Cowboy Caviar

This is a great appetizer, snack, or side dish. 

It's fresh and healthy. 

And it's really good.

Cowboy Caviar

Ingredients

Dressing:

1 Tbs sugar

2 Tbs vinegar (plain white/ distilled)

2 Tbs vegetable oil

Juice from 1 lime (about 1 Tbs)

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Mix these together and let sit. 

After making dressing, prepare these:

4 avocados- diced

2-3 tomatoes- diced

2 cups frozen corn

1 can black beans- drained and rinsed

1 can black eyed peas- drained and rinsed

2 cloves garlic- minced

Toss allthese  ingredients in a medium/ large bowl.  Drizzle dressing over top, give it a quick stir to fully incorporate. 

Let sit in fridge for a few hours. 

Then serve with tortilla chips.

Here is a quick tip for easy avocado dicing.

Slice avocado in half, remove pit. 

While still in the peel, use knife to cut through avocado, but don't cut through the peel.

Go both directions, cutting into desired size chunks.

Use a spoon to scoop diced avocado out. 

Pepperoncini Cream Cheese Dip

Pepperoncini Cream Cheese Dip:

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 jar pepperoncinis finely chopped

1- soften cream cheese. Mix with parmesan cheese, sour cream, and chopped pepperoncini peppers. Chill and serve with pita chips or crackers of choice.

*For another great idea, spread on salami and serve with crackers. YUM!!

Brie Baguette Bites

Brie Baguette Bites:

1 baguette
butter
apricot or strawberry jam (or any you like)
thinly sliced brie cheese

1- Slice baguette into thin slices and arrange on a cookie sheet. Butter the tops of the slices, and toast under broiler 1-2 min. (Don't let these toast too much, they will go back in shortly). Remove from oven.

2- Flip toast slices over and on the untoasted side, spread with jam of your choice. Top with a thin slice of brie cheese.

3- Return to under the broiler for another 1-2 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly and edges are toasted. YUM!!

Stuffed Mushrooms!!!

Stuffed Mushrooms:


These are super yummy! I just made them for the first time last night and they are wonderful! A little spicy and vegetarian friendly- but don't worry carnivores, you won't miss the meat! Or, you can always add bacon!

What you will need:
20-25 whtie mushrooms
1 T minced garlic
1 T butter
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t onion powder
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
(cooked and crumbled bacon- optional)

1- Preheat oven to 375. Wash mushrooms and remove stems from caps. Set stems aside, and place caps (hole side up) in a baking dish.

2- Finely chop stems. Sautee chopped stems and garlic in butter. Add cayanne, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cook until stems are soft and most of the moisture is gone. Remove from heat and set aside and allow to cool for a few minutes.

3- Soften cream cheese. Add parmesan cheese and mushrooms-garlic blend. (If adding bacon, mix in now). Thuroughly mix together. Place a heaping spoonful of cheese-mushroom blend in mushroom caps.

4- Bake at 375 for 20 min. Liquid will start to gather in the bottom of the baking dish. (I let mine sit under the broiler for 1-2 minutes after the baking time, just to slightly brown the tops). Enjoy!!

Bruschetta

My first post!  Yay!  And the lucky item on todays menu is... Bruschetta!  Oh, yum.

My lil' sis' taught me how to make these last year.  Since then, my mouth just waters thinking about them.  They make a great appetizer, but I also ate them for lunch today, and it was divine. 

Since I was the only one eating these for lunch, I just made a small batch.  So start by chopping your tomato.  You want small (not fine) chunks.  After this photo I cut these strips again going the other direction.  What am I saying, I know you already know how to chop a tomato.

After your tomatoes are cut, put them in a bowl with a small handful of mozzarella cheese.   Drizzle about 1/2 Tbs of balsamic vinegar, and a little olive oil over top.  Ground some fresh black pepper and salt over that.  Top with some fresh chopped basil.  Toss everything together.  GARLIC, I forgot this orginally... throw in some garlic, it's important.  :)

While the tomatoes marinate in the yummy vinegar, slice up some french bread.  I prefer a smaller loaf, even a baguette works.  Slice it fairly thin.  Line slices on a cookie sheet and butter each slice.  Pop that in the oven with the broiler on.  Watch these!  I can't tell you how many times I have burned things...  When they are a nice golden brown around the edges and the butter is bubbly, they are done. 

Remove from oven, and top with a heaping spoonful of the tomato mixture. 

(It would have been nice to have a plate full of these babies, but I was eating them too fast. 

 Just use your imagination.)

These are best when the bread is still warm from the oven, and the tomatoes are still cold.  Mmmm, the flavors make a little magic in your mouth, and it's amazing. 

Do you want to know the only thing that could have made these better??

Home-grown tomatoes.  Nothing beats a home-grown tomato.  Our little plants are working hard on growing some beauties in our back yard, but, dang!  They are taking forever.  I'm so impatient...