Oh no, you didn’t!

You forgot you had to bring an appetizer to the Cinco de Mayo fiesta, didn’t you? Not to worry, how about this Easy Cheesy Chorizo dip (also known as Queso Fundido).

The best part? It’s only got 3 ingredients, but you can dress it up as much (or as little) as you want by adding chopped tomatoes, jalapeños, onions or cilantro.

This tastes better if you make it at the party, so text the host to make sure it’ll be okay to use their oven and microwave (really quick!).

Now get going… you’ve gotta go buy what you need. Mama can’t do everything for you!

       Print this recipe.    

Super Quick Cheesy Chorizo Dip (aka Queso Fundido)
prep: 10 minutes
cook: 10 minutes
serves: 16 (¼ cup portions)

you’ll need…
16 corn or flour tortillas (6 inch)
4 cups shredded Chihuahua cheese or Monterrey Jack cheese
1 link (6 oz.) pork or beef chorizo (Mexican style sausage, uncooked)

let’s get to it…
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Wrap tortillas in foil and place in oven.
Place an ovenproof 9-inch pie plate inside the oven to heat for 5-minutes. Remove hot pie plate from oven and add shredded cheese. Return pie-plate to the oven so cheese can melt, 6 to 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove plastic casing from the chorizo (if there is any). Place chorizo in a microwavable dish. Using a spoon, cut chorizo into 1-inch pieces. Cover and microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain excess grease.
Remove melted cheese and tortillas from oven. Sprinkle chorizo on top of cheese and serve with tortillas.

cooking know how…

Lékué Steam Case with Tray

• I used this cool Lekue microwave steamer to cook the chorizo. It comes with a tray at the bottom that separates the grease from the food, so, if there is a healthy way to cook chorizo, this is it.

• I also used this beautiful Tortilla Warmer from Camerons Products. It heats up in the microwave for 45 seconds and keeps your tortillas hot and soft for more than an hour after they come out of the oven. It even holds the big 12-inch tortillas.

Tortilla Warmer from Camerons Products

Here’s a deliciously easy appetizer for your New Year’s Eve soiree: Warm Brie with Sautéed Mushrooms and Almonds.

And really… who among us doesn’t like creamy, melted cheese? I thought so.

What’s great about this recipe is that you can sauté the mushrooms earlier in the day, and just heat it up right before serving. I made toast points from sandwich bread to go with it, but crackers are perfect, too.

So welcome the New Year with this decadently rich and indulgently flavorful appetizer… then start your New Year’s Resolution to eat healthier! 

       Print this recipe.    

Here’s another great New Year’s Eve appetizer recipe: Chicken Marsala Meatballs

Are you making a pumpkin pie from scratch this Thanksgiving? Don’t throw out the best part!

I’m talking about the seeds, of course!

After you wash and cut open the pumpkin, scoop out the pulp and seeds. Place them in a big bowl and then call one of the little kids into the kitchen. Tell them their job is to remove the seeds from the “slime” (use that word, they’ll think it’s cool). Have your helper drop the seeds into a separate bowl.

After the seeds and pulp have been separated, rinse the seeds in a colander and then lay them out on paper towels to air dry. Put them in a re-sealable plastic bag until you’re ready to use them (they’ll hold for about a week).

There are so many ways to roast pumpkin seeds. Here’s my recipe for how to make Candied Pumpkin Seeds, which are great to snack on, top a salad or sprinkle in your oatmeal. They also make sweet little hostess gifts!

I made these very Spice Island spicy, not hot spicy. Click here to read more and to get the recipe!

Are you ready for a totally different spin on the backyard grilling experience?

This is it: Well Done Social Grill by Unikia. It’s a charcoal tabletop grill that lets you be your own grillmaster.

If you’ve ever eaten at a Korean barbecue restaurant where the grill is built right into the table, it’s a little like that. Meat and veggies are roasted right in front of you… except now you’re the chef!

I grill all the time, but I have to tell you, it’s so much more fun when everyone gets in on the act. GP used it when he had a few friends over and it was perfect, because each one of them fancies himself an “expert” at grilling. The Social BBQ Grill enables everyone to cook things to their own taste—and have a lot of laughs doing it.

Here’s how it works: you place the streamlined grill on a table and fill up the charcoal basket. When the coals a glowing ashen gray color, let everyone have a go at grilling the food.

It’s not complicated—that’s the beauty of it! And it’s nearly impossible NOT to talk with everyone as you’re grilling! This is interactive cooking at its best.

The Social Grill is made of carbon steel with a high heat resistant powder coating so it is perfectly safe for a wooden table. Unikia doesn’t recommend using it on a plastic table, but if you do, make sure you protect the surface with something heat proof underneath the grill.

The Social Grill is 35”x 8”x 11”, so you know it’s plenty big for 6 people to grill at the same time. It’s kind of heavy, though, so you might need someone to help you put it on the table (I did).

I’m so happy my pals at Unikia sent me this grill to try out because it’s  going to be a great addition to our outdoor party traditions. We’re having a house full of people for Lollapalooza this weekend, so I’m going to set it up and let everyone make their own s’mores and grilled fruit!

I can’t wait!
Here’s a video of the Social Grill in Action! Buy the Social Grill here!