Simple Homemade Guacamole

The simplest of Guacamoles

This is my go to that I have been using for a long time. It's very simple, yet incredibly tasty for such minimal ingredients. If you need a dip for chip or burrito in a flash,  this is your answer. I like to have blue chips with it and also use as a spread for when I make veggie wraps and sandwiches. It is really so tasty! 

Ingredients: 

• 1 Hass Avocado mashed up, but I like to leave little chunks
• 1 tspn lemon or lime juice
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 .5 tsp's of Worcestershire sauce

Mix it all up together, then top with fresh salsa!  The Sauce and lemon or lime really make this dip the best I've ever had. I do need to experiment with other recipes, because this is my go to that I have been using forever!

Old El Paso Quesadillas and homemade guacamole.

Sponsored by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

I had the chance to try out Old El Paso's new Mexican frozen cuisine and I was pleasantly surprised by the taste, given that it's a frozen "t.v. dinner". Although I like to make my own, it's nice to try someone elses from time to time. Especially when I don't have time and just want something quick and fast without having to go to fast food restaurants.

I enjoyed this Chicken Quesadilla meal for two and the Mexican Platter was a nice touch.  This platter is very pretty and artsy in design and would make a unique center piece for any get together. It would even be great to take on picnics for up to a meal for 4. It's perfect for small or big snacks and meals. Especially tortilla chips, quesadillas, empinadas, burritos and dips. If you are doing a Mexican themed party, this is definitely a cute platter for the occasion. This is going to be useful!

Old El Paso claims to take pride in their mexican cuisine inspired foods and I think they do a good job. I chose to microwave one quesadilla and then nuke the other one, followed by giving it a quick fry in my cast iron skillet. THAT made all the difference in the authenticity. We all know it's impossible to get the exact taste of a real home made Mexican quesadillas, but it comes close.

I would recommend this brand for the occasional indulgence of quick tasty meals and if you'd like to try some of your own, you can grab a coupon for $1 off in your local flyer this week or one online at  coupons.com. for .60 cents off 3 Ole El Paso products. Stack those coupons!

Onto the homemade dip! 

This was the perfect occasion to whip up my favorite guacamole dip topped with fresh salsa. It went perfect with the Old El Paso Quesadillas. The contrast of hot cheesy crispy goodness with the cool guacamole and salsa was scrumptious.

Recipe for simple Guacamole: 

1 Hass Avocado mashed up, but I like to leave little chunks
1 tspn lemon or lime juice
1 tsp of garlic powder
Pinch of sea salt
1 .5 tsp's of Worcestershire sauce

Mix it all up together, then top with fresh salsa!  

#Halloween #DIY #WhiteChocolate #brainmold filled with #redvelvetcake and #cherries #Bloodybrain #braincandy #zombies

I made this two years ago before I created my Food blog and I honestly have no idea where I adapted the recipe from or I would link it. I altered it a lot and fused two different ideas into one. 

The idea was to create a cool centerpiece for a Halloween party and it really turned out flawless. All be it a little bit disturbing, as they almost look real! I titled it brain candy because well your brain is candy to zombies ( Note the zombie hand with green nail. Yeah, it was a last min extra detail)

Initially, I was looking to create just a brain cake of some sort, but when I saw these candy molds on amazon I thought that what would be even cooler and yummier was to make them individual candy brains. Candy brains that you would cut open to find cake or brain guts and gore inside. Although not anatomically completely accurate looking, it comes close enough and my god if it wasn't tastier than anything I have tried in a long time. 

This was a complicated process, considering I didn't really plan everything until I actually started doing it. In the middle of it all, I decided to add the cherry sauce and things later.

You really need some patience with this one. It'll take a few hours, as there are steps to freeze one half then freeze another. It is really worth it though! 

So let me see If I can explain this accurately in a way that it will be easy to replicate! 

Ingredients & tools needed: 

• Brain Candy molds  (I got mine from amazon for dirt cheap)

• Pam cooking spray

• 1 can of Cherry pie filling

• Red food coloring (About 1-1.5 tsp per brain) 

• 4 White chocolate bars (The biggest ones they have. I used Ghiradelli)

• 1 Red velvet cake (I used boxed)

• A sharp knife to cut frozen brains (warmed up under hot water to cut easily. I learned this after the fact ;) ) 

• Lots of patience. It's not hard, more time consuming than anything. I'd say you need about 4 hours and 30 minutes free in all. 99% of that is the freezing and baking time. 

Steps:

Step 1:  Spray Pam in the candy molds to be filled. DON'T forget the Pam spray before pouring the chocolate into the mold. You will never get it out in one piece! 

Step 2: Heat up 2 White chocolate bars on low to med heat.  Then slowly pour it into the brain candy molds. (2 molds, 2 bars per mold) Fill them thick enough that they cover the whole mold that will be the top half of the brain. 

Step3: Freeze those molds for about 2 hours.

Step 4: While this is freezing, this is when you want to get out your red velvet cake mix and back per directions. You'll have plenty left over, if you want to make something else gutty looking ;) 

Step 5:  Get our your cherry pie filling (You'll also have plenty of this leftover)

Step 6:  Let the cake cool off in the fridge and then stuff the frozen brain candy mold with it and the cherry pie filling.  (You can also omit the cherry filling and stuff later when you cut the brains. This is what I did)   Do not over stuff. 

Step 7:  Heat up another 2 white chocolate bars and repeat Step 2. Only you will be covering the cake inside the first 2 molds with frozen white chocolate now. Get it all over the cake so that is thick and none of the cake is peering through. This takes time and scrutinizing, but it's not that bad! Again, worth it! 

Step 8: Freeze again for about 2 hours. 

Step 9:   FINALLY. When you are ready to serve the brains. About 10 min prior to serving, or else they'll melt too much. Take out the frozen brains by very CAREFULLY coaxing them out . The Pam should make it fairly simple. Then carefully place them on a plate. 

Step 10:  Get your food coloring (or blood) and pour it all over the brains. About 1-1.5 tsp for each brain should do. Now get your very sharp knife and it's time to bludgeon the brain!  Run the knife under HOT water then let it get warm and slice it through to cut it in half. If for some reason it doesn't cut too great, It's fine. It will still look awesome, just more like a cracked brain. 

Then paint nails green or go all out with bloody torn zombie nails! 

You're done! See? I told you it was worth it! Now, just set it in the middle of the table with some candles and other zombie treats and you are ready to feed your zombie family! Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: Yeah, I know it's gorier than a kitchen massacre in this pic, but I assure I didn't cut my finger.  no human being or animals were harmed in the making. It is all that cherry filling and food coloring. Go easy on the coloring. I specified that much coloring on purpose lol

You saw this first, on I'll Take a Bite.