Pumpkin Carving Party Appetizers

When it comes time for Halloween, everyone wants to act like a kid, eating candy, dressing up in ridiculous costumes and of course, carving pumpkins. This year I hosted the 2nd annual Pumpkin Carving Party, everyone is required to bring their own pumpkin and design idea. Contestants eat while they carve and at the end of the night the winner is chosen by a blind ballot.
The centerpiece for the appetizer table was an assortment of gourds and pumpkins that had been carved to be candle holders. It was a cheap and festive way to dress up the table.

Spooky Sausage Dip

This sausage dip recipe has an odd source, but it has turned out to be the biggest crowd pleaser in my recipe box. I was given the idea from a bartender at our local bar when I needed a last minute recipe for a party and it has been a hit ever since.

1 package Jimmie Dean Sausage Hot

2 bars of cream cheese

1 can Rotel (your choice Hot or Regular)

2 tablespoons diced pickled jalapenos

1. Brown the sausage

2. Drain the fat from the pan

3. Add the cream cheese, Rotel and jalapenos until creamy

4. Best served in a crock pot or hot off the stove

Bone Breadsticks with Bloody Marinara Sauce

1tube Pillsbury Garlic Bread Sticks

1 Jar Marinara Sauce

Parmesan Cheese

Garlic Salt

1. Flatten the garlic bread out on a baking sheet

2. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and garlic salt

3. Cut into square pieces and then cut slits 3/4s of the way into the piece

4. Bake according to instructions

5. Serve warm with marinara sauce

Mummie Weiners

Before I even had a chance to take a photo of these, they were all gone!

2 packages of mini beef franks

2 rolls Pillsbury pizza dough

1. Roll the pizza dough out flat on a baking sheet

2. Cut the pizza dough into thin strips with a pizza cutter

3. Wrap the strips around the beef frank beginning at the bottom and overlapping as you move up, leaving the top uncovered

4. Bake until golden and puffy

5. Serve with ketchup dipping sauce

Deviled Egg Eye Balls

1 dozen hard boiled eggs

1/3 cup mayonnaise

4 tablespoons mustard

Black Olives sliced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Green and Red Food Coloring

1. Gently squeeze hard boiled eggs in their shells so they are cracked

2. Soak the eggs in water and red food coloring over night

3. Peal shell off under running water

4. Slice egg in half and remove yolks

5. Mix yolk, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper and green food coloring together

6. Spoon yolks back into egg halves and place sliced olive on top

Winter Survival

As the air starts to get a little bit cooler in Charlotte, I happily pulled out my favorite winter gadget this morning to start my day, introducing the Mr. Coffee CocoMotion. I requested the CocoMotion for Christmas in 2004 and it has been a hot chocolaty heaven ever since.

It is the simple things that make me so happy and this little guy, couldn't be any simpler. Plug the machine in, fill it up with your choice of water or milk and use the helpful lines on the sides to measure out 1-4 servings. Toss in your favorite drink mix and then press the on button and then sit back and wait just a few minutes for your drink to be perfectly prepared. The CocoMotion whips and froths your beverage to the perfect temperature, not so hot that you burn your tongue, but just warm enough to take the chill off in the morning. Since I try to stay in bed to the very last second possible, I barely have time in the morning to put make up on, so I love that I can have a hot drink on my way to work, with no extra out of bed time.

You can mix any of your favorite powdered hot chocolates or get fancy with chocolate syrups and don't even get me started on the potential the CocoMotion has outside of the world of hot chocolate. I have seen the CocoMotion go anywhere between $15-$25, Wal-Mart typically sells them for about $20 and sometimes you can find them at Big Lots or other discount stores.

Fall is here folks, enjoy some hot chocolate!

Ladies Birthday Beach Weekend

Back in August, it was time to celebrate my birthday and there wasn't anything that I wanted more than to head to the beach and spend a relaxing weekend eating good food, drinking good wine and laying on the sand all day. A few great ladies and I packed up and headed down to Wilmington to celebrate the birthday of Julie and myself.

The menu for the weekend was extraordinary, lots of yummy foods to munch on while sipping lots and lots of great wine.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Cheesy Veggie Salsa

This is such an easy dip and perfect for the beach, it is light and flavorful and leaves you wanting to come back for more.

1 English Cucumber

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Green Bell Pepper

1 Tomato

1/2 Red Onion

1 Jalapeno

1 Cup Ranch Dressing

2 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar

1/2 Cup of Salsa

1. Dice all the vegetables, finely dice the jalapeno

2. Mix vegetables together with Ranch dressing, salsa and cheese

3. Serve chilled

Monterrey Jack Pimento Cheese

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce w/ Garlic Rolls

Easy Cheese with Triscut Thin Crisps

Peel and Eat Shrimp in Cajun Seasoning

Sausage Breakfast Casserole

6 eggs

6 slices of white bread, cubed

2 cups milk

1 tablespoon mustard

1 teaspoon salt and pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 package Jimmy Dean Sausage Hot

There is no better cure for a hangover than a pre-made breakfast casserole, this one is my favorite so far because it is simple and easy.

1. Brown sausage and drain fat

2. Whip together eggs, milk, mustard and seasoning

3. Spread cubed bread in baking dish and pour egg mixture over it evenly

4. Sprinkle cheese on top of the soaked bread mixture

5. Cover and refrigerate over night

6. Pre heat oven to 375 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes, uncovered for the last 15. The eggs should be fluffy and bounce back when you touch them.

7. Serve with salsa or hot sauce

Birthday Cookie Cake

Who doesn't love a cookie cake? Forget buying a pre-made one from the store, you can make a quick and easy cake in no time.

1 tub of Toll House pre-made chocolate chip cookie dough
1 disposable baking pan
Icing to decorate

1. Press the cookie dough onto a grease pan making a flat and even cookie
2. Bake for the indicated time
3. Let cook and then decorate



This birthday weekend was the perfect mix of good friends, good food and good wine!

Tomato Bacon Mac and Cheese

It is a constant challenge in my kitchen to make the perfect mac and cheese. I love the creamy and cheesy sauce, not the dry baked style. It is pure joy when the mac and cheese that I have ordered at a restaurant arrives in that perfect creamy style, but utter disappointment when the dry and baked version shows up.

I tried to re-create the creamy texture that I love in this recipe, plus I figured adding spicy tomatoes and bacon couldn't hurt.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons finely minced onion
3/4 tablespoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon paprika
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups pasta cooked
1 can Rotel Hot
4 strips bacon, diced and cooked

1. Melt the butter over medium high heat
2. Add the minced onion and cook until tender
3. Add dry seasoning and flour, cook flour through
4. Whisk in milk slowly and allow to thicken, typically 5 minutes of cooking
5. Add 2 cups of the cheddar cheese, stir until completely smooth
6. Mix in the cooked pasta and stir pasta through
7. Pour pasta into a baking dish and sprinkle with bacon and drained Rotel
8. Top with remaining cheese
9. Put in the oven at 350 degrees just to let the cheese melt and get bubbly

While this isn't the ultimate mac and cheese, it gets pretty close to it! The bacon and Rotel adds a great kick and crunch to the dish. It is surprisingly quick and easy to make after a long day, especially when you just want a big bowl of comfort food.

What is the soup du jour?

I consider soup to be an entire food group of its own, I don't care if it is 90 degrees outside, I will still order soup. If you ever go out to eat with me, you will hear the question, "What is the soup du jour?" because I will most likely order it, no matter what it is. I am lucky to have a variety of places around my work where I can pick up a yummy soup for lunch, but my bill usually ends up way too high as I pick up impulse buys and with the calorie count at most places unknown, it makes eating cheap and healthy difficult.

I am not a big fan of soup from a can, I mostly use them for adding to a dish, but don't usually consider them to be a stand alone dish on their own. I continued to hunt for a cheap and easy solution to my soup craving at lunch time, especially as the days get cooler and the leaves are falling.

Finally, I found an answer to my problem, introducing Campbell's Soup at Hand, Creamy Tomato Parmesan Bisque. Just the putting the word bisque on the label forces me to try it out and this time, I was not disappointed. This tomato soup is perfectly creamy, with a touch of Parmesan, it reminds you of every time your Mom made you tomato soup and grilled cheese on a chilly day.

I love to heat it up in a bowl and then sprinkle in goat cheese crumbles to add a grown up feeling to this classic treat. Trader Joe's is the best place to stock up on goat cheese a package of pre-crumbled goat cheese is only $2.99. I also add some croutons in some days to add a great crunch and sometimes add some hot sauce to kick up the flavor.

Each container has 220 calories and 7 grams of fat, so I like to eat 1/2 a container and pair it with a homemade salad or sandwich, that way I cut the fat and get two meals out of one can.

Now if only I could figure out how to make a grilled cheese in the stand up toaster, without all the cheese slipping out, I would have the best lunch every day.

This Guy I Know had a Birthday

This Guy I Know turned 27 this past weekend and to celebrate he requested that we attend the Widespread Panic/Allman Brothers concert. Of course, I began dreaming of what tailgate treats I would serve up for such a special celebration. My goal was to bring food that would be easy to prepare before hand and then easy to cook and serve once we were tailgating. Like everyone else, I was sick of the standard hamburgers and hot dogs, so I decided to mix it up a bit.

Here is the final menu:

Veggie Platter with Garlic Spinach Dip

Sausage Dip (this recipe deserves it's own post)

Taco Dip

I love tacos, especially after drinking a few cold ones, but I hate the way they make me feel, fat and greasy. Taco dip is a perfect way to get all the great flavors of tacos, without all the guilt!

Mix together a bar of cream cheese with a packet of taco seasoning, spread this on the bottom of your serving dish. Then layer all your favorite taco toppings to your preference! I layered salsa, shredded cheese, peppers, onions, jalapenos, green onions and diced tomato's. You could add sour cream, olives, your favorite taco meat or tofu! Every dug into this dish with Frito's Scoops which make an easy finger food.

Grilled Pizzas

I purchased the pre-made pizza crust (I personally love Boboli) in the small personal size and started thinking of all my favorite toppings. I made 6 mini pizzas, Classic Cheese and Pepperoni, Greek Chicken, Buffalo Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo.

Classic Cheese and Pepperoni

I used store bought pizza sauce, topped with a six cheese Italian mix of shredded cheese and then added the most adorable mini pepperonis. I think anything in a mini size is cute and I will instantly buy it.

Greek Chicken

I took a pepperonichini spread that I had found at Super Wal-Mart, it has a great tang that I love about Greek cooking. I spread this and then topped it with red onions, green peppers, crumbled feta and grilled chicken. I cheated and purchased the pre-cooked chicken strips from Purdue and no one noticed!

Buffalo Chicken

I spread the pizza crust with Hidden Valley Ranch dressing (please see my blog entry about my love for Ranch and it's many uses), this may seem like an odd base sauce, but trust me. I took the pre-cooked chicken strips and let them soak up Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce. I topped the ranch dressing with shredded mozzarella cheese and then sprinkled the buffalo chicken and crumbled goat cheese. This pizza ended up being my favorite of them all!

Broccoli Alfredo

I started out with a canned Alfredo sauce and then topped it with a six Italian shredded cheese. I then sprinkled fresh cut broccoli, red onions and oregano. This was my vegetarian offering, which I learned you must always have from Melissa D'Arabian, of Next Food Network Star.

I prepared all of these ahead of time that morning, wrapped them in Saran Wrap and then threw them on the grill, the crust gets crispy and with the top closed, the cheese melts perfectly! Such an easy treat to make and something different that you wouldn't expect on the grill.

Grilled Cheese Sammies

Who doesn't love a grilled cheese sandwich? I prepared a loaf worth of sandwiches by buttering each side of the bread and layering cheese and bacon inside for a nostalgic treat. Some sandwiches were the classic cheddar, some had a pepper jack twist and I even snuck in goat cheese in a few (I couldn't resist!). I wrapped the pre-made sandwiches in Saran Wrap and then threw them on the grill, cutting each sandwich into four's before they were gobbled up by everyone.

Burger Sliders

Once again, if you make it mini, I will fall in love with it, so the latest trend for sliders caught my eye and made it's way into my menu. These couldn't have been easier, I took 1 pound and a half of ground beef and mixed in Paula Deen's House Seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic) and Worcheshire sauce. I made small burger patties, about 2-3 inches each. These grilled quickly and luckily, the bun makers have caught on to this trend and make slider buns now as well.

Purple Gatorade Shots

This is a local favorite in Charlotte, if you come visit, I will most certainly order you one

1 Bottle Grape Vodka

1/2 Bottle of Sour Mix

1/2 Bottle of Triple Sec

Sprite to taste

Mix all ingredients and enjoy!