For Father’s day this year I gave Richard a plane ride for his gift.
 The plane hangar is in Turlock, so on the drive there we past a road side stand that was selling avocados 20 for $5, I told him on the way back we needed to stop and get some. I just love avocados, and Richard just loved his plane ride.

So while I was at work today the avocados were on my mind and all I wanted to do was go home and make me some guacamole and that is just what I did! This recipe is so good I found it on all recipes.


Guacamole
3 avocados, peeled, pitted, and mashed
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup diced onion
3 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime and salt. Mix in onion cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.Pin It

Last Saturday I was invited to a Garden Party /Fund Raiser by my friend Susan, we had a lot of fun. At every table there was a small bowl of mixed nuts; my first nibble I thought Oh? These nuts have a little kick, and then I had to have some more and some more, they are so addicting. I was so glad to find out that they gave us all the recipes for the dishes that they served that day.
This morning before I went to work I was telling Richard about the nuts again, I told him I was going to make them when I got home today. But I was not going to use mix nuts because I didn’t have any that I was going to use the bag of almonds that I had in the freezer. I bought the bag from Costco a few months ago and there was almost 2 pound left, I just doubled all the ingredients and they turned out great. Be careful when you try these nuts you might not be able to stop yourself once you get started.

Rosemary Nuts
1 pound mixed nuts (walnuts pecans, cashews, or almonds) or any combination that you would like
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon butter, melted

Spread nuts out onto baking sheet and roast at 350⁰F for 10 minutes; stirring after first 5 minutes. Mix together in a small bowl cayenne pepper, salt, and brown sugar; set aside. After roasting, pour nuts into a large mixing bowl. Toss with melted butter coating all the nuts; then toss with cayenne pepper mixture stirring to coat all the nuts. Spread back onto the baking sheet to cool. Store in air tight container.Pin It

One of the benefits of working in a dentist office is sometimes our patients will bring us goodies. Today I brought home oranges and bagels. No one wanted to take home the bagels, not that they don’t like bagels; it’s just that this patients brings us a big bag of bagels almost every week. She gets them from our local bagel shop; she says that they were going to throw them out at the end of the day, so she takes them home with her. Will today Dr. M asked me if I had ever made bagel chips, I told her that I haven’t but I would like to give it a try. This is what I came up with; you could use plain or flavored bagels, I used onion and everything bagels today. Richard says and I do agree with him they are very addicting.

Bagel Chips
Bagels
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Garlic powder to taste

Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.
Carefully slice bagels into ¼ inch slices using a serrated bread knife.
 Place on prepared cookie sheets. Brush sliced bagels with olive oil
 and sprinkle with salt and garlic powder to your taste.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Let bagels cool on baking sheets, this will help them become crisper.Pin It

I had some pimento cheese left over from the other day and I decided to serve it rolled up in flour tortillas at my Pampered Chef party, it was a big hit. Just follow this link to the recipe for the Pimento Cheese.
Flour tortillas
Pimento Cheese

On flour tortilla spread the pimento cheese spread, starting from any side roll up tortilla, slice and serve.Pin It

Like I promise I am posting another recipe from my Pampered Chef party the other night.

I found this recipe on All Recipes many years ago. I have made the dip many times since then and over time I changed the recipe just a little. I could eat the whole dish all by myself but it is always nice to share.

Artichoke and Spinach Dip
4 cloves garlic; minced
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 oz.) jar Alfredo pasta sauce
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350⁰F.
Mix all the ingredients together in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake about 30 minutes or until cheeses are melted and bubbly. Serve warm with crackers.Pin It

The first time I heard of this dish was at a Taste of Home cooking show, over ten years ago. Since then I have seen many version of this recipe. I made this for a Pampered Chef party that I had the other night and it was a huge hit. Don’t be afraid of the amount of jalapeno pepper that the recipe calls for; trust me the flavors of the other ingredients balance at the spiciness of the jalapeno. And please don’t forget to allow the time for the flavors to blend this dish gets better with age.

Besides the two great dishes that the Pampered Chef demonstrator prepared I also served at my party Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip, Pimentos Cheese Pinwheels, Mini Carrot Cake Cups and Strawberry Lemon Aid. I will be posting the other recipes over the next couple of days, be sure to come back and check, you will be glad that you did.

Cowboy Caviar
1 (15 oz.) can black-eyed peas; drained
1 (15 oz.) can black beans; drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn
1 red onion, diced
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (4 oz.) can diced jalapeno peppers
1 tablespoon dried cilantro
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup fat-free Italian salad dressing

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Cover, and refrigerate 24 hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve with tortilla chips.
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Check out my new toy, I got it for my birthday; I’m such a kitchen gadget freak. I love getting new toys to play with. Now what to make first with my new toy. I was looking through the owner’s manual and found a recipe for Pimentos Cheese.


Pimento cheese, it has to be a southern thing, back east in North Carolina you can buy pimento cheese in big cartons right next to all the lunch meats and sandwich cheeses. When I was growing up back east I remember it didn’t cost a lot for a 16 ounce carton. Now out here in California if you want to buy pimento and cheese you have to go to the gourmet cheese section in the grocery store, you heard me right California’s think that pimento cheese as a gourmet food and it sell here $4 for a tiny little carton, it’s about enough for two little sandwiches.
I remember as a little girl I would go with my stepmom and her sisters to baby showers, birthday parties and Tupperware parties where many little sandwiches would be served cut into little triangles, circles, hearts or whatever little shapes the hostess could think of. Oh how I loved eating those little sandwiches when I was a little girl, and I know you are going to enjoy this simple recipe for Pimento cheese.
Pimento Cheese
1 pound block medium sharp cheddar cheese
1 ½ cups mayonnaise
1 (4 oz.) jar sliced pimentos, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
In a large bowl grate the block of cheddar cheese; add mayonnaise, chopped pimentos, salt and pepper;
mix together thoroughly with a spatula. Place bowl in the refrigerator and allow the flavors to mellow together, about 30 minutes.
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What could be better than a couple of movies and a layer dip on a Sunday afternoon. This dip is so versatile add more layers or take some away. You can make this dip as mild or as spicy as you would like.

Ariel’s Layer Dip
1 can refried beans
1-2 tablespoons taco seasoning
Avocado dip
Salsa (your choice of heat)
Sour cream
Cheddar cheese
1 tomato; diced
In a small bowl mix together beans and taco seasoning; allow to sit for 10 minutes.
In a small casserole dish spread beans.
Add as much of the other ingredients to your likening
Avocados dip,
salsa,
sour cream,
cheddar cheese,
and tomatoes.
Enjoy!
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