Lime Pie Paletas

Although I think I've come a long way bridging the cultural gap between my darling Hispanic students at OMBC and my very Caucasian self, there were some interesting learning moments along the way. 

On our very first trip as student minister and youth group, we were canvasing flyers in an apartment complex. And every time we went, tinkling music played as an older man pushed a freezer cart full of frozen treats. The kids would get super excited, dig for their cash and run after him. 

"Where are you going?" I asked one student. "The paleta man!" she replied. 

Insert confused face here. "Huh?" I had no clue what they were talking about. Thankfully one of them took pity on me and explained that a paleta is basically a popsicle- a frozen treat on a stick. It was my first experience with paletas (which I also coughed up a dollar daily to enjoy) but definitely not my last! This past year I lived right by an elementary school and the paleta cart was there at the corner every day for the children (and neighbors) to enjoy.

I came across Paletas by Fany Gerson and some $1 popsicle molds at Walmart and it has been a beautiful combination.  I bookmarked so many recipes to test! These lime pie pops got my immediate attention because I happened to have sweetened condensed milk in my pantry and limes are currently 10 cents each. They are fantastically creamy, tart and sweet! I love how the fresh squeezed juice really shines through. Plus, they're ridiculously easy to make. Juicing the limes is the hardest part. 

This recipe makes 8 full size pops or 24 mini pops. The photo displays paletas molded in 1 oz measuring shot glasses. I think these are the perfect size for a party or just for casual snacking! 

What You'll Need:

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup half and half

3/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 4-5 small limes juiced)

1 tsp lime zest 

pinch of salt 

green food coloring (optional)

2 cups crushed Graham Crackers 

What To Do:

Whisk together the milk, half and half, lime juice,  zest and salt until completely uniformly mixed. Add food coloring if desired and stir well. 

Pour into your molds. (If using shot glasses/Dixie Cups or other unconventional molds, freeze for 1 hour and then add popsicle sticks.) Freeze for 4-5 hours. 

Run warm water around the molds before gently removing your paleta. Before serving, roll each paleta in cracker crumbs to complete the perfect pie combination! 

Recipe adapted from Paletas

Recipes for Christmas Parties

Getting ready for some fun office and school parties? Here are some fantastic party food suggestions for your celebrations!

Appetizers 

Stuffed Mushrooms

the bad phone picture can't capture decadent deliciousness of these creamy, savory bites.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Jalapeno Bites

nom nom nom

Queso Blanco

melted cheese is always a winner.

Guacamole

(hey it's green

add tomatoes for Christmas colors!)

Jalapeno Popper Dip

flavorful without being too spicy, creamy without being heavy and one recipe people will definitely keep asking for...

Baked Brie 

again, melted cheese is always a winner 

Desserts 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies 

The goodness of Reese's in cookie form

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

oatmeal means healthy, right?

Caramel Brownies 

ooey, gooey, rich and irresistible 

Chocolate Trifle 

my mom's signature dish that gets requested every. single. year. 

Maple Sausage and Cranberry Stuffing Shots

I know there's a whole debate on stuffing versus dressing. And I think technically it's only called stuffing if it's cooked while stuffed inside the turkey. But for this post's purposes, stuffing shots sounded better than dressing shots. So there you are. 

This recipe is chock full of sweet and savory goodness, which all blend together to make a fantastic side to any Thanksgiving meal. 

I served it in my kitchen shot glasses with little taster spoons. However, this could always be served family style out of your favorite baking dish. 

What You'll Need:
1 small pkg cornbread mix
1/2 lb maple pork sausage
2 tbsp butter
1/2 apple (I used Granny Smith), diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1/2 small onion
2 cloved garlic, minced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chicken broth, plus more as needed

What To Do:
Prepare cornbread according to instructions. Meanwhile, cook sausage over medium heat, until no longer pink. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon. Add butter to pan drippings and cook onion for five minutes or until softened. Add garlic, apple, and celery and cook for two more minutes. 

When cornbread is full cooked, crumble it into small pieces into the pan. Stir in the cranberries until everything is evenly combined. Slowly pour chicken broth over the mixture until moistened. Salt and pepper the mixture to taste.  

Transfer to a baking dish and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. To serve, dip shot glasses directly into the stuffing, using a spoon to readjust it aesthetically. 

Inspired by Epicurious

Thanksgiving Cocktail Party Menu

Set Up

Appetizer

Creamy Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Soup

Entree

Turkey Sliders with Brie and Cranberry Chutney

Side Dishes

Maple Sausage and Cranberry Stuffing Shots

New Year Blog Swap

I was super excited to be able to participate in the 

New Year Gift Swap hosted by Casey, Danielle, and Alycia. 

I was paired up with Danna from A Hippy Heart, and the only guidelines 

were that we should send each other a gift within $10-$15. 

Danna is absolutely adorable! 

She is a fellow Texas girl who owns a vintage clothing shop.

We both love turqoise, Dr Pepper and Jesus

 and she is one stylish mama! 

There are about twelve things on my wish list from her darling shop.  

Want to see what she got me?

She did really well!

It was packaged so sweetly with lace and twine

and a kind note

And included:

a mini book about chocolate!

Who doesn't love chocolate?

(my sister, but she's a weirdo)

and a gorgeous necklace with turquoise

and a lovely vintage apron!

Isn't it the cutest?!

And kind of all together

it goes with my crazy colorful kitchen!

I LOVE my new toys and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Danna!

Want to see what I got her?

Go check out her post!

Or go on over to Casey, Danielle and Alycia's

to see all the goodies that got shared this round! 

Rib Roast

So my idea for a good man meal had to include some beautifully cooked red meat.

I thought- why yes, prime rib is a great idea. 

It is also known as a standing rib roast

it's where ribeye steaks come from

and you can get it boneless for easier carving

And then I saw this ad in the Randall's mailer 

a boneless rib roast for 2.99/lb

And I thought- NO WAY!

prime rib for 2.99 a pound??

So I planned an entire meal around this beautiful cut of meat

and the day of the dinner I moseyed over to Randall's

And just stared at the meat counter

Boneless Cross Rib Roast

And called my dad.

"This isn't prime rib is it?"

"Yeah... no"

So I bought the on-sale meat anyway. 

It was a rib roast... just not the lovely expensive cut I was planning for

I let it sit for an hour to bring it to room temperature,

crusted the outside with kosher salt, ground peppercorns

and garlic powder

Then I baked it, fat side up, at 400 for 20 minutes

and then at 325 for about 1 hr 20 minutes,

until it reached 140 degrees internally 

for a beautiful rare doneness

the edges were a little more medium

(meat thermometer=favorite new gadget)

Let it rest for at least twenty minutes, tented in foil

And then I sliced the roast thinly 

(but thicker than normal prime rib is sliced)

And yeah, no one else knew that it wasn't the $100 roast

It was absolutely delicious and flavorful!

and the man-meal-red-meat totally went over well.

Green Bean Bundles

These green bean bundles made an impressive presentation 

as part of our Christmas dinner party. 

They are fairly simple to make, 

although there are a few steps involved.

I really like my green beans a little crisp so these are great.

plus, the brown sugar sauce adds an unexpected 

but perfectly cohesive surprise of flavor to the dish.

And if you'd rather not  make a perfectly healthy vegetable 

into a bacon heavy dish,

you can always substitute with turkey bacon

But, you know, calories don't count during the holidays

so I went with real bacon. ;)

What You'll Need:

• 1.25-1.5  pounds fresh green beans
• 1 pkg bacon 
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/8 teaspoon soy sauce

What To Do:

Place beans in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, for 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until cooked but not crisp, about 3 minutes. Remove to paper towels. 

Drain beans; place about 12 beans on each bacon strip. Wrap bacon around beans and secure with a toothpick. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, garlic salt and soy sauce; drizzle over bundles. Bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes or until bacon is crisp. 

Serves 8

Adapted from Taste of Home

Scalloped Potatoes

So I love me some potatoes.

I don't know if the past is evidence of that.

I know I say that I love a lot of things

and I say that a lot of things are delicious.

But potatoes are pretty much a staple for

comfort food

fancy meals

easy, cheap meals...

potatoes are good.

I didn't want to do just plain ol' mashed potatoes 

for this dinner party so I started searching 

for a good scalloped potato recipe. 

And my search ended with a fantastic sounding recipe 

from the queen herself.

So here's Martha Stewart's Scalloped Potato Recipe!

What You Need:

• 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, and sliced paper thin
• 3 cups milk
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees with a rack set in the lower third of oven. Combine sliced potatoes and milk in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, and immediately reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 3 minutes.
2. Place a colander over a large bowl and drain potatoes, reserving milk. You should have 2 cups of thick, starchy milk. If potatoes have absorbed more than 1 cup of milk, add enough milk to bring the reserved milk volume to 2 cups.
3. Rub a 3 1/2-quart oval baking dish with garlic and butter. Arrange sliced potatoes in the baking dish; season with salt and pepper. Dot with remaining butter and pour over reserved cooking milk and cream. Sprinkle cheese over top.
4. Transfer baking dish to oven and bake until cheese becomes deep golden brown and milk has reduced and thickened, 80 to 90 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

A couple of notes:

• To save time, I did not peel the potatoes. I just scrubbed them really clean!
• I used 8oz of Gruyere cheese. And it was really good. But I think you could use a cheaper cheese and it still be just as good. 
• It only took about 1 hr to complete baking when I made it!

You'll notice that there's only one photo of the potatoes

and it's of the scoop on my plate. 

it smelled too good to stop and photograph

Definitely a little more work than I want to do for a normal meal

but it was so worth it for this!

This was the remainder at the end of the night

Christmas Dinner Party: Baked Brie

On Monday I hosted a fun dinner party for David and his roommates. 

This is the third year I've done it and I'd have to say 

this was definitely the best meal to date!

Menu:

Drinks:

Cranberry Punch

Glass Bottled Dr Pepper

 (don't judge. this is definitely holiday-party-worthy)

Appetizers:

Baked Brie served with  sliced apples

Spinach Salad 

with dried cranberries, walnuts and feta cheese

Entree:

Sliced Rib Roast

Side Dishes:

Scalloped Potatoes

Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles 

Dinner Rolls 

Dessert:

Tuxedo Cake

Although it felt like so many things went wrong during the prep time, 

(forgetting to bring beaters for the hand mixer,

not having enough time to let rolls rise and having to get store bought ones

totally planning around the wrong cut of meat...)

this meal turned out truly delicious. And if this amateur cook 

can pull it off, so can you. I'm going to share a few of the recipes 

I used with tips to make them simpler!

The first is the baked brie. 

It's really easy and delicious and makes a beautiful presentation. 

Plus, cheese is awesome. 

Who doesn't like cheese?

I served this while I finished up the rest of the prep for the meal. 

You'll need:
One 15oz Brie wheel
One puff pastry sheet
1 egg plus 1 tsp water
sliced apples (optional)


What To Do:
Wrap the brie wheel in the pastry sheet the flip over so the smooth side is on top. Decorate with any extra pastry dough (I made a bow on top). Brush with the egg wash. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees, or until browned on top. Let it sit for about fifteen minutes before you slice into it, or all the cheese will be too gooey and will run out everywhere!


You can also include pecans and raspberry jam inside for a fantastic twist on this. 
There are so many ways to customize it to include things that you like. 

Stay tuned for more recipes from this Christmas Dinner menu!

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Jalapeno Bites

Add this to your appetizer go-to list,

because it's a sure win across age groups and taste preferences

Plus it doesn't take a whole lot of food to make 

plenty of individual portions!

And bacon makes everything better.

You'll Need:

1 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 jalapeno pepper

1 pkg bacon

2 oz cream cheese

brown sugar

chili powder 

toothpicks

What To Do:

Cube the chicken and cut the bacon strips in half. 

Deseed the jalapeno and slice it in half longways 

and then chop each half into little slices. 

Assemble the parts, beginning with the strip of bacon 

then layer on the chicken, small dollop of cream cheese

 and jalapeno slice. Secure together with a toothpick. 

Roll each bite in brown sugar and chili powder. 

Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for twenty minutes 

or until the bacon is done to your liking!

Do you think bacon makes everything better?

Stuffed Mushrooms

I used to think that mushrooms were gross.
It was one of those things I'd pick out of
pizza
salad 
or restaurant entrees.


But then, I saw the light. 
Madisonville launched the Texas Mushroom Festival
I competed in a scholarship pageant 
and they made me try mushrooms.
The first thing I had was Olive Garden's stuffed mushrooms
Since then I've been hooked!

Here's a simple recipe for them 
that's great to take to Christmas parties
or as an appetizer at a formal dinner  

I've included some tips for quicker prep as well!

You'll need:

24 whole fresh button mushrooms

3-4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

2 tsp. vegetable oil

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ tsp. pepper

¼ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

Bread crumbs and minced fresh herbs, for garnish (optional)

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Buy the pre-washed mushrooms and save a few minutes.

If you saved money instead and don't buy the pre-washed ones,
 clean the mushrooms with a damp towel 

and remove the stems, saving for later use

Add the stems and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped
Although I love fresh garlic, I bought the jar of minced garlic

Heat oil on medium head and add your garlic and stem mush, 
cooking 5-7 minutes or until all the moisture is gone. 

Lower to medium-low heat and add in cream cheese, 

Parmesan cheese and spices.

Stir together until smooth and creamy

Remove from heat

Fill the mushroom caps with the 

cream cheese mixture using a small spoon

Top with breadcrumbs if desired. 

Bake for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are hot

and liquid starts to form under the cap

Tranfer to a serving platter

Garnish with fresh herbs if desired

 and serve immediately!

This recipe is great because you can mix in 

any number of yummy things you'd like:

bacon bits

crumbled sausage

diced jalapeno 

etc etc

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

What's your go-to holiday appetizer or snack?