Black eyed pea salsa

We were having my sister-in-law Angie over for dinner last night. My go to appetizer/snack is guacamole. I went to the store yesterday, but all the avocados weren't ripe enough or were way past ripe. I then decided to try this salsa instead. Scott was very upset when I told him I was substituting a bean dip for our favorite guacamole.

In the end, we really liked this salsa. It was fresh and a nice change. The apple cider vinegar really added an extra kick to the salsa flavor. This sits well overnight too!

Black eyed pea salsa-adapted from The New Cookbook by Better Homes and Gardens
Total time: 5 minutes
Makes 2 cups

• 1 15-ounce can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 small red pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Tortilla chips for serving

In a serving bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Serve with chips.

Carrot and cumin dip

Last Christmas, my cousin bought us cookbooks, and I've finally gotten around to making a recipe out of one! The Cooking with Beer cookbook sounds awesome, but I have to say the first recipe was one I wouldn't make again. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but it just wasn't anything special. This dip was relatively easy to make and gave me a great excuse to use my new, super awesome food processor! Definitely serve with hard bread.

Carrot and cumin dip-adapted from Cooking with Beer by Paul Mercurio
Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes 2 cups

• 2 pounds carrots, peeled
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• Crunchy bread, chips or crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the carrots in half lengthwise and then crosswise. Place into a 9x13 inch baking dish and toss with 4 tablespoons oil, honey, cumin seeds and garlic. Bake for 20 minutes or until carrots are softened.

Add the carrot mixture and remaining ingredients to a large food processor. Pulse until blended-it will be a bit chunky. Serve with  crunchy bread, chips or crackers.

Layered Greek Dip

Yesterday, I shared my new hummus recipe, and today, I want to show you what else I did with it! I made an even better hummus dip! This got to be a bit messy to be able to get everything on the pita, but oh my, was it good! I think in general, I just love the Greek flavors and can't get enough of it!

Layered Greek Dip-adapted from Self
Total Time 10 Minutes
Serves 16

• 2 cups of your favorite hummus
• 1 medium cucumber, chopped
• 8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup kalamata olives, sliced
• 3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• Pita bread or chips for dipping

On a plate or platter, spread the hummus evenly. Top with cucumber, tomatoes, olives and feta cheese-sprinkling evenly over entire plate. Sprinkle with basil and serve with pita bread or chips.

Mushroom Hummus

I made this hummus as part of a recipe for a holiday party that I'll share with you tomorrow. I haven't had hummus in awhile, but I did have all the ingredients I needed to make it so it seemed like the best plan of action!

This was definitely the best hummus I've ever made. The flavor was absolutely fantastic. Eating this plain with some pita is pretty much the best snack! I'm just realizing now that I don't have a picture of just the hummus--I only have a picture of what was brought to the party. So you'll see it tomorrow!

Mushroom Hummus-adapted from The Mushroom Channel
Total Time: 15 Minutes
Makes 2 Cups

• 10 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 14 ounces cooked or canned chickpeas
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Pita bread or pita chips, for serving

Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute mushrooms until cooked through. Let cool slightly.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse chickpeas, garlic, peanut butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cumin until beginning to blend. Add in olive oil and blend until well combined. Add additional seasoning as needed. Serve with pita or pita chips.

Bacon and Caramelized Onion Dip

Onion dip is one of those sinful, prepackaged dips that I just can't say no to. If you have some good ruffled potato chips with it, it is just all I want to eat all night. When I came across this recipe, I knew I had to make it. Being able to make my own onion dip? And on top of it, adding BACON to it...who in the world can say no to that? Not this girl.

Side note, if you didn't know, bacon is pretty much one of my favorite things of all time. I'm technically watching what I eat, but by no means am I going to cut bacon out of my life. Just imagine how sad that would be. No bacon....I don't want to think about it!

Anyway, back to the recipe. I made this for a family holiday gathering, and then had a second request to make this for a Friendsmas we had later in the month. And since I'm so behind on posting, I can write about them both in just one post, instead of a post and an update.

This is super easy, and you just play with the extra seasoning to get it to taste just like you want it. I'd recommend making this about 30 minutes before you want to serve it as I thought it got better the longer it would sit and the flavors were able to meld.

I also used the homemade brown sugar recipe I told you about yesterday for the onions. And to be completely honest, I got lazy and didn't mix the sugar and molasses beforehand. Just threw it all into the skillet. Works fantastic-I love a shortcut :)

For the bacon, I prefer to chop it into pieces before cooking-it just seems to make better chunks. If you prefer to cook it in sliced first, certainly go right ahead. I won't judge.

PS do you like my cute little snowman dish?

Bacon and Caramelized Onion Dips-adapted from Smells Like Home
Total Time: 20 Minutes
Makes 2 cups

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced or diced
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 6 slices bacon, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 16 ounces sour cream
• Seasoned salt, seasoned pepper, cayenne pepper and garlic salt to taste-I used about 1/4 teaspoon cayenne and a couple good shakes of the additional seasonings, but it's really what YOU are looking for that counts, ya know?
• Ruffled potato chips for serving

In a large skillet, melt butter and oil over high heat. Add in onions, brown sugar and water. Cook until onions are soft and a dark brown, caramely color. If they start to brown too quickly, turn down the heat. This should take somewhere between 5-10 minutes.

In a separate skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain the grease and put the bacon on a plate lined with paper towel to drain off more of the grease.

In a small bowl, mix onions, bacon, cider vinegar, sour cream and seasonings together until well blended and a nice brown color. Add in additional seasoning as needed-you know you'll be tasting as you go! Serve with ruffles.

Sun-Dried Tomato Guacamole

For tacos tonight, I decided to try a new guacamole. To be honest, the base of the guac still came from my favorite, go-to guac, but I switched up a few things. I swapped out the tomatoes and onion in the original, to add sun dried tomatoes, sour cream and tabasco sauce. For me, this was too spicy--pretty sure it was the tabasco, I'm just not a fan. But Scott loved it. Just make sure you dice the tomatoes really small, otherwise they get a little chewy.

Sun-Dried Tomato Guacamole-adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray
Total Time: 10 Minutes
Serves 6

• 4 avocados
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 teaspoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sour cream
• 1 teaspoon tabasco

Peel and remove the inside of the avocados from the shell into a medium bowl. Mash avocados and stir in the remainder of the ingredients. You can add additional to taste.

Chili Con Queso Dip

I had some leftover Velveeta from the Broccoli and Pork Rice Bowl that I wanted to use up, and I love cheese dip. This recipe really spoke to me since it had a little more to it than just Rotel and cheese. It was easy, but really had that extra something with the cream cheese added to it! I just heated it up according to the directions and then keep in a slow cooker on low, stirring every once in awhile.

January 2015

I made this again, but instead of doing it on the stove first, I just threw everything into the slow cooker. It seems to take a bit longer to get everything melted, but it all works the same in the end!

Chili Con Queso Dip-adapted from Taste of Home
Total Time: 15 Minutes
Serves 12

• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 ounces fat free cream cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 6 ounces Velveeta, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon dried clinatro
• Tortilla chips

Drain both cans tomatoes, reserving the liquid. Measure out 1/3 cup of the liquid and reserve or throw away the remainder.

In a large skillet, heat canola oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Stir in velveeta, tomatoes, chili powder and cilantro until smooth. Serve with chips

Benedictine Dip

My friend Katie makes the best cucumber dip. I haven't tried making it myself, but it is just so good. As I was making this recipe, I was thinking, "I wonder if this will taste like Katie's?" It totally did, although, it was different (and I think even a little better). The cayenne brings just enough extra heat that is cooled down by the cucumber pieces! It is also very easy to make. I always serve this type of dip with Wheat Thins, but you could use whatever recipe you choose!

Benedictine Dip-adapted from Fresh Home Magazine
Total Time: 5 Minutes
Serves 8

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 cup cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped
• Box of wheat thins, or other crackers

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients except cucumber, green onion and crackers until smooth. Stir in cucumber and onion. Chill and serve with crackers.

Queso Dip

I was so excited when I found this recipe on Pinterest as queso dip is one of my favorite things when I go out for Mexican food. However, this did not turn out very well. I don't know if I did something wrong, or didn't buy the right cheese or what. It never got to that smooth consistency and just didn't taste good. It pretty much looked like a garlic butter, which was very odd. Maybe one of you can figure it out?

Update 11/16/2013
I tried this again. And pretty much got the same result. See the picture below. It did not get smooth even after many many minutes of stirring. And it just looked like butter. I tasted it and it did taste okay, but it's not that appetizing to look at so I won't be making this again. So disappointed.

Queso Dip-adapted from The Royal Cook
Total Time: 10 Minutes
Serves 10

• 1 1/4 pound block white American cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup diced green chiles
• 2 pickled jalapenos, chopped
• 1 ounce pickled jalapeno juice
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup cold water
• pinch of cumin 

Put all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl, and cook in microwave on high for 5 minutes, stirring every 1 minute. Serve with chips.

Baked Goat Cheese in Tomato-Olive Sauce with Toasted Baguette

Scott and I have recently found our new love of bruschetta. When I saw this recipe, I just knew I had to make it. Goat cheese is something I haven't had a whole lot of experience cooking with yet, but I know I love to eat it! The hardest part of this recipe was slicing the goat cheese as it's a rather soft cheese, however I didn't care. I just went with it!

The next time you have people over, make this as an appetizer. I promise, you and your guests won't be disappointed. Scott and I definitely at this (and only this) for dinner when I made it.

Baked Goat Cheese in Tomato-Olive Sauce with Toasted Baguette-adapted from Perfect One-Dish Dinners by Pam Anderson
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Serves 6

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives
• 1 thin baguette, thinly sliced
• 2 small logs (3.5-4 ounces each) goat cheese, sliced into 3/4 inch disks

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place oil and garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook until garlic starts to sizzle and turn golden. Add tomatoes and olives, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer about 10-12 minutes.

Adjust oven rack to center position and place baguette slices in single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Pour tomato sauce into small baking dish and top with goat cheese disks. Bake until bubbly, about 10 minutes. Turn on broiler and cook until goat cheese lightly browns, 1-2 minutes longer. Serve with a knife and spoon.

Cucumber Salsa

I've been trying to find a good homemade salsa recipe. This one from Pinterest is definitely a good favorite! I never would've thought to put cucumber as the main ingredient in a salsa, but it was wonderfully refreshing. It was cool, and light, and absolutely delicious! The cumin and jalapeno give it good heat and flavor. The only thing I wasn't super thrilled about is if you don't use it right away it will start to get a little watery. I'll be making it for more parties this summer!

Cucumber Salsa-adapted from Keeping It Together
Total Time: 10 Minutes
Makes 2 1/2 cups

• 2 cups finely chopped, seeded and peeled cucumber
• 1/2 cup finely chopped, seeded tomato
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 2 teaspoon dried cilantro
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup fat free sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
• Tortilla chips

In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with chips.

Onion Veggie Dip

I made this dip for a family holiday party. To be honest, we didn't really eat much of it as there was so much other food around. I liked it, but would definitely have to make it again.

Onion Veggie Dip-adapted from Taste of Home
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Makes 2 cups

• 2 cups sour cream
• 3 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 3 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• Assorted vegetables

Combine first four ingredients. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

I've definitely made a few different spinach and/or artichoke dips over the course of this blog, and that's for a few reasons.
1. I love spinach artichoke dip.
2. They're usually very easy to make!

For work this holiday season, we had a pot-luck and I chose to bring an appetizer. I knew I wanted to make a hot dip, and wanted to use the small crock-pot I received for Christmas last year! I haven't yet made spinach dip in the slow cooker, it's usually in the oven or cold. But now that I have done this recipe, I'm confident that any of my others could be put on low for a few hours.

I really liked this recipe because it used other veggies in addition to spinach & artichokes, which many of my past recipes don't. Mushrooms are always a good addition :)

Spinach & Artichoke Dip-Adapted from Taste of Home

Total Time: 2 Hours

Makes 4 cups

• 1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1 can water packed artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup chopped red pepper
• Bread, pita chips, or veggies for dipping

Melt butter in pan over medium heat and saute mushrooms until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute.

Comine mayonnaise, cream cheese, 1 cup parmesan cheese, and 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese in a large bowl. Add the mushrooms, artichokes, spinach and red pepper.

Transfer to a 3-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Cover and cook for 2 hours on low, or until heated through. Serve with bread, pita chips or veggies.

Artichoke Hummus

Hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas!! I have another artichoke recipe for you all! I love new dips and this was definitely delicious! I made it for Thanksgiving (yes, I'm very behind on my posting), and I had leftovers for days. I loved every minute of it! This is easy and delicious!

Artichoke Hummus-Adapted from Cookin' Canuck

Total Time: 10 Minutes

Makes 2 cups

• 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 1 can artichoke hearts, packed in water-water reserved
• 3 tablespoons artichoke water (from the can)
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• 1 tablespoon mint leaves
• Crackers or veggies for dipping

Place the hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the hazelnuts are finely chopped.

To the blender, add artichoke hearts, artichoke water, garbanzo beans, garlic and Parmesan cheese. Blend until artichokes and garbanzo beans are finely chopped, scraping down the sides as needed.

With the motor running, slowly pour in olive oil and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.

Transfer the dip to a medium-sized bowl, and stir in parsley and mint. Serve with crackers and fresh raw vegetables.

Asiago Cheese Dip

This is NOT  healthy dip, as you can easily see by the ingredients. But it was rather yummy! The one thing I thought it was missing (sticking along with the not healthy theme) was bacon! It needed a little extra crunch. The next time I make it I'm adding bacon! This was really easy since it's in the slow cooker, and I'd definitely make it for a party! I also have to say, that I love serving dips with Hawaiian bread! If you haven't tried it, you really need to! It's just so flavorful and soft, you can't go wrong!

Asiago Cheese Dip-adapted from Better Homes & Garden New Cookbook
Total Time: 3 hours
Makes 6 1/2 cups

• 4 ounces dried tomatoes, chopped
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 32-ounces fat-free sour cream
• 1 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, cut up
• 1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
• 1 cup sliced green onions
• 6 ounces shredded Asiago cheese
• Chips, hawaiian bread, or vegetables for dipping

In a 3 1/2-4 quart slow cooker combine all ingredients except bacon and those for dipping. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours or high for 1 1/2-2 hours. Top with bacon, and more green onions if desired. Serve with chips, hawaiian bread or vegetables.

Spinach Artichoke Jalapeno Dip

As you can tell from the blog, I rather enjoy making spinach dip of any kind. I usually prefer the warm dips, but cold dips are nice for when you know it will need to sit out for awhile. This was a little different, but in the end I really liked it! The bits of jalapeno made for just enough kick to make it interesting. I still prefer this artichoke dip, but this is a close second!

Spinach Artichoke Jalapeno Dip-adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Total Time: 15 Minutes

Serves 8

• 1 block (8 Oz. Size) Cream Cheese
• ½ cups Sour Cream
• 2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
• ½ pounds Frozen Spinach, Thawed And Pressed To Remove Fluid
• 1 cup Chunky Chopped Marinated Artichoke Hearts
• 1 clove Garlic, Chopped And Lightly Toasted In A Little Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Chopped Jalapeno Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• ¼ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese (fresh Is Best)
• ½ teaspoons Salt, Or To Taste
• ⅛ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper, Or To Taste

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise until well blended. I use either an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer for this.

In a blender, pulse-blend spinach, artichoke hearts, and toasted garlic. Do not blend too fine. Add to the cream cheese mixture and mix well.

Fold jalapeno peppers, lemon juice, and Parmesan into the above mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chill for several hours to blend flavors. Serve with vegetables, crackers, or a variety of breads torn or cut into bite-sized chunks.

Guacamole

I love guacamole. And homemade guac is the best. But I really hate prepping the avocados. They just get so messy for me! Either way, the best thing about homemade guacamole is that you can make it however you like. If you like it spicy, add more peppers or jalapeno juice. If you like it a little more salty, add some salt. This is a great guideline!

**12/5/2013**
I've made a slightly different version of this recipe here. This one is still my favorite, but if you're looking to change it up, give it a try!

**January 2014 Update**
This continues to be my go-to guacamole recipe, and I have a few additional pictures to share! For one, this is the GREATEST kitchen tool for avocados you will ever find. It does everything, and is dishwasher safe! Click here for info on it:

We received this amazing bowl for our wedding! 9/27/2014

Guacamole for the taco bar at my cousin's shower!

April 28, 2014

Early Thanksgiving 2014

January 2015

Guacamole - adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray
Serve 6
Total Time 15 Minutes

• 4 avocados, chopped
• 4-6 slice jalapenos, chopped (from a jar of jalapenos)
• 1/2 teaspoon juice from jar of jalapenos
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoon finely chopped white onion
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped tomato
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2-3 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 bag good-quality tortilla chips

In a medium bowl, mash the avocado with a for until somewhat chunky. One at a time, stir in the jalapeno, garlic, onion, tomato, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface and let sit for about 2 hours to allow the flavors to develop.

Season with salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips.

Artichoke Dip

My newest obsession is Pinterest. If you haven't tried it you really should. It'll take all the time you waste on Facebook & you can waste it on Pinterest instead. This is the first thing I made off of here and it was AWESOME (5/5)! Absolutely the best artichoke dip I've EVER had. Make this asap. You won't be upset.

Artichoke Dip-adapted from Joyful Abode

Total Time: 45 Minutes

Serves 5

• 8 oz. Cream Cheese, warmed in the microwave for 2 minutes on 50% heat to soften it 
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup of chopped spinach (either fresh, cooked, or frozen, thawed)
• 2 cans or jars of non-marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon Garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon Chili powder – be generous! 
• A handful of shredded mozzarella cheese
• Chips, bread or veggies for dipping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Transfer to a oven-safe baking dish. Bake dip for 30 to 45 minutes or until cheese is browned and mixture is cooked through. Serve with chips, bread or veggies for dipping.

Creamy Spinach Dip

Spinach dip is definitely one of my guilty pleasures! My aunt made this for Easter last weekend and I just had to post it! It was absolutely wonderful! Creamy, but not too overwhelming! I'll add my thoughts once I make it one of these days! This even kept for a few days afterwards!

Creamy Spinach Dip

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 package Knorr Vegetable recipe mix
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 container (16 ounces) sour cream

Combine all ingredients. Chill for 2 hours. Serve with bread, chips, or veggies.

Guacamole

I made this for my brother's going away part since he is leaving for Iraq next week. Scott helped! We added some lime juice and played with the measurements a little bit. Overall it is very simple, and you can customize it as you wish!  This is from Sandra Lee's Semi Homemade Cooking 2!

• 2 large Hass avocados
• 2 tablespoons medium salsa
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 1 tablespoon jalapeno juice
• Salt

Peel avocados and remove pit. Place in a bowl and mas. Stir in salsa, sour cream, and jalapeno juice. Add salt to taste.