Hot Bean Dip

I made this to take to my dinner party last night...it was really good! I halved the recipe and put it in an 8x8 baking dish. I also used reduced fat cream cheese, reduced fat sour cream, and mozarella cheese in place of the pepper jack because I didn't have any, and it still tasted fantastic!

Ingredients
1 8oz package cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 16 oz cans refried beans
1/2 package taco seasoning mix
5 drops hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 8oz package cheddar cheese
1 8oz package monterey jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In medium bowl, blend cream cheese, sour cream, beans, taco seasoning, pepper sauce, parsley, green onions, and half the cheddar and monterey jack cheeses. Pour mixture into 9x13 baking dish and put remaining cheeses over top.  Bake 20-30  minutes or until cheese is slightly browned. Serve with tortilla chips.

Caprese Salad

I made this for my dinner group last week. I even used the "authentic" olive oil my mom brought me home from her trip to Israel.

4-6 roma tomatoes, sliced or 1-2 pints grape tomatoes
1 8 oz container mozzarella balls Ciliegine(cherry sized) are the ones I used
sea salt
cracked black pepper
fresh basil
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar (optional)

Arrange tomatoes and mozzarella on a platter, drizzle olive oil (1-2 tablespoons) and balsamic vinegar over top. Salt and pepper to taste. Chop basil and sprinkle over top, arrange a few whole basil leaves for garnish. Serve immediately.

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

So I am following up on my promise--here is the appetizer I'm going to make for my dinner party. This is so yummy and perfect for summer! I am omitting the white sugar it asks for because it is plenty sweet after using the brown sugar, fruit preserves, and then the chips being sugary as well. (You could even omit the brown sugar, but leave the preserves, it gives it great taste!) Also, you can use any fruit you want--last time I made this I used nectarines instead of raspberries, and I've used blueberries in it before and it's yummy too.

2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
8 ounces raspberries
1 pound strawberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor
10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
*1-2 cups cinnamon sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray. (I like use a pastry brush and put butter on both sides instead of the cooking spray, cut into wedges with a pizza cutter and then put them in a zip top bag with the cinnamon/sugar mix and shake. Then I spread them out on the baking sheet).
4. Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

*You can buy this at the store, but it's ridiculously expensive, and it's very easy to make at home. For every 1/4 cup sugar I use 1 Tablespoon cinnamon... so for 1 cup sugar = 4 Tablespoons, 2 cups = 8 tablespoons, etc.

Fresh Salsa

This is my absolute favorite salsa recipe, and even better that you don't have to cook it! All of the ingredients in it are somewhat mild so they don't completely overpower when you take a bite.

4 large tomatoes and
1 serrano pepper (add another if you want more heat)
together blended VERY WELL in the blender--no one wants a huge bite of one of these peppers, they are HOT!

4 large tomatoes, chopped
2 bunches green onions, finely chopped
1 small can diced green chili's
juice of 1 lemon
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
garlic salt, salt, and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients; chill.

This recipe is also very versatile--sometimes I like to add black beans and corn, and sometimes I add some chopped mango for a little sweetness. You can play with the amounts if you want as well-I don't always add the whole amount of onion and cilantro. If you want to be extra-fancy you can use orange and yellow tomatoes along with red....makes it very pretty!

Do make sure that you use garlic salt and not fresh minced garlic-the raw garlic taste would be too much! And last but not least, don't worry if when you first taste it that it doesn't seem hot enough because the longer it sits, the hotter it gets!

Rosemary chicken skewers with berry sauce

It seems I like food on sticks. I also like mixing sweet with savory....so when I saw this recipe it definitely got my attention. And like my other skewer recipe I have on here; it could be used as either an appetizer or paired with something else for a main dish.

A while ago I was making something using fresh rosemary and got a little carried away; which resulted in the whole dish tasting like a sprig of rosemary. So when using this herb fresh I am a little careful and did not use the full 2 tablespoons. It still tasted great so I will probably do the same when I make this in the future.

For the chicken:

• 4-6 boneless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons of chopped, fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup of dry white wine or vermouth
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

For the sauce:

• 1 3/4 cup of fresh or frozen blackberries or boysenberries
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of red currant jelly (or berry jam or jelly)
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Method

1 Cut the chicken into 1 1/2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Mix with the wine, oil, rosemary, and pepper. Cover and set aside to marinate in the refrigerator for one hour.

2 Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Thread the chicken onto skewers and season generously with salt.

3a Grilling Preheat the grill for direct high heat. Brush the grill grates with olive oil. Place chicken skewers on grill and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Place on a platter and cover with foil to allow the chicken to rest.

3b Broiling Preheat the broiler. Place skewers on an oiled broiling pan, 5 to 6 inches away from the burner. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Place on a platter and cover with foil to allow the chicken to rest.

4To make the sauce, place the marinade and the berries in a sauce pan and simmer gently until the berries are soft. Press through a strainer and discard the pulp.

5 Return the juice and marinade mixture to the pan. Add the vinegar, jelly, and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered until it has reduced by about 1/3 to a light syrup-like consistency.

Plate the skewers and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

South Seas Kebabs

I got this recipe from a cookbook that was printed in England- the ingredients have funny names (like aubergines for eggplant and courgette for zucchini) and the amounts are measured metrically. So being the nice and helpful person I am, converted everything into a language that us here a'mercan folks can read.

1 pound rump steak, cut in 3/4 inch pieces (or any lean cut of beef)
1 ripe papaya, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes (use mango or pineapple if you want)
1 red or green pepper, cubed

Honey ginger glaze:
6 ounces chicken stock
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh ginger
1 Tbs honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 Tbs cornstarch mixed with
1 Tbs water

Puree one third of the papaya in a blender. Set the remaining cubes aside. Mix the beef and papaya puree in a shallow dish. Cover the dish and marinate the beef in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

For the glaze, combine the stock, onion, garlic, ginger, honey, salt, and pepper in a small pan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch/water mixture and continue cooking and stirring until it thickens- 1-2 minutes. Remove the glaze from heat and set it aside.

To assemble kebabs thread cubes of beef, papaya, and pepper onto four 12 inch skewers.

On a pre-heated grill, cook the kebabs for 3 minutes. Turn them and cook for 3 minutes more. Brush with glaze and cook them for 1 minute. Turn the kebabs once more, brush them with glaze and cook for another minute. Transfer the kebabs to a platter and brush with remaining glaze. Serve immediately.

Serve on it's own for an appetizer, or with {brown}rice and green salad for a yummy dinner.