Monster Mash

It's almost Halloween Time!

I LOVE Halloween.  Ever since I was little I remember dressing up for Halloween.  Back in the day you had those old paper or plastic outfits with the plastic mask with the string that went around your head.  Yuk! Can you say suffocating?  Remember those?

Wow, have times changed.  I think my favorite costume was a gypsy.  I got to wear my mom's tiered skirt with a top that had elastic on the shoulders...and all the bangles that were my sisters.  So much fun!

It's a time where you can dress up anyway you want and it doesn't matter!  As I got older we started going down to Santa Monica Blvd. for Halloween.  They would have a parade of people dressed outrageously, closing off the street due to walk down the middle of it.  It's even on the news every year.  What an spectacle!

So since I love Halloween I saw this idea for a snack mix over on pinterest.  So I decided to go to my lab and create my own special "Monster Mash!"

It's a blend of sweet and salty snacks.  The snack are all fall colors, you will notice...keeping to the Halloween theme.  They make a great gift.  Take them to work, or display for your family to enjoy.  I made two jars full of the snacks, giving one to MGG for his staff to enjoy, and the other went to my crew at work.  I caught MGG eating out of his while he thought I wasn't looking...such a snacker!  I'd be surprised if his staff even saw any of this stuff.

See how cute?

Here's the ingredients I used.  Feel free to mix up your own batch using your favorite snacks.

Monster Mash

Mini Pretzel twists
Cheese Its
Honey Nut Cheerios
Candy Corn
Kettle Corn
Chocolate Teddy Grahams
Reece's Pieces

Just dump all the ingredients in the largest bowl you have and mix them together.  Spoon in to airtight jars.  I got these jars are walmart...they are perfect!
Tie with a cute color coordinated bow and you are set!

Hope you enjoy your Monster Mash!!!

Pear and Blue Cheese Salad

Don't you love salads?

Another salad I always adored is from Trader Joe's.  They have a Pear and Gorgonzola salad that is killer.   So I set out to recreate that salad, and I must say...it's rather easy, and certainly tasty.

Take advantage of the fresh pears in season right now.  So light and crisp!

This blends some great flavors together with pear, blue cheese (instead of the Gorgonzola) for a little more punch, dried cherries (tangy), and walnuts (for a depth of flavor).  Spectacular fall flavors!

This is a great salad to accompany any dinner, or for a light lunch.  I hope you like it.

Check out my Harvest Salad as well, for some more great fall flavors.

Doesn't this look refreshing? 

Want some?

Don't forget a piece of nice crusty bread!

Pear and Blue Cheese Salad

Serves 4

4 c Green leaf lettuce, torn

½ c dried cherries
2 pears, peeled and sliced
1/3 c walnuts, toasted
1/3 c blue cheese crumbled
Olive oil vinaigrette (I used Newman’s)

Directions:

Wash and dry your lettuce, tearing into bite sized pieces.  In a skillet over low heat add your walnuts, and toast for 3 min. 

 

In a large bowl add your lettuce, dried cherries, pears, walnuts, and blue cheese.

Toss with a light amount of salad dressing.  Serve.

Sunday Supper: Fajita Bar

Time for family and friends for Sunday Supper!

This entry is a non-traditional Sunday supper.  It's a time to have fun, good conversation, games, and laughter.  Let's make a Fajita Bar!

Menu:

Grilled Chicken Fajitas

Grilled Peppers, Onions, and Tomatoes

Ranchero Beans

Spanish Rice

Cranberry Spritzers

Condiments:

Fresh lime wedges

Flour tortillas

Chips and Salsa (my Salsa Roja works well!)

Sour Cream

Shredded Cheese

Guacamole

Here's the set up:  You'll want a big enough space for all the different dishes.  Using small plates or bowls of different sizes to hold your food.   I used a low coffee table as the buffet table.  That way everyone could sit around the area and create their dishes, and have conversations at the same time.  It worked really well.   Here was my set up.

Next for the food prep:  Keep it easy, keep it simple.  Take a little help from some convenience foods, such as the guacamole, or buying frozen pepper and onion mix, it's a time saver.  I used peppers, onions, and tomatoes.  I cut all my vegetables, I was on a roll.    Different pepper colors make the dish colorful and interesting.  Here they are.  (I just noticed the red onion is missing...but that was grilled too!)

For the chicken I used Williams-Somona's Fajita Rub.  $10.00 at Williams Sonoma. (I usually make my own spice blends but I couldn't resist this when I smelled it in the store!) Just rub some of it on the chicken before grilling.  It provides a bold Latin-style seasoning flavor that combines smoky chilies, cumin and garlic with tangy lime and aromatic herbs. 

Bold Latin flavors in a rub!!

Then MGG grilled the chicken.  You can grill indoors, outdoors, or just pan fry them.  Then you want to cut them up into long strips.

For the ranchero beans, I just opened a can of pinto beans and jazzed them up a bit with some chili powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and cumin.  Nice and zesty.

Serve with warm tortillas, your favorite Spanish rice recipe and don't forget all the condiments. (Ideas are listed above.)   The variety of condiments make it fun and everyone loves to create their own dish!

Here's the finished product:

Sorry for the dark pic but we were having "mood" lighting!

Let me say the night was a hit, the food fabulous, and the fun...unbeatable!  Enjoy your next Sunday Supper!