Recipes- Hands down...BEST Chile Verde Dip

A bunch of us got together to watch the Seahawks in the playoffs, and our friend Linda brought this YUM.MEE chip dip!  (It also tasted really good with the veggies).  Sorry the photo is not the best, but my hubby -who is the pickiest eater- said it's the best chile verde he's ever had! 
See our other Playoff foods here:  Linda's Organic and Sugar Free Cacao Coconut Balls and FOODball at the Baker's

Chile Verde Dip
Saute one large onion
3 cloves garlic
3 poblano peppers
5-8 tomatillos
add salt and pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
Turn down heat and simmer until tender.  Transfer to a food processor and blend into a sauce.
Enjoy!

Recipes- for Football Playoffs (or is that FOODball?): Wings, Skins and more

Though I'm not that much into Football (adore those pants, though), OF COURSE I'm going to root for our Seahawks when they are in the playoffs ...and it was a GREAT game!!  Our friends the Bakers were gracious enough to offer their home, provide some YUMmy food, and Dawn even took most of these pics!  Thank you- can't wait for Sunday's game!

Chicken Wings

Purchase frozen chicken wings from Costco, and Franks Hot Wing Sauce (recipe is also on back of bottle).  Some of these were made in the crockpot (Dawn says she doesn't recommend- makes it more soggy and not as flavorful).  You can also bake in the oven but they tasted AMAZING in the deep fryer!  They also cooked some just plain.  You can serve with Blue Cheese Dressing or Ranch.

Seth's Potato Skins
Lightly oil clean potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake until done.  Once cooled, slice lengthwise and scoop out the middle (can use insides for another day).

Add a dab of butter, crispy bacon (REAL BACON ONLY) that was cooked earlier, green onions and pepper-jack cheese.

Place in back over until warm and cheese is melted.  Dip in sour cream.  These were some of THE. BEST. skins I've had!

Our friend Moira and Seth both had the good idea to bring the pork with hot mustard.  That mustard was soooo hot- it was wonderful!  Moira's was from QFC (all nice and presliced) and Seth got his from Costco (you have to cut yourself).  Either way it's good!

We also had a veggie platter (I bought one from Costco but we didn't open it so saved it for a brunch a few days later).  Nothing beats FRESH vegetables, though- washed all nice and hand cut ;)

Chips and Dips are always yummy- they used Miss Grass Onion Soup mixed with sour cream (yum).  Also bought from Costco was their Spinach Dip to serve over crackers.  This is one of the best dips they have there!

And what's a Football Game without BEER?  Course Dawn shared the wine we purchased at Sip City Wines this past week (such a good friend!).  Dessert was Linda's Organic Cacoa Coconut Balls, Tari brought Carolyn's Won-Ton Chips, and Linda also made a Verde Chip Sauce (recipes to come soon...can't get EVERYthing in here!).

Recipes- Baked Potato Soup and Waste-Not-Potato Skins

My mother Karen (like her mother AND grandmother before her) belongs to an S.O. (serving others) Circle at her church.  If they host a large luncheon or dinner, they will send duplicate recipes home to their members, and bring the smaller batches all made so that way they can feed a whole bunch of people the same meal.
This Baked Potato Soup from her S.O. Circle is what my mom served us for part of our Christmas Eve dinner (see the Trinidad Slaw recipe here).

Baked Potato Soup
Can be doubled
4 large baking potatoes or 8 small ones (about 2 1/2 lbs)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups milk
1 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided (we used leeks...cause we had them)
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled.
Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400* for one hour or until tender.  This step can be done in advance or you can even you can even use leftover baked potatoes.  Allow to cool.  Slice in half and then scoop insides into bowl (there will be some potato still inside the skins).  Discard the skins (OR see our Potato skin recipe below) and break any large potato chunks into bite-sized or smaller pieces.

Place flour into a large pot and gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended.  Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly but do NOT bring to a full boil!!!!  Boiling will lead TO CURDLED SOUP, and hey, no one likes curdled soup!  (direct quote from recipe)

Add potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt and pepper.  Stir until cheese melts and remove from heat.  Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions.

Cook over low heat until soup is heated thoroughly.  Again, this is a reicpe where you have to be vigilant!! Don't let it boil and don't let it burn the bottom of the pot....no running off to check you email (once again, another actual quote LOL).
Serve warm- garnish with rest of cheese, rest of onions and top with bacon.


Waste-Not-Potato-Skins

Using the skins leftover from making the soup, melt some butter and brush onto the potatoes in the skins.  Top with cheese, bacon (we used a reserve from the soup recipe above), and salt and pepper.
Broil for 2-4 depending on distance of shelf in oven.
Serve with sour cream (optional) or dip into your soup, or ranch dressing.

We wanted something nice & cozy and this was perfect after sitting around the bonfire singing Christmas carols!  Thanks Mom!

Christmas- Our Annual Party: Recipes, Cookie FAILS, Gift giving and a GREAT time!

Though we get together each month, December is extra special for obvious reasons!  A time to dress up a little, we give gifts, and we do our annual (and possibly final) cookie exchange. 

It's ALL ABOUT THE FOOD!!!!  Each month we take turns hosting and Dani offered her home for December.  It's so much fun sitting around a pretty table chatting with your girlfriends!  Here are a couple of the things we ate (think I'm still full!):

Stuffed Mushrooms
Remove stem from large mushrooms.  Put a dollup of your favorite stuffing in the bottom of mushrooms leaving room for cream cheese filling.  Put 8oz of cream cheese in the food processor with 1/2 cup of olive tapenade (or finely chopped olive mix) and 1 TBS (give or take to your taste) of Johhny's Garlic Spread and Seasoning.  Pulse until mixed and spoon into mushrooms.  Bake at 400* for about 20-30 minutes.  Serve immediately. 

Italian Pin Wheels
Start with your favorite homemade French bread dough or store bought dough.  Roll into 16x10 rectangle 1/4" thick- brush with olive oil leaving 1" at longest edge and Sprinkle with garlic powder.  Cover dough with 2 cups of shredded cheese then Layer with pepperoni slices and add chopped basil.  Roll dough tightly starting at long edge and dampen opposite 1" edge with water and complete rolling (the water will help seal the roll).  Cut into 1" slices and place on non-stick baking sheet then Cover with cloth and let raise.  Bake at 375* until golden brown.  Serve with marinara sauce- best served warm.

....and of course don't forget the drinks!  Yummy cranberry punch and wine- DANG, why did I drive??

ME (left) with my present of a Mayberry Cookbook, Bunco ornament,
headband and an original jewelry creation from All Wrapped Up.

We also do a gift exchange (with a $30 cap) by drawing names.  LOVE knowing I'm at least getting ONE present from SOMEbody this year!  These kitchen item ornaments were my gift to the gals to show my appreciation for all their hard work this year.

Cookie Exchange
Note:  My Baklava will be on a separate blog
FUNNIEST COOKIE EXCHANGE EVER!  This was the year for epic fails.  Part of us made too-complicated-never-to-be-duplicated cookies, others had batches that made small- causing them to have LESS than the minimum nine dozen, one (whom shall remain nameless) actually PURCHASED her cookies (BRILLIANT  woman!), mine had a Phyllo mishap, and one sweetie....well, completely misunderstood and just brought TWO dozen cookies...TOTAL ("What???!!!  Why would you want NINE dozen cookies???!!!).  Needless to say, the over all consensus was to skip our annual cookie exchange next year ROFL!!

Dawn's Rum Balls
2 boxes (12oz ea) vanilla wafers, crushed
2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups confectioner's sugar
2/3 cup dark rum
2 cups light or dark corn syrup
8oz container diced dried citrus fruits (optional)
shredded coconut or jimmies for coating
Stir vanilla wafer crumbs, nuts, confectioner's sugar and unsweetened cocoa.  Starting with 1/2 the quantity of rum and 1/2 the corn syrup, gradually stir in liquids, adding a little at a time.
Stir together and check consistency.  When you can roll the mixture into a 1" ball, don't add any more run or syrup.  You may not need to add the full amount called for in the recipe (this is because some cocoa brands contain more cornstarch or other fillers than other brands which absorb the liquids).  
Add citrons (optional) and stir until well blended then shape into 1" balls.
Roll in either coconut or the jimmies.
This recipe SAYS it makes 9 dozen but when Dawn made them, it only came out to 5 1/2 

Dani's Chocolate turtle cookies
 
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoon (1stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, seperated, plus 1 egg white
2 tablesppons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4cups pecan, chopped fine
14 soft caramel candies
3 tablespoons heavy cream
 
Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl.  With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minute3s.  add egg yolk, milk and vanilla and mix until corporated.  Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.

Adjust oven rack to upper middle and lower middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy.  Place pecans in another bowl.  
Roll dough into 1inch balls, dipin egg whites, then roll in pecans.  Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared on prepared baking sheets.  Using 1/2 teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball.  Bake until set, about 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. 
Microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.  Once cookies are removed from oven, gently re-press existing indentations.  Fill each with 1/2 teaspoon of caramel mixture.  Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rach to cool completely.

Laura's Pioneer Potato Candy 

original recipe yield 2 dz 

1 lb chocolate, chopped

1 cup mashed cooked potatoes

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 lbs confectioner's sugar

2/3 cup shredded coconut or chopped peanuts

Inn the top of a double boiler, heat chocolate, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and smooth.

In a mixing bowl, combine the potato, salt and vanilla.  Sift the confectioner's sugar over potato, stirring and adding about 1 cup at a time.  Mixture will liquefy when sugar is added then gradually begin to thicken.

When it becomes the consistency of stiff dough, knead it even though not all the sugar has been added.

After kneading, cover with a damp cloth and chill until a small spoonful can be rolled into a ball.  Shape in small 1/2" balls.  Dip balls in melted chocolate then roll in peanuts or coconut.

The special "Italian" cookies (store bought!)

Recipe from Krusteaz (these were my hubby's FAV)

Christmas- Poker Night Bacon Cheddar Pinwheels

I think the email invite for my husband's December Poker said something to the equivalent that it was a MAN'S night so there would be NO dressing up, NO gift giving and NO cookie exchange LOL.  BUT, we still had to make an appetizer so since I had a Bunco Night the day before (click HERE to see the post), we bought double the ingredients to make the same recipe.  From the Pillsbury Website, this looked very simple with a lot of stuff I had on hand.

Bite sized pieces at my Bunco Night

Bacon-Cheddar Pinwheels


1 8oz can of Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls OR 1 can Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations refrigerated seamless dough sheet
2 TBS Ranch Dressing
1/4 cup cooked real bacon pieces or 4 slices of bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled
1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese (2 oz)
1/4 cup chopped green onions (4 med).  Hubby doesn't like these so we used finely chopped green peppers instead

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate into 2 long rectangles. Press each into 12x4-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut lengthwise into 2 long rectangles. Press each into 12x4-inch rectangle.
• Spread dressing over each rectangle to edges. Sprinkle each with bacon, Cheddar cheese and onions (in our case, we used green peppers)

• 

  NEXT TIME:  We'll chop bacon smaller and put more in corners

  Starting with one short side, roll up each rectangle; press edge to seal. With serrated knife, cut each roll into 8 slices; place cut side down on ungreased cookie sheet (we saw a tip online that said after you roll it up and before cutting, put into the freezer for about 1/2 an hour).
• Bake 12 to 17 minutes or until edges are deep golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.
  
  This is how my hubby took them to Poker.  They weren't "pretty" enough for me for my Bunco Night so we cut them into bite-sized-fourths (see top photo).

Christmas- Bunco, Wally, and Ornament Exchange!

Every Christmas, a group of gals I know host a Christmas Bunco night with an ornament exchange and a couple games of Wally (see below for how-to).  Everybody brings a dish to share with the Hostess providing drinks and dessert so there's lots of yummies!  The recipe for photo shown here is at the bottom of this blog but for the recipe for MY dish, go to: Poker Night)

THH Tari's Hidden Valley Ranch Sausage Stars (recipe below)

After we've all had snacks, we play two rounds of Bunco.  I ended up being the LAST person to be wearing the Bunco Hat at the end of the night (and came 2nd for most Buncos) so won back my $10 entrance fee.  Woo-hoo!  






Then Hungry Housewife Dawn ended up being a top winner of the night with MOST wins!

Dawn with her Bunco Win Prizes

After Bunco, we moved onto the Ornament Exchange.  This is my FAV way to do this!!!  Every person puts their own wrapped ornament in front of them then Co-Hostess Tami reads aloud the story of The Night Before Christmas.  Every time she says the word "THE", we pass our gift to the right.  Whenever she says "And", we pass it to the left.  At the end of the poem, whoever's gift you have in front of you is the one you get to keep!  No "stealing" involved! 
After we've opened all our gifts, we move onto Round ONE of Wally which involves using quarters followed by Round TWO using dollar bills.

Rules:  You roll the same number of dice that you have Quarters (or Dollars).  As the photo shows above, if you roll a 1,2 or 3, you get to KEEP your money!  BUT if you roll a 4, it goes into the Kitty (the pot).  For a 5, you slide your money to the person to your right or if you do a 6, you pass it to the person to your left.  You do the same thing for EACH dice (for example, if you roll straight 4s, the ENTIRE thing goes into the Kitty!).  

Quarter Wally Winner Heather

Eventually, it will dwindle down to just a few people still with money (time depends on # of players- we had 18 women!).  When it's down to the LAST person, the game is NOT over yet!  She HAS to keep rolling until EVERY Quarter (or $1) is in the Kitty so there is a chance she could lose it all!  

Dollar Wally Winner Dalese

If you are playing Quarters, the Winner will get ALL the money in the pot (so that's $1.25 per person playing).  But if you are playing with one dollar bills, the Winner will get $5 per person so the stakes can get pretty up there (esp if you use $5s or $10s).


Thank you to the hostess- Hungry Housewife Jody for another wonderful, fun night with the girls!

Hidden Valley Ranch Sausage Stars


2 cups (1lb) cooked crumbled sausage
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey jack cheese
1 cup prepared Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
1 can (2.25 oz) sliced black olives
1/2 cup chopped red peppers
1 pkg fresh or frozen wonton wrappers
vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 350'. Blot sausage dry with paper towel and combine with cheeses, salad dressing, olives and red peppers. Lightly grease a mini muffin tin and press 1 wrapper in each cup. Brush with oil. Bake 5 minuted until wrappers are golden brown. remove from tins, place on baking sheet. Fill with sausage mixture. Bake 5 minutes until bubbly.

Dinner and A Movie- Italian Night with Letters To Juliet

We thought it would be fun to host a Dinner/Movie night so we threw one together at the last minute on Friday.  For our first movie, we picked Letters To Juliet (see our review at Friday Flick- Letters To Juliet) and since it's about being in Italy, we picked Italian menu items of course.  

Our Italian Menu

• Hostess Dawn served Brushetta, coffee, and a Caesar salad
• Stephanie made Florentine Ravioli
• Alisa and her mom Pat did an Italian Wedding Soup from the crock-pot
• Moira brought a bottle of 14 Hands Hot To Trot (yeah- another cork for my collection!)
• Laura had some lemon/liquor drinks but since I already had a few glasses of wine, I'm not sure what they were LOL

Since we did last minute, a couple of gals couldn't come so you could add: Italian Sodas, Caprese and Tiramusu

Brushetta with Tomato and Basil 

6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread

1/4 cup olive oil

1. Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice.
2. Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.
3. While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.  Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.
5. Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

Makes 24 small slices. Serves 6-10 as an appetizer. Or 3-4 for lunch (delicious served with cottage cheese on the side.)

Casear Salad

Romaine lettuce

Maria Calender's Caesar Dressing

Fresh Parmesan cheese

Lemon 

Toss the salad with the dressing and then let your guests sprinkle the cheese and squeeze their lemon.  The lemon was a nice touch- I actually went back for seconds and that is HUGE for me (not the getting seconds part but that it was for SALAD!)

Florentine Ravioli 

2-3 TBS Extra Virgin Oil

4 cloves of garlic chopped (saute for about 40 seconds until "aromatic")

1/4-1/2 chopped red onion

2 handfuls of spinach

2 chopped Roma tomatoes 

1 can of sauce- we used Constandina Alfredo from the refrigerated section at Safeway

Opt- grilled chicken

1. Start your water to boiling (this goes fast) and follow the directions for your pasta.
2. Saute your garlic in about 2-3 TBS EVO for about 40 seconds until it's "aromatic.  ADD the red onion and spinach- stir a couple of times until the spinach is wilted.
3. In the meanwhile, saute a container of chopped fresh mushrooms with 1 TBS butter then add the mushrooms and tomatoes to the spinach mixture.
4. Warm up the sauce and add all the completed pasta.  Sprinkle generously with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and viola! Opt:  you can add grilled chicken to the top

Italian Wedding Soup (crock pot)

1 pound small meatballs
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped (slightly under cook this to avoid over-drying)
1 cup carrots, diced or cut into matchsticks
1 cup celery, diced
1 head escarole, chopped OR 1 package (8 oz. size) chopped spinach (I did Endive cause Safeway didn't have Escarole and I didn't want to do spinach since Steph had it in her dish)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup acini di pepe pasta (or other tiny pasta)

1/4 cup romano cheese (had a hard time finding this- can sub Parmesan) 

To save time in the morning, we pre-cut everything and put in the fridge overnight

1. Saute meatballs until browned.  If using larger pre-made meatballs you can quarter them.   We bought pre-cooked ones so skipped this step and then cut the meatballs smaller after it was cooked.
2. Combine all ingredients except pasta & cheese in crockpot and cook for 8-10 hours on low. 
3. Add the pasta during the last hour of cooking.
4. Top with cheese when serving.

Looks a little green in the pic but it WAS yummy!

We had a wonderful evening visiting, eating, and watching the movie together.  Thank you Dawn for hosting and to everybody who was able to come!  Can't wait for the next one...