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!