Caroline's Cuisine: Halloween Edition

I LOVE Halloween!  I love turning regular food into fun stuff!  I made several things last night for a party and they were really delish!  


1) Spider Web 7 layer dip:

You Will Need:

~Bean dip
~Guacamole Dip
~Sour Cream
~Salsa
~Fresh, shredded lettuce
~Freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
~chopped tomato
~olives

To make it look like a spider web, use a pie pan to make dip.  Layer bean dip, guac dip, sour cream and salsa.  Then around the outside, circle around lettuce, cheese tomato and top with black olives (they almost loof like little black spiders!)  Place a plastic spider in the middle...wash it first!

2:  Little smokie appetizers..

These little guys are great! Also, very easy to make!

You Will Need..

~1 1/2 cups ketchup
~1/2 cup mustard
~3 Tablespoons brown sugar
~2 Tablespoons chili powder
~3 Tablespoons Worcheshire sauce
~2 Tablespoons vinegar
~4-5 dashes of liquid smoke

Place smokies in crock-pot on low heat.  Add all ingredients and stir.  Let cook on low for 1-2 hours before gathering.

1st Anniversary Dinner!

My husband and I celebrated our 1st anniversary last night and we had a fab dinner!  Steak, lobster and my all time favorite..potatoes au gratin!  Our waiter surprised us with the awesome desert..it was almost too pretty to eat!

Homemade Sloppy Joes

Forget the canned stuff.  My sloppy joes are completely awesome....AND they're in the crock-pot!  They're tangy, with a little spice and perfect seasoning.  I made these in college all the time and my husband still loves them:)


You Will Need...

~1 package ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper
~1 yellow onion, chopped
~1 clove garlic
~1/2 bell pepper, chopped
~1 1/2 cups ketchup
~1/2 cup prepared yellow mustard
~3 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
~3 Tablespoons vinegar
~3 Tablespoons Worcheshire sauce
~1 Tablespoon chili powder
~1/4 cup water

In a large pan, brown meat for 10-12 minutes.  Add veggies and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Transfer cooked meat and veggies to crock-pot.  Add all ingredients and stir them together with the meat.  Cook on high in crock-pot for 1 1/2-2 hours.  Check after one hour to see if you need to add any water. Serve on hamburger buns.

Sweet & Sour Chicken With Stir Fried Rice

This is one of my favorites! 

You Will Need~

Sweet & Sour Chicken

~6-8 chicken tenders, cut into pieces (seasoned with salt and pepper)
~2 Tablespoons pineapple juice
~2 Tablespoons cornstarch
~1 clove minced garlic
~1/2 cup soy sauce
~1/3 cup vinegar
~3/4 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small pot, combine cornstarch and pineapple juice.  Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil.  Place uncooked chicken pieces into a greased baking dish.  Pour boiling sauce over chicken pieces.  Bake for 1 hour, stirring chicken at 30 minutes.

                           This is what the sauce will look while boiling..

Basic Stir Fry

You Will Need~

~2 eggs, beaten

~1 yellow onion, chopped

~1 stalk celery chopped

~1/3 cup soy sauce (if you want more, that's fine)

~1 cup of cooked rice

First, cook rice like normal: 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice.  While rice is cooking, saute the onion and celery about 2-3 minutes.  Remove veggies from pan and cook scrambled eggs.  Finally, when rice is done cooking, add veggies in with the eggs and pour rice all in the large pan.  Add soy sauce (pour over rice evenly) and cook all together for 5-6 minutes over medium heat.

(side note:  There's already a lot of soy sauce in the sauce cooking with the chicken.  It will blend well when you pour chicken over the fried rice)

Make sure rice doesn't burn...Stir constantly..

Ready to serve!

Streusel Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is so delish.  It's a Martha Stewart recipe and it's pretty easy.  I didn't add the pecans.  The dough, you will have to work with to spread around pan, because it gets pretty thick.  It's so moist and delish!  The streusel topping is awesome!


Streusel Topping

~1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

~1 cup packed light-brown sugar

~1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

~Coarse salt

~1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

To make streusel topping: Mix together flour,  brown sugar, cinnamon, and teaspoon salt. Add butter and rub in with your fingers until small to medium clumps form.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the cake:

~1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

~2 cups all-purpose flour

~1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

~1/2 teaspoon baking soda

~Coarse salt

~1 cup granulated sugar

~2 large eggs

~1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

~1 cup sour cream

Preheat over to 350. 

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a bowl.

Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla. Add sour cream and beat in flour, slowly. Continue to beat until well combined.   Grease baking dish and spread batter, top with streusel topping.  Bake for 45-50 min. 

                                           

                                                                                 

Yummy!!!

http://www.marthastewart.com/337805/cinnamon-streusel-coffee-cake

Dirt!

So, I'm thinking of ideas for a Halloween bash my husband and I are throwing in a few weeks.  Definitely on the menu...dirt!

You Will Need~

~1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) Jello Chocolate Instant Pudding

~15  Oreo Cookies, finely crushed (about 1-1/2cups)

~Worm-shaped chewy fruit snacks

Make pudding according to package instructions.  Let stand 5 min. Spoon into individual clear cups. Top with cookie crumbs and a worm.

Game Day Buffalo Chicken Dip

I got this from a good friend (Thanks Kelli!)  She made it for a Halloween party last year and it was pure awesomeness.  When I first heard canned chicken I thought..ugghhh. But give it a try. I promise you won't regret it!!

You Will Need~
~2 8 oz packages cream cheese
~2 cans chicken (find it in tuna section of the store)
~1/4 cup Frank's Buffalo Wing sauce
~1 cup plus 1/2 cup grated cheddar
~1 cup ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing. (I love ranch!)

Mix all in all ingredients and fold in chicken. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheddar on top. Spray baking dish with cooking spray. Bake at 375 for 20 min. Fabulous!

                                                                   So Yummy!

Apple Crisp

This is so yummy!  Apple crisp is Joey's favorite thing, so I was determined to find a good recipe!  I altered this a bit and it is pretty awesome!

You Will Need~
~5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cut into 1 inch slices
~1/2 cup sugar
~1 tsp lemon juice
~1 tsp vanilla
~1 tsp cinnamon
~1 tsp nutmeg
~1/2 tsp salt

Topping
~1 stick butter
~1 cup light brown sugar
~1 cup all purpose flour
~1/3 cup oats

In a bowl, mix lemon juice, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and apples.   Melt butter over medium heat.  Remove from heat and add brown sugar.  Stir well and then add flour and oats.  Will be a dough when completed.   Spread evenly over apples in a nonstick baking dish.  Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

Spicy Macaroni & Cheese

I have been trying to find a really delicious, homeade mac and cheese recipe.  I was watching "The Best Thing I Have Ever Made" on the Food Network and saw Sunny Anderson make her spicy mac and cheese.  I have never watched something on The Food Network where I had to make it NOW.  I went to the store and got all ingredients and it was made a few hours later.  It's so easy and amazing. I can't stop eating it!  I didn't do the croutons on top, but I'm sure those would be amazing to add as well!

You will need~

• 2 cups elbow pasta, cooked until almost al dente
• 16 ounces Cheddar cheese, 1/2 cubed, 1/2 shredded
• 8 ounces Monterey pepper jack cheese, cubed
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 4 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 4 slices bread
• 1 tablespoon butter

                                              Cheese!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, toss together pasta with the cheese cubes and pour into the baking dish. In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, nutmeg and sour cream, egg, heavy cream and half-and-half. Pour over the pasta and cover with shredded Cheddar. Bake uncovered until top is just beginning to brown, about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the bread into crouton-sized squares. In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter, add cubes and toast until golden. Sprinkle the bread cubes on top of the macaroni and cheese and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes more.


Finished!                                                           First bite!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/spicy-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe/index.html

Celebration Dinner!

The family came over last night and we had my homemade spaghetti!  It was delish and everyone was so excited about our new family member!  I don't really have a recipe for this one.  I literally just threw in 2 large cans of crushed tomatoes, 2 small cans of tomato sauce, sauteed some chopped onions, bell peppers and garlic and threw in a bunch of spices!  Spices were Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper, Tony's seasoning, cayenne pepper, basil and sugar (to cut down acidity of the tomatoes). I just kept adding spices until it tasted right. Of course garlic bread for a side.  

                               The perfect setting for a celebration!

Baby!!!!

This has absolutely nothing to do with cooking at all, but I had to put it on here...I'm an AUNT!!  My sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last night.  Mary Ellen~weighing 6lbs 11oz.  Soo exciting!!!

1 Egg, 2 Yolks

My husband was making his usual egg and grits breakfast and he emailed me this picture.  He cracked open an egg and 2 yolks fell out. I have heard of this but never seen it before!  He says it means good luck.  So, this inspired me to google "egg yolk superstition"...here's what caught my interest...

"In many parts of Europe, farmers would take a fresh egg into the fields in the hopes that it would bring a good healthy crop. Eggs were also used to tell fortunes – two yolks would mean a marriage was coming up soon, a black spot on a yolk was a bad omen – and an egg with no yolk at all was just about as bad as you could get."

Pumpkins = Pumpkin Pie Time!!

Family Photo!(Our cat, Eddie is absent)

We went to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday and I am seriously excited about the Fall.  It's my favorite season.  I love Thanksgiving/Halloween and everything about Fall in general.  I love fall decorating too! 

Check out this adorable Halloween wreath I ordered!...

So back to food...  I made this pumpkin pie a few years ago.  It's a Paula Deen recipe and was quite tasty and I will be making it this year!!

You Will Need~

~1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

~2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed

~1 cup sugar

~1/4 teaspoon salt

~1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

~1 cup half-and-half

~1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter

~1 teaspoon vanilla extract

~1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

~1 piece pre-made pie dough

~Whipped cream, for topping

Preheat oven to 350.

Prepare pie dough according to package instructions.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.
Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

My homemade whipped cream..

~1 cup heavy whipping cream
~2 Tablespoons sugar
~1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat with mixer until fluffy.


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-pie-recipe/index.html

My Go-To Appetizer

I have recently discovered how delicious pepper jelly is.  My new favorite appetizer is the classic cream cheese and pepper jelly.  So easy and you can make it look completely fancy.

You Will Need~

~1 package cream cheese
~1 jar Tabasco Spicy Pepper Jelly
~Your favorite crackers

All you have to do is get a plate and place cream cheese on it.  Then spread jelly on top of cream cheese and arrange crackers pretty.  It's that easy!

Best Brownie Mix

I make mostly everything from scratch.  However, when it comes to brownies...there is nothing more amazing than the Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Mix.  I have not found a homemade recipe that comes close to this good!  So the next time you want an easy desert...buy this mix!

Bad Sushi Experience..Beware!

I am going to do something I don't normally do...talk about a recent bad sushi experience.  I think everyone should know what a bad sushi roll tastes like and not just try to drown the taste out with extra soy sauce. The restaurant (which will remain nameless, they may have just had an off day) I went to today was probably one of the worst spicy tuna rolls I've ever had.  I KNOW what a good spicy tuna roll tastes like.  I've been eating sushi since I was 12(I'm now 27).  Only sushi roll I have ever gotten is a spicy tuna roll.  This sushi I had today was just awful.  The rice was warm and gooey and the fish just didn't taste right.  I nearly gagged when I tried to eat it.  My point in telling this is if you aren't an experienced sushi eater, you will know what a bad roll vs a good roll tastes like. 

A good Spicy Tuna sushi roll:

1) Is cold!  A spicy tuna roll should be cold/cool temperature wise.  It shouldn't be hot/warm.  Nothing is nastier than eating a spicy tuna roll and it's warm. (which is the experience I had today)

2) You should look forward to your next bite...
     I know this sounds pretty basic, but with sushi it's even more true.  If it's bad fish, you can usually taste it  on your first bite...don't make yourself eat it...spit it out!

3) NO TEMPURA in a spicy tuna roll!  I went to a sushi place once and they had tempura mixed in with the tuna mixture.  It was crunchy and gross.  Always make sure they don't put this in there..I always ask to be sure.  Of course if you like this sort of thing...it's totally up to you.


~My favorite sushi restaurants I have tried so far..I'm sure I'll try many, many more places!~


LITTLE KATANA SUSHI BAR in the Dallas Galleria - the most fabulous sushi I have ever had.  Before you start thinking because it's in a mall it's gross..think again!  It's seriously amazing. 

BLUE FISH SUSHI, Dallas, TX - So yummy!

RA SUSHI BAR, Houston, TX - Expensive but EXCELLENT!

NORWEGIAN CRUISE SHIP "Pride of America" (East Meets West Restaurant) - Our cruise we went on in Hawaii this summer.  They had AMAZING sushi on this ship!

SUSHIKO, Shreveport, LA

SUSHI GEN, Shreveport, LA

Classic Awesome Chili

I made this last night for dinner and WOW....was it awesome.   I have made chili from scratch before, but got it perfect last night. I don't like beans, so I didn't add any, you of course could add a can of kidney beans if you want to.  I hope you will make this soon...weather is finally cooling down and it's the perfect time of year for a nice, warm and tasty bowl of chili!!

You Will Need...

~1 1/2 pounds ground chuck chili meat (season with salt, pepper to taste)

 ~2 cans  of chunky (mild) Rotel , undrained

~1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
~1 8 oz can tomato sauce
~1 small onion chopped

~1 green bell pepper, chopped
~1 stalk celery chopped

~1 clove garlic, minced

~1 1/2 Tablespoons Chili Powder

~1 Tablespoon Cumin
~1 TBL sugar (to cut down acidity of the tomatoes)

~1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
~1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

**You can add more or less of seasonings.  I like mine a medium spice level**

~Toppings - Fritos, grated cheddar, sour cream

(side note- you can buy the frozen pre-chopped bags of onion, bell pepper & celery...I use about 2 cups of the frozen veggies)

~Start off by browning meat in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat.  This will take around 10-12 minutes.  Drain grease and add onions, bell pepper and garlic.  Saute for about 5 minutes.  Next, add Rotel (with juices), tomato sauce and water (if needed). Stir and bring to a boil.  Add spices and cook on low-medium, stirring often, for 30 minutes so flavors can blend well.

                                                                      Spices go in!

(side note:  if it is too thick just add some more water in and let it boil down)
Finally...time to eat!  Top with fritos, grated cheddar and sour cream....

                                                                          Delish!!

Crawfish Fettuccine

If you don't have access to crawfish or if it's not that time of year (crawfish season is in the spring..biggest crawfish tails are typically available during Lent/Easter),  this is also very good with chicken. If you use crawfish during season, make sure you get LOUISIANA crawfish tails. I just think crawfish should come from Louisiana, not China...
This is an Emeril recipe. So delish!

2 TBL butter
1-2 lbs crawfish tails
2 TBL minced garlic
1 TBL minced shallots
1 TBL Worcestershire sauce
1 TBL Crystal hot sauce
2 cups heavy cream
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 lb cooked fettuccine

In large pan melt butter. Sauté crawfish tails in butter for 2 minutes. (If you use chicken, cut in pieces and brown in separate pan, then throw them in the sauce.) Season with Tonys. Add shallots and garlic. Continue cooking for 1 minute. Stir in Worch sauce, crystal hot sauce and cream. Bring liquid to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 8 minutes or until sauce thickens. In mixing bowl toss pasta with crawfish sauce. Season with salt and pepper fold in grated cheese and green onions. Garnish with grated cheese and some chopped chives.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/crawfish-fettuccini-recipe/index.html

Sugar Rush

One of the best things about Shreveport, LA is the Red River Revel.  It's a local food/music/art festival that happens every year the first week in October.  Each year, I indulge in a funnel cake.  This year, I thought I'd "kick it up a notch" to a Chocolate Funnel Cake!  Yes, my calorie intake for a week.  Hey, I'm young...I can still do it!!!

Easy Meatloaf

Last night's dinner!

You Will Need...

~1 1/2 lbs ground meat
~1 cup Italian bread crumbs
~1 egg slightly beaten
~1 small onion finely chopped
~1/2 cup tomato sauce
~1 tsp garlic powder
~1 tsp Tony's


Mix all together and form into a loaf.  Top with Emeril's marinara sauce (about 1 cup)  Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until thermometer says 160 degrees when inserted into thickest part of meatloaf.

Awesome BBQ Sauce!

I have been trying to master BBQ sauce for a while.  I've gotten close to perfect before..but tonight I was experimenting again and ROCKED it!  

You Will Need...

~1 1/2 cups Ketchup
~1 clove minced garlic
~2 Tablespoons Worcheshire sauce
~2 TBL Apple Cider Vinegar
~2 TBL maple syrup
~2 TBL brown sugar
~1/2 tsp regular sugar
~1/4 tsp lemon juice
~1/2 tsp Jack Daniel's Whiskey
~1/4 tsp pepper
~a few dashes of liquid smoke

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Make sure you stir often.