Archive | Appetizers

The BEST Guacamole [EVER]

Does everyone have the best guacamole ever recipe?!

I think I have the best but then so does everyone else! 🙂

Most recipes are similar but what I think makes this guacamole different (and better) is the pickled jalapeño. Have you ever tried them in your guacamole? They’re found on the Mexican aisle of the grocery store. We think it adds an extra flavor that makes a good guac so much better. Try this recipe, or just try adding the pickled jalapeños to the recipe you already love and see if you think it makes a difference.

The BEST Guacamole [EVER]

Ingredients

3 medium avocados
1 lime, juiced
1/3 cup onion, minced (white, yellow, or red)
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup of your favorite salsa
kosher salt and fresh pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon pickled jalapeños, minced or finely diced

Directions

Slice the avocados in half and take out the pit. Scrape out the pulp into a medium bowl and slightly mash with a fork to your desired chunkiness.
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to mix thoroughly.

http://www.abrightandbeautifullife.com/the-best-guacamole-ever/

Printed from A Bright and Beautiful Life {www.abrightandbeautifullife.com}

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Easy Creamy Hummus

Hello friends. With all the busyness of summer I’ve been absent from this blog for a little over a month, but I’ve really missed it. I hope you’re having a great summer.

Today I have a simple, delicious recipe to share with you.

I love the creamy hummus that Mediterranean restaurants serve. I’ve been making this hummus recipe fairly often over the last 12 months or so and I think it rivals good restaurant hummus – and it’s so much better than store-bought. It’s super smooth and flavorful and makes a great snack or lunch – we like to dip tortilla or pita chips, pita bread, and sometimes sliced up veggies. I love how easy this is to make – just throw everything in a food processor and process to your desired creaminess.

Easy Creamy Hummus

Ingredients

One 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (you can also use bottled, but fresh tastes better)
1/4 cup tahini
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons water
Paprika, sprinkled over the top for serving

Directions

Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.
Process to your desired creaminess.
Spoon the hummus onto a plate or into a bowl for serving.
Drizzle with olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) and sprinkle with paprika. (As you can tell from the above picture, we like a lot of paprika.)

http://www.abrightandbeautifullife.com/easy-creamy-hummus/

Printed from A Bright and Beautiful Life {www.abrightandbeautifullife.com}

Enjoy.

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One Minute Salsa

Have you heard of One Minute Salsa? I’ve never been able to figure out why it’s named that because it takes longer than a minute just to pull the ingredients out. Maybe it’s because it’s processed for about one minute. I don’t know. But whatever the reason, I don’t care because I LOVE this salsa.

There are four main reasons I love this recipe:

#1. I can make it year round because it uses canned tomatoes instead of fresh. I have used fresh in the fall and that makes for a delicious salsa, too.

#2. It uses pickled jalapeños, which I think gives it a better spicy flavor than fresh jalapeños.

#3. I can process it until it’s mostly smooth but still has a bit of texture. I know I’m weird but I don’t like chunky salsa ~ I’ve been known to throw a bottle of store-bought salsa in the blender and blend it up until it’s no longer chunky.

#4. It’s so easy to make. So much easier than running to the store to buy some.

One Minute Salsa

Yield: About 3 cups.

One Minute Salsa

Ingredients

1/2 small red onion, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup jarred pickled jalapeños, drained
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 {28-ounce} can diced tomatoes

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor {or a blender}, add the onion, cilantro, jalapeños, lime juice, garlic, and salt. Process until coarsely chopped.
Add the tomatoes and pulse until combined ~ about 2 or 3 quick pulses if you like your salsa chunky. Pulse longer for more blended, less chunky salsa.
Serve it up!
{Store in an airtight container for up to a week.}

http://www.abrightandbeautifullife.com/one-minute-salsa/

Printed from A Bright and Beautiful Life {www.abrightandbeautifullife.com}

{Click here to see where I link up.}

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Pico de Gallo

Do you have a favorite Pico de Gallo recipe? This is mine. It’s best eaten on the day it’s made because the ingredients are fresh. The second and third days after it’s made it’s not as fresh but still tasty, and quite a bit hotter. Serve it with all of your favorite Mexican dishes or just plain tortilla chips. I slightly adapted the recipe from here.

Ingredients:

4-5 {or more} vine-ripened tomatoes, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt {or to taste}
1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
2 tablespoons pickled jalapeño, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
5-6 shakes Franks Red Hot original sauce

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized bowl toss the diced tomatoes with the Kosher salt.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir together until well combined.
3. For the best flavor, serve at room temperature.

This recipe was featured on:
Gingerly Made
Domesblissity

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Toffee Fruit Dip – 4 Versions

Have you just about exceeded your sugar limit for this time of year?
This would be a nice, refreshing addition to a holiday appetizer menu, served with a meal
or as dessert, or just as a snack.
We like eating this very tasty fruit dip with apples, pears, grapes, and bananas.
Make this ~ your family will love you for it.

Since discovering this dip recipe a couple of years ago and making it countless times using the original recipe, I started playing around with it trying to cut down on the amount of sugar and came up with 3 delicious alternatives to the high sugar content in the original.

*makes about 2 cups of dip

Version 1 {Original Recipe}
Toffee Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

1 8 ounce package cream cheese
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup English toffee bits

Version 2
Toffee Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

1 8 ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup English toffee bits

Version 3
Toffee Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

1 8 ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup pure maple syrup {not pancake syrup}
1/2 cup English toffee bits or 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Version 4
Toffee Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

1 8 ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup honey {raw is best}
1/2 cup English toffee bits or 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Mix together the cream cheese and brown sugar {or pure maple syrup or honey} until well combined.
2. Stir in the toffee bits {or pecans}.
3. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

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