Mexican Layer Dip

This Mexican Layer Dip has been a family favorite for years.  You can prepare it in the morning and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Ingredients:

1 can refried beans - stir in 1 T taco seasoning
1 (16 oz) container sour cream
1/4 cup Salsa
2 avocados, chopped - squeeze fresh lemon juice and toss with salt and pepper
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 small can sliced black olives
2 green onions, chopped
Pickled jalapenos, to taste, chopped
2 cups finely shredded Mexican blend cheese

Spray large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Layer ingredients as listed beginning with the refried beans.  Garnish with green onion tops and tomatoes.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve with tortilla chips or tortillas.  Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Dip

This is a sweet, creamy dip that goes great with fruit, baby carrots, and cookies like Nilla wafers or Teddy Grahams.  I made this for our weekly Dallas Cowboys football watching party, and it was a huge hit, as you can tell from the picture below!  This recipe is from my daughter's school cookbook. 

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Caramel ice cream topping
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Add all ingredients to a bowl and whip until combined using a hand mixer.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Japanese Hibachi Grill Ginger Salad Dressing

My husband's favorite part of going to the Hibachi Grill is the salad (because of the ginger dressing) and the fried rice.  I found a copycat recipe for Asian Ginger salad dressing on Allrecipes.  I made some minor adjustments, and this dressing is amazing.  We lightly drizzled it over a simple romaine, cucumber, tomato, and green onion salad. This could also be used as a marinade for chicken or shrimp before grilling.  I'm going to try it on an Asian pasta salad next week. 


Ingredients:


1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
3 T honey
5 T fresh grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp Sriracha hot chili sauce


In a glass jar, add all ingredients.  Put the lid on tight and shake well.  Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.  Refrigerate for 2 hours, if possible, to let flavors combine.  Serve over salad, pasta, or use as a marinade.  Store in the refrigerator.  Enjoy!

Tomato, Grilled Corn, Avacado and Black Bean Salsa

I had an abundance of tomatoes ripen in the garden all at once.  I knew that I wanted to make a Mexican style salsa showcasing the tomatoes.  I had all the main ingredients in a bowl, then had a hard time figuring out what kind of dressing to make for it.  I googled and found almost the exact same recipe that Pam made at For The Love of Cooking, so I used her dressing recipe.  This salsa is great served with tortilla chips or fresh tortillas.

Salsa Ingredients:

1/2 pint Cherub or grape tomatoes
2 ears fresh sweet corn, grilled
1 - 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large avocado, diced (I will use 2 next time since we love them!)
2 T cilantro, chopped

Dressing Ingredients:

3 T canola oil
2 tsp honey
Juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic, minced
kosher salt
black pepper
cumin
cayenne pepper

In a large bowl, add all the dressing ingredients and whisk well.  Add the tomatoes, grilled corn, black beans, and cilantro and toss well to coat.  Add the diced avocado and toss gently being careful not to mash them.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Serve cold with tortilla chips or fresh tortillas.  Enjoy!

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Delights

I made these Mexican Shrimp Cocktails as an appetizer this Easter weekend.  The flavors all worked well together and tasted even better when refrigerated at least 4 hours before serving.  I found this recipe in my Eating Well-May/June 2011 issue.

Ingredients:

1 pound cooked small shrimp (70/90 count), tails removed
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 cups diced English cucumber
2 green onions, sliced
1 1/2 cups Spicy V8 Juice
2 T fresh lime juice
2 T favorite picante sauce
1 T worchestershire sauce
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
kosher salt
black pepper
garlic powder
Tabasco hot pepper sauce, to taste
1 large ripe avocado, diced

In a large bowl, combine shrimp, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, V8 juice, lime juice, picante, worchestershire, and cilantro.  Taste and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Tabasco until perfect.  Refrigerate for 4 hours. 

When ready to serve, stir in the diced avocado.  Serve in fancy glasses (margarita, martini, cocktail, etc.) and garnish with scallions and cilantro.  Enjoy! 

Queso Blanco Dip

I made this amazing cheese dip to go with our Carne Asada Tacos.  I also made some homemade tortillas for the tacos and for dipping.  This is an easy dip that does not start off with a roux as the base.  It's so good and addicting!

Ingredients:

1 T canola oil
1/4 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
1 can mild Rotel tomatoes, drained
2 T pickled jalapenos, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups white American cheese (found in deli section)
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/4-3/4 cup milk
3 T cilantro, chopped

Heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes.  Add the Rotel tomatoes and jalapenos.  Cook another 2 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low and add the cheese with 1/4 cup of the milk.  Stir until melted.  Add more milk as needed to get sauce to the right consistency.  Note:  The cheese dip will thicken quickly as it cools, so start off a bit thinner.  Turn off the heat and stir in the cilantro.  Serve immediately with tortilla chips and flour tortillas.  This can be reheated in the microwave as needed.  Enjoy!

Adapted from Annie's Eats

Super Bowl Party

I just wanted to share some of the tasty food from our Super Bowl party.  My girls did an amazing job decorating our home with homemade posters for both teams.  They even made a sign for each team, and asked for everybody to sign their name to show which team they wanted to win.  It was a split decision, so there was plenty of playful conversation going on during the day.  Now if our Dallas Cowboys could show up for another Super Bowl, that would be fabulous! 

Green Bay Packers Vanilla Cupcakes

Kid Friendly Snack Table

Triple Chocolate Football Brownies

Double Chocolate Heart Brownies

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dip - from Brown Eyed Baker

Fruit Platter with Green Bay Packers Fruit Dip

I prepared the filling for these Jalapeno Egg Rolls, but ran out of time to assemble them..  There was already way too much food to be eaten, so they got scratched from the menu! 

Jalepeno Popper Egg Rolls

Also on the Super Bowl menu (not pictured):

Spinach Dip with French Bread Dippers

Rotel Dip and Tortilla Chips

Sun dried Tomato and Roasted Pepper Guacamole - prepared by Matty Jones

Fresh and Tasty Guacamole - prepared by Matty Jones

Steak and Chicken Fajitas - prepared by Matty Jones

Spanish Rice - prepared by Molly

Jalapeno Pinto Beans

Now, I need to rest up until next Football season!

Ginger-Soy-Garlic Dressing

I have been eating A LOT of salads lately for lunch, and sometimes dinner.  Salad dressings not containing sugar are impossible to find at my grocery store.  Lucky for me, there are four pages of salad dressing recipes in my new The South Beach Diet Super Charged book.  I adapted their recipe for Soy-Ginger dressing and made the ginger the prominent flavor.  I used it over my salads and also marinated thinly sliced cucumbers in it.  Both were full of flavor and delicious!  Just make sure you stir it well before serving.  Then spoon it over your salad so that you get plenty of ginger and don't overdress it.

Ingredients:

3 T reduced sodium soy sauce
4 T red wine vinegar (original recipe called for rice wine vinegar)
1-2 T freshly grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
black pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
1/2 cup Canola oil

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together all ingredients except Canola oil.  Slowly drizzle in the Canola oil while whisking.  Serve over salad, vegetables, or use as a marinade.  Enjoy!

Shrimp Salad Phyllo Cups

This is my Mom's favorite appetizer.  She requests that I make it for every special occasion.  I used the store bought phyllo cups this time since I was short on time, and they tasted great.  If you want to see how to make the phyllo cups homemade, you can check out Paula Deen's recipe.  The shrimp salad can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge until ready to serve. 

Shrimp Salad Ingredients:

1 lb shrimp, cooked and diced into 1/4 inch chunks
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 green onion, finely diced
1 cup lite mayonnaise
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
hot pepper sauce, to taste
1 lemon, juiced
2 T chopped parsley

Phyllo Cups:

1 T butter, melted
garlic powder
pepper
grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Arrange phyllo cups on a baking sheet.  Brush insides with melted butter.  Sprinkle with garlic powder, pepper, and grated cheese.  Bake for 4 minutes.  Remove and let cool.

In a large bowl, add all shrimp salad ingredients and stir well to combine.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  When ready to serve, spoon shrimp salad into phyllo cups and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.  Garnish with parsley leaves.  Enjoy!

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Tailgating Time at The Tiny Skillet

Buttermilk Garlic Dressing/Dip

I grew up in the North Dallas area where there were so many great restaurants to choose from.  My family would go to church and then rotate between a few of our favorite restaurants for lunch.  One of my favorite restaurants is Houston's.  Then when my husband and I were dating, I found out his dad used to take him to Houston's all the time too.  So many Sundays were spent at this upscale restaurant.  My husband and I would go there on dates and on Sunday afternoons to keep the tradition going.  Houston's has many fabulous meal size salads and several homemade salad dressings.  I ate a few of their salads back in the day and would always get their buttermilk garlic dressing.  My husband's favorite thing on their menu was the Prime Rib sandwich that was served with shoestring french fries and he would order a side of Buttermilk Garlic dressing for dipping.  It was sooooo good!  Oh how I miss Houston's!  I tried to recreate their recipe and I think it's pretty darn close to perfect.  I added some cayenne pepper for some kick, or you can leave it out and enjoy the sweetness of the original.  I also use lite sour cream and mayonnaise...I'm sure Houston's doesn't use "LITE" anything in their restaurant.

My husband and I had salads for lunch yesterday topped with this fabulous homemade Buttermilk Garlic dressing.  I'm thinking about making some shoestring french fries for dipping just to make sure it really tastes perfect!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup lite sour cream
1 cup lite mayonnaise
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large clove garlic, crushed (paste using knife blade and kosher salt)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 heaping tsp paprika
1 heaping tsp ground mustard
2 T white sugar
1/2 tsp (or more) cayenne pepper

Add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk until smooth and creamy.  Add more buttermilk to thin if needed.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours so flavors will combine.  This is great served over a refreshing salad or used as a dip...for french fries, or veggies.  Enjoy!

Tip: Did you know you can make buttermilk using items you probably already have on hand? Just combine 1 cup milk with 1 T white vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes, then use in your recipe. I used 2 tsp white vinegar for 3/4 cup milk for this recipe.

Hubby's lunch salad with sliced salami

Dallas Cowboys Fruit Dip

You can make this easy and flavorful fruit dip any color you prefer. We always enjoy snacking on this during a Dallas Cowboy's game!  
Ingredients:

1 - 8 oz. block cream cheese, softened
1 small jar marshmallow cream
1 tsp almond extract
5 drops blue food coloring

In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to beat softened cream cheese until fluffy. Add marshmallow cream and mix until smooth. Add almond extract and food coloring. Beat until combined. Pour into a small serving bowl and place in the middle of a fruit platter surrounded by your family's favorite fruit.  Enjoy!

Tex-Mex Salsa

This salsa is the reason I purchased my food processor.  I love homemade salsa!  I always fill up on chips and salsa when we eat out at our favorite Tex-Mex restaurants.  I created this recipe after experimenting a bit and now it's just perfect.  I make it often and it keeps well in the refrigerator for a week. 

Ingredients:

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
2 T yellow onion
1 can rotel tomatoes with green chilis, drained
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, stems removed

In a food processor, add diced jalapeno and onions and pulse a few times. Add both cans of drained tomatoes and process until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and process again until combined, leaving cilantro with some texture. Taste and adjust seasoning. If the salsa is too spicy, add a little honey. Pour into bowl and refrigerate for at least two hours so the flavors can marry.  Serve with chips, tortillas, or with your favorite Tex-Mex meals.  Enjoy!