10 Point Pitch Filed under ( appetizer, chicken )

Just got home from my first ever - 10 Point Pitch! We joined a new card club. All members are much younger than us and all very nice. Also, most had played PITCH - I was pretty clueless but everyone was very nice and due to beginner's luck - I won! I look forward to next month.

We all took appetizers. The food was way yummy and our host/hostess had a very scrumptious dessert. I took Buffalo Chicken Dip and it seemed to be a hit. I especially love this hearty appetizer-really can't go wrong with chicken, wing sauce, cream cheese, etc.

Buffalo Chicken Appetizer

3 – 4 chicken breasts

1 - 8 oz. bottle Buffalo Wing sauce ( didn’t use all)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 to 1 cup of crumbled blue cheese

1 cup of ranch dressing

2 cups of grated cheddar cheese

Boil chicken just til done. Cool and shred chicken using 2 forks or your fingers. Pour wing sauce over shredded chicken, cover and marinate overnight. Spread cream cheese in a lightly greased 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Layer marinated chicken next, and then the crumbled blue cheese. Mix ranch dressing with grated cheddar and layer on top. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or till bubbly. Serve warm with sturdy tortilla chips!! Enjoy!!

*Tonight I mixed the blue cheese, half of the cheddar cheese and about 3/4 of the ranch and layered this one. Then topped it with the rest of the ranch and sparsley scattered cheddar cheese. If you do the cheddar cheese in one layer on top, it tends to get too hard.

**adapted from the Junior League of Omaha cookbook

Fruit Dip Filed under ( appetizer, fruit, Strawberries )

Today was a day of high school volleyball tournaments. Jenna's JV team played in one tournament and Annie's Varsity team played in another. I always love to take food to these tournaments that the girl's enjoy. I took Monster Bars to Annie's tournament and this yummy fruit dip with a huge bowl of strawberries to Jenna's tournament. This fruit dip is sooooo easy but sooooo yummy!

Fruit Dip

1 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
1 small jar of marshmallow cream

Blend the two together and chill and serve with any fruit - we especially enjoy with strawberries.

*I doubled this for the volleyball tournament - 2 pkgs of cream cheese and 1 large jar of marshmallow cream.

*I have also added food coloring to this for a baby shower or any other special event!

Pico De Gallo Filed under ( appetizer, Mexican )

This is a great recipe. I love to serve it with the Spicy Flank Steak! Enjoy!

Pico de Gallo (Roosters’ Beak)

4 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped

2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 medium white onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro

1 – 2 serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp. olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Mx all ingredients together well. Cover and refrigerate 1 – 2 hours.

This great as a dip or tucked inside a fajitas!!!

Bars, Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs & Winners Filed under ( appetizer, Dessert, Turkey )

First off, thank you all for your sweet words on my post yesterday! I was in no way fishing for compliments, just trying to be honest! BUT, I more than appreciated all of the comments!!

As I mentioned yesterday, we went to a wine party on Saturday night. I baked up two batches of bars and mozzarella stuffed turkey meatballs.

First up, I made Katie’s amazing vegan pumpkin chocolate chunk bars:

Next, I made Jessica’s oatmeal peanut butter snack bars. I used unsalted almond butter instead of peanut butter and also used unsweetened vanilla almond milk. These bars were just slightly sweet and oh so good!

 

All together now:

I also used my baked Italian turkey meatball recipe, and stuffed the balls with mozzarella prior to baking. The outcome:

I popped these bad boys into the crock pot with some marinara sauce. They were a big hit!

And last, but not least, the winners of the Activia giveaway are…..

Christina, Debbie, Stephanie, Julie & Amy!

Congrats!! If you won, you should have received an email from me. Please send your address to itzyskitchen at gmail dot com!

Any exciting plans this week? Friday is my birthday!!

Black Bean and Corn Dip Filed under ( appetizer )

Southern Living is my all time favorite "Go TO" for recipes. I love it... but I am southern girl. I found this recipe years ago labeled Black Bean and Corn Salad. I have always served it as a dip. In fact, this recipe is a tradition at several of our Sunday School parties - especially the 4th of July party. Please try this. It is so fresh tasting- the perfect tastes of summer!

Black Bean and Corn Dip (Southern Living)

3 fresh ears of corn
4 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 (15oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 small purple onion, chopped
1-2 avocado, peeled, seeded and chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (use kitchen shears)

Cook corn in boiling water to cover for 5 minutes; drain and cool. Cut corn from cob. Whisk together lime juice and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add corn, black beans and remaining ingredients; toss to coat. Cover and chill 2 hours. Serve with Fritos SCOOPS!!

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A Simple Appetizer, Cookie Friday Filed under ( appetizer, Dessert, Healthy )

Hey guys! Sounds like you all have some wonderful weekend plans and that a lot of people are going to just be relaxing (hooray to that!). I hope to get lots of relaxing in too.

After work yesterday, I grabbed a quick snack and headed to the gym. I took Body Flow and then taught Body Attack. I flew home to shower and prep my appetizer for the going away party we were having for one of the group fitness instructors. Although I am very sad that she is leaving, I am super excited for her. She was unhappy in her job and sad because she was living so far away from her family. As a result, she quit her job, is moving closer to her family, and is pursuing personal training.

My appetizer for the party was inspired by a recipe Esi posted for Caprese Skewers. Since I couldn’t find the smaller balls of mozzarella, I decided to do a Caprese & Salami platter (mozzarella and tomatoes topped with basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, basil, S&P (the picture below is pre olive oil/vinegar) and salami on the side):

I also wanted to let you know that I participated in Tina’s Cookie Friday. I split this Vegan Chocolate Chip cookie with Josh:

Enjoy your Saturday! I am off to teach Body Step and then am making my weekly food store visit. Hopefully after that we will be headed to a new local waterfront park!

Added to Note: Gina (the fabulous Fitnessista!!) has a new website and its not automatically updating in your google reader. Make sure you add her new website to your google reader!

Easy Appetizer & Fiber Plus Cereal Filed under ( appetizer, Dessert, Family, product review )

Hello out there! How are you? How has the weekend been? The end of this week was totally hectic for me work-wise and the begging of next week plans to be much the same. The good news is that I will have a week off due to large amount of overtime I’ve been rocking and I am planning a nice staycation starting Wednesday of this upcoming week!

I did want to share with you a new product I tried out courtesy of Food Buzz and Kellogg's (disclaimer: I received this product for free), Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch:

Lindsay and I had a talk about how yummy this cereal is and how much it reminds us of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I mostly enjoyed it mixed into protein shakes:

I don’t usually eat too much cereal as a lot of it is seriously over processed. My other issue with this cereal in particular is that sugar is the second ingredient (which is probably why it tastes so much like Cinnamon Toast Crunch ;)).  Yikes- but as Cookie Monster says, this cereal is a sometimes food.

Tonight, we headed up to my parents for dinner since my sister is in town. I brought along a very easy appetizer of cheese, TJs sesame covered cashews, Nature’s Promise Organic Crackers (Sunflower Basil and Poppy Thyme), South Carolina peaches & strawberries and hummus:

 

Fantastic! The crew had Steak for dinner:

and I had a black bean burger with corn on the cob(x2),

and mozzarella and tomato salad:

We also celebrated my sister’s birthday early with some lactose free carrot cake from the Pawley’s Island Bakery (best bakery in the Pawley’s Island/Myrtle Beach area). I split a slice with the man:

Deliciousness! VERY light icing and the cake was super moist (I hate that word).  Me & The man:

Me & My Mama:

What are you up to Sunday? We are headed into Charleston for lunch/brunch with my Parents & Sister, Brother in-law and niece. Other than that. I want to relaxxxxxx and prepare for two days of craziness before staycation time.

Broccoli Dip & Tilapia Filed under ( appetizer, Healthy, Seafood, Vegetables )

It has been a busy Wednesday over here! I started my day out with 1.8 miles on the treadmill and then I took Body Pump. I had the usual work, a doctors appointment, and then I ran tons of errands (WFs for fruits/veggies, bank, pet supply store, FedEx, dry cleaners, pharmacy).

When I got home, I prepped a part of dinner. I saw this recipe for Fiesta Broccoli Dip on KERF and knew I wanted to try something similar! I love guacamole but Josh is not an avocado fan, so I made two versions

Josh’s Mix

Blend:
1 cup steamed broccoli
2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lime juice
½ tablespoon hot sauce
A few snippets of fresh cilantro

Mix in (once blended):
½ cup corn
1 tablespoons pinto beans

My Mix

Blend:
1/8 of a slimcado
1 tablespoon lime juice
½ tablespoon hot sauce
1 cup steamed broccoli
1 tablespoon salsa
A few snippets of fresh cilantro

Mix in (once blended):
2 tablespoons on pinto beans

Once the broccoli dips were prepped, I headed out to take Body Combat. According to the Les Mills website, Body Combat is a “fiercely energetic program is inspired by martial arts and draws from a wide array of disciplines such as Karate, boxing, Taekwondo, Tai Chi and Muay Thai.” I wasn’t really in the mood for a workout (since I had already hit up pump in the am), but we were having a demo of Body Combat at our gym (we currently do not have any Combat classes) and my new friend Gina was doing the demo so I had to show my support!! The class was awesome and I was totally exhausted and ready for din din when I got home.

I ate my broccoli mix with tons of veggies and a few tortilla chips(not shown). I also ate a ginormous bowl of fruit and a little tortilla crusted tilapia (see recipe below).

Josh had his mix with tortilla chips, a side of banana (that’s for you Ricky ;)), and tortilla crusted Tilapia. For the tilapia, I followed Lauren’s recipe from the awesome blog Say What You Need To Say.

Tortilla Chip Crusted Tilapia

Ingredients:
Tilapia fillets
Egg whites (2 egg whites or 1/3 cup egg whites in a box)
1 tsp chili powder
Salt & pepper
½ tsp cumin
Tortilla chips crumbled (colorful chips would look much prettier but I only had plain)

Directions:
Mix egg whites, chili powder, desired quantities of salt & pepper & cumin. Dunk tilapia fillets in egg whites and the coat with tortilla chips. Bake the fish in a 400* oven for 15 min.

Phew! I feel just about ready for bed ;)

Pimento Cheese Filed under ( appetizer, sandwich )

We have been going to the beach with all of my family for about 14 yrs. We have been making this Pimento Cheese for 14 years, and we just love it. A dear family member ,Mellie, shared her version with me years ago.

This is one of the recipes that I feel isn't exact. Some like it creamier, some like it saltier - make it according to taste and enjoy tasting it til you get it perfect!


Pimento Cheese

1 lb shredded mild cheddar cheese
1 lb shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 lb shredded American cheese
1 large jar chopped pimento
sweet pickle relish to taste
salt/pepper to taste
1 small jar Miracle Whip
enough light mayo to reach desired consistency

Mix together and refrigerate. Enjoy on favorite crackers,bread or wrap!

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Cucumber Salsa Filed under ( appetizer )

This is the PERFECT summertime salsa. Do not let the combination of ingredients scare you. I promise you will love it, and I bet you will be hooked. I got this recipe from Shelly here in Omaha - Thanks Shelly!

Cucumber Salsa

1 can Blackeyed Peas, drained

1 cucumber(chopped)

1 bundle of green onions

1 can white shoepeg corn, drained

1 tomato or 2 romas (chopped) we like romas

1 jar of Chi Chi's mild Salsa (I have used Herdez Salsa also)

8 oz bottle of Zesty Italian dressing

Mix all together, and chill.

Serve with chips.

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