, drain VERY WELL before adding to dough.

This picture happens to be some ginger scones. The smell of fresh ginger is absolute bliss. I could sniff it all day...but that wouldn't be very productive now would it :)
The clotted cream and lemon curd are also good on toasted English Muffins. Oh, and you don't have to serve them together. They stand on their own as well.

Sticky Rice with Mango

This is my sister's recipe. I haven't actually tried it yet but she sent it to me and it sounded delicious and she said it was, so I'm posting it in hopes she is correct :)

Sticky Rice with Mango

1 c. rice
1-13.5 oz can coconut milk
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
2 ripe mangoes

Combine coconut milk, sugar and salt. Boil 3 minutes- stirring frequently.
Remove from heat. Add coconut milk to rice. Stir until mixed.
Press plastic wrap onto mixture in saucepan to cover. Let rest 30 minutes at room temperature. Garnish with peeled and sliced mangoes.
Top with Coconut Syrup. DELICIOUS!

Coconut Syrup
1-13.5 oz can coconut milk
1/2 c. confectioners sugar, firmly packed

Stir together. Bring to boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Simmer about 10 minutes. Cool to lukewarm and serve. May keep in fridge up to one week.

Molten Chocolate Cookies

Molten Chocolate Cookies
These rich cookies are best eaten warm, while the crust is crispy and the centers are gooey. They can be reheated in the microwave to soften the centers. Yield: 16 3-inch cookies

2 c. Guittard Semisweet Chocolate Chips
3 T. Butter
2 large eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder

Melt chips and butter in top of double broiler over low heat, stirring until smooth but thick. (Or in microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds at a time after that.) Remove from heat; set aside to cool.

In large bowl of mixer beat eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla on high speed about 2-3 minutes until pale yellow and slightly thickened. Mix in chocolate on low speed. Stop and scrape bowl. Add flour and baking powder on low speed just until incorporated, stopping once to scrape bowl. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes.

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees F.

Scoop 8-2 inch mounds onto parchment lined cookie sheet leaving 2 inches between cookies. Bake one sheet at a time for 12 minutes or until crusty on the outside but soft in center. Cool on cookie sheet 3-5 minutes. Best eaten warm. To reheat cookies, microwave on high power for about 10 seconds per cookie. Enjoy!

Shrimp alfredo with Angel hair pasta

I only have the recipe for the alfredo posted here.  You can use any kind of pasta Im sure.. but we love the angel hair.  We love garlic and onions so I mix it in with my Shrimp or chicken.  We had chicken lastnight, so it was Shrimp tonight..

(go here for original post)

This goes really good with homemade bread.. =)  yum.   

I boil my pasta according to directions.

Put some garlic and onions in a pan to sautee'
Add my cooked shrimp to the pan.. and simmer with a slight touch of lemon.

Making my sauce.

1 1/4 c. chicken broth (i use the organic and sodium free)

4 tsp. flour

4oz. cream cheese, cubed

3 Tbls parmesan cheese (i use more then this.. but whichever is fine)

some pepper.

mix broth and flour in skillet. Sirt in Cream cheese, and parmesan. Add pepper, cook for 2 min, stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in Shrimp-onions-garlic.

Its Nummy!

Cheesecake Cookies

We're not big dessert people, but once in a while, on Sundays, we make treats. My son wanted to choose a dessert after dinner today.

His all time favorite is cheesecake, but I didn't have anything to make a crust. I told him to look up cheesecake cookies on the internet, and he found this recipe. It's really simple, and surprisingly delicious.

Not healthy, but delicious.

We will definitely make them again though.

Here's what we used:

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cube butter, softened

1 package cream cheese, softened (we only had a half a thing of regular cream cheese, so we used that and half a container of the whipped kind. It worked just fine.)

and we also added 1 teaspoon almond extract, because that just makes everything taste better. They smelled as yummy as they tasted. They would also be amazing with chopped almonds.

Cream all the ingredients together, and that's it! We rolled them into 1 inch balls, slightly squished and baked at 375 for 14-15 minutes.

An instant hit

Black Bean and Mango Salsa

I first heard of this recipe when my husband brought it home from a work party a couple of years ago. He didn't bring home the salsa....just the recipe. And he went on and on about how wonderful it was, so I thought I would give it a try. And it really is very wonderful. We like to either eat it with chips or grill chicken and make it an all out meal.

Black Bean and Mango Salsa

1 envelope Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
1 can black beans (not drained)
1 10 oz package frozen corn, thawed (we like to use sweet corn)
1 cup chopped ripe mango (to learn how to chop the mango, go here)
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice


Mix all  ingredients together until well blended.  Cover. Refrigerate at least one hour (or best overnight). Serve with grilled chicken, chips or rice.

BBQ'd Turkey Pockets

I love comming on this blog and seeing what others are making.  I especially love the quick and easy meals. (don't we all)  This recipe I had never tried until this evening, and I was impressed. Its above all.. the easiest thing I have made in days. My kids even liked it, they usually think pita breads look foreign and refuse to eat pita.  haha.  But they didn't hesitate this time.  I didn't get a chance to post a pic of the outcome here.. but if you wish to see one, you can click here and go directly to my blog posting.



BBQ'd Turkey Pockets
1 can Tomato soup
1/4 cup water
2tbls packed brown sugar
2 tbls vinegar
1 tbls worcestershire sauce
1 lb thinly sliced cooked turkey breast
wheat pita breads cut in half
and sliced cheese of your choice. (optional)

heat soup, water, sugar, vinegar and worcestershire in a 12 inch skillet over med. heat to a boil.
Add the turkey. Reduce the heat to low. cook until the misture is hot and bubbling.
Spoon the turkey mixture into the pita halves.
Simple as that.

Cafe Rio Salad

For all you Cafe Rio lovers out there like me, this one's for you!

Cafe Rio Salad

CAFE RIO DRESSING

2 cups mayonaisse
2 cups sour cream
10 sprigs of cilantro
3 los tomates (green tomatoes-fresh or canned)
2 green onions (washed and chopped)
2 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno pepper (seeds and all) *I used green chilis instead about 1/4 c.
juice of 1 lime
1 or 2 tsp. of salt (depends on how much salt you like)

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Dressing lasts for 2 weeks in refrigerator.

CAFE RIO PORK

1 cup Pace salsa
1 cup brown sugar
pork sirloin roast (about 3-4 lbs.)

Mix salsa and brown sugar together and pour over a pork roast.

I just put mine in the crockpot on low all day. It's pretty good.



CILANTRO-LIME RICE

1 cup uncooked rice
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime peel, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice.

BLACK BEANS

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 cup tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE DIP

click here to visit my blog

My family and I loved this.

I would have to say that I liked it MORE then the dip they have at Applebees and Chili's

Now thats amazing. haha

MmKay.. now back to the recipe.

I found this recipe and loved it. It makes a whole 13 X 9 casserole dish, so feel free to cut it in half if need be.

So What you see is what you get. 1 bag of Spinach - thawed and squeezed of any extra water. 2 cans of artichokes-chopped. 8oz of sour cream, and 1 or 1.5 bricks of cream cheese. then a bunch of shredded parmasan cheese. Yum. Mix it all together. Place in casserole dish. Bake at 350 for about 30 min. right before its done I put more cheese on top with chopped tomatoes. do not over cook or it will be dry. Serve hot! Enjoy!

I would love to know if you had time to make this, and how it turned out.  Anything that you may have added extra to it, to spice it up a bit, I would love to know.

SWEET RICE!

Sweet Rice.

Have you ever had Horchata, (its a sweet milk drink) from a Mexican resturant?

Well that drink comes from the juice of Sweet rice. Or so I've been told.

Here is my Recipe and my faimly loves it..

Warm or cold.

2 c. White rice (made accordingly to directions)
1 can Sweet n condenced milk
Tiny bit of milk for your consistancey according to your liking
Cinnamon to taste
and Raisens (optional)

And this picture is just the begginning.. to see more pictures of this wonderful recipe

{click here to go to MY BLOG}

Enjoy.. Id love to know what you think!

mexican chicken

(i don't know where i picked this up, so if it's yours, thanks...take credit in the comments!)


4-5 boneless/skinless chicken breast (I semi thaw and chunk them in approx 2 inch cubes, but you can leave whole frozen, I just found that if I leave them whole, we only get 2 meals out of this, if I chunk them, we get 4 meals)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans (I do not drain or rinse)
1 can ro-tel tomatoes (don’t drain)
cumin to taste (I love cumin so use approx 1 teaspoon)
garlic powder to taste (same note as above)
Option: If you have a lime hanging around, you can squeeze the lime juice in the pot too… or add a bit of the zest.

All in the pot.
Cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 4-6 hours in crockpot.
Serve over white rice with some shredded cheese, sour cream and diced avocados.
*notes in () are from the original author.

my notes: we quite liked this. i only used 1 chicken breast because that's all i had on hand, but it was still good. i did cut them into chunks, which i would do again, but i would also shred it about an hour before serving. i used frozen corn, just in case you were wondering. also, i served it over brown rice, just because that's what we prefer. i'll definitely make this again, mostly because it was super fast to throw together.

Lemon Velvet Cake

*So I realized that I started this post intending to get pictures to include and never did and the cake as been long gone, so I'll just post the recipe. It's been a week and a half ago already, so I might as well, right?

I think spring is nearly here to stay. I love this time of year. I love seeing the new life that comes and I love being able to open up my windows again after a long winter. The fresh air smells divine. Add the fresh air to the clean smell of lemon and I feel like I'm in heaven. Plus the simple elegance of this sunshiny yellow cake is perfect for the spring holiday of Easter. It's coming up, so put this on your menu. I think you'll be impressed!

1 pkg. lemon cake mix
1 3 oz. pkg lemon jello
1/2 c. oil
4 eggs
3/4 c. water


Mix the cake mix and the jello, then add oil, eggs and water. Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. While hot, prick cake with fork and pour frosting over it.

*I usually use a bundt pan, as it adds to the elegance of the cake, but you can use whatever you'd like.


Frosting:
1 1/2-1 3/4 c. powdered sugar
Juice of 2-3 lemons


Frosting will be quite runny and will soak into the cake. Garnish with lemon slices, if desired.

Kumquat Oatmeal Bread

In my produce co-op basket this week I had a bunch of kumquats. "What are kumquats?," you ask. These are kumquats:

They are tiny little miniature citrus fruits with sweet rinds and sour centers. You can eat the whole thing, peel and all if you like sour fruit. They also have a seed in the middle. Most of the ones I opened had just one seed, but one had several.

Aren't they cute?

For this bread I used an oatmeal bread recipe and added some pureed kumquat with the seeds removed. And some cinnamon. I was pleasantly surprised at how yummy it turned out. The first loaf is already gone. The kids can't get enough.

I realize that most people don't have kumquats on hand, but I'm certain you could substitute about any citrus fruit and get roughly the same effect.

Here is the recipe:

Mix together and let sit 5 minutes:

2 cups hot water

1 Tb. yeast

1/4 cup brown sugar

In mixer or bread machine dump the remaining ingredients:

5 cups all purpose flour

2 Tablespoons vital wheat glutin

1 Tablespoon dough enhancer

2 1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal (not quick cooking)

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup kumquat puree (or orange, or lemon)

Mix together with paddle attachment until well blended, then switch to bread hook and pour in yeast mixture. Mix on speed 2 until you get a nice smooth dough ball.

Cover for 1 hour and let it rise. Divide dough in half and knead lightly for 1-2 minutes by hand. Shape loaves and place in well greased loaf pans. Cover again and let rise for one more hour. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

We really need to get some smell-o-vision for these blogs. It smells SO amazing. A new favorite for sure.

Spinach Parmesan-Peppercorn Bread

Since it happens to be St. Patrick's Day, I decided to try experimenting with some green bread made with spinach. I used my parmesan-peppercorn bread recipe with several changes. Here is the recipe:

3 cups hot water

4 teaspoons yeast

2 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon salt

4 cups all purpose flour

4 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 Tablespoon dough enhancer

2 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten

2/3 cups finely minced spinach

(I chopped this in the food processor. 2/3 cup is the measurement after chopped. It took about 3-4 cups of spinach leaves)

2/3 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons fresh ground peppercorns

and because it wasn't quite green enough for St. Patty's:

1/2 teaspoon green food coloring

First, proof yeast in the hot water with the sugar. Let rest about 5 minutes.

Dump flour and then all other ingredients in the mixer bowl and mix with the paddle mixer until well incorporated. Switch to bread hook and pour in yeast mixture. (I put the coloring in with the water right before dumping it in) Mix on speed 2, stopping occasionally to stir down the dough. Mix until you have a nice solid dough ball.

If you are using a bread machine, dump all ingredients in, then the yeast mixture and let it do its thing on the dough setting. I've recently switched to making bread with my stand mixer because I have more control over the dough consistency.

Let it rise covered with a cloth for one hour. Divide dough in half and knead it by hand for a minute or two, then shape it into the pan. Make sure to grease the pans really well because the cheese tends to stick a little.

Cover and let rise for another hour, then bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

This makes two 2-pound loaves. (quite large) If your mixer or machine can't handle this much flour at once, just half the recipe.

It has a really rich spinach flavor with a delicate taste of parmesan. It would make a fantastic sandwich and would be really delicious with a tuscan tomato soup.

Mmmm. Wish I had some fresh pesto to go on it.