fresh, easy homemade guacamole

I am a huge guacamole fan.

Unfortunately the husband is not.

He won't touch an avocado with a ten-foot pole.  Which means I usually have to make and eat my own guacamole all by myself.  (I know...  poor me, right?!)

Well, I found an easier way to get my fix and I am loving this arrangement:

Whenever Andrew makes his amazing Fresh Pico de Gallo Salsa, I steal some and make myself a super quick, delicious guacamole.

Two amazing treats with one burst of work (mostly done by the husband!)...  works for me, especially in these crazy new-baby days.

You could also use any great store-bought fresh salsa to make this quick recipe.  But the homemade salsa really makes this extra special!

Fresh, Easy Homemade Guacamole Recipe

Ingredients:
2 large, ripe avocados
3/4-1 cup fresh pico de gallo salsa
juice of 1 lime
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
I am medium bowl, scoop out the avocado flesh and mash it all up as chunky or smooth as you'd like.

Gently stir in the salsa and lime juice, both to taste.  Season with salt & pepper and serve!

(Guacamole tip:  If you are not going to serve this for a few hours, save the avocado pit and place it back in the guacamole before covering.  The pit will help keep the guacamole from turning brown!)

homemade pico de gallo salsa (aka Andrew salsa!)

Adding to the list of Things Andrew Makes Better Than Me is this salsa.

It's not that I couldn't make this as well as him if I wanted to, it's just that I'm generally too lazy.

As in, when I make salsa, all these ingredients go straight into the food processor to get chopped up quickly and easily.

But no, it doesn't taste quite as good as this way.  Still good, but not the perfection that Andrew's salsa is.  :o)

I know this seems like quite a large batch, but trust me...  it won't go to waste!

And now I'm curious:  Do you prefer your salsa chunky like this (pico de gallo style) or more blended up?

Homemade Pico De Gallo Salsa (aka Andrew Salsa!) Recipe

Ingredients:
12 roma tomatoes
1/2 large red onion, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, whites and light greens chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 large limes, juiced
2-3 jalapeños, finely chopped - with or without seeds, to taste
fresh cilantro, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste (we use about 1/2-1 tablespoon salt + 1 teaspoon pepper)

Directions:
Cut the tomatoes in half and gently scoop out the seeds and juice and discard;  Dice the rest.

In a large bowl, gently stir together the diced tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients.  Taste for spice and seasoning, adjust where necessary, and enjoy with chips!

This salsa keeps well for a day or two...  and actually tastes best on the second day, so feel free to make it ahead!

easy pepperoni pizza puffs

I have been pinning this recipe for months now.  (You know how you pin something and then a few days later you pin it again, forgetting that you pinned it already?  Oh, that's just me?!?)

I finally decided it was time, and I am so glad I did!

All the perfection of pepperoni pizza, in a cute fluffy little bite.  How could this not be great?!

Easy Pepperoni Pizza Puffs Recipe
adapted from Everyday with Rachel Ray

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated parmesan
3 cups chopped pepperoni
pizza sauce & ranch dressing for dipping

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Grease 2 24-cup mini-muffin pans.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and spices.  Whisk in the milk and eggs until combined.

Stir in the cheeses and pepperoni and let sit for 10 minutes.

Divide the batter equally into the muffin tins, filling each about 3/4 full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until they are puffed and golden.

These puffs freeze and reheat wonderfully!  Freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet until frozen.   Transfer to a freezer-safe ziploc bag and store in the freezer.  To reheat:  Place on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350ºF oven for 8-10 minutes, until heated through.

Serve with warm pizza sauce and/or ranch dressing for dipping!

Norway on my heart... & a recipe

I am norwegian-american.  (Maybe you guessed by my kids names...  Bjørn & Haakon?)  

Born and raised in America... but with norwegian blood.

We have family, and close friends living over there.  And quite obviously... the tragedy in Oslo & Utoya - just one week ago - absolutely broke my heart.

Norway is such a peaceful country.  A beautiful place full of mountains and fjørds and amazing people and wonderful food.

Not the kind of place you would expect a bombing and horrible shooting-spree to occur.

(Do we ever really expect that kind of tragedy??  But for some reason it shocks me more in Norway than even here on American soil!)

So, with Norway even more on my heart than usual this past week...  I have often caught myself daydreaming of my favorite norwegian treats!

My heart is so full of love for that country and especially its people, and food is, well... a tangible expression of that love.

This little treat has been on my mind several times this week.  If you familiar at all with Norway or Scandinavia, you have likely heard about/seen/tasted smørrebrød - norwegian open-faced sandwiches.

Usually spread with butter and topped with good things like brown gjetost (goat's cheese) and jam, or shrimp salad and cucumber, and almost always beautiful...  they are a staple at every norwegian table.

(photo credit to come - when I can find it!)

My favorite is a simple butter, cheese, cucumber sandwich on dense norwegian bread (sometimes with a thin slice of meat and hard-boiled egg).  I could eat this every morning and night of my life and not grow tired of it!

But lately I  have been changing things up a bit and turn them into little almost-bite-sized snacks...  hearty crackers - topped with my favorite smørrebrød toppings!

(smørrebrød literally means "butter bread".  Now doesn't that just sound good?)  ;o)

Norwegian Open-Faced Sandwich Crackers Recipe

Ingredients:
Triscuits (shredded-wheat crackers), or some other hearty cracker
sliced cheese (your choice!  cheddar, jarlsberg, swiss, jack)
sliced english cucumbers
garnishes (mayo, mustard, red pepper flakes, etc.)

Directions:
Layer each cracker with a slice of cheese and a slice of cucumber.  Top with a bit of crushed red pepper if you'd like, and a sprinkle of salt if you are not using salty Triscuits!

I like to put a slice of hard-boiled egg and a tiny dab of mayo or mustard on top sometimes!

Yummm...

---

Join me in continuing to keep the people of Norway and those who love her in your prayers as they heal through this tragedy, won't you?

jalapeño popper dip

I love jalapeño poppers, so when I saw this recipe -  I knew immediately that it would become a favorite!

Boy was I right...  creamy, cheesy, much less messy than poppers... and so perfect with chips!

I have been known to eat this dip as a meal.  And it has happened more than once!

If you like jalapeño poppers, try this dip!

Oh and try this Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese too!  Oh my.

Jalapeño Popper Dip Recipe
adapted from babskitchen

Ingredients:
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1 (4oz) can diced green chiles
6 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped (or 1/4 cup jarred jalapeños, rinsed & chopped)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.  In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, sour cream and mayo until smooth.  Stir in the chiles and peppers until mixed.

Spread the mixture into a baking dish.  In a small bowl, stir together the parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.  Sprinkle this mixture on top of the spread in the dish.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese mixture is heated through and bubbly.  If you'd like, at the end, turn on the broiler to brown the top a bit more!

Serve with lots of tortilla chips!

(Oh, and this only tastes better the next day...  you could throw it together the day before you wanted to heat it up and it will be amazing!  Or, you can bake it up and eat some and then stick it back in the oven the next day...  either way it is delicious!)

andrew's 'game day' nachos & more...

Andrew was so excited about our 'game day' nachos, that he wanted pictures to show them off!  We basically just topped each chip with it's toppings, instead of just piling everything all over...  SO yummy!  Oh, and I made my aunt Marie's famous 7-layer dip (in the background!) also!  

And since we're posting food pics, I thought I would add my favorite obsession recently...  baking bread!  (especially these, my grandma Erdahl's buns!)  

Did this make you all as hungry as it just made me?  :o)