Appetizers/Beverages | My Crowded Kitchen

Cheesy Salsa Dip ~ Quick After School Snack

January 15, 2013 by Tiffany 2 Comments

My kids are HUGE chip & salsa fans, as am I. This dip is a quick and easy, 2 ingredient recipe that disappears fast! A lot better for you than that processed nacho cheese in the can. Best part, it’s kid friendly. I don’t think I’ve ever met a kid that didn’t like a cheesy dip with their tortilla chips, have you? This makes for a quick and tasty after school snack that can be whipped up in a jiffy.

Cheesy Salsa Dip ~ A Quick After School Snack

Author: Tiffany at My Crowded Kitchen.Com

Ingredients

½ cup your favorite salsa (we use organic from Costco)
1½ cups grated cheese (we use mexican blend)

Instructions

In a large non stick pan, heat salsa and grated cheese until cheese melts; stirring contantly over medium heat.
Serve with tortilla or pita chips and vegetables

Ingredients

1/2 cup your favorite salsa (we use organic from Costco)
1 1/2 cups grated cheese (we use mexican blend)

Directions

In a large non stick pan, heat salsa and grated cheese until cheese melts; stirring contantly over medium heat.
Serve with tortilla or pita chips and vegetables

Low Fat Cherry Berry Smoothie

October 18, 2012 by Tiffany Leave a Comment

My family loves smoothies. I haven’t pulled out the blender in a while and thought it was time. It’s so funny how pulling out the blender brings a slew of kids a runnin’ to the kitchen, squealing, saying, “Momma, are you making smoothies?!” They get the biggest smiles on their faces. After I say yes, bar stools start working their way in the kitchen around the action. Memories are being made here folks, the smoothie, it was good and all, but the memories are where it’s at for me. Yesterday we developed this tasty smoothie with dark sweet cherries, blueberries and banana with a few other goodies. The results were a big hit!

Cherry Berry Smoothie

Author: Tiffany at My Crowded Kitchen.Com

Recipe type: Smoothie

Serves: Approx. 18 oz.

Ingredients

1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1 ripe, frozen banana
½ cup frozen, dark sweet cherries
½ frozen, blueberries
1 cup fat free milk
1 tablespoon honey

Instructions

Combine all of the above in your blender in the order above, mix. Mix until creamy. Serve. Yields approx. 18 oz.

Ingredients

1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1 ripe frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen, dark sweet cherries
1/2 frozen, blueberries
1 cup fat free milk
1 tablespoon honey

Directions

Combine all of the above in your blender in the order above, mix. Mix until creamy. Serve.

Filed Under: Appetizers/Beverages Tagged With: Low Fat Cherry Berry Smoothie, Low Fat Smoothie Recipes, The Best Smoothie Recipe

Homemade French Fries

July 26, 2012 by Tiffany 5 Comments

I admit – I’m a little snob about my taters. Thank goodness we live in the tater state! I talk to people all the time in the food business - all the time. I’m constantly asking questions. Like this one – “What’s your secret to great fries?!” I’ve learned that if your quiet and listen – most of the time they will reveal their little secrets to great recipes. Coach and I eat at this little hole in the wall and LOVE – (yes – all in caps.) their french fries. I started a conversation with one of the gals and all of a sudden – I had their fry recipe. Apparently - unbeknownst to me - there are three secrets to a great french fry – want to know what they are?! Okay – I’ll tell you. Let your fries take a bath in cold water for about 20 minutes – fry them at 325 degrees for about 6 minutes then turn up the heat to 375 degrees and fry again. Holy guacamole! Who knew?! I’m sure a lot of my foodie friends did – but I had no idea. Thank you my precious for telling me your little secret to great tasting fries – I will never forget you! Hugs.

On another note.. What’s your favorite dipping sauce for fries? Mine… Ketchup and malt vinegar. Delish! But I’d be lying if I left out ranch!

Ingredients

10 medium Idaho potatoes ;)

canola oil for frying

kosher salt to taste

water, for bathing taters

Directions

In an electric fryer, heat oil to 325 degrees. Wash and scrub potatoes. Let dry. Slice potatoes into french fries. Place fries in cold water for 20 minutes. Remove fries from water, pat dry with clean dish towel or paper towels. Place fries in fryer basket and fry for 6-8 minutes depending on the thickness you slice your fry. (we slice ours about 1/2 inch thick.) Remove fries from fryer, reheat oil to 375 degrees. Cook fries until golden brown. Remove form fryer and drain fries on a paper towel. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.Notes: If making several batches turn oven to 250 degrees F. After you’ve drained the oil off the fries, place fries on a large baking sheet and stick in the oven until ready to eat.

Our favorite dipping sauce recipes
Honey Mustard
Homemade Ranch

Filed Under: Appetizers/Beverages, Budget Friendly, Side Dishes

Jello Popsicles

June 12, 2012 by Tiffany 5 Comments

Now that summer is fast approuching. I wanted to surprise the kiddos with a tasty cool treat. This recipe is over 30 years old. Mom, doesn’t remember who gave it to her, but we have it and I’m happy about that! I think this is the best tasting popcicle I’ve ever had, no kidding! I took some to my besties, sickies, the other day and her kiddos, herself and hubs raved about them too.

Ingredients

1 package Koolaid 0.16 oz. Any flavor
1, 3 oz. package Jello Any Flavor
1 cup sugar
2 cups boiling water
3 cups cold water

Directions
1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium sized pot; remove from heat. Add Koolaid, Jello packet and sugar to pot stir to dissolve. Next, add 3 cups cold water to pot; stir. Pour into molds and freeze. Tovolo Groovy Ice Pop Molds, Set of 6, Yellow

Disclaimer, this post may or may not have affiliate links

Filed Under: Appetizers/Beverages, Confections, Sandwiches/Misc

Fried Onion Rings

June 11, 2012 by Tiffany 8 Comments

I found this recipe in my grandmother, Honey’s, recipe box. I have tried many onion ring recipes and just haven’t been satisfied. All this time this recipe has been sitting right here for me to use and I’ve over looked it. These got a big thumbs up from everyone. This recipe will be a keeper for sure! I loved that they were crunchy and seasoned just right. I felt like I had just ordered me some deep fried goodness.

Ingredients:

2 large sweet onions, peeled/sliced 1/4 inch
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
oil, for frying (I used canola)

Directions:

Heat oil to 375 degrees.
Peel and slice onions into 1/4 inch slices and separate rings.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and pepper; set aside.
In a small sized bowl, combine egg and buttermilk; beat well.
Dip onion rings into flour mixture , then into egg mixture, and back into flour mixture. Fry rings in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Dip in your favorite dipping sauces. Ranch, ketchup, BBQ ranch, salsa ranch, honey mustard, etc.

Filed Under: Appetizers/Beverages

The Hulkster

May 7, 2012 by Tiffany 1 Comment

Good morning! Rise and shine. Okay, actually good afternoon. I try. Really I do. I’m just not an early riser. I’m more like 7ish o’clock. I brought you a little pick me up to keep your motor running through the day. I’m a juicer! I love my Jack LaLane Juicer. I juice every other day sometimes everyday depending on my schedule. You know how I get my kids to eat their not so tasty veggies?! I play a little trickery on them, that’s how. First, I name it a fancy smancy name that they of course can relate too, then I pack the drink full of vegetables they ordinarily wouldn’t eat if they were sitting in front of them. Wahahaha. The little ones have no idea that this juice is packed full of spinach & kale. All they know is that it tastes good!

Ingredients
1 bunch kale, washed
8 cups baby spinach, washed & packed
1 Granny Smith apple
1 Fuji apple
2 pears
2 oranges, peeled

Directions
Wash all fruit well to remove pesticides and or wax. Cut 1 inch of the stem off kale. Cut apples and pears in quarters. Peel oranges. Juice all of the above in your juicer.

Filed Under: Appetizers/Beverages, The Hulkster

Strawberry Orange Kiwi Fruit Juice Recipe + Giveaway

March 13, 2012 by Tiffany 59 Comments

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I’m slowly trying to add more drinks to our site. Our second son took on the responsibility for this project and is having a blast coming up with different smoothie/juicing ideas. We love juicing! You will never find our home without a ton of fruit. We try and juice every other day. We wanted to kick off our remodel giveaway with a yummy juice recipe. Why? You may be asking. We are giving away a Jack LaLanne’s Power Juicer to one lovely reader. We had a date package all picked out for our reveal giveaway, but thought about how much we LOVE our power juicer and would love to give one away. With that said, there’s several ways to enter for more chances to win.

Ingredients
2 kiwi, peeled
1 whole orange, peeled
6 large organic strawberries, hulled

Directions
In your electric juicer, juice kiwis, orange and strawberries. Whisk, serve.

Here she is…. This is what one lovely reader will win!

To enter leave a comment under this post telling us why you’d love to win this beauty.

Fellow bloggers, you are welcome to join. Starts 3/13/12 at 12 midnight MST Ends 3/19/12 at 12 midnight MST.

For additional entries (Please leave a separate comment for each.)

~ Become a follower of My Crowded Kitchen blog. If you already are, tell us.

~ Follow My Crowded Kitchen on Facebook. If you already do, tell us. If not, write on our page letting us know you’re a new friend.

~ Blog about this giveaway.

~ Share our status post about this giveaway on Facebook.

~ Pin to Pinterest.

Filed Under: $50.00 Gift Card Giveaway, Appetizers/Beverages, Giveaway, JackLaLanne's Power Juicer Giveaway

Iced Orange Blackberry Smoothie Recipe

March 6, 2012 by Tiffany Leave a Comment

He’s at it again! We’ve officially made Park, our smoothie man. He’s always whipping up some kind of yummy smoothie/drink creation here at MCK. He was super excited on his last creation, Blackberry Pineapple Banana Smoothie, it got 24 repins on Pinterest! It just made his ~~day~~ week. Now he has the fever to create some yummy tasting smoothies/drinks for all of you. How cute is that?! Here’s his latest as of yesterday.

Oregon, wild blackberries are the best!

Every year, I pick/freeze a years worth of berries.

Ingredients
1 large orange
1 whole banana
1 cup frozen blackberries
1/2 cup apple juice
1/3 cup honey
4 cups ice

Directions
Combine the above ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Filed Under: Appetizers/Beverages, Iced Orange Blackberry Smoothie Recipe

Pumpkin Milkshake Recipe

March 1, 2012 by Tiffany 5 Comments

Hello everyone! We will not be hosting Fab Friday tomorrow. Instead, I will feature everyone that linked up with us last week on our pinterest board. Our re-design is in progress and should be finished soon! We are so excited for our reveal! Hope you’ll join us for our reveal party. We have a beautiful date package picked out for the special occasion. A re-design has been weighing very heavily on my heart and to update our site for sometime. But of course we had to have the finances to provide for the re-design. I got a sneak peak yesterday and may I say. “I’m in love!”

I’m going to leave you with a super easy recipe today. Did I mention it was super. easy?! Do you love pumpkin? I do! It’s one of my top 10. I think it’s probably third in line after lemon and chocolate. I know this recipe is totally out of season, but this gal loves pumpkin so much that I just have to eat/drink it throughout the year!

On a completely random subject, hows your weather? Ours has been crazy to say the least. Jeff, was afraid that we would have a late winter. Looks like he’s right. Maybe it’s just a fluke thing today??? We are staring March right in the face and it’s snowing hard at our place??? Doesn’t this weather know I dislike driving in the snow?! I have things to do, people to see. Even though we haven’t had much of a winter I am ready for spring in a bad way. My girlfriend and I are going to start my HUGE garden and plant more trees in my orchard. So, this weather needs to take a hike! Hope y’all are having a great week, it’s almost over and then, yes, the weekend, my favorite days of the week!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups 100% pure pumpkin puree
3 cups vanilla ice cream
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup milk

Directions
Place all the above ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

Printable Version

Filed Under: Appetizers/Beverages, Desserts, Pumpkin Milkshake

Blackberry Pineapple Banana Smoothie

February 28, 2012 by Tiffany 1 Comment

I encourage my kids to cook and experiment in the kitchen. I think it’s important for them to have life skills and be able to make themselves a meal if need be. Today, our middle son wanted to share his smoothie idea with all of you. It was really yummy!

Ingredients
2 cups frozen blackberries
1 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
1 ripe banana
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup milk
1 handful baby spinach, optional

Directions
Combine the above ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Shared at: flourmewithlove