Caramelized Onion Dip

For all you onion lovers out there, make sure your shoelaces are tied up tight because I'm about to knock your socks off!

This dip isn't exactly Monet in a bowl, but onions weren't born to be pretty - they're planted and grown, chopped and sauteed, for the sole purpose of making the whole world smile!

Do onions make YOU smile?

Caramelized onions are so wonderfully piquant that they alone contribute to the rich flavor of this dip. The Greek yogurt, sour cream, that pinch of cayenne and splash of lemon do play wonderful supporting roles with this spread, but they couldn't pull this off without the onions!


Dip Dip...Hooray!!

Side note: I would be more than happy to testify that this dip smeared on a hamburger fresh off the grill is a truly stellar idea!



Caramelized Onion Dip

One Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Large Onions
(any kind you want; yellow, white, or red)
Coarse Salt
3 Tablespoons Water
1-1/2 Cups Greek Yogurt
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onions with 2 teaspoons salt, stirring often, until caramelized, 35 to 40 minutes.

Add water; cook, scraping any brown bits from bottom to deglaze skillet. Transfer onions with brown bits to a medium bowl; let cool for 30 minutes.

Stir in yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, and cayenne into onions. Sprinkle with cayenne. Refrigerate.

Serve with pita chips, pretzels, rice chips, vegetables............hambuuuuuurgers(?)

Spicy Yogurt and Cucumber Dip

What's better than showing up to a party with a dish that no one's had before and everyone's raving about? I don't know.....I can't think of anything. I DO know we all love to experience something fresh and new from the kitchen every once and awhile - a flavor combination we've never tasted before - and if you show up to your next party with this hot little number YOU and your savory little dip could be what everyone's buzzing about at the buffet table.

Of course, as it is with funky dips of this nature, not everyone will like this dip, and that's okay. They can eat the cheese whiz............


Spicy Yogurt And Cucumber Dip
(An Indian-inspired curry dip)

1/2 English Cucumber, peeled and grated
One Tablespoon Safflower Oil
2 Teaspoons Curry Powder
2 Cups Greek Yogurt
1/4 Cup Mango Chutney
One Teaspoon Finely Grated Ginger
1/2 Cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
Coarse Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Grate cucumber ( I like to use the the microplane ) and then squeeze between paper towels to remove excess moisture.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook curry powder until just beginning to bubble, about 45 seconds. Transfer to a bowl; let cool slightly.

Stir in cucumber, yogurt, chutney, ginger, cilantro, one teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. refrigerate for at least one hour.

Serve with Pappadams or Rice Chips.

Dip can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Creamy Frozen Fruit Cups or Popsicles

How do YOU spell summer?

I spell it P-O-P-S-I-C-L-E!!!

Nothing cools you down and pumps you up like a refreshing popsicle on a hot summer day, and since we are still in the midst of summer - ignore the fact that the children are heading back to school soon - there is no time like the present to have a little fun with some frozen delights.


These dreamy creamy desserts were originally made for muffin tins, but the popsicle is clearly the more divine way to eat them. Pick whichever way sounds like the most fun to you and indulge! ( I believe there is more flavor and less calories in the popsicles......don't ask me how that's possible......I just know it to be true in my heart.)


Creamy Frozen Fruit Cups or Popsicles

8 Ounces Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Sugar
One Can Mandarin Oranges, drained
One Can Crushed Pineapple, drained
1/2 Cup Fresh Cherries, sliced, optional (or Maraschino)
8 Ounces Whipped Cream
1/2 Cups Chopped Pecans, absolutely optional

Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add pineapple and oranges and beat slowly until combined. Fold in whipped cream and cherries....and pecans if adding them. Line muffin cups with liners. Spoon mixture into cups.
OR...
Spoon mixture into Popsicle containers.

Freeze!

Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving. I know it will be hard to wait the 10 minutes, because it's like torture for me, but it is worth the wait!

Golden Roasted Caulifower with Pecorino Romano

My kids are normally pretty good about eating vegetables. Seriously...peas are their favorite! No one ever believes me, but it's true. Peas get requested every single day around here, which is why I've been on the hunt to find some new ways to prepare veggies that don't get a lot of requests. One of those veggies is cauliflower.

Now, Sheri and I have no issues with cauliflower. We've mashed it into "fake" mashed potatoes, like the South Beach dieters do, we've made soup with it, we've thrown it into our Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas and our Oven Roasted Veggies. Cauliflower is just gooooood, man! But the kids? Yeah, they don't like it so much. So when I was perusing Once Upon A Chef and saw this recipe (along with the assurance that her kids gobbled it right up), I was game!

Let me just tell you that this could not be easier. Wash up your cauliflower, dry it off, cut it into florets, sprinkle it with olive oil, salt, and pepper, roast it, and sprinkle it with Pecorino Romano. It's just that easy. And super tasty, too!! Give it a shot...we promise you won't be disappointed!

Golden Roasted Cauliflower with Pecorino Romano
by Once Upon a Chef

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp. grated Pecorino Romano cheese
a few sprigs of parsley, chopped

Set rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 450. In a large bowl, combine the cauliflower florets with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat evenly.

Roast cauliflower florets on a baking sheet, stirring a few times to promote even browning, until tender and golden brown, about 20-30 minutes. (Keep an eye on it; you want the florets to develop deep golden spots. If it looks like they're getting too dark, turn oven down to 425.)

Sprinkle with grated cheese, then taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with parsley.

Reindeer Munchies!

This yummy little snack shows up every Christmas at our homes. It is highly addictive, very easy to throw together, and makes great gift jars for teachers, the postman, the UPS man, the bus driver, the swim teacher...you name it. Everybody loves Reindeer Munchies! It's one of those snacks that you keep coming back to until the bowl is empty. But here's the great thing...you can make it any time of the year! Sheri just dubbed them Reindeer Munchies one Christmas to be festive...and they've been called that in our families ever since. So even though Christmas is over, please try these...you won't regret it!

We prefer to use the cereals listed, which can always be found at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and other health food stores...or sometimes at Kroger, Giant Eagle, or Meijer in their Natural Foods section. OR you can certainly substitute any other cereals you like...you KNOW how we feel about winging it! Feel free to make it as written below, or add things you think might make it even better. We like to add dried apricots, cherries, or cranberries to ours for a little zing...but it's perfectly perfect as the basic recipe as well.

Reindeer Munchies

1/2 Box Barbara's Puffins Corn Cereal
1/2 Box Vanilla Almond Crunch Cereal
1/2 Cup Brown Rice Syrup or KaroSyrup
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Butter
One Teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Cups Pecans (optional)

Heat oven to 250 degrees. Mix cereals in a 9x13 pan. Combine syrup, sugar, and butter in a small saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and baking soda and pour over cereal mixture. Stir to coat.

Bake one hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Spread out on a baking sheet to cool. When cool, break into pieces, and enjoy!

Key Lime Cheesecake Bites with Raspberry Drizzle

I, Sheri love Key Lime! I love it almost as much as I love lemon! But the flavor is so fabulously intense that "less is more." I choose to serve this cheesecake as mini-bites because the single bite demands that you stand up and take notice of it's marvelous flavor. If you had an entire slice on your plate you would be thinking of the next bite and the next.........but this way, each and every sinful bite gets the oo's and ahh's it deserves! And remember, you can eat as many bites as you want!

The whipped cream and raspberry drizzle not only adds beauty to this cake, but it's the delicate sweetness that soothes the wickedly, wonderful sour of the key lime.

Are you feeling wicked today?!!

Key Lime Cheesecake Bites with Raspberry Sauce

Crust:
1-1/4 Cups Fine Crumbs Graham Crackers
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter

Filling:
2 (8 ounce) Cream Cheese, room temperature

One Cup and 2 Tablespoons Sugar
3/4 Cup Fresh Key Lime Juice (about 1-1/2 lb Key limes) or bottled (we use Nellie and Joe’s)
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
One Teaspoon Vanilla
2 -1/2 Tablespoons Flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs

Whipped Cream:
One Cup Whipping Cream
One Envelope Whip It
One Teaspoon Vanilla
Sugar to sweeten to your liking

Raspberry Drizzle:
One Bag Frozen Raspberries
1/4 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
4 Tablespoons Sugar
One Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Making the crust: Preheat oven to 350°F and butter bottom of springform pan.

Stir together crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl with a fork until combined well or just use a food processor, then press evenly onto the bottom of pan. Bake crust in the middle of the oven for 8 minutes and cool in pan on a rack.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Making the Filling: Beat cream cheese at medium speed until fluffy, then beat in sugar. Add lime juice, sour cream, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Mix in flour and salt at low speed, scraping down the sides as needed, until just incorporated. Then add eggs all at once and mix just until incorporated.

Pour filling into crust and set springform pan in a shallow baking pan. Bake cake in middle of oven until set in center, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool completely in springform pan on rack. (Cake will continue to set as it cools.)

From here you could treat this as a normal cheesecake - running a knife around edge of the cake and removing the sides of the pan - OR you could let it cool in fridge over night, then remove the sides of the pan and cut cheesecake into little square, bite-size pieces and place on a serving plate.

Then in a mixing bowl, beat one cup whipping cream, an envelope of Whip It, and some sugar and vanilla extract to taste. Using an icing doohickey thing or just a sandwich bag with a hole cut in the bottom, give each "bite" a generous dollop of cream.

Yesterday: Make a raspberry sauce by placing a frozen bag of raspberries in a pan. Take a glass with about 1/4 cup of water, add 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and 4 tablespoons sugar - mix until mixed and add to raspberries. Cover and heat over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until raspberries break down and sauce thickens.

Then remove from heat and push sauce through a sieve to remove all the seeds. You are left with a beautiful, tasty, and smooth raspberry sauce.

Let cool overnight!

Take the raspberry sauce from yesterday and place in plastic sandwich bag. Cut a teeny tiny hole in the bottom corner. Squeeze the bag, letting the sauce drizzle over the dollop of cream.

Ta-Da!

Taco and Salsa Dip

Everybody has a 'recipe' for Taco Dip, don't they?

But we believe that this is the Best Taco Dip there is and that's why we want to share it with you!

This recipe came together one day when I wanted to make a taco dip for a party in December, and unfortunately, tomatoes are completely tasteless during winter in Ohio. So, I decided to use Salsa as a tomato substitute - but not just any salsa - raspberry salsa.

I chose raspberry because this dip has the 'Oh' so wonderful, but strong flavors of taco seasoning and sharp cheddar cheese and I wanted something hot and sweet to bounce off the intensity and spice of the cheese and seasonings.

My favorite salsa brand is Jose Madrid and it used to only be sold at the North Market downtown, but now Whole Foods and Andersons carries it also - wahoo! Choose your own favorite brand, but know that using a sweeter salsa, even if you don't typically like the fruit salsas, is a huge part of the fabulous contrast that makes this taco dip the best!

One of the other key ingredients used is the beloved herb, cilantro. Nothing smells more like summer than cilantro. The cilantro adds the sunshine!


Taco Dip with Raspberry Salsa

8 Ounces Cream Cheese
1/2 Envelope Taco Seasoning
One Tablespoon Mayonnaise

Beat cheese, seasoning, and mayo until smooth. Spread evenly over one large plate or platter or two regular sized plates.


Generously layer the following ingredients in the order given:

2 Green Onions, cut into tiny pieces
Cilantro, cut into tiny pieces
(I place these two items on top of the cream cheese to help it to stick. If there's too many items layered on the lettuce it just falls off the chip - and that's a crime!)
Raspberry Salsa
1/2-3/4 Cup Sharp Cheddar, shredded - then shredded even smaller
(I place the first layer of cheese over the salsa to keep it from wilting the lettuce)
Finely Shredded Lettuce, preferably field greens with radicchio
One Red Pepper, chopped tiny
One Cup Taco Cheese, shredded - then shredded even further

Serve with Blue Corn Chips

Note: Did you happen to notice the terms and phrases, "tiny" "shred smaller" and "finely shredded"? If you want your guests to swoon all over this dip, you've got to shred and dice and chop everything tiny because there's nothing better than every ingredient that you've stacked on this dip to be collected on each and every chip and each and every bite!

Nothing worse than scooping some dip onto your chip and big pieces of lettuce and friends falling by the wayside and leaving you with half the dip in your mouth and half still on the plate for the next lucky dipper. Chop everything small and your guests will get to enjoy all the dynamite flavor you've created for them.

Note: You may have also noticed that some of the ingredients are missing their recommended quantities - that is not an oversight. We would hate to limit your creativity in the kitchen by giving you precise measurements on this one. Feel your way to the dynamite flavor and make it your own!

Sweet & Savory Popcorn

Yes, we know it looks like your everyday non-microwave popcorn, but trust us...it's not!

This popcorn is special, but not so special that you only want to save it for special occasions...it's special in the way that your friends get really excited to be invited over to watch a movie because they're hoping deep down inside that you'll make some Sweet & Savory Popcorn for them when they get there! It's a cheap, easy snack that's healthier than a lot of the alternatives. Don't be put off by the Chinese Five Spice powder, folks...it's found in the spice aisle in your local grocery and is the star of this tasty treat...you don't want to skip it!

Heat up your stove and let's get poppin'!!!

Sweet & Savory Popcorn

1/2 c. unpopped popcorn
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Chinese 5-spice powder
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Put popcorn, oil and salt in a large kettle or saucepan. Cover with a tight lid and cook over medium heat. When corn starts popping, shake the pot in a back-and-forth motion. As soon as popping slows, remove from heat and add sesame seeds. Sprinkle 5-spice powder and sugar onto the popcorn and toss to coat. Sit back and watch all the eyes in the room light up when they taste your new treat!

Caramel Corn Puffs

You know when you go to a party where there are lots of different snack foods sitting around, and you don't really want to commit to anything, so you just mingle and pick at all the tasty treats you find? Usually in this situation, you find yourself going back to one certain bowl of goodies again and again until you realize that if you don't stop soon, you might embarrass yourself. Well, that's how we found these little gems...one of our friends brought them to Bunco one chilly autumn evening, and we were all hooked. Everyone was talking about them. In fact, these corn puffs are so addictive that we refer to them as CRACK, and that is a title reserved for only the most dangerous of foods, because man oh man, if you make these, you're going to eat them.

All of them.

Cross our hearts and hope to die, stick a needle in our eyes.

This is serious stuff here.

So if you're looking for a seriously addictive snack to take to a Halloween or Harvest party, this here is the one you need. Try it out and see what we mean!

Caramel Corn Puffs

2 sticks butter
2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. Karo syrup (light)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 pkgs. corn puffs
nuts, optional

Pour corn puffs into a large baking dish or a deep 9x13 dish. In a heavy saucepan, boil butter, brown sugar and Karo for 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla and baking soda (this will bubble up). Pour over corn puffs and stir until well coated. Add nuts if you wish. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Laugh your evil laugh as you realize the addiction you've just unleashed upon your friends!!

**For a healthier version, we use brown rice syrup in place of the Karo**

Peanut Butter Balls

Since we got peanut butter on the brain after the Tasting Party, we thought this was the perfect time to talk about peanut butter balls. They are quick and easy and kids love them! Of course, as with most things in the kitchen, you can play around and get creative with the basic recipe and do whatever you want.

In the balls pictured up above, we used the Earth Balance Peanut Butter that was recently honored at the Peanut Butter Tasting Party along with Agave, one of our new best friends. Also, instead of using an entire cup of powdered milk, we used half milk and half protein powder just to add a little something in the way of extra protein and nutrients. Cascadian Farm Organic Purely O's was our choice of cereal today, because it contains no sugar and still tastes great - a winning combination in our book!

As far as how much cereal to use, I swear it depends on the day, the hour, and the minute you make them. I don't know, maybe the weather or the moon cycle or planet alignment has something to do with it, but from day to day, I never know how much cereal I'm going to need. It all comes down to the peanut butter and honey/agave and how well the cereal incorporates itself within that "dough". As you slowly pour the cereal into the mixing bowl, just keep an eye on how well the peanut butter grabs it and pulls it in. You don't want a bunch of O's flying around the bowl unable to stick to the dough. Remember, you have to be able to form little balls with this stuff, so start with 1-1/2 cups, keep your eye on the prize and make a judgement call when it comes to quantity.

Deep, deep, deep in my heart, I believe there's a connection between whether you choose agave or honey and how much cereal you will use. The half cup honey will give you more sticking power, so you will probably use more cereal and the mere three tablespoons of agave is probably going to stick less, so less cereal would be used. It's just a theory, but I'm sticking with it.....


Peanut Butter Balls

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
2 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons Agave OR 1/2 Cup Honey
One Cup Powdered Milk
1-1/2 Cups Purely O's/Oatios/Cherrios
One Teaspoon Vanilla

Heat butter and honey or agave in pan until warm and thinned. Remove from heat. Drop your powdered milk, peanut butter, and vanilla in a mixing bowl and mix well. Add the warmed butter honey/agave to the mix and beat until it forms a sort of dough. Add cereal until well coated. Form into small balls, or BIG balls - whichever you want!

Eat immediately!

Or later!

Or both!

Just Have Fun!

Cinnamon Popcorn

Growing up, I loved popcorn! When all of us kids were young, my parents popped enough corn for all us to have our own little bowl. When it was just my sister and I still living at home, I can remember nights when I would be studying, and all of a sudden I would smell the unmistakable aroma of popcorn in the air.

As if under a spell, I would get up and follow the scent into the kitchen. Sometimes, I would catch my Mom or Dad leaving the room with their big bowl of popcorn in hand, while other times the kitchen would be empty - except for the evidence they left behind. I would then pop my own corn, leave the kitchen, and within minutes, hear the popper cranking out a third batch for my little sister. The smell was so infectious, it was hard not to eat some once you got a whiff of it.

My mother never believed in microwaves, so we always air popped our corn and drizzled good old-fashioned butter right on top. I remember my mom making homemade caramel popcorn for special occasions sometimes and it was delicious! It always took forever to make - at least it felt like forever when I was a kid, which is why I've never bothered to make it as an adult. But my older sister, Terri found this great recipe that tastes like caramel popcorn and it takes no time at all.

I'll warn you just like my sister did the first time she made it for me by saying, "Be careful. It's somewhat addictive - once you start, it's hard to stop." Of course, a warning like that seems to have the opposite effect on me, so I dug right in. I think it's hard to stop once you start because it's a lot more subtle than caramel popcorn. There's just enough of a hint of butter, sugar, cinnamon, and salt on each kernel to excite your taste buds, that before you know it, you've completely embarrassed yourself by shoveling it down the hatch like you haven't eaten in days. With that said, it's probably best to serve this sinful snack in small individual bowls, so nobody falls prey to gluttony. Or not!

So, if you're spending some quality time with the family this Mother's Day Weekend and your evening happens to involve a family movie, consider this fabulous sweet treat for the whole family to enjoy!


Cinnamon Popcorn

Pop Enough Corn To Measure 12 Cups

Melt:
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Salt

While you're popping your 12 cups of popcorn, melt the butter, sugar, salt, and cinnamon on the stove over low heat. Put the popcorn in a large bowl and pour the mixture over it, stirring constantly. Once you've coated all the popcorn, grab a bowl and dig in.

If you are not eating the popcorn immediately - say, you're bringing it to a fireworks display or a drive-in movie - pour the popcorn into a 9x13 pan and place it in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Place popcorn in sealed plastic bag until ready to eat!

Enjoy!


Happy Mother's Day to our mothers, Cindy and Jean!

We Love You!