Recipe

Fresh Avocado Bites Appetizer

2 · Feb 1, 2015 · 2 Comments

+ This Fresh Avocado Bites Appetizer post brought to you by Avocados from Mexico #FirstDraftEver +

If I were stranded on a desert island and was given a choice of one fresh food plant to bring with me, I would choose an avocado tree. Yep, I love them that much. As a child I couldn’t get enough of them. Luckily my Grandfather had an avocado ranch and when we visited in the summer I could eat all the avocados a girl could ever want. Those are happy memories!

If I could I would add avocado to almost anything; sandwiches, soups, salad, egg dishes, salsas, smoothies, pastas… you can add it to almost anything! The cool thing is that Avocados from Mexico are available 365 days a year!

So, even in these cold dreary months, we can add a FRESH Mexican goodness into our lives.

Did you know that avocados are a FRUIT? Not only that, but they are part of the BERRY family? They are full of all kinds of vitamins and nutrients, plus they are a fantastic source of “good fat.” Yes, our bodies need fat to keep our cells strong, great news for fans of this incredible fruit! For all of the avocados nutritional facts, you can check out this site.

My family adores this fresh avocado salsa that I make for all kinds of dishes. Today, I’m making it for a fun appetizer to share during the Super Bowl. This is a simple dish that’s easy to whip up and the light, fresh flavors will have your guests coming back for more. Speaking of the Super Bowl… Have you seen the Avocados from Mexico Super Bowl commercial? It’s hilarious!! If you missed it, you can check it out HERE.

First you need to grab some wonton wrappers from the market. Using a mini-muffin pan, place your wrappers into the cup and press them down to create a “cup”. Spray with cooking spray and place in a 350˚ oven for 5-7 minutes, until they are nice and crisp. Remove from oven and let cool.

These cups can be made a day or two ahead and stored in an air tight container until you are ready to use them.

Now’s the fun part, making the fresh salsa… This is super simple!

Cut all of your ingredients into small bite sized pieces. The ingredient list is below.

Add your lime juice, olive oil and chili powder to the bowl and gently toss.

Spoon them into your wonton cups and top with the sour cream sauce and serve.

Looking for more avocado fun? Come join me along with Mario & George Lopez, the folks from Avocados from Mexico and a handful of other bloggers as we tweet it up during the Super Bowl today! Follow Avocados from Mexico on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram for all kinds of avocado ideas.

Fresh Avocado Bites Appetizer

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

15 mins

These fresh avocado bites are a creamy burst of flavor in your mouth, your guests will adore the simple yet complex flavors of this appetizer.

Author: Heather // WhipperBerry

Recipe type: Appetizer

Serves: 48 cups

Ingredients

1 package of wonton wrappers
cooking spray
2 ripe avocados
1 cup grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon diced jalapeño
½ a mango diced
1 lime
1 teaspoon olive oil
¼ chipotle chili powder
½ cup green onion sour cream
green onion

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 375˚
Place wonton wrappers in a mini muffin pan and press down to create cups
Spray with cooking spray and bake for 5-7 minutes or until lightly brown and crisp
In a medium size bowl add your diced avocado, diced tomatoes, diced jalapeño, diced mango, juice from one lime, olive oil, chili powder and green onion. Gently stir. You want to make sure you don't mash the avocado.
Spoon avocado mixture into cooled wonton cups
Put sour cream in a squeeze bottle and top avocado bite with a drizzle of sour cream

Disclosure // This is a sponsored post brought to you by Avocados from Mexico via Mom it Forward. As always… All thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own.

The Party Bunch Link Party // no. 62

0 · Jan 31, 2015 · 3 Comments

Before you link up please let me introduce to you The Party Bunch!

Amy from The Idea Room, Mique from 30 Handmade Days, Heather from Whipperberry and Desiree from The 36th Avenue want to thank you for partying with us… You guys are the best!…

Read On →

Roasted Cauliflower Bacon Mac and Cheese

0 · Jan 29, 2015 ·

+ This Roasted Cauliflower Bacon Mac and Cheese Recipe brought to you by Horizon® Organic Macaroni and Cheese +

I don’t know about you, but this time of year just calls for GREAT Macaroni and Cheese! There is just something amazing about nice pot of mac & cheese when it’s cold outside… Pure American comfort food.

Over the years I have played around with all kinds of additions to my mac & cheese… You know that mac & cheese is basically a blank canvas that is dying to be dressed-up a bit.

I’ve added everything from ham, bacon, sausage, hot dogs, peas, broccoli, garlic, onions, the list goes on and on. The folks at Horizon® Organic Mac & Cheese have put together a great Mac & Cheese Pinterest Board… It’s a board that helps you discover all kinds of scrumptious mac & cheese recipes.

One that my family has fallen head-over-heels for is Roasted Cauliflower Bacon Mac and Cheese.

Have you every tried roasted cauliflower? It’s like CANDY! Well, it’s not sweet like candy, but my family devours it like it was laced with sugar. I have to roast two heads of cauliflower at a time, one for my recipe and the other for the family to snack on like popcorn.

I decided to throw some roasted cauliflower along with bacon and caramelized onion into our Horizon® Pasta Shells & White Cheddar pot. The family loved it, even my little guy who is NOT a veggie lover ate it with gusto.

It’s super simple to make, here is what you’ll need…

Roasted Cauliflower Bacon Mac and Cheese Recipe

This recipe will easily feed a family of six.

1 head of Cauliflower

salt & pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 lb thick cut bacon

1 large sweet Vidalia Onion

7 tablespoons butter (1 tablespoon to caramelize the onion and the remaining for the pasta)

3 boxes of Horizon® Pasta Shells & White Cheddar Cheese

3/4 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400˚

Clean & cut cauliflower into bite size pieces. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Place in a 400˚ oven for 20 minutes or until they start to lightly brown on the edges.

I like to make roast mine in my cast iron skillet.

Next, cut bacon into small pieces and render the fat while browning the bacon.

Remove bacon from pan once fully cooked, place on a paper towel.

Remove bacon fat from pan as well. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the same pan and add sliced onions.

The onions will become coated with the butter and bacon bits. Slowly cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. No need to add salt & pepper. The onions will be seasoned by the bacon left over in the pan.

In a large pot, prepare your Horizon® Pasta Shells & White Cheddar Cheese according to package directions. When you are adding the butter and milk, also add 1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard.

Add your Cauliflower, bacon and onions. Mix well and serve immediately… Your family will thank you!

For more scrumptious Mac & Cheese recipes… You have to check-out the MAC-N-ATOR Pinterest Board from the folks at Horizon® Mac & Cheese!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Horizon Organic. The opinions and text are all mine.

Nana Nog // Almond Banana Shake Recipe

1 · Jan 23, 2015 · 1 Comment

+ This Nana Nog // Banana Shake Recipe Post brought to you by the folks at Silk Almond Milk +

When I was a kid, one of my favorite treats was a banana shake that my Mom would make every once in a while, we called it a Nana Nog.

No relation to Egg Nog, plus you can drink it year-round!

It was a simple mixture, but it was always so heavenly. She would always pull it out of her hat, right at the perfect time.

You know, that moment when you’re craving a little sweet refreshing treat?!

Secretly I’m sure, she made them right when the bananas were heading south and she didn’t have time to make banana bread.

I however, would like to think she was so in tune with my every desire and knew just when the time was right to pull out her famous Nana Nog!

The name of the drink has a two fold meaning now. Of course it was originally named after the key ingredient, bananas. Now, since we call my Mom Nana, the drink is named after her the creator! It’s perfect!!

We have another drink called Magical Monkey Milk, I’ll have to share that sometime too! It’s yummy!!

Nana Nogs are simply a mixture of Silk Almond Milk, bananas, ice, a little bit of sugar and a dash of nutmeg. Boy I tell ya, it really hits the spot sometimes! I choose to use Almond Milk rather than traditional milk for several reasons. First, it’s obviously dairy-free so even friends with dairy issues can have this sweet treat. Plus, check out all these added benefits…

90 calories per serving
50% more calcium than dairy milk
Excellent source of vitamin E
Absolutely no cholesterol or saturated fat
Free of dairy, soy, lactose, gluten, casein, egg and MSG
Verified by the Non-GMO Project’s product verification program
No artificial colors, flavors or funny business

Yea, it’s pretty good stuff. Silk’s plant protein truly helps you BLOOM, plus it tastes GREAT!!

You should check out the Silk Site for all kinds of great ideas and coupons for all the Silk products.