Easy-But-Popular Taco Dip

I couldn't get away without taco dip at our annual Halloween party; everyone loves it.

It couldn't be easier to make, really; I even hesitated to post it here for that reason,

but I figured my kids might want the "recipe" some day, so here goes.

Ingredients:

1 pkg cream cheese, softened

1 pkg sour cream

1 pkg taco seasoning of your choice

Your favorite taco sauce

Shredded cheddar cheese (about a cup)

Toppings: chopped lettuce, more cheese, diced tomato, slided black olives

I doubled these ingredients for our party.

First, blend the sour cream, cream cheese, and taco seasoning until smooth.

Spread the mixture out over the pan of your choosing. 

Since I'd doubled the recipe, I used a large serving tray, 

which is about the size of a big cookie sheet. 

The dip base was about 1/2" deep.

Drizzle some taco sauce over that (about as much you like).

Then spread it around evenly.

This is Wisconsin; we love our dairy products, so I sprinkled some cheese on next.

Some people put it on top, but I don't like it when it falls off of my chip; 

I like to sprinkle it where it'll stick a little.

Add chopped lettuce and any other toppings you like.

Some would say that black olives are a must, but you can do what you like.

You can also sprinkle a little more cheese on top

and even drizzle a little more taco sauce if you like.

Chill for at least an hour. If you want, you can make it the night before

and keep it covered in the fridge,

 but hold off on chopping the toppings until shortly before serving.

Serve with Tostitos.

Brain Hemorrhage Shots

As many of you know, we have an annual Halloween party. 

I generally abstain from alcohol; it just doesn't agree with me, for the most part, 

though I do enjoy the rare Baileys on-the rocks. 

That said, our party guests enjoy shots, 

so this year we decided to make the eye-appealing "Brain Hemorrhage" shot. 

I found the directions here. 

Ingredients:

Peach Schnapps

Baileys Irish Cream

Blue Curacao

Grenadine (Buy a small one; you don't need much.)

The directions said to first fill a shot glass half-full of schnapps and to then "carefully" add Baileys until it's nearing the top. This is what it looked like when I wasn't careful enough;

The photo below shows the shots I made, 

in order of learning curve (from left to right).

I learned that using a spoon to carefully drop the liquids in 

resulted in the best look.

This is not a shot recipe for careless people who lack patience;

take your time.

Getting back to the directions....

After the Baileys, spoon the blue Curacao in carefully.

Then drop 3-4 drops of grenadine in.

(I used a tiny plastic shotglass to do this.)

The more careful you are, the better they look.

Partygoers who drank these were pretty grossed out by the texture of the "brain bits" in them

(which is half the fun, right?)

though not grossed out enough to spit them out.

"It tastes about like you'd expect a brain hemorrhage to taste."

I'm pretty sure no one drank more than one.

For what it's worth, I made these shots more than an hour before we needed them,

and they stayed just as gross-looking until we served them.

To Pin this recipe, hover your mouse over any of the photos.

Creamed-Spinach Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Poached Eggs

If you know me, you know that when I get stressed, I cook, 

and this recipe kept me so busy that I didn't even think 

about the party we're having at our house next weekend 

or the five million things I have to do for it. 

Nope; all I thought about was Why isn't Mark making me breakfast? That's his thing!  

making my man happy.

Mr.4444 came home from a business trip Friday with eight packages of Portobello mushrooms; 

some whole, some sliced, some other variations, which a customer had given to him. 

That's a lot of mushrooms! 

Naturally, I turned to Pinterest and found this first of many gems.

This recipe is not for those in a hurry or those who don't like a lot of steps. 

The first step I took was to make the suggested Hollandaise sauce. Who knew it was so simple? Eggs, butter, lemon juice, and a little bit of cayenne pepper. 

And the process is so pretty!

Thanks, Pioneer Woman, for the awesome blender recipe!

Ingredients:

(I included the box of quinoa in my photo, but you could serve this over something else.

Don't ask me what; I'm not that creative in the kitchen.)

If you're interested in a printable, text-only version of this recipe, click here.

Ingredients prepped:

(Mr.4444 was so proud of me!)

BTW, the lemon juice for the Hollandaise is missing from the photo above

The bacon gets chopped when it's raw.

The recipe I used called for half an onion, but I went with more like 1/2, 

as I couldn't imagine using that much.

I've never cooked with Portobellos before. I had to Google to learn a little first, 

like the fact that if you don't scoop out the "fins," they can make things mushy. 

I also learned to use the point of a spoon, not the side of it, 

to dig out the fins; it really does make a difference. 

I included two extra pieces of mushroom below, 

because the recipe called for dicing up the stems, but mine didn't have any to speak of.

I guess this could be important if you don't happen to have a ton of extras, as I did.

Another bit of research I did recommended scoring the tops of the mushrooms, so I did;

just lightly slice over the skin.

Now, when I followed the next steps, I had my laptop open

 and had to keep scrolling down through the steps, which I found frustrating, 

so, for your cooking ease, I created a snapshot of what to do, instead.

You should be able to click on it to see it bigger, if necessary.

The only note I would add is that you can feel free to add a little more fat, 

if you need to, to step two.

Oh, and add a "generous pinch" of salt to the gravy before adding the spinach.

Scoop into mushrooms (brushed with olive oil).

Doesn't this look amazing?!

By the way, this filling (and even the eggs) can be prepared the day before
and reheated when you're ready for them, according to Meseidy (Mah-say-dee)
of The Noshery, where I found this recipe.

Pop the mushrooms into a 400-degree oven on a cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.

As you bake those for ten minutes, poach two eggs.

We like to poach our eggs in a big pan, so that they can cook at the same time but not touch.

After ten minutes, the mushrooms should look something like this:

Place on a bed of whatever you like; I chose quinoa (my first time!)

Place poached eggs on top,

pour Hollandaise sauce over that,

and top with remaining bacon.

Tada!

Mr.4444 proclaimed this dish "fantastic,"
but he was still hungry when he was finished.

I was completely satisfied.

This dish is somewhat rich; eating more than one wouldn't have worked to fill Mr.4444 up,
though we've decided to double the eggs next time.

I'm not sure what I'd add to make it more filling.

Any suggestions?

How to Prepare Portobello mushrooms

I found this recipe via this pin, and I highly recommend The Noshery; it's my new favorite cooking blog!

Homemade Pesto

Does this look amazing, or what?!

It tasted amazing, too, with its wonderful mix of flavors and textures; I just love pesto, and when it comes to recipe payback for the amount of work put in, this one really packs a punch. It's made with six simples ingredients that bring plain pasta to life and make you feel like a gourmet cook! I found this gem, years ago, in my The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 cup packed with basil leaves

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts (or walnuts), chopped finely

1/3 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese (and no, you can't just use the canned stuff--the horror!)

1-2 minced garlic cloves

1 tsp salt

One method is to throw everything into a food processor and chop until it meets your pesto-texture preference. Another way is to simply chop the basil and nuts and then mix everything together. Then mix it with freshly cooked pasta, use it on homemade chicken pesto pizza, or whatever your heart desires. This recipe freezes beautifully; I packed a frozen container in our camping cooler and served it a few days later. If using that method, allow it to thaw to room temperature before mixing with your pasta. (There is no need for it to be hot when you put it on hot pasta.) If it's too cold and you don't have time to let it get to room temperature, set it in a pan of warm water while you boil the pasta.

This year, I used my own basil, grown in my garden. Next year, I plan to plant several plants and whip up enough to freeze and give as gifts--It's that delicious. I'd love to hear how you like it! :)

Mango Slaw

This recipe was offered to me by 93-year-old Cousin Ed, who assured me it is one of his popular recipes. If he hadn't insisted that I wouldn't even taste the sauerkraut*, I would have politely accepted it and dropped it in the recycling bin, but Ed also shared his wonderful Chicken Pasta Salad, so I had to trust him.

Ingredients:
1 15-oz can sauerkraut (preferably Frank's)
1 cup sugar or artificial sweetener
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 whole mango, chopped (or one large jar) Ed says jarred mango is the best; it's nice and juicy. I agree.)

I took the simple ingredients with my family on a camping trip, figuring it would be easy to assemble. It was. First, drain the jarred mango and sauerkraut.

I measured the sugar at home. It was my first time using sugar that wasn't refined, so it's brown, "in the raw." (It tastes like sugar.haha)

Dice the mango and celery.

Mix everything together. I did this in a Ziploc bag, which worked beautifully.

 I prepped the salad in the morning, for dinner that night. It turned quite juicy by dinner, 

so I used a slotted spoon to serve it, 

along with pan-fried walleye, little red potatoes, and marinated veggies.

You may have noticed the smallish portion on my plate (I was nervous!).

However, I'm very happy to report that Ed was absolutely right;

this salad is a winner, and every one of my family members said that I should make it again,

so it doesn't get better than that.

*Nothing against sauerkraut, of course; I adore it with spareribs and wouldn't dare a bratwurst without it, but in a salad?! I'm so glad I bravely ventured into this recipe :)

Chicken Tacos and Homemade Taco Seasoning

I recently made these two delicious partner recipes and didn't have time for photos. Since I'll definitely be making it again, I'll take photos next time :) The blogger on whose blog I found the taco seasoning recipe (sorry, can't find it now!) added that she makes it in bulk, puts it into small mason jars, and gives it as Christmas gifts. In case you'd like to do that, I've included conversions at the end of this post.

Crockpot Chicken Taco Meat
1 bag of frozen chicken breasts (4-5 breasts)
1 pkg taco seasoning (see recipe below if you want to make it from scratch)
1 jar of your favorite salsa
black beans, corn, and creamed cheese are optional (I didn't use them this round, and it was delicious. You can also add some cooked rice at the end.) I double this recipe, because I have a big crockpot, and it freezes very well. It also makes for a great camping meal; I cooked it at home and brought all the fixins for chicken tacos for lunch the next day. It was a big hit!

Directions
Mix the taco seasoning. Sprinkle over frozen chicken breasts in crockpot. Add the other ingredients and cook four hours on high or until the chicken is done.

YUMYUMYUMYUMYUMYUMYUMYUM!

Taco Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp chili powder (I cut this in half, as more than a few reviewers said it was a little hot.)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground pepper

Add to one pound of your favorite meat. Or....


Conversions for making gift-sized containers (You're welcome! :)

64 times bigger recipe (makes about 9 cups):
2 cups chili powder
1/3 cup garlic powder
1/3 cup onion powder
1/3 cup crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup dried oregano
2/3 cup paprika
2 cups ground cumin
1 1/3 cups sea salt
1 1/3 ground pepper

128 times bigger recipe (makes about 18 cups):
4 cups chili powder
2/3 cup garlic powder
2/3 cup onion powder
2/3 cup crushed red pepper flakes
2/3 cup dried oregano
1 1/3 cups paprika
4 cups ground cumin
2 2/3 cups sea salt
2 2/3 cups ground pepper

Chicken Pasta Salad

Earlier this summer, Kendall and I received the blessing of a very special lunch with a distant cousin, Ed, who is 93 and sets a table like this:

The meal included this delicious chicken pasta salad.

In my thank you note, I asked if Ed would share the recipe, and he very kindly did, and I'm so very glad, because this salad is delish!

When I made it, I was far too busy to take photos (next time, sorry), so this is the quick-and-dirty version.

Ingredients:

2 cups cut-up, cooked chicken thighs (I boiled mine.)

2 cups celery, chopped small

1 whole bunch green onions, chopped small

3/4 red grapes, halved

1 11 oz. can Mandarin oranges

2 tablespoons green pepper, chopped small

2 tablespoons pimiento

1/2 cup slivered almonds

 2 cups Creamette rings

Dressing:

1/2 cup sugar (artificial sugar works, too)

3/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup cream

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

Go easy on the mayo, according to Ed; start with 1/2 cup and add more, if needed.

I doubled this recipe for a dinner with 20 of us, and it was way too much, even though everyone raved about it. It completely filled my huge, gold-colored Tupperware bowl.