Category Archives: food

black bean dip & pita chips

I did it! I managed to make black bean dip as promised! Unfortunately, when I made my grocery list, I failed to remember that black bean dip was on my list for this week, so I had to make it with ingredients I had on hand. Turns out, it turned out! Here’s what we did …

IMG_8520 Pita Chips

1 package pita pockets (I used whole wheat)
olive oil
coarse sea salt

Line baking sheet with aluminum foil (Optional, but makes clean-up a breeze!) Cut each pita pocket into 8 wedges and place on foil lined baking sheet. Brush each side with olive oil and sprinkle both sides with coarse sea salt. Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer chips from baking sheet to cooling rack.

IMG_8524 Black Bean Dip

1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 tsp. cumin
salt, to taste
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp. orange juice

Saute onion & garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Add oregano, cumin, salt & cayenne pepper; saute 1 minute. Remove from heat. Set aside 1 cup black beans. In food processor, combine remaining black beans, orange juice and onion mixture. Blend until desired consistency. Stir in whole black beans and serve with pita chips. Can be served warm or cold.

If you try it, let me know what you think! And if you want more pictures, there are more of the entire process at my flickr site.

Note: While I’d make this again and will add it to my list of great “on hand” dishes, I’d like to try it again with some different and more exciting ingredients. When that happens, I’ll let you know and post the recipe here!

black bean dip …

Sorry for the tease – there’s no recipe … YET!

Justin and I are black bean fanatics – we eat them once a week or so, at least. Last night, as we were enjoying our black bean & cheese hot dogs, he asked about black bean dip. So … guess what? I’m on a mission to create the perfect black bean dip! Give me a few days (Okay, so in “Lily-time” it might be a month, so be patient!), and I’ll see what I can create. I’m thinking some cilantro, garlic (There’s always garlic!), onion, balsamic vinegar (I can use it in ANYTHING!) and perhaps lime. I’m also going to have to figure on something to “turn up the heat,” and I might get creative here. We’ll see what happens when I get going, though! I promise to share if you promise to try. :0)

recipe: creamed corn

This is an adaptation of a recipe I got from Kraft Foods last year. I don’t like typical creamed corn (It’s sweet – ick!), but the taste of this, thanks to the cream cheese, works for me! I made it for Christmas dinner last year and will do the same again this year. Yum!

. : | Creamed Corn | : .

What You’ll Need …

2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp. milk
1 can (14-3/4 oz.) cream-style corn
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen corn, thawed

What You’ll Do …

  1. Heat cream cheese and milk in medium saucepan on medium heat until cream cheese is melted, stirring frequently.
  2. Add cream-style and thawed frozen corn; stir. Cook 4 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
  3. Transfer to serving dish or crock pot to serve. (Christmas dinner at my house is buffet-style, so it goes into the crock pot to keep it warm until it’s time to eat!)

Note: Serves 6.

recipe: mocha crackle cookies

We recently had a cookie exchange lunch in my office, and my challenge was to make 10 dozen award-worthy cookies. Being the thinker that I am (Ha, yeah right!), I searched for a recipe that would yield at least half the required 10 dozen so I could make no more than two batches instead of something that made 2 dozen … of which I’d end up making five batches! I narrowed the options down to half a dozen or so good large-yield candidates, and ended up choosing the below detailed Mocha Crackle Cookies (courtesy of Taste of Home’s Best Loved Cookies & Bars). They’re pretty good, particularly for the coffee lover. Oh, and did I happen to mention that they won the prize for “Best Looking?” Not too shabby! Enjoy!

. : | Mocha Crackle Cookies | : .

What You’ll Need …

1/2 cup butter, cubed
5 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
4 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

What You’ll Do …

  1. In a microwave, heat the butter, chocolate and coffee until chocolate is melted; cool slightly.
  2. In a bowl, beat the eggs and salt; add sugar and brown sugar. Stir in chocolate mixture; mix well.
  3. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to egg mixture to form a soft dough. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.
  4. Roll dough into 3/4-in. balls. Roll in confectioners’ sugar; place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until set.
  5. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Note: Recipe yields approximately 5 dozen cookies.

recipe: raspberry bars

I’ve made these twice now, and both times, people have gone crazy over them! They’re super easy to make, so it would be a quick and easy recipe for all of you busy folks out there! Enjoy!

. : | Raspberry Bars | : .

What you’ll need …

2 c. Nilla Wafers or unsalted thin pretzels, crushed
3/4 c. butter, melted
3 Tbsp. sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2/3 c. sugar
8 oz. tub Cool Whip
20 oz frozen raspberries, thawed & drained … OR … 1 pint fresh raspberries
6 oz. pkg. raspberry Jello

What you’ll do …

  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Combine crushed Nilla Wafers/pretzels, melted butter & 3 Tbsp. sugar. Spread in bottom of 13×9 greased/buttered glass dish and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and cool.
  3. Cream together cream cheese and 2/3 c. sugar; add Cool Whip. Spread over cooled crust and chill.
  4. Mix Jello with 2 1/4 c. boiling water. Let Jello chill slightly; mix in raspberries. Pour over cream cheese mixture and chill for 3 hours or until set.

rb01 rb02 rb03

Note: If you make these, comment to let us know how they turned out! I’d love to hear what you thought of the recipe and what those who tried them thought of the taste!

sad news …

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flakey at times, he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John Dough, Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

(Too cute! Sorry, but the timing was just perfect with the earlier posting of the Gooey Caramel Apple Pull-Aparts recipe!)

recipe: gooey caramel apple pull-aparts

Thank heavens for great recipe finds. This one is not mine, but comes from a Pillsbury Bake Off contest back in ’06 – congrats to Lisa McDaniel for creating this amazing award winner! I’ve made it probably a dozen times now; it’s easy and SO incredibly good!

. : |  Gooey Caramel Apple Pull-Aparts  | : .

What you’ll need …

4 Nature Valley® pecan crunch crunchy granola bars (2 pouches from 8.9-oz box), crushed (3/4 cup)*
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 cans (17.5 oz each) Pillsbury® Grands!® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)

What you’ll do …

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with cooking spray. In small bowl, mix crushed granola bars, pecans and 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture evenly in bottom of pan.
  2. In large bowl, mix whipping cream, brown sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Separate both cans of dough into 10 rolls; set icing aside. Cut each roll into quarters. Stir roll pieces and apples into whipping cream mixture to coat. Spoon mixture into pan; spread evenly.
  3. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until deep golden brown. Immediately place heatproof serving plate or platter upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over (do not remove pan). Cool 5 minutes. Remove pan; scrape any remaining topping in pan onto coffee cake. Cool 5 minutes longer. Drizzle reserved icing over top. Serve warm.

Note: I plan to make this on Thanksgiving, and will update with a pic then. For now, there’s a pic here, along with nutritional info (Don’t depress yourself; it’s not great, but so worth it!), reviews and tips.

taste test #2 … chicken nuggets

IMG_6201 My latest “thing” is chicken nuggets. Don’t ask. Now I do make my own, but with limited time and energy, it’s necessary to head over to the freezer section. This evening, I was on a mission to find out which is better in the match-up between Tyson and Weaver. Here’s how they look on paper …

Tyson Weaver
serving size 5 pieces (91 g) 4 pieces (75 g)
calories 280 220
fat 18 grams 15 grams
trans fat 0 g 0 g
price per 2 lb. bag $7.99 $7.99

IMG_6205 So, how’d they do by sight and taste? The Tyson nuggets have more visible seasoning. They are also more “pressed” and not as round as their Weaver counterparts. The Weaver chicken nuggets had a saltier taste.

My vote … Tyson. Justin’s vote … Weaver. Guess we’ll be buying both in the future!

taste test #1 … cranberry and something

What do you mix with cranberry juice when you want a sparkling cranberry juice? Well, it wasn’t much of a problem until I got into Safeway and saw three equally confusing options:

  • club soda,
  • seltzer water,
  • and tonic water.

IMG_6195 Hmpf. With those choices, I have absolutely no clue. Luckily, thanks to Safeway and the sale on Schweppes, I was able to eliminate seltzer water. 4 for $5 meant two bottles of tonic water and two of club soda for the taste tests.

What’s the difference on the outside? Tonic water has 90 calories, club soda has 0. Tonic water has 35 mg sodium, club soda has 0. Tonic water has 23 g carbs, club soda has 0. Tonic water has 22 g sugar, club soda has 0. So, what’s the difference in taste? Tonic water is sweeter because of the sugar, of course. Club soda has far more bubbles than tonic water. Justin thought the tonic water was more bitter than club soda, and I can agree with that.

The choice? I’m going to go with the healthy alternative and choose club soda. The difference in taste isn’t that much different, and the objective was to make sparkling cranberry juice without a major change in taste and nutrition.

Done, and I’ve got a new drink, or “soda,” of choice!

uh oh, SpaghettiOs®

Oh, my sweet SpaghettiOs. We’ve been apart for far too long. I’ll be frank; I had forgotten about you. But fear not, you’re still close to my heart.

IMG_5113 In a meeting this morning, we got on the subject of this delightful delicacy. Okay, so in truth, I was the only one that finds them to be a delicacy, but my enthusiasm was enough for all of us. The meeting ended around 11, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to get in my car at that moment to get a can. Thankfully, I held out until around 11:45, but that was as long as I had in me. I could barely contain myself on the way to Shoppers, and I surely couldn’t get back to the office fast enough! Those little O’s are SO rockin’ good!

Now, let’s have a chat about how one eats said SpaghettiOs. It’s going to be like the old “There’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s” commercials. Let me tell you, my friends, that if you’re heating your SpaghettiOs, you’re missing out. Life could be simple; all you need is a can opener and plastic spoon. No, a metal spoon won’t do. Open the can and dig in! No need for a bowl. No need to heat. Open and eat!

I’ll be joyfully eating SpaghettiOs for lunch for the next week or so, and I can hardly wait! For now, I’ll toss the can I just gobbled up and move on about my day with a full, happy belly!