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Happy Holidays!

Creamy Salsa Dip: Perfect for New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day or Anytime…

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Creamy Salsa Dip
When I was sent the recipe for Creamy Salsa Dip –  created by Chef Anthony Stewart from Pritikin Longevity Center + Spa  – I rounded up the ingredients immediately. I knew this was something I had to make immediately.

I am a dip fanatic and anything that calls for both sour cream AND green onions is something I have to have in my life.

This creamy and delicious dip has a lot going on for it. For one thing, most of us already have the ingredients on hand. I only had to grab fresh sour cream because Christmas Day had confiscated every container I owned.

I also love that it’s inexpensive to make – as in very inexpensive. Post-Christmas shopping, we could all use that, right?!

The best thing about the dip, however, is the taste. It is outrageously delicious. I served mine with Glutino Crackers and Veggie Chips. When I break it out for football on TV later, I’ll serve vegetables with it.

After I made one batch and tasted it… I made another right away. It’s THAT yummy.

Creamy Salsa Dip and Glutino Crackers
Creamy Salsa Dip

Creamy Salsa Dip by Chef Anthony Stewart

  • 1/2 cup yogurt (plain, nonfat)
  • 4 tablespoons sour cream (reduced-fat)
  • 1/4 cup green onions finely chopped (white and light green parts only)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin ground
  • 2/3 cup salsa ( (non chunky varieties)
Instructions
  1. Mix by hand all ingredients, except for 1 tablespoon of green onions (which will be used as garnish topping).

Thanks so much to  Pritikin Longevity Center + Spa for passing this delicious recipe along to my readers (and me!)

Creamy Salsa Dip and Veggie Chips

Gorgeous Christmas Kitchen Towels on Amazon

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The set of three Christmas Kitchen Towels pictured here are, without a doubt, some of the most beautiful kitchen towels I’ve ever laid eyes on.  I have an obsession, if we’re being honest, with kitchen towels. Each holiday – as well as each season – I grab whatever colorful, festive towels catch my eye. I leave the oven mitts and pot holders where they sit, but the towels always come home with me.

Naturally, given the level of my fanaticism, I’m already eyeing Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving towels. The Christmas ones, above, are a given – they have a future in my kitchen.

I hope they enjoy the smell of coffee. Like, a lot.

  • Set of 3 dishtowels measures 18 x 28″ to tackle all of your drying and cleaning kitchen tasks
  • Ultra-absorbent 100% cotton which last long  and can hold up to your washings – Purchase confidently
  • The festive embroidery coordinate with most kitchen décor & add some holiday cheer to your kitchen
  • Perfect gift for Christmas, party, holidays, birthdays, housewarming and more
  • Machine washable and durable for daily use –Wash with Cold Water in Gentle Cycle & Tumble Dry Low

See Christmas Kitchen Towels for more details. Check out the reviews for these towels, too, while there.  There are a lot of RAVING reviews from very satisfied customers. I love to see that, right before I throw my towels into my shopping cart!


Cilantro Lime Slaw: Delicious Side for Cinco de Mayo

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Pasolivo Lime Olive Oil
Pasolivo Lime Olive Oil 
Some time back, I wrote a raving Pasolivo Olive Oils Review. Their flavored olive oils will completely change how you look at olive oil. Don’t get me wrong, olive oil is one of the centerpieces of my cooking – but Pasolivo’s flavorful olive oils (like the Lime Olive Oil pictured here) change the game by adding extra layers of flavor that’ll rock your world.

The lime, rosemary, basil, and citrus olive oils are each phenomenal and I completely recommend them – to the tune of 110 percent. Pasolivo’s Artisan Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil is unlike any you’ll ever find, too.

However, this post is all about the Pasolivo Lime Olive Oil, so let’s give him all of our attention. Below is a delicious recipe using Pasolivo Lime Olive Oil and I know you’ll be as impressed with it as I am.

I use the Pasolivo Lime Olive Oil in so many different ways – from black bean burgers to fish and from roasted asparagus to chicken. Most recently, I used it with grilled chicken tacos and the extra flavor they gave the tacos was mind-blowing.

Grilled Chicken Tacos
Grilled Chicken Tacos
My husband had grilled chicken for our annual NFL Draft Day party (sporting events are treated like holidays in this family). I saved what little chicken was left for the next day. After tearing the meat off of the bones, I tossed the chicken in some Pasolivo Lime Olive Oil, seasoned it with salt/pepper and heated it up in a skillet. Because the Olive Oil, itself, is so flavorful, I didn’t need any further seasoning that that. They were fantastic!

See Also:

Pasolivo Lime Olive Oil

Pasolivo Lime Olive Oil

King of Pop Patriotic Gourmet Popcorn: Cherry, Blueberry, and Kettle Corn

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King of Pop Patriotic Popcorn

King of Pop Patriotic Popcorn

As I’ve said several times on Get Cooking, I’m a huge fan of Gourmet Gift Baskets.com. HUGE. The idea of giving delicious gifts (always the right fit, size, and color) just really floats my boat.

The fact that everything Gourmet Gift Baskets is absolute perfection makes that same boat skip across the water!

What you see pictured here is from one of Gourmet Gift Baskets companies, King of Pop. This is the beautiful and delicious King of Pop Patriotic Popcorn: Cherry Blueberry, and Kettle Corn. You get the cherry and blueberry flavors along with the GREAT flavor of the kettle corn.

{Review Continued Below….}

King of Pop Gourmet Red White and Blue Popcorn

King of Pop Patriotic Popcorn

These tins are available on both Gourmet Gift Baskets and King of Pop – same price, same fast delivery, same ease of purchase. The choice is yours.

I read on one of the websites where someone left a comment saying they wished the tins were more “patriotic,” maybe with a flag or something.  I’d have to politely disagree a little. I love for tins to be reusable as much as possible and think that a solid color or a handsome design (like the one here) is right on the money.

In fact, this Patriotic Blend isn’t just perfect for the Fourth of July, President’s Day, Patriot’s Day, or Flag Day – it’s IDEAL for those of you who are Patriots fans or would make a perfect gift for the Patriots fan in your life.

Same would hold true for Texas Rangers fans and other sports teams with the colors red, white, and blue.

If the tin were decorated solely for the Fourth of July (or President’s Day, Patriot’s Day…), it’d be a little awkward to give as a gift on any other day.

{Review Continued Below….}

King of Pop Gourmet Patriotic Popcorn
King of Pop Patriotic Popcorn
See either Gourmet Gift Baskets or King of Pop for ordering information. I’m honestly not sure how many days it’d take to get to you, but you may very well be able to order it now and have it in time for the Fourth of July.

How cool would that be?

Either way, this popcorn blend is absolutely delicious as well – and gorgeous to boot.

King of Pop Patriotic Popcorn

Holiday Baking with Oh! Nuts: The Best Walnut Chocolate Fudge Recipe

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Walnut Chocolate Fudge

Walnut Fudge

When I love a product, I am possibly the most loyal consumer in the world.  I use it so frequently it becomes second nature. Oh! Nuts is my GO TO source for nuts. Period.   People who aren’t as nuts for nuts as I am may say, “A nut’s a nut,” but I beg to differ. I love everything about Oh! Nuts – from the website to the packaging.  The entire experience of shopping, ordering, and receiving is a joy and no one will ever convince me that the nuts don’t taste and even LOOK better than all other nuts.

They recently sent me a few bags of nuts to use in holiday recipes and, even though it’s just the middle of November, I’ve already taken a few “test drives.” The recipe below is for my favorite Walnut Chocolate Fudge – made with Oh! Nuts sensational walnuts.

Best Walnut Chocolate Fudge

Yield: 45 pieces of the best fudge you ever ate

2 cups sugar
3/4 Cups milk
2 squares (2 oz) unsweetened chocolate (cut up)
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 – 3/4 cups Oh! Nuts walnuts, chopped (or, if you’re extra clever, buy their Chopped Walnuts and save yourself a little trouble)

  1. Lin a 9x5x3 inch pan with foil (or buy a disposable tin pan). Extend the foil over the edges and butter the bottom and sides.
  2. Butter the sides of a heavy 2 Qt saucepan.  Combine the sugar, milk, chocolate, and corn syrup in the buttered saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat to boiling. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, being careful not to splash any on the sides of the pan. After about 5 minutes, the sugar should be dissolved – this is when you want to clip on your Candy Thermometer on the inside of the pan. Make sure the bulb on the end is fully immersed in the chocolate mixture, but don’t let it touch the bottom of the pan.
  3. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until the candy thermometer registers 234 degrees (the “soft ball stage”). You want the mixture to boil at a moderate but steady rate across the top.  Reaching the “soft ball stage” usually takes between 20 and 25 minutes.
  4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the 2 tablespoons of butter and vanilla extract. DO NOT STIR.  Cool – without stirring – to 110 degrees on your candy thermometer. This usually takes just under an hour, between 50 and 55 minutes.
  5. Remove the candy thermometer from the pan. Beat the mixture vigorously with the wooden spoon until the fudge begins to thicken. Now add the walnuts. Continue beating with your wooden spoon until the fudge becomes very thick and begins to lose its shiny gloss (about 7 minutes total).
  6. Quickly pour (more like plop) the fudge into your buttered pan and, while the fudge is still warm, score it into 1 inch squares. When candy is firm, use the foil to lift it out of the pan and cut into squares.
  7. Store tightly covered.

Merci Goodness! Merci Finest European Chocolates Review

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Merci Chocolates

Merci Finest European Chocolates

I was recently sent a box of Merci Finest European Chocolates to review and I’ve been in chocolate Heaven ever since.  Now remember, I’m a bona fide chocoholic – in every sense of the word – so I know my chocolates. You could blindfold me and feed me 50 different chocolates (would it help if I begged?). I’d be able to classify them in three categories:

  1. Premium
  2. Next Best Thing
  3. Last resort…. but still chocolate, so keep ’em coming.

After just one bite into a Merci Chocolate, I realized that if it were in the lineup, I’d need a 4th category called, I’ve Now Forgotten Every Chocolate I’ve Ever Met…

Yes, as a matter of fact, Merci Chocolates are that darn good. They’re creamy, delicious, and take you to a whole other world… one covered in chocolate.  A chocolate world where crime, pain, illness, taxes, and pop music don’t exist.  No one gets older, no one gets angry, an no one ever ever ever has a bad hair day.  Say it with me now, Merci Goodness!

Merci Chocolates

  • Finest Assortment of European Chocolates
  • Name that means thank you
  • 20 pieces of rich, indulgent, individually wrapped chocolates
  • A delightful gift especially for expressing gratitude

The box shown above is their 8.8 oz box of heavenly chocolates. You can find this box on Amazon, but the best deal can be found by clicking the following link. For just a small amount more, you get TWO boxes and, trust me, you’ll want at least that many. See Merci European Chocolates, Assortment, 8.8-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 2).

Merci Chocolates are the Finest Assortment of European Chocolates with a brand name that literally means thank you!  I can’t think of a better way to say thank you (or I love you, or happy birthday, or happy anniversary, or Merry Christmas, or Holy Cow You’re the Bee’s Knees….) than with these amazingly delicious chocolates.

I suppose that’s why Merci Chocolates are a top gift-giving chocolates.  The gift giver and the receiver know that Merci chocolates are  made with the finest ingredients available. What’s more, each box is beautifully packaged and features 20 pieces of rich, incredibly delicious, individually wrapped chocolates. With seven flavor varieties, including Dark Mousse, Hazelnut-Almond, Dark Cream, and Praline-Crème, Merci Chocolates will flat blow you away.

Valentine’s Day is less than a week away.  Why not give your Valentine a gift that’ll rock their world?

Also keep Merci Chocolates in mind for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, and any day when you want to show someone how much you care.  They’d also be outrageously appropriate for saying Thank You when someone has a “thank you” coming.

Sure, thank you cards are nice, but thank you chocolates are MUCH better!  Not. Even. Close.

Merci Chocolates Review

Easy Homemade Whipped Cream

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Fourth of July White Cake
This is one of my favorite recipes for easy homemade whipped cream (or whipped topping, if you’d prefer).  I use it on pies, ice cream, brownies, lattes… absolutely everything I can think of. It’s a knock out every single time.

This whipped cream can hide a multitude of sins – for example, if you aren’t 100 percent happy with the way your pie(s) turn out – pies can be fickle after all – this cream is a cure all.  It pardons the pie of its every sin.

Something else I love to do with this recipe is use it as cake icing – especially in the summer when I prefer to refrigerate my cakes. I just double the recipe and ta da, best icing ever.

How to Make Your Own Whipped Cream or Whipped Topping

2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whip the whipping cream until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Enjoy and don’t worry about the calories until tomorrow.

Also See: Homemade Whipped Cream with Cinnamon!