Hot Corn Dip

I know that I've been totally remiss in my postings...I think that I just couldn't be bothered...my food has been uninspired over the last year due to the tightening of the belt to stay within my food budget. It's a little ridiculous how much money was going into food! What can I say I absolutely LOVE food!

This post is dedicated to this wonderfully sinful dish called 'corn dip'. I can not take any credit for this creation...I saw Trisha Yearwood plugging her new Cookbook on my morning talk show and I knew instantly that i would love it!

It's by no means healthy and from what I've seen of the cookbook this is not a book I shall cook from on a daily basis, but rather for special occasions!

It's a simple recipe...canned corn, Canned chile's, mayo, Parmesan Cheese and Monterrey jack cheese. All mixed together and baked for about 45 minutes and served hot and with corn tortilla chips. OMG. It was the most amazing things I've ever tasted...and that saying something!

So thick so salty, so cheesy...so delicious! This is something that you could easily throw together for company when you're pressed for time and it will impress! Initially I thought that the corn would be overwhelming but it blended well with the other ingredients. My hubbie thought..."ewwwwww" when I told him what I was making, but after trying it he agreed that it was completely addictive.

This is definitly added to my dinner party menu!

Chocolate 'tortilla' chips with fruit salsa

Thai Noodle Salad

Thai Noodle Salad (Served cold)

Chicken Parmesan...Camping Style

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Fiesta Taco Salad!

I have been remiss in posting my creations this year, however this has been a year full of personal trials and I'm just happy to have made it out in one peace. I shall try to be more diligent about my posts from now on as I am entering the season of yummy creative dishes!

The idea for this salad came to me after I had something similar at Chili's when I went to the states with my mother last month.

While perusing a kitchen specialty store I came across the molds for the taco shell. Over priced for what it is i couldn't resist! You spray the shell with a non stick spray and put a tortilla shell into it and bake it for about 10 minutes until it's golden.

I then dice the lettuce (romaine). I find the next step a crucial one...fresh pico de gallo...this I altered based on the original salad. I added black beans and corn to the tomato's, green peppers, red onion, cilantro and of course lime juice.

Add the fresh pico to the lettuce, then add some smokey bacon (chopped into bits of course), then some shredded cheese (I chose Jalapeno).

The last step is to cook the chicken. I cut 2 chicken breasts into strips and sauteed them in a drizzle of EVOO. You could grill them as well, it was raining when I cooked this so that wasn't going to happen.

Once the chicken has finished cooking them I drizzled them with a honey garlic BBQ sauce (Diana's), now I was skeptical when I first came across this combo but trust me it's fabulous (I HATE bbq sauce).

The final task is to add the salad dressing, It must be ranch...I used renee's as it has no preservatives and the taste is second to none!

The salad had a fresh citrusy taste that emanates summer, a nice light meal that my husband loved!

Tofee Tarts

I have been completely remiss in my posts as of late. Between the insanity of Christmas and the bitter cold of January I have not been up to the task. However never fear I have dutifully been photographing my creations and the posts will be forthcoming!

So to start with I shall sing the wonders of my favourite recipe for desserts! Toffee Tarts! These are a huge hit at parties and tend to get gobbled up so fast there's never one left for me! It's a blatantly simple recipe. You need a box of small pie shells (i often end up buying the mini shells as they make the tart more bite size at parties). McIntosh toffee bars or werthers chewy caramels and whipping cream.

First you need to bake the shells. I find that multitasking with this recipe doesn't work. Bake the shells then make the filling. It's too easy for one to burn, plus the shells should be cool to the touch when pouring the filling in.

The next step is to microwave the toffee bars on high...the time varies as it depend on the microwave. You want to be really careful that the toffee doesn't burn but you also have to make sure it's thoroughly melted. I've tried doing it on the stove and the result isn't the same for some reason. So I've resigned myself to the microwave method.

Once the toffee has melted pour about 1/2 a cup of whipping cream in and stir the mixture. Once the mixture has blended properly pour it into the shells. I find it best to move quickly at this stage as it doesn't take long for the toffee mixture to stiffen up.

The result! Dozens of yummy tarts ready for my consumption. I have found that if you prefer the toffee to be a bit gooier just add a touch more whipping cream. It does make them a bit messier to eat but if you use the mini shells as opposed to the regular ones it's not that bad!

Fall Canning

So this year I had decided to can as much of what I grew as possible to see how long I could go with out buying out of season produce. That was the initial goal. Unfortunately I didn't get out to any farmers market to supplement my measly garden. Sigh...with the salsa I made previously my bounty wasn't too pathetic but I guess if I'd used smaller jars it would look like more.

The first batch was spaghetti sauce...boiled for many hours and then put into a blender. I prefer to blend it...that way I can leave the skins on the tomato's and plays to the days when I feel anti-vegetable.

I still will have another batch of something to make with the huge bowl of tomato's I have waiting to ripen...kinda a freebee batch as I just pulled my plants yesterday and found about 3-4 dozen tomato's on them..who woulda thunk it after all this cold weather?

The second batch was pureed pumpkin...not something I see myself using in vast quantities however after peeling an entire pumpkin for 1 pie I had a lot left over and needed to do something with it...so I canned it. We'll see what if anything I create with it.

I think next year I shall try making my own pickles...