Saturday, February 4, 2012

Super Bowl!

WOOT WOOT!  Tomorrow is the Super Bowl, and you know what that means.....MADONNA!!!!  I personally feel like this is Madge's last chance to prove she can do Madonna better than Gaga can do Madonna.  Tomorrow, like everyone else in America, I will be cooking up some snacks for the day.  Here's my line-up (haha, get it line-up).....

I found blue tortilla chips at Trader Joes that only have 5 ingredients, and even though I consider them 100% junk food, I am serving them tomorrow with guacamole and salsa.  I loosely follow this recipe when making guacamole, but I am a big fan of tasting as I go and adding what I think is needed.
  • 3 avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic

If you don't want to make homemade salsa, look around in the deli section of your grocery store.  I found a salsa at Costco that is 100% fresh ingredients and nothing else added.  So, I cheated and bought some.  However, I LOVE making my own salsa.  It's simple....tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, lime juice, salt.  Mix, blend, taste and tweak.

I am serving veggies (cucumber, carrots, celery, and yellow grape tomatoes) with hummus

  • 1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, half the liquid reserved
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 4 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    1. In a blender, chop the garlic. Pour garbanzo beans into blender, reserving about a tablespoon for garnish. Place lemon juice, tahini, chopped garlic and salt in blender. Blend until creamy and well mixed.
    2. Transfer the mixture to a medium serving bowl. Sprinkle with pepper and pour olive oil over the top. Garnish with reserved garbanzo beans.
    My favorite appetizer is stuffed mini sweet peppers.  I will make stuffing tonight, I find that they are better that way.

    • 15-20 mini sweet peppers
    • 1/2 cup cream cheese
    • 1/4 cup goat cheese (you can substitute mozzerella, but I don't know why you would want to)
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
    • 2 tbsp diced sundried tomatoes
    • salt and pepper
    1.  Cut the tops off the peppers and clean out the seeds.
    2.  In a bowl, mix cream cheese and goat cheese.
    3.  Add garlic, basil, sundried tomatoes, salt and pepper.
    4.  Using a small spoon, fill the mini pepper with the mixture.
    5.  OPTIONAL:  bake/broil for 5-10 minutes until pepper is soft

    And, Mr. McGhee's absolute favorite bacon wrapped jalapenos.

  • 20 whole Fresh Jalapenos, 2-3 Inches In Size
  • 2 cubes Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1 pound Thin(regular) Bacon, Sliced Into Thirds

  • 1.  Put on latex gloves.
    2.  Split jalapenos in half-lengthwise. 
    3.  Remove seeds and little white membrane. 
    4.  Smear cream cheese into pepper.
    5.  Wrap with a piece of bacon.
    6.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

    No pictures right now, I will update tomorrow!  Enjoy the halftime show game.