This four-ingredient artichoke dip is hands down the best one you'll ever serve. If you can come up with a better one, you're a magician! This dip is so good that I'm asked to bring it to almost every gathering I go to. One friend even said, "if you don't bring your artichoke dip, then don't even bother coming." She was kidding...I think.
Read moreIt Tastes as Good as it Looks
Last weekend my niece, Kelsey Nunziatta, made us this appetizer called Caprese. If you want to impress your guests, serve this. It looks like a piece of artwork! The green, white and red represent the Italian flag.
Speaking of Caprese, I had the wildest experience in Trader Joe's the other day. A young woman with a very cool accent came up to me and asked if I knew where the tomatoes were for a Caprese She pronounced it "Caprayzay." Her name was Paulina and she was Columbian. I told her that surprisingly enough I was going to blog about that very thing that week.
Anyway, all you do is put sliced tomatoes on a serving platter. (To make it look even more like a work of art use heirloom [multi-colored] tomatoes.) You then sprinkle the tomatoes with garlic salt. Next you layer sliced fresh mozzarella on top of the tomatoes. Then you put fresh basil leaves on top. Finally you drizzle extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt and cracked pepper.
Opt. Drizzle balsamic vinegar reduction or regular balsamic on top. (Rachel Ray makes a great balsamic reduction that's at regular grocery stores.)
TRY IT YOU'LL LOVE IT!
Cooking Tidbit: Fresh mozzarella and buffalo mozzarella are not the same. Buffalo Mozzarella is actually made from buffalo milk and is a lot gooey-er.
South By Southwest
"Burr-rabbit" (as my Young Life leader, Louise Price used to say). It makes no sense whatsoever, but it's very cute. It's freezing out there. (Or in our case, It's freezing inside. Our heater sounds like a plane is taking off, so we only use it when we don't need to talk each other.) Anyway as I was saying, this is when you want to stay inside, put the fire on and eat soup! Here is a recipe for Southwest Soup that I got from my sister-in-law, Chris Steckel. I'm going to make it for Super Bowl Sunday!
Here's what you'll need:
1 large can or jar of MILD, GREEN enchilada sauce
1 medium sized can of black beans (some grocery stores have three types of beans in one can!)
1 medium sized can of roasted corn (Del Monte makes this) or 1/2 pkg. of Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn.
Roast chicken or 2 baked chicken breasts
(Optional: avocado, sour cream or Greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, and tortilla strips)
Combine the enchilada sauce, the can of beans (undrained) and roasted corn (undrained if using a can) in a sauce pan. Shred 1/2 the white meat of a roast chicken and add to the sauce pan. Heat up on the stovetop until hot and bubbly. (Serve with the toppings of your choice.)
Serves 4+
Corny Cornbread
Of course, you can't have Southwest Soup without cornbread. That would be a major sin! Here's a recipe that I got from my Mama and from my fun friend, Debbie Hunter. (Just thank the Lord that you weren't the one testing the different cornbread recipes. I swear I gained 100 lbs.)
Here's what you'll need:
1 pkg. of Jiffy Corn Bread Mix (or 1/2 a pkg. of any other cornbread mix)
Most of a small can of cream corn (about 3/4 cup).
Most of a small container of light sour cream (about 3/4 cup)
Preheat the oven to 400. Mix together the ingredients, grease the muffin tin, and pour the mixture into the muffin tin. Bake the corn muffins for 30 min or 'till muffins are golden brown on top. And don't forget the most important part: serve hot with lots of butter.
Super, Super Bowl Sunday Appetizers
When we think of Super Bowl Sunday, most of us think of consuming really good food, especially appetizers. (While the players are burning tons of calories we are consuming them.) I have gathered 4 easy and yummy appetizers from my friends that are perfect for Super Bowl Sunday. They will produce almost as many cheers and applause as the game itself. (I guess that's going a little overboard.)
Cowboy Caviar
The first one is an appetizer using Cowboy Caviar. My friend Debbie Trammell, Newport Beach, recently brought it over to my house for a party. Here's what you'll need:
A jar of Cowboy Caviar Salsa (Trader Jo's)
A block of cream cheese
A bag of Corn Tortilla Scoops (Tostitos)
It's pretty self explanatory, but you cover a block of cream cheese with the Cowboy Caviar and use the Scoops to scoop it up. (My niece, Caroline Cox Brantley, Panama City Beach, FL. told me about another great topping for cream cheese called "Pickappa" Sauce. You can find it at World Market, Walmart and online (like everything else under the sun.) The best one for cream cheese is the original sauce.
Artichoke Green Chili Dip
The second appetizer is one I got from Debbie Hogan, Newport Beach. Debbie is totally a gourmet cook, so I wasn't surprised when I tasted this one and loved it! Here's what you'll need:
1 (14 oz.) can of artichoke hearts
2 (8 oz.) cans of diced green chilies (drained)
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese (reserve 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top before baking)
(Opt.) 1/2 a small pkg. of chopped spinach, defrosted and thoroughly drained and dried. (I personally am not a huge spinach fan, so I like the appetizer without this.)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a small casserole dish.
2. Using food scissors, (Not the kind you cut construction paper with.).cut the artichokes into small chunks and mix everything together well. Or blend all the ingredients in a food processor until mixed but still chunky.
3. Pour into baking dish. Top with 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Bake 20 minutes or until bubbly.
4. Serve hot with crackers, tortilla chips or fresh veggies. The Pickett's use these gluten free crackers called "Mary's". They are very "seedy" and super healthy. You can get them at Whole Foods or some grocery stores (in their gluten free section.)
The Best "Ranch" and Veggies
The third appetizer is just ranch dip and vegetables, this is a great appetizer for those of us who are "attempting" to be on a low carb diet. The best ranch dip mix is the Hidden Valley "Dressing" mix instead of their "Dip" mix. My sister, Courteney, in Malibu, always has this around and ready to use.
I use it all the time as a dip and a dressing. And oh, it's awesome when you mix in crumbled blue cheese! It's extra good when you put it in the freezer for a bit. (Don't forget it's in there. Oopsie) On that note, have you noticed that restaurant salads taste so much better? Their trick is chilling it all: plate, lettuce and dressing.
You Gotta Have a Sweet One
The fourth yummy appetizer is a sweet one that I also have at my sister, Courteney's. It's simply goat or Borsin cheese put on a cracker and topped with Dalmatia fig jam. You can get this jam at World Market. Super delicious! Bonne Maman also makes a fig jam. (Many grocery stores carry this.)
HAPPY SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!
*Other than these appetizers there are two totally delicious ones that I have already shared. Just go to the navigation bar at the top of this page and hit 4 ingredient recipes or scroll down to the posts called "It 's All About the Cheese" or "Better Bruschetta".
Squash It
Below is an unbelievable recipe for butternut squash! I found this recipe in the awesome "Jerusalem " cookbook and of course I tweaked it. It calls for a large butternut squash. Thankfully in my grocery store, Ralph's (which is owned by Kroger by the way.) and Trader Jos, butternut squash can be found in the produce section. Warning: Don't get the frozen kind because they turn out way tooo soggy!
A lot of the items I suggest are hard to find, so either you should look, look and look some more or ask for help. You can always cut up a raw butternut squash, but you won't get that here. (I'm way too lazy for that.) Here's what you'll need:
Approx. 1 & 1/2 lbs. of cubed butternut squash (If some of the pieces are bigger than the others, you will want to cut them in half.)
1 very large red onion (Red onions are nice and sweet.)
3 Tablespoons of pine nuts
3 Tablespoons of tahini (A paste made with made with sesame seeds) Trader Joe's makes the best. (Simple Truth makes the worst!) A tahini called Jova is fine.
Preheat the oven to 475. Cut the onions into wedges. Toss the onions and squash in bit of olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread vegetables out onto the sheet. Cook about 30 minutes until you can put a fork through them with a bit of effort. You don't want the squash to be mushy, so its better to err on the side of being undercooked. (You can always put it in the oven for longer.) In the last 5 min. put the pine nuts in a corner of the cookie sheet. (Browning pine nuts is not essential. I've started using uncooked pine nuts because I always burn them.)
In a small bowl vigorously stir the tahini with a dash of salt, and about 2 tablespoons of water. (I like to use a small whisk or better yet one beater from my hand mixer.) The paste should be the consistency of honey so add more water or tahini if necessary.
To serve, spread the vegetables out on a serving platter and drizzle with tahini then the pine nuts. Voila you have a totally delicious side dish!
Try It You'll Love It!
Better Bruschetta
Here is an hors d'oeuvre (there's that impossible word to spell again) that is super easy and Awesome!
I recently tasted this hors d'oeuvre at our friend Stefanie White's house. (Believe it our not, the White's have had their friends from High School over for a Christmas party for the past 40 years. Yikes, we're that old!)
Anyway here's how you make it: Get a baguette and slice it thin, then put shredded parmesan on top and broil the slices for about 3 min. or until tops are slightly golden brown. (The parmesan seals the bread so it doesn't get soggy.) Then take the bread out and cover each slice with bruschetta (using a fork to keep the bread from getting juice-soggy). Finally sprinkle with parmesan and if possible serve right away. Totally, totally yummy. (BTW Trader Joe's has a great bruschetta!)
Try it You'll Love It!
Easy as 1,2,3,4
It's soup weather, so let's make soup! This tortellini soup is hands down the best soup you'll ever have and it only takes a few minutes to make. Oh yeah, it only has 4 ingredients!
Tortellini Soup
You'll need:
5 cups of vegetable broth.
1 (14.5) can of Diced Italian Seasoned Tomatoes (Look hard they should be there. )
1 (9 ounce) pkg. of refrigerated, small cheese tortellini. (If you are going for vegan, you can use vegan ravioli.)
3 cups of baby spinach chopped or torn into large pieces.
In a large pot bring to boil broth, tomatoes and tortellini. Reduce heat and boil lightly until tortellini is soft and fully cooked (about 10 minutes).
Then stir in spinach until it is wilted (about 30 sec. to a minute)
Season with about 1 teaspoon of garlic salt and pepper to taste. (The Picketts are garlic salt crazy, so we are never without it. I use it a lot in Pickett's Pearl's recipes 'cause it is an easy way to get garlic into a dish without counting it as an ingredient:) (Serves 6)
Optional: Serve topped with Parmesan cheese. You can also add cooked italian sausage but not necessary.
Try It You'll Love It!
Fun Saying:
It's time for a fun saying: "I was flying by the seat of my pants. " What a funny way of saying: "I was winging it." There I go, using one metaphor to explain another. I guess when it comes to being in a hurry and making things happen as best as we can, flying is usually involved. (My daughter, Carly, is my illustrator.
About the Blog Posts
I’m going to be posting "Pickett’s Pearls" every other Wednesday. Each time I will be posting what my taste buds think is an awesome four-ingredient (or less) recipe. Some of these recipes I got from friends or family and some are my own concoctions. I then test each one on my husband (needless to say, he's behind the project!)
Also, I will be sharing a helpful or creative idea (usually for the home.) Learning to make special napkin folds or making simple earrings, for example, are two ideas you'll see in future blog posts.
Fun Sayings
If that’s not enough cool stuff, I will be throwing out a "Fun Saying" every now and then like the one above. There are so many random sayings that we can laugh about.
Send Me Your Ideas
I really want this blog to be a group effort. I want to hear about your four-ingredient recipes and your helpful/creative ideas. All you have to do is fill out the Contact page. I will then test the idea and if it "cuts the mustard", (ha- ha) I will then share your idea, your name and where you are from. (Unless, of course, you want to keep that under wraps.)
Meatloaf and Cauliflower Mash
Meatloaf
It's winter time which means it's time for warm and cozy food. One of the combos that is so appealing this time of year is meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I used to make a meatloaf recipe that my mother-in-.aw, Mimi, made. The problem was that it had about 10 ingredients, so I dreaded making it. Lisa Taylor, Newport Beach, gave me a 4 ingredient recipe that she got from her mother. Here's what you'll need:
2 lbs. of ground meat
1/3 cup of evaporated milk (once I mixed up evaporated milk and condensed milk. Big mistake! Thankfully I didn't go so far as to mix it into the meatloaf!)
1 pkg. of lipton onion soup mix
Ketchup (1/3 cup of ketchup + ketchup to pour on top)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees then spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. (Using your hands is the only way to go.) Put the mixture in the loaf pan and squirt some ketchup on top. Then put the meatloaf in the oven for an hour.. (After an hour cut into the meatloaf to make sure it is cooked through.) There will be lots of juice in the baking dish, but don't worry the juice keeps the meatloaf moist. Finally broil the meatloaf for about 3 min. or until it is browned on top. There you have it an easy and tasty meatloaf.
Cauliflower Mash
Mashed potatoes are always good with meatloaf. These days most of us eat low-carb (or at least, in my case, say I eat low-carb). Anyway mashed cauliflower is a good substitute for mashed potatoes. I have made cauliflower mash many ways, but here is the best way I have found:
For the cauliflower mash, take two bags of cauliflower florets. (Found at most grocery stores) Make as directed. I prefer to use the microwave. (My microwave takes about 6 minutes for each bag, but my microwave has been around since Queen Victoria.) The next step is to put the bags of cooked cauliflower in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
After cauliflower has cooled, put it in a kitchen towel (with no texture), a cheese cloth (whatever that is) or believe it or not the outside of a pillow case . You then squeeze all the water out. Squeezing the water out is the key to good cauliflower mash! Finally put the cauliflower in a food processor with 1/4 cup of Ranch Dressing, 1/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese and garlic salt & pepper to taste. Cream cheese or sour cream can be substituted for the ranch dressing. Voila! Your mashed cauliflower will be creamy and delicious!
Caesar Salad
Caesar salad goes great with this meal! For a while we used the ready-made salad packets, but I realized that I could put together a better one that was less expensive. We use a pkg. of romaine, shaved parmesan, (DiGiorno, if you can find it.) Marie's Caesar Dressing and either Butter and Garlic Croutons (Using Caesar croutons goes a bit overboard.) and/or avocado.
There you have a delicious meal each part having only 4 ingredients!
EAT YOUR VEGETABLES
You probably love vegetables, but I actually could do without them. Here is a simple way that my husband, Todd, makes vegetables that makes them far more enticing, even for me:
First, you take the vegetables that you are planning to use and slice them fairly thin. Then you toss them in a bowl with olive oil and garlic salt. Next you spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, then lay the vegetables out one layer thick. Finally you broil them on high. Cooking them this way only takes about 8 to 10 minutes. (You want them to be golden brown on top.) When done they come out crispy and delicious. If you want to cook denser vegetables like brussels sprouts, you still want to slice them very thin, but bake them a bit first. (About 10 -12 min. at 350.)
TRY IT YOU'LL LOVE IT!
Helpful Hints for the Home - Keeping Things Fresh
One way to keep produce like berries or lettuce fresh longer is to use paper towels to absorb the moisture. You can wash and dry berries, layer them with paper towels and put them back in the container. (This way you can keep the lovely mold at bay.) With lettuce just stuff paper towels into the plastic bags they came in. If you do this the lettuce won't get stinky and wilted so soon. By the way, have you noticed that Romaine lasts longer than any other lettuce?
A funny memory that I have of my Mother-in-Law, Mimi, involves lettuce and a pillow case. (This was before the days that lettuce came pre-washed.) Mimi would wash lettuce, put it in a pillow case and swing the pillowcase high above her head until the lettuce dried. She performed this feat outside of course.
I'd love to hear what Helpful Hints and Tricks you have! (Just go to the Contact Page and share away.)
Eats And Treats
I've been making ice cream pies for years. This Christmas I came up with a peppermint ice cream pie! Here's how you make it:
Take an Oreo pie crust and scoop softened peppermint ice cream (Dryers makes it) into the pie crust. Smooth it down evenly. Pour chocolate syrup on top, then sprinkle it with crushed candy canes. (I use the small candy canes and crush them when they are still in the cellophane.) After that, put the pie in the freezer to harden.
My husband doesn't like crunchy things in his ice cream, so I came up with a chocolate mint pie. All you do is take the same Oreo pie crust and cover the crust's bottom with chocolate mints, broken up into small pieces (I use Andes). You then add softened chocolate mint ice cream, smoothing it down evenly, and pour chocolate sauce on top.
Christmas Memories
It's funny how certain things stick with you. I remember that my little sister and I would make red and green paper chains and hang them all over our room. I remember that we went to confession once a year on Christmas Eve (God forgive us!). My Daddy would drive us, and somehow turned this dreaded event into a super fun time. I also remember how Daddy would pile us all into the car to drive around and look at the Christmas lights
Every year at our annual Christmas party, my Mama would serve cream cheese topped with red and green hot pepper jelly and surrounded by crackers. Recently, after all these years, I tried it, and couldn't stop eating!
Carly, my oldest daughter, said, "Mom, why in the world are you putting jello on cream cheese? Of course, she changed her tune when she tasted it. I plan to serve this extremely Christmasy hors d'oeuvre this week, and I challenge you to jump on the wagon too. You won't regret it.
I do have one question: does anyone else have a hard time spelling hors d'oeuvre? You wouldn't believe how many times I've had to look it up, and I still can't spell it. This "hors d'oeuvre" simply consists of red and green hot pepper jelly on top of a block of cream cheese, served with crackers. (I just discovered that Nabisco makes Christmas wheat thins!)
And You Thought Jam Was Just For Toast
Apricot-Pesto Chicken
A couple of months ago a few of us were having dinner at Paula O'Connor's house (Newport Beach, CA). She served this wonderful chicken dish. (Of course we all wanted the recipe.)
I'm always looking for new chicken dishes because somehow no one in my family eats anything but chicken and turkey. So coming up with new recipes is a bit of a challenge. One of the best things about making this recipe is that it involves barbecuing, thankfully that's not my department. Here's how you make it:
Ingredients:
4 Thin sliced chicken breasts or 2 regular breasts
1/2 cup + 1/4 cup of apricot jam
1/2 cup + 1 /4 cup of pesto
1/3 cup of very finely chopped pecans (pecan chips)
First you put the breasts between plastic wrap, and pound the heck out of them till they are almost paper thin. (I use a mallet.)
Then you mix the jam with the pesto and set aside about 1/3 of the mixture for later. Next carefully spoon the mixture on top of each breast leaving about 1/2 an inch around the edges. After that you evenly sprinkle the chopped pecans on top of the breasts as well.
Next you roll up each breast and secure them with toothpicks stuck in diagonally. Before you put them on the BBQ, brush the tops with half the mixture you've put aside.
You then BBQ them on the top rack on medium for 6 to 7 minutes on each side. (The trick is cooking the breasts through without drying them out.) Once you turn the breasts over use the remaining part of the apricot/pesto mixture to apply to the top of breasts.
While the breasts are cooking mix 1/4 cup of the jam and 1/4 cup of the pesto. Right before serving microwave the new mixture. You will use this mixture as an additional sauce for the chicken.
Another option is baking the chicken at 350 until the breasts are cooked through or cooking them in a pan with oil. However, these option doesn't come out quite as tasty.
Arugula What?
Assuming you know how to make rice, a salad that goes well with this chicken dish is an arugula salad. I have had to get used to Arugula, but now I love it. Years ago I was in Florence with my husband and we went to a well known pizza place. When our order came out, the pizza was covered with this green stuff, and I didn't like the bitter taste of that that pizza at all. Now I actually love it. Go figure.
Recently I was at the home of Kelsey and Chris Nunziata. They served a simple but delicious arugula salad.
Here are the ingredients:
A bag of arugula lettuce
The juice of half a lemon
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup of shaved Parmesan (DiGiorno is really good.)
Salt and Pepper (doesn't count as an ingredient in my book)
Starting with the arugula, just throw in all the ingredients and toss. (Taste the salad to see if you need more of something.)
Try It You'll love It!
Fun Saying
"She had me in stitches." What on earth? What I envision is someone with sutures all over them. It really makes no sense, but who cares:)