This week I am starting off with finger foods! My family loves finger foods because they are easy to pick and grab on busy nights. All of the meals this week are inspired by recipes I found online but tweaked to make them my own. The first recipe is for nachos. My family loves to visit the Rainforest Café for their famous Lava Nachos, so I decided to make my own to see if I could even come close to making a recipe like theirs. I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman's website. In her recipes she uses pinto beans however I used black beans because it is more preferable by my family. Here is the recipe for the nachos: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/05/loaded-nachos/. This is the final product. My family said they almost beat the Rainforest Café recipe. I'd say that one is a hit!
I also found a queso recipe from foodsweet.com. I had never made a queso recipe so it was something new to try. It was super easy and I am definitely making it again. Here is the recipe for the queso: http://foodsweet.com/the-best-queso-cheese-sauce/. The Pico de Gallo is attached to the pioneer woman's recipe. For those of you who don't know what it is, it is a mild salsa. It is best made with fresh garden vegetables.
Another one of my family's favorite finger food recipes is veggie and fruit pizza. We have had this recipe so long that it can not be tracked back to the original, but all I know is that it is the first recipe my mom ever cooked for my dad. The veggie pizza is a crescent roll crust with a ranch filling, made with an 8 ounces cream cheese, half a cup of sour cream, and one dry packet of ranch dressing. It is than topped with an assortment of vegetables and cheese. Some of our favorite toppings include broccoli, cauliflower, onions, tomatoes, and carrots.
Along with veggie pizza my family loves fruit pizza. This recipe can be made with homemade or store bought sugar cookies. (I prefer store bought because it is just as good and simpler to make.) We then use a homemade or store bought cream cheese frosting. Then it is topped with an assortment of fruit. We prefer blueberries, oranges, strawberries, and pineapple. Last but not least, a drizzle of white chocolate!
Another fun way to add a creative twist to your meals is to have breakfast for dinner. It is a big hit in my family. Tonight we created potato pancakes, fruit crepes, and a spinach and feta crepe. You may remember our trip to The French Crepe a few weeks ago in Caliornia. My family enjoyed their crepes so much I decided to create my own. My first crepe was a fruit crepe. For the crepe I used a recipe from Martha Stewart. It was tricky at first but with my mom's help I was able to figure it out. Here is the recipe for the crepe: http://www.marthastewart.com/335089/simple-crepes. For the filling I actually used a recipe from another crepe. It was SO good. I also opted for cherry pie filling on top instead of strawberries, but you could use any you like! Here is the recipe for the filling: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/strawberry-creme-crepes.
Did I mention I also had help from Izzy? :)
The next crepe was a more savory recipe. It is a spinach and feta crepe. My mom had something similar at one of our local restaurants and recreated it at home. You can either make it with whole eggs or egg whites - basically create an omelet by scrambling eggs with a bit of milk and salt and pepper to taste. Add sautéed onions and spinach, and finally some feta cheese. Fold over and tuck in a folded crepe. They actually serve it at the restaurant with a side of poppy seed dressing and mom says it tastes very good!
My last entrée for the breakfast for dinner meal is a potato pancake. Let me tell you these are not as easy as they make them sound. I made a mashed potato recipe so of course first I had to make the mashed potatoes. The recipe I used was another of the Pioneer Woman's. Here is the link: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/11/delicious_creamy_mashed_potatoes/. I then had to make the actual potato pancakes. I only ended up making a few because they are kind of tough. In order to keep them stuck together I had to add a few more eggs to the recipe and about a bit of butter to the pan before cooking each pancake. Although they are tough they are very delicious!! Here is the link to the potato pancake recipe: http://fooddoodles.com/2011/03/24/mashed-potato-pancakes/.
I also made a fruit salad with some of our fresh fruits. I used a few melons I had found that farmers market last weekend. They were very unique and very good.
For all my Trader Joe's fans, don't forget to check out next week's post for a variety of Cookie Butter recipes! Here is a sneak peek at the Cookie Butter Milkshake! YUM.
That's it for this week! Have a good week! Don't forget to check out my Etsy business for more perfectly posh clothing for you and your pet! Here is the link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/IzzabelesCreations.
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