SUPER BOWL SNACK THROW DOWN WEEK 8

TACKLING
TEX MEX
BRUSCHETTA

When the ingredient came up as "hamburger" and not just "ground beef" I though I should stick to a recipe in actual hamburger form. I remember catching part of an episode of Sandra Lee's Semi-homemade where she made a Tex Mex burger. This was my chance to make the burger, but with my little twist to it...turn it into a bruschetta type appetizer. Thus, the creation of the Tackling Tex Mex Bruschetta.

Head on over to HIGHLOWAHA to cast your vote for this week's edition of the Super Bowl Snack Throw Down! Once you click the red oval to enter the blog, you'll see our names on the right hand side. All you have to do is click to vote!

On a side note, next week will not have a typical voting day on Friday. Instead, there will be a daily task. I'm not sure what all will be involved, but I'll be sure to email the details every day to my readers. If you are not on my weekly Friday voting reminder email, and want to be, please let me know. Enough yapping...here's the recipe!


Ingredients

1. 1 lb ground beed
2. 1 packet of McCormick's Tex Mex chili mix
3. 1/4 cup beer
4. 2 cups guacamole *
   
5. 3 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
6. 1 lb pepper jack cheese, thinly sliced
7. 1 cup bacon crumbles**
8. 1 loaf of sour dough cocktail bread

* I tried to purchase prepared guacamole from the store, but realized it all contains egg. Due to Brandon's food allergies, I had to make it from scratch. Since when does guacamole have egg in it???? I used Ortega's Guacamole mix and added some sour cream for a better texture. To keep the recipe simple and quick, purchase it prepared!

** You can purchase bacon grumbles in the salad dressing section of the store, but I just cooked up a pound of bacon and threw it in the processor. Once again, purchase the bacon crumbles prepared for a quick and simple recipe!


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Mix ground beef with 1/2 contents of Tex Mex chili mix and 1/4 cup beer, until combined
3. Fill each cup of a mini muffin pan with the ground beef mixture
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes
5. Allow mini burgers to rest for a few minutes, and then slice in half, lengthwise.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 350
   
7. Place sour dough bread in a single layer on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 2-3 minutes to lightly toast them
8. Now, layer the ingredients. Guacamole, 2 mini burger halves, slice of tomato, cheese, and top with bacon
9. Place back into the oven for about 6 minutes or until cheese is melted

Burgers are done! Take the pan and put it up to your nose.
You can almost TASTE the beer in them by just smelling them.
It's such a delicious flavor profile.

Here's the "assembly line" I set up on my stove top to get these prepared.
The progression of preparing them

I prepared everything, including the burgers, while the boys took their nap. Then, I just put it all in the fridge. I nuked the burgers for 30 seconds before putting the bruschetta together. This is a very "travel worthy" appetizer to take to someone's house and prepare on site. I wanted to try that method out, and it passed with flying colors! You would only need to take the 5 containers and loaf of cocktail bread since most everyone has at least an oven, cookie sheet, and a butter knife.

ENJOY! This was the first time I've ever made this recipe, and it's delicious! The boys ate it with me and my husband for dinner and enjoyed it as well. Brandon, however, LOVED it! He ate 2 whole ones!!!

Not So Tricky Treats

I follow HIGHLOWAHA on a regular basis. They are always coming up with simple and fun creative things to do. I needed a craft, and their October 19th idea got me interested. Here's my outcome! Notice the little hand in the bottom of the picture. Connor just couldn't keep his hands off them...little stinker!

Smart Fellers

I'm amazed at how smart these little fellas are. They are now saying their alphabet, can count to 20 (which I didn't know and Brandon just spouted off the other day) and are saying such elaborate sentences that it leaves Eric and I with our mouths open! Brandon is making strides every day in regards to potty training, and Connor has been diaper free for almost 2 months now. Although, I had to put one on him last night for a pooping in his pants on purpose while he was in time out. Sigh!

I'm very busy with cakes and keeping up with these 2 boys as well as Eric. He's so unbelievably busy that I'm pretty much running the show around here. We're home a lot now to try and keep the boys as healthy as possible. Friday is flu shot day! This is the last year Brandon will be able to get the shot since the regular flu shot has egg in it. The infant shot doesn't have the live virus in it, but they can only get that shot until they are 2.

I'm looking forward to the holidays and have already started my Christmas shopping for the boys. Honestly, I'm pretty much done! Halloween will be interesting this year. I think I'm going to "plant" candy at my immediate neighbor's houses for the boys. I really want them to be able to take part in the spirit of the holiday, but it could be a life or death issue for Brandon. Smarties and Skittles are good though, so we'll see! I'm making their costumes, so STAY TUNED! At the very least, they are going to be dressed up all day!!!

Enjoy the cute little video that Eric took the other day. Hope everyone is staying healthy and enjoying the nice fall weather.

SUPER BOWL SNACK THROW DOWN WEEK 6

ASPARAGUS WRAP UP

Usually, at the end of the game, the commentators deliver a Post Game Wrap Up. However, these Asparagus Wrap Ups are worthy to be your pre-game appetizer. I saw an episode of Sandra Lee's Semi Homemade a few months ago and saw these being made. They were so simple and looked so delicious that I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to try them out. I love 5 ingredient recipes that are easy and delicious.

Don't forget...you vote at www.highlowaha.com. Click on the red oval to enter the blog, and you'll see our names on the right hand side. All you have to do is click to vote!

Ingredients

• Sirloin Steak cut into thin 4 in x 4 in squares (HINT - Have the meat department slice them for you!)
• Fresh asparagus - washed
• Fresh green onions - washed, separated, and white ends cut off
• Spreadable Bleu Cheese (I used Aged Agur)
• Teriyaki Sauce
• Sesame Seed for garnish (optional)
  

Directions

• Pound the squares into your desired thickness. You want it on the thin side.
• Spread a very thin layer of blue cheese on each piece of meat. (This wasn't part of Sandra Lee's recipe, but I wanted to add a cheese to give it more flavor. Use whatever cheese you like or none at all!)
  
• Lay one asparagus and one green onion in the middle of the meat, roll up the sides and secure with a toothpick
• Generously brush each one with Teriyaki sauce
• Place on your grill outside or grill pan inside. (I made them both ways and preferred the grill pan inside)
• Grill for about 3 minutes on each side
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.

These were SO delicious. I made them with my good friend, Jessica, while the boys and I visited her and her hubby this past weekend. Andy, her hubby, LOVED these!!! Jessica is a serious foodie so go check out her blog. I get inspiration from her blog all the time!!!

SUPER BOWL SNACK THROW DOWN Week 5

Punting Pumpkin Pies

For those of you who are first time visitors, I'm taking part in a Super Bowl Snack Throw Down Challenge through the HIGHLOWAHA website. Your duty is to vote each week for your favorite recipe between me and my competitor Lauren. The links to both food blogs are on the HIGHLOWAHA website. Click on the red oval and vote away! It's been neck and neck every single week. More visitors mean more votes which leads to an awesome competition!

I knew I wanted to make a sweet treat this week since the ingredient was sour cream. After a lot of thinking, debating, recipe trying, and brain storming, I decided on these Punting Pumpkin Pies. Enough words, let's get to the food.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
8 Tbsp ( 1 stick ) soft unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs *
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree

* I did not use eggs in this recipe. I used the Ener G Egg replacer so the boys could enjoy these! Brandon has severe allergies to nuts and eggs. I've used this in gingerbread cookies, banana bread, and even some mini quiches. People who don't have children with food allergies will never understand how hard it is to keep kids, like Brandon, away from deadly ingredients. I've learned how to cook for him, where we can and can't eat out, and how to make sure they get a chance to eat really yummy dishes.


Preparing the cookies

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Blend the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Mix the butter and sugar with mixer on medium speed for 1 minute until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for 30 seconds. Decrease the speed and blend in the sour cream and pumpkin, only until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and mix just until blended.

Drop tablespoon sized mounds of batter on parchment paper** and mold into a football shape with the back of a spoon. Bake for 12 minutes. While they are cooling, prepare the icing

**Parchment paper is a wonderful little trick to making cookies. I just started using it a few months ago and make sure my kitchen is always stocked with it. What's better than making cookies, throwing away the parchment paper and being done...NO CLEANUP!

Icing

6 Tbsp soft unsalted butter
4 ounces cream cheese softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Mix powdered sugar in on low until combined.

Spread icing on the bottom of half of the cookies. Put the rest of the icing in a ziploc bag, seal it, snip the corner and pipe the football stitching on the top of the other half of the cookies. Sandwich them together and enjoy. This recipe made 30 sandwiches and they are freezable for up to 1 month.

Cream the butter and sugar, next add the eggs and vanilla...

and blend in the sour cream and pumpkin.
Next, enlist the help of your mini chefs to help add the dry ingredients..while playing with the toaster at the same time!!!

Once they are scooped out, flatten them into the shape of footballs.
Golden and delicious!
I used my piping bag to ice the cookies, but a ziploc bag works just as well.
YUMMY PUNTING PUMPKIN GOODNESS...IT'S GOOD