Roasted Red Pepper Dip

I got this from the Our Best Bites cookbook.  I was a little afraid to try it because I honestly am not a huge fan of peppers.  But I really loved it.  It was spicy because of the pepper jack cheese, but that was just fine with me.  I did not find it overly spicy at all.  So tasty.

1 (7-oz.) jar roasted red peppers (about 1 cup diced)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. minced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
12 oz shredded pepper jack cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  If using bottled peppers, remove them from the jar and blot the excess water with paper towels--a lot of excess moisture will affect the texture of the dip.  Dice the peppers and set aside.
3.  Combine the mayonnaise, cream cheese, onion, garlic and Dijon mustard.  Add in the shredded cheese and the diced peppers.  Place in an 8 x 8- inch (or similar size) dish like a pie plate.  At this point, you can cover it and refrigerate the uncooked dip for 2-3 days.
Place in the oven and cook for 30-45 minutes.  Baking time depends on the size of the dish used/  Remove from the oven when the dip is golden and bubbly on top.  Serve immediately.

THE Party Punch

This was very good.  I made it exactly as they said to here.  It was tasty and not overly sweet.  But I didn't think it would be awful with regular 7-up.  It probably depends on what you are used to.  But it was definitely a hit.  Thank you Pinterest.  I think I may try this with Club Soda some time.  It is tasty, but I don't like using sugar-free drinks.

1 can frozen piña colada concentrate, thawed (Bacardi makes a good one)
1 can frozen orange pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
4 liters of diet lemon-lime soda (That’s two 2-liters for the mathematically challenged.)
1 bag of pebble ice (You can buy it at Sonic Drive-In or at most grocery stores in the deli or meat departments.)
1 bag of frozen raspberries
Directions:
Pour the thawed concentrates into your punchbowl and stir.
Use one of the empty cans and fill it with water four times and add it to the mixture. Stir.
Add your diet soda to the mixture. (You can use regular sugar-filled soda if you want, but I think it gets too sweet and you will also feel guilty when you fill your glass for the sixteenth time. Which you WILL.)
Next, add about half your bag of pebble ice.
**Please do not insult The Punch by using crappy ice cubes from your freezer. The Punch will hate you forever.
*** Please do not screw up the order and add the ice before the soda. You will get an ugly foam at the top of your punch bowl.
Add your frozen raspberries to the top.

Spumoni Cake

How many of you have been to a nice Italian restaurant and loved the Spumoni?  Well I have.  I love Spumoni. One of my very favorites (along with Creme Brulee).  Oh yum.

My Aunt Emmie made this for us.  It was delicious.  It is adapted from a Pistachio Cake recipe.

Cake:
1 white cake mix
1 pkg. pistachio pudding mix (3.4 oz.)
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 can 7-up (12-oz.)
1 bottle of maraschino cherries, cherries cut in half

Frosting:
1 pkg. pistachio instant pudding mix (3.4 oz.)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 container whipped topping

1.)  Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray 2 nine-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray.
2.)  In a large bowl, beat cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil and 7-up in a large bowl for 4 minutes on medium speed.
3.)  Divide batter in the two pans, place cherries gently on each pan of cake batter (until the top surface is covered) and cook at 350 for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean, when tested.
4.) Let cake cool in pans for 15 minutes and then put on wire racks to completely cool.
5.)  When cool, mix frosting by mixing pudding and milk in a large bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes.
6.)  Fold in the whipped topping.
7.) Frost cooled cake, with frosting in the middle and on the top and sides.
8.) Serve with chocolate ice cream and enjoy!

Luau Recipes

No, I've never been to Hawaii.  Not that I don't want to go, it just hasn't happened yet.  But I love the food.

I have a few other luau recipes on here already.  And I needed more.  Because....I've been trying to find more ideas for big group meals.

In the past, when I wanted to have a bunch of people over for dinner (30+ people), I have used the following ideas:

Soup and Sandwiches
Mexican (Enchiladas, refried beans, salsa, chips, guacamole, etc.)
Cafe Rio Salads
Barbecue (Shredded Chicken, Shredded Pork or Beef Brisket, with Potato Salad, Baked Beans, etc.)

I could always do Italian food, Asian and stuff like that,

But I wanted to expand my horizons.  And my kids food palates.

So I've been surfing the web for more Luau recipes.  I've found a couple of sites I want to start from:

Go Hawaii

And the recipes on Go Hawaii.

I plan on asking this amazing cook in our ward as well.  Let's see how far I get before my next big event, Ally's Baptism.  So anyone want to come to our Luau in November.  :)

Rice Krispie Treats

I know.

This is an old standard.

But every time I've made it recently it was so hard and unpleasant.  The ones that are in the little blue packages taste funny.  They have a slightly bitter taste that is SCREAMING preservatives.  These are really not hard to make.  I used to make them all the time and they were awesome.  But what had I done?  How could I make them as awesome as I remember them being?

So I looked up the recipe.

And someone had nicely done an experiment on the best way to make Rice Krispie Treats and posted the results.

Awesome.

The full results are HERE.

But I'm going to tell you what I got out of it.  Add extra marshmallows.  (Which I kind of assumed, but I wasn't sure the of the amount.)

So here is the recipe as far as I am concerned:

               4 tbsp. butter
               5 cups mini-marshmallows
               5 3/4 cups Rice Krispies

--Over very low heat, melt butter in a pot.  Once melted, add marshmallows, melt thoroughly and cook for one more minute.  Turn off heat and stir in the cereal.  Transfer into a pan, cover with wax paper and press down.  Allow 20 minutes to cool and cut up and eat.  Best if eaten fresh.

Variation:  Add 1/2 cup of peanut butter to the marshmallow mixture.  Make the same way after that, but drizzle chocolate on top.

One of my favorite things are regular Rice Krispies dipped in chocolate.  So good.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread

Another one from "100 Days of Real Food."

• 1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup oil (I used coconut oil)
• ½ cup honey
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup chopped tree nuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients (from the flour down to the salt).
3. Make a well (hole) in the center and throw in the eggs, oil, honey, and vanilla. Stir together thoroughly with a fork, but do not overmix.
4. Fold in the pumpkin puree and nuts (if using).
5. Generously grease a large loaf pan or put muffin liners in a muffin pan and then pour in the batter.
6. For a loaf bake for approximately 30 – 40 minutes and for muffins bake for approximately 18 – 22 minutes. Check for doneness by making sure a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Zucchini Bread

I've been trying to collect recipes that are more "whole food recipes."  I don't mind cooking things from scratch, but I never know what to cook.  Where do you start?  Well, I learned how to do it.  You start with one thing at a time.  Matt makes salsa, spaghetti, red beans and rice, and a few other things he is really good at.  And I make Alfredo sauce, and I am a pretty good baker.  We've been trying to make our food choices more and more healthy.   My sister showed me a website called "100 Days of Real Food".  So I'm going to start with a couple that look great.


INGREDIENTS:

3 cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
¾ cup oil (I used coconut oil)
¾ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped nuts (optional – I have tried both pecans and almonds, although walnuts would be good too)
DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F for small loaf pans or 325 degrees F for large loaf pan or muffins.
Blend the dry ingredients.
Make a well (or hole) in the center and pour in the eggs, oil, honey and vanilla. Stir just until mixed – do not overmix.
Fold in the grated zucchini and chopped nuts if using. Pour batter into greased loaf pan(s) or muffin holders and bake until a toothpick comes clean in the top/center of the loaf or muffin.
If using smaller pans bake for 30 – 40 minutes. I was able to fill four of my small loaf pans.
For one larger loaf pan bake for 50 – 60 minutes.
For muffins bake for 15 – 20 minutes.
Enjoy and don’t forget to freeze the leftovers!