Fondue Night!

What is more fun than fondue for dinner? Seriously? And it is so cheap and easy to do at home with so many different options. This time around we did a little surf and turf and asparagus.



I marinated my steak all day and then cut into cubes. And then thawed, peeled and deveined some shrimp. Broke the ends off the asparagus. Made my dips. And let the fun begin.

I made a dill dip for the shrimp consisting of sour cream, fresh dill, capers with a bit of juice and lemon juice.

Dill Dip


For the steak I made a french onion dip. Sour cream, dry french onion soup mix, a little worch. sauce and merlot.

French Merlot Dip


Heat the oil in the fondue pot. Sizzle up your goodies, dip and enjoy!

Festive Fall

I always get festive with the fall cooking the week of Halloween. Here were my adventures this year.



Dinner in a Pumpkin
2 lb. lean hamburger
1 (8-12") diameter fresh pumpkin

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 med. onion, chopped
12 sm. mushrooms, sliced
1 med. bell pepper
1 1/4 c. uncooked rice
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
5 tbsp. butter
1 #303 can stewed tomatoes
2 c. beef broth
1/4 c. grated Cheddar or Longhorn cheese
Parsley sprigs
8 to 12 cherry tomatoes
Wash the pumpkin and cut the top stem out to create a lid. Scoop out the seeds and stringy fibers. Melt the butter but only 2 tablespoons and take a plastic sandwich bag to dip into the melted butter to oil the inside of the pumpkin. Turn the pumpkin on its side and remove to sprinkle inside with 1/2 teaspoon salt.Saute onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and garlic in the remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Add the 2 pounds lean hamburger, brown, and drain. Then add the rice and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add the remaining salt and pepper, the stewed tomatoes, and the beef broth and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes then fill the pumpkin with this mixture. Replace the pumpkin lid and place the pumpkin in a shallow greased baking pan. Bake approximately 1 to 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Pumpkin is ready when tender and should remain firm enough to hold the filling without danger of collapsing. If necessary, more beef broth can be added as needed. When baked, remove from the oven, lift lid and sprinkle inside with the 1/4 cup cheese. Return pumpkin to oven, lift lid and sprinkle inside with the 1/4 cup cheese. Return pumpkin to oven without lid until cheese is melted. Remove from oven, replace lid and garnish around the bottom of the pumpkin with fresh parsley and cherry tomatoes. Serve from the pumpkin, scraping some of the pulp into each serving. Serve with green salad and French bread. Serves 12.


Maryland Pumpkin Seeds
4 cups pumpkin seeds, raw, rinsed and dried on papertowels
1/4 cup Old Bay seasoning
a good drizzle of olive oil

Drizzle the oil over the seeds. Sprinkle with the Old Bay and toss well to coat. Spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees.


And lastly here are the "kitty kat" cookies me & my 3 year old son put together...

Teddy Bear Snack Mix

I made this for my sweet little boy and his friends when we hosted a teddy bear picnic at the park.

Teddy Bear Snack Mix
-chocolate chip teddy grahams
-chocolate chocolate teddy grahams
-honeycomb cereal
-mini marshmallows
Toss all together and snack away!

Candied Grapes

I recently had these at a friend's house for lunch and they were just that little extra spark I needed to add to my boring ol' midday fruit snack.

Candied Grapes
-Red or Green Seedless Grapes
-Sugar Free Jello Mix

Rinse grapes and then while still wet roll them around in the sugar free jello mix of your choice. Chill in the fridge and serve.

**I used red grapes and orange flavored jello because I had it on hand. The cherry flavored ones I had at my friends were even better!!**

Here Chick Chick...

Ah the chickpea and I have become friends. I've always loved them so because of hummus, but have recently been indulging in these chickpea snacks as well. They are both so yummy and healthy to boot.



Chickpea Salad

1 can of chickpeas rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons of onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1/2 cucumber, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice
2 T red wine vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine all and chill for two hours before serving.




Roasted Chickpeas

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Put on a baking sheet in an even layer. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with your desired seasonings:
-garlic powder, salt and pepper, a pinch of cayenne
-Lemon Pepper
-and Mrs. Dash seasonings are great
-Greek seasoning
-basically whatever tickles your toes

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Give pan a good shake. Bake another 15 minutes.
Eat warm and enjoy!