This is a simple, healthy dip that is great for a party or just a snack. I used jarred peppers for this, but freshly roasted peppers would be extra awesome. We served this with pita chips. This is from Cooking Light.
Pumpkin-Shaped Cheeseball
So this cute idea was all over Pinterest when I went looking for Halloween party ideas. This may actually be my favorite thing we made for the party! Delicious and easy. I liked it so much that I made it for Opening Hunt this weekend! I found this on LOLFoodie, but you could definitely do this with any cheeseball you liked (or even make pimento cheese into a ball).
Caramel Apple Cocktail
This was a seriously delicious (aka dangerous) cocktail we served at our Halloween party. It goes fast, so make plenty! Great for any fall get-together.
Candy Corn Cake
This is actually a chocolate layer cake with vanilla buttercream frosting, decorated in candy corn colors for our Halloween party. 🙂 This was a cake recipe I hadn’t tried before, but it was pretty good even for this non-chocoholic, so I will use it again. A fun dessert for the holiday! Got the idea from an article about Halloween-themed desserts.
Breaded Pork Chop Cutlets
I am generally not a fan of breaded anything, but these were awesome and very simple. I brined the pork chops for a couple of hours before cooking, which really does make all the difference IMO, no matter what the cooking method (I’ve started doing it with chicken breast too, and get great results). This is from this month’s Cooking Light, and we had it with mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts – we both loved it.
Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
Always on the lookout for new crockpot recipes to try, and this one was very good. Easy and a good riff on the takeout classic. I might add a hair more garlic and some Sriracha next time, but just being picky. You could serve this over rice or noodles, but we actually just had it on its own and enjoyed it that way.
Queso Dip
So I feel like I may be stretching it a bit if I call this a recipe. But it is like crack dip and Velveeta for the win, of course! This was great for a crowd, and you can really adapt it any way you like. I made this for a fun girls’ night at the barn and we enjoyed it!
Andouille Sausage and Black Bean Chili
I have had a chorizo/black bean chili recipe from Cooking Cooking light saved forever. But of course when I go to actually make it, the store is out of chorizo. Andouille seemed like it would also go well, and actually it was pretty good! This was a mish-mash of two similar Cooking Light recipes in the end, and I altered it for the crock pot. It has made a great freezer meal, and the only thing I would change is next time, I would not add the sausage until the last hour or so of cooking – just to heat it through. It lost some flavor in the crock pot all day.
Beer-Steamed Clams
Steamed clams are one of our favorites, since we both grew up on steamers. It’s hard to find them down here, but we did get some cherrystones today, and they were great steamed in a beer, garlic, and parsley broth. We had this with corn on the cob, grilled kielbasa, and a baguette to soak up the broth – a great end of summer dinner. 🙂 And it doesn’t get much easier than steamed shellfish!
Cilantro Lime Quinoa
This is a fun take on Chipotle’s cilantro-lime rice, and it was a tasty side with beer can chicken. If you tossed it with some peppers and some tomatoes, it might also be a good lunch salad, too.
Om nom nom! 