'Tis the Season

It's the holidays!  As usual, I am not ready for them and probably still won't be after they have passed, but c'est la vie.  You do what you can and just let the rest fly right by, right?

Today's Favorite Find - Microplane zesters.  I own 2 of the classic series zesters and one of the citrus zesters and I love them all.  I use them mostly for grating zest, but they come in handy for grating fresh spices and even hard cheeses.  And, guess what?  The blades are made in the USA.  Gotta love that!

Psst!  Go ahead and "Read more"...there's a giveaway going on today!

Nando's Peri-Peri Sauce

I blame my world-travelling sister and brother-in-law for my craving of this product - it's all their fault!  They introduced us ("us" being the family) to Nando's Peri-Peri Sauce a year or so ago when they came home for a visit...I don't know if anyone else, besides sis and BIL, took to it, but I definitely enjoy it!

Layered Greek Ranch Dip

As promised, the recipe for Layered Greek Ranch Dip!  This is one of those recipes that doesn't really have specific measurements, aside from the ranch dip base.  It's pretty much add as much or as little of the toppings as you'd like; though I've added the approximate amounts I used in parentheses in the ingredient list to give you a starting point.

This comes together in 10 to 15 minutes, though I'd suggest refrigerating the dip at least a couple of hours to allow the flavors to meld.  And, if you need a good pita chip, might I recommend the Stacy's brand - they offer at great array of flavors.  This dip was especially good with the Parmesan Garlic and Herb flavor or the Simply Naked flavor is always a sure winner for use with dips.*

Layered Greek Ranch Dip
Printable Recipe
Inspiration:  Taste of Home Magazine
Prep:  10 to 15 minutes
Refrigerate: minimum 2 hours
Yield:  approximately 8 servings



Ingredients:

• 16 oz sour cream
• 1 envelope dry ranch salad dressing/dip mix
• 1 tomato, chopped
• Pepperoncini, drained and chopped (16 oz jar)
• Kalamata olives, drained and chopped (approximately 3 oz)
• Red onion, chopped (approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup)
• Feta cheese, crumbled (approximately 4 oz)
• Pita chips, for serving

Preparation:

1. Mix the sour cream and ranch salad dressing/dip mix in a small bowl.  Spread evenly into a large shallow dish.
2. Layer with the tomato, pepperoncini, kalamata olives, red onion, and feta cheese.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 2 hours.
3. Serve with pita chips.

Happy dipping!

*Stacy's Pita Chip Company has no idea who I am and they didn't ask me to say nice things about their product.  Just sharing an ingredient/brand I happen to love!

Animal Kingdom

Animals inspire so many things in our everyday lives - fabrics, prints, designs...the list goes on.  Cakes, cupcakes, and cookies certainly aren't exempt from the effect either.

For instance, bunny rabbit and peep chick cookies, accompanied by tulips and crosses for the Easter holiday.

Or a leopard print inspired cake - though not in a color scheme found in nature.

The bow on this cake was HUGE, but oh so fun.  And, it had a very "blingy" center that matched the border on the cake - quite a statement piece.  There were also cupcakes to match.  Have you ever tried to make leopard spots on piped buttercream with more piped buttercream?  It was an interesting experiment that turned out quite a bit better than I expected.

And, yes, those are chocolate cupcakes in wrappers that you can still actually SEE the design on - and it's a black and white design to boot.  The secret?  Wilton's new "ColorCups" baking cups.  I picked some up just to give them a try, never expecting them to work nearly as well as they did.  I'm very impressed - they are actually foil lined so the color from the cupcake doesn't bleed through onto the wrapper.  The cups seem to come in a pretty wide array of colors and designs and I think they add to the line-up fairly regularly.  All I can say is I'm sold!  You can check them out here.

Is it just me or do monkeys and flamingos seem to be everywhere these days?  There's no flamingo on this cake, just an adorable monkey.

I pretty much had free reign to design this one however I chose, just as long as I stuck with a monkey theme and bright colors.  For a first birthday, I thought this one was a super fun choice.

Talk to you soon!

Disclaimer:  Wilton Industries has no idea who I am and they did not ask me to say nice things about their product.  Just wanted to share a product that I love.

Slow Cooker Liners

We had our first could snap here last weekend! Yay!  I, of course, immediately dug out the crock pot and made soup...I'm looking forward to colder weather, can you tell?  The point of that little story, is to introduce you to these babies:

Yep, slow cooker liners.  They are exactly what you think they are - nifty drop-in (for lack of a better word) bags that keep your slow cooker considerably cleaner than going without.  Remember the last time you cooked your favorite crock pot meal and then had to soak the cooker insert and scrub off all the baked on residue?  These will help you save all that elbow grease and time!  You can spend that time and energy doing something you actually want to do - maybe eat dessert, catch up on an episode or two of your favorite new show...

Mmm...tasty!

*No compensation was given for my good words; just a product that I love and wanted to share!

New & Nifty: Gourmet Garden Herbs & Spices

I love using fresh herbs and spices in my cooking, but all too often I only need a small amount and end up throwing out the leftover bunches that have languished in my fridge too long.  So imagine my delight when I came across the line of Gourmet Garden Herbs & Spices in my local mega mart.  Here's a shot of the packaging:

I tried out the cilantro in this recipe, and it worked wonderfully.  It tasted like fresh chopped cilantro and it will keep in my fridge for up to 3 months!  True, it is a bit pricier than buying the fresh cilantro, but it saves the prep time and has a much longer shelf life.  And, for herbs or spices that are more expensive when buying fresh, the price difference shrinks considerably.

Gourmet Garden has an entire line of herbs and spices - everything from cilantro to lemon grass to a Moroccan blend.  You can check out their website here.

Mmm...tasty!

Gourmet Garden didn't ask me to endorse their product; they don't even know who I am.  Just wanted to share the nifty find!