Food & Drink, Snack

Sour Patch Grapes

Feb 27, 2013 by Anne Hernandez

So it’s the end of February and New Year’s seems ages ago. Are you still doing well on your resolutions? Eating healthy and/or getting fit is listed as one of the top three New Year’s resolutions, depending on your source. Everyone wants to look and feel better, myself included. Over the years, we’ve made basic changes to the way we eat. We try to use only whole grains, incorporate more fruits and veggies in every meal, eat lean meats and more fish, and drink lots and lots of water. Some days are easier than others, but we try not to beat ourselves up too much when we have an off day.

I was looking for healthy ideas from Pinterest to Pin Test and I found about 17 new dessert recipes. Then I saw this pin for Sour Patch Grapes by Kim of A Spotted Pony, and my inner 8-year-old started jumping up and down. I mean, who doesn’t like Sour Patch candies? They’re tangy-sour, slightly sweet, and have that sugar coating that gets all over your fingers. However, we try to stay away from things that have a lot of sugar, so most candy is out – unless it’s not candy. Thank you, Kim!

Kim referred to her original source, in the pin below, by Carol from the blog Pure Sugar. (Does anyone else find it funny that I’m trying to find healthy ideas, and the pin is from the blog Pure Sugar? Anybody?) I decided to go with the original recipe from Carol since I was able to find the mystery Jell-O at my grocer.

The Pintesting:

On to the Pin Test! The recipe called for 1 lb. of grapes, pulled off their stems and washed, and a box of Melon Fusion Jell-O. My bag of grapes was almost 3 lbs with the stems on, so I got two boxes of Jell-o. The Cherry Lemonade flavor sounded fun, plus it’s one of my favorite Nerds candy flavors, so I went for it.

This is extremely difficult. Put some of the Jell-o powder onto a plate or shallow bowl. I used a shallow bowl so I wouldn’t worry about spilling. Remember, my inner 8-year-old is making this recipe.

Add some of the washed and still slightly damp grapes…

And swirl around until they’re coated with the Jell-o powder.

Put them in a bowl and refrigerate uncovered. This keeps them from getting gummy.

That’s it! Both bloggers recommended they not be frozen because they get really gummy and messy when the grapes thaw, but they should be served cold. I did the second half with the Cherry Lemonade flavor, but think I might save that for red grapes next time.

I brought them into work to share and get feedback. Everyone who tried them LOVED them! It was about an even split for the favorite flavor. One manager even asked for the recipe today and went on her lunch to pick up the grapes.

One note of caution, several people whose stomachs were sensitive to acidic foods said that they had some problems shortly after eating the grapes. I am not making any medical statements, just sharing the feedback of my colleagues. Now for the rating.

The Pintesting Results:

Overall Rating: 5 Pins

Accuracy: The Mellon Fusion flavored grapes had the tangy-sour, lightly sweet taste that was very much like the Sour Patch candies. The Cherry Lemonade flavored grapes were a little sweeter, but not overly sweet, and they still had a bit of tang to them. Both made it almost impossible to not lick the Jell-o powder from your fingers while eating them. 5 Pins

Difficulty: My inner 8-year-old believes that real 8-year-olds could make these with very little supervision. The hardest part is not eating them all immediately. 5 Pins

Time: Each batch took less than 10 minutes to make, but both blogs recommend at least 1 hour in the fridge before serving. 5 Pins.

Cost: The grapes were on sale for $2.99/lb. and the Jell-o was $1.00 each. 5 Pins.

Practicality: These are a perfect treat and candy alternative for kids, or you could serve them at a wine and cheese party for adults, or anything in between. I like that you can get creative with different grape colors and Jell-O flavors. 5 Pins

Food & Drink, Tips

Tip Tuesday – Softening Butter

Feb 26, 2013 by Anne Hernandez

I’m convinced that my husband believes that there is a direct correlation between the amount of chocolate in the chocolate chip cookies (that he’s been requesting for the last three weeks) and how much I love him. These are his one of his greatest weaknesses… and mine, too. But when the request comes after supper is over (read 7:00 PM) and you haven’t softened the butter, you have a real problem. I’ve tried softening butter in the microwave, but the texture of the dough never comes out quite right. It looses the creamy fluffiness that cookie dough should have and seems more runny – like melted butter – giving flat, shapeless cookies.

What’s a loving wife to do? Check her Pinterest pin boards, of course! I saw this “tip of the day” from the Daily Dish Magazine, and was very thankful that I had the foresight to pin it – just in case.

http://www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com/softening-butter/

This is so simple, but worked amazingly! All you need is your cold butter and a grater. I think a box grater works really well for this since the shredded butter stays confined, but any course grater will work. The site says to grate over a bowl, but I found that a cutting board was easier with the box grater.

Quickly grate the cold butter. If you go too slowly you’ll end up with melted butter fingers. (Sorry, but I couldn’t resist.)

I put the butter shreds into the mixing bowl. The rest of the ingredients we all ready to go, so it only took a couple minutes to put the sugars and vanilla in the bowl.

The butter was softened and creamed beautifully! I used a modified Nestle Toll House recipe. Rather than using a bag of semi-sweet chocolate, I used 4-oz of dark chocolate chips, 4-oz of milk chocolate chips, and 4-oz of semi-sweet mini chips. I also threw in about 4-oz of walnuts.

Those were some really amazing cookies. They evaporated, or I would show a picture of them. (The picture above was a photo that I found online. There was no source to credit, and it is used in a few different unrelated websites.)

I love tips that save time, money or the day, so I’m going to make Tuesdays “Tip Day”. Has anyone else been saved by an awesome tip found on Pinterest? Please share in the comments!

Overall Rating: 5 Pins

Accuracy: The little pieces of shredded butter softened in no time, just like the site said. The shredded butter gave the same results as butter than had been left out at room temperature. 5 Pins

Difficulty: Grate the butter. Super Simple. 5 pins

Time: It took about 3-4 minutes to grate 2 sticks of butter. This is a great time saver. 5 pins.

Cost: I checked online at Target, Walmart and Bed, Bath and Beyond, and the cost of most box graters was in the $15.00-$20.00 range. Hand held graters were a little less. I believe this is a necessary tool in the kitchen and have had mine for about 25 years (and it still looks good enough to photograph without any embarrassment), so I’m giving it 5 pins.

Practicality: This is a SUPER easy tip and huge time saver. 5 pins

Appetizer, Entrée, Food & Drink

Meatball Bubble Biscuits

Feb 24, 2013 by Anne Hernandez

This is the second of two Pin Tests that I made one evening for supper. I thought it would be great to be able to do a two-for-one meal. The theory was a good one, but not everything turned out exactly as I had hoped. The first post (voted first by my readers) was for Baked Parmesan Tomatoes. You can read about the results by clicking the link.

THIS post is for a recipe with one of the most fun food names I’ve heard in a long time – Meatball Bubble Biscuits. Say that five times fast. Meatball Bubble Biscuits… Meatball Bubble Biscuits… Meatbub Bubba Biscuits… (I bet you’ve got a grin on!)

I love to laugh. Ages ago, when my girls were little, I did home childcare. Kids come up with some of the funniest things without trying. I have 15 years worth of funny daycare stories about nearly a hundred children I loved as my own. One of my little 5-year old guys was sitting at the kitchen counter after morning kindergarten. The other kids were down for naps already and were talking while he was having lunch. He told me something that I can’t remember, but my response was, “are you serious?” He replied, with a perfectly straight face, “yes, I’m very serious”. I said, “Oh, well I’m serious, too”, with an equally straight face. With a perfect poker face he said, “we are very serious”. This “serious” banter went on back and forth for several minutes before we looked into each others eyes and started laughing and laughing.

So other than the recipe having a funny name, what does that have to do with the story? Not a blessed thing. But I think the kids would have liked a food called Meatball Bubble Biscuits. So glad that I saw this pin from Kathie, of the blog Kathie Cooks.

http://kathiecooks.blogspot.com/2010/08/meatball-bubble-biscuits.html

Let the Pin Test begin! There aren’t a lot of ingredients, and all are easy to find. The only flaky-style biscuits I could find were the Grands variety, so that’s what I went with.

I cut the meatballs and string cheese, and split the biscuits in half.

Each biscuit got one half meatball and a piece of mozzarella,

then was wrapped up in the biscuit dough. I pinched to seal the dough, then rolled each one to make a bit more round.

Put them all in a round cake pan. No need to grease the pan.

Sprinkle the lot with the seasonings and Parmesan. I went light with the Parmesan after what happened to the Parmesan Baked Tomatoes, and decided to sprinkle more as they came out of the oven.

Kathie says to bake for 18-20 minutes, so I went with the lowest time.

And this is what you get. You can see the extra Parmesan that got sprinkled as soon as these beauties came out of the oven.

I served them with spaghetti and meatballs, extra spaghetti sauce for dipping, and the Baked Parmesan Tomatoes. Yes, everything is sprinkled with Parmesan – I mean, it’s cheese! Doesn’t cheese make almost everything better?

Overall Rating: 5 Pins

Accuracy: The recipe was simple and the results were just like Kathie’s picture. The garlic and Italian seasoning gave a nice flavor to what would have been plain dough. I might try brushing the tops with some melted butter next time – just to see what happens. The meatballs were thoroughly cooked and the mozzarella was melted. 5 pins

Difficulty: This was easy – perfect to let the kids help assemble. 5 pins

Time: It took about 5-10 minutes to assemble these, and roughly 20 baking time (or less). At just over half an hour, 5 pins.

Cost: The meatballs were on sale for $3.95, which was the most expensive ingredient. I had the seasonings on hand, but those can be gotten very inexpensively. 5 pins.

Practicality: This recipe would be nice as an appetizer or as part of the main meal. It’s kid friendly, but also delicious to adults. My husband thought they were the best part of the meal. 5 pins

Food & Drink

Baked Parmesan Tomatoes

Feb 21, 2013 by Anne Hernandez

I am a Zumbaholic. One of my favorite things to do is go to an awesome high energy Zumba class with one of my favorite instructors. I’ve been hooked for about 4 years, but have been following one particular instructor since her career began about 3 years ago. If you’re ever in the greater Orlando area, please let me know if you want to go the best instructor and most fun class. It’s like going dancing at a club, only more fun. Actually, I’ve gone out to a club with friends and wished I could have been at Zumba.

About two years ago, Zumba Fitness announced that they wanted to do a cookbook and put out a request for recipes. I submitted a simple fresh and easy family favorite; Caprese Crostini. About a month later I got an email that literally had me dancing around the house. That’s not totally unusual, but the amount of squealing with delight that accompanied the dancing was greater than normal. They accepted my recipe and requested more information. Two weeks ago I received an advance copy of the cookbook. I’m so excited to be a part of something that I love and believe in.

The picture in the center under the title is a photo of MY RECIPE! So excited…!!!

I really like the flavor of tomatoes with mozzarella, herbs and balsamic vinegar. When I saw the pin for Baked Parmesan Tomatoes, I thought it would be a nice twist on a delicious stand by.

http://pinterest.com/pin/207869339022882366/

The recipe originated from the Eating Well magazine website. Let the Pin Testing begin!

The recipe seemed simple enough. Cut the tomatoes in half. I used Roma tomatoes because I love the flavor and I almost always have them around the kitchen.

Top with Parmesan, oregano, salt and pepper. Then drizzle with olive oil.

Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 15 minutes.

I started making the rest of supper, which included another Pin Test. My oven beeps when there is one minute left to go on the timer. I checked the tomatoes, but the damage was done.

Always the optimist, I let them cool and plated them to see if it would help.

Not so much this time.

The Baked Parmesan Tomatoes recipe rated as follows:

Overall Rating: 3 Pins

Accuracy: The oven temperature seemed high to me since I usually roast tomatoes and other veggies at 400-425 degrees. Also, 15 minutes is much longer than I need to have perfectly roasted tomatoes (obviously). 2 Pins.

Difficulty: Other than cutting the tomatoes and using the oven, this would be a great recipe to get your kids to help pile the toppings on the tomatoes. 5 Pins.

Time: Twenty minutes start to finish, including the roasting time. Since I’d cut the roasting time to 10-12 minutes, that takes even less time. 5 Pins

Cost: The entire recipe ingredients could be purchased for about 8 dollars (salt, pepper and EVOO are freebies). 5 Pins

Practicality: I will definitely try this again, but reduce the oven temperature and roasting time. Hopefully it will give the results pictured on the original site. 3 pins

Entrée, Food & Drink

PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef Copy Cat Recipe

Feb 19, 2013 by Anne Hernandez

I love Chinese food! From the time I was a very little girl, my parents would make my brother and me use chopsticks to eat at the Chinese restaurants. They said the food didn’t taste as good if you used a fork. To this day, I believe it. When I saw this pin from Six Sister’s Stuff, I knew I had to add it to the Pin Test list.

Six Sister’s Stuff is a great blog. Just read their “about us” page and you can feel their family love. Now, my mother was one of 5 sisters and they had some fantastic stories to tell. I used to love listening to them. They loved to joke and laugh. I can only imagine what that would be like since I only have the one brother. Don’t get me wrong – I love my brother… well, like a brother. (Oh, so cliché) He likes Chinese food, too. Actually, he likes any kind of food but let’s not go there. Which brings us back to the Pin Testing.

The Pintesting:

After reviewing the recipe a few times, I started the rice before starting anything else. It looked like it wouldn’t take very long, as most Chinese food cooks quickly. It was a wise decision. Then I got the rest of the ingredients together.

Heat the oil in a medium pan and saute the garlic and ginger for a minute or so.

Add the soy sauce, water, and brown sugar.

Whisk it together and bring it to a boil for a couple of minutes to thicken.

While that’s starting to boil, thinly slice the flank steak on an angle, as the instructions say.

Then dip the steak slices in cornstarch. That’s a new one for me. I’ve always dredged in flour. I love learning something new!

By now the sauce will have boiled for a bit, so remove it from the heat.

Once all the meat is dusted with cornstarch, let it set for about 10 minutes while the oil in the Wok gets hot.

Cook the meat in batches since it will not all fit into the wok at once.

Cook it just until it browned, then remove it with a slotted spoon and drain it on paper towels. Once it’s all done, add the meat into the saucepan with the green onions and heat through.

I served it over the hot rice and with stir fried veggies.

The Pintesting Results:

Overall Rating: 4.15 Pins

Accuracy: The recipe execution was as the directions instructed, but most of the Mongolian Beef I’ve had at PF Chang’s and other Chinese restaurants had substantially more onions, both green and/or yellow. It tasted good, but it needed more onions to balance the sweetness of the sauce. 4 Pins

Difficulty: This recipe requires some knife skills in order to thinly slice the flank steak. Also, flash frying the meat in oil raises the level of danger to novice cooks. 3 Pins

Time: It took a little longer than I expected to get all of the steak slices dusted with the cornstarch, but start to finish it took about the same or less time than to send someone out to get Chinese take out – roughly 40 minutes. 5 Pins

Cost: The flank steak is about $10-$15 unless you can find it on sale. I debated including the cost of a wok since it’s not common to most kitchens (I have 2, but I don’t have a common kitchen). Since the recipe said you can use a skillet, I let that go. 4 Pins

Practicality: This is a good homemade alternative to Chinese take-out, and you don’t have to leave a tip. Although, the next time I make this, I’ll add the extra onions. 5 pins

Desserts, Food & Drink

Mini Peach Cobblers

Feb 18, 2013 by Anne Hernandez

My husband loves peach cobbler. It’s one of his all time favorite desserts. When I saw this pin for Mini Peach Cobblers, I knew I had to make it for him. I’m very fortunate and blessed to have such a wonderful man to call my husband, and love to spoil him in little ways like this. Much of my love comes from the kitchen. Last week he had a rough work day, so we had pan-seared scallops and steak for supper with steamed veggies and a Greek salad. On a Tuesday – just because. He felt the love.

My wonderful husband spoils me by cleaning the house. The man is gifted at cleaning. I mean, he puts Mr. Clean to shame. He can do in one hour what takes me all morning. So tell me, who wouldn’t make peach cobbler for the man who cleans? That ‘s what I thought. He was very excited about this pin test, so let’s get to it.

The original pin was by Melissa from Sugar Derby, who was guest posting on Alli’s blog, Alli-N-Son.

http://www.alli-n-son.com/2011/06/02/mini-peach-cobblers/

The Pintesting:

The ingredients called for a can of diced peaches. Melissa tells a funny story regarding this difficult-to-find ingredient, but I had no problem finding them at my grocer.

First I mixed the dry ingredients and combined with the milk until smooth. Melissa says to use a wooden spoon. I used a whisk and the results were perfect.

I added the melted butter to the muffin pans, then topped with the batter.

Next came the peaches, followed by a sprinkle of brown sugar and cinnamon.

The amount of brown sugar and cinnamon was omitted and left to the discretion of the cook. I did half with a lighter sprinkle and half with a heavy “sprinkle” to see if there would be a noticeable difference. We couldn’t taste a difference, but noticed that the cobblers with a more generous sprinkle were more nicely browned when baked.

I should note that the recipe yields 12 minis, but I had quite a bit of leftover melted butter and batter. I would recommend using 4-6 TBS of butter rather than the whole stick, and evenly divide up any additional batter.

I baked in a 350 degree pre-heated oven and set the timer for 12 minutes. Nothing was mentioned about using a convection oven, so I went with the conventional oven setting.

After 12 minutes the cobblers didn’t look quite done, so I gave them another 5 minutes. That seemed to do the trick.

The directions say to let them cool almost completely before removing from the pan. After about 10 minutes, the cobblers had shrunk a bit from the cooling.

Since it was a cold evening, we decided to test them with a cup of tea and skip the recommended ice cream. I’m sure it’s a delicious addition, but totally not necessary.

The Pintesting Results:

Overall Rating: 5 Pins

Accuracy: The recipe was easy to follow, and the blog post added clarity on the sprinkle question of the brown sugar and cinnamon. My husband, who considers himself a peach cobbler expert, said this was one of the very best he’d ever tasted. We both liked the light, crispiness and chewiness of the cobbler crust. It wasn’t doughy at all, which is his biggest pet peeve of cobblers. 5 pins

Difficulty: This was a very simple recipe. Perfect for a novice baker. 5 pins

Time: I found that it took about 5 minutes more than the time in the recipe, but it took roughly 10 minutes of prep time, 17 minutes of baking time, and 10 minutes of cooling. At just over half an hour, 5 pins.

Cost: The ingredients are common to most kitchens. I only had to pick up the can of diced peaches for less than $2.00. 5 pins.

Practicality: This makes a nice after school snack or week night dessert. The leftovers (if you have any) also make a yummy breakfast with a cup of coffee. 5 pins

Dip, Food & Drink

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip

Feb 17, 2013 by Anne Hernandez

In some ways I was very excited to test this pin. I mean, who doesn’t like Reese’s? (I know there are people who are horribly allergic to peanut butter, and I mean no disrespect.) I was bringing this to a potluck to honor a friend whose favorite candy was Reese’s, but more about that later. On to the test.

This is the original pin from Aimee of Shugary Sweets .

http://www.shugarysweets.com/2013/01/reeses-peanut-butter-cookie-dough-dip

The ingredients were easy to find – even the mini Reese’s.

Melt the butter and brown sugar in a pan over medium heat.

Whisk and bring to a boil.

Read the instructions and realize you were in a hurry and almost forgot the peanut butter.

Add peanut butter and vanilla to the boiling butter/brown sugar mixture.

Remove from heat and whisk to smooth it out.

The recipe says to cool to almost room temperature. So I set it aside while I mixed the cream cheese and powdered sugar.

After about 5 minutes I went to check the cooling peanut butter mixture… not what I expected.

The butter separated while it had cooled and no amount of mixing and whisking would bring it back together. Nothing was mentioned about this, so I carried on as if this was normal.

I added the peanut butter mixture to the cream cheese mixture. After a few minutes, it did seem to smooth out.

I added the chips and mini Reese’s cups. Can I say how thankful that I am to NOT have to unwrap and chop a bunch of full-sized candies? Thank you Hershey’s!

The dip seemed a bit soft, so I put it in the fridge to chill out while I got ready for the potluck.

After about 40 minutes, the consistency definitely improved. I put it into two containers and went to the event where it was served with graham crackers and Keebler Flip Sides pretzel crackers and got good reviews.

I think my friend would have liked this dip very much, however the potluck was a Celebration of Life so she wasn’t able to give a personal opinion. But she knew that my way to honor someone was with a home-made gift of love from my kitchen. So this one’s for you, JCC. We’ll always love and miss you.

The Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip rated as follows:

Overall Rating: 4 Pins

Accuracy: Much of the recipe came together very easily, as I had expected. However, the separating of the butter after the peanut butter mixture cooled was a bit unnerving – especially due to the nature of the event. My finished dip didn’t turn out quite as fluffy as the original picture, either. It tasted good, but 4 pins.

Difficulty: While not difficult, an inexperienced cook might have been put off by the butter separation and quit. (That’s the last I’m going to say about that subject.) 4 pins.

Time: Adding in the 40 minutes of chilling while I was getting ready, the dip came together in less than an hour. Good time for something tasty. 5 pins

Cost: I had everything on hand except the mini chocolate chips and mini Reese’s, which were less than $3.00 each. 5 pins

Practicality: This was tasty and would be a nice addition to any party table. 5 pins

Beverage, Food & Drink

Easy Breezy ~ White Wine Spritzer

Feb 14, 2013 by Anne Hernandez

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! It’s Love Day tomorrow! Yes, I do break into song just for the fun of it, but Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to sing and celebrate. I am very thankful to have a wonderful husband who is equally in love with me as I am with him. He has supported me, believed in me, and has taught me what unconditional love can look like in human form – even when I don’t feel very lovey or lovely. We’re approaching our 10-year wedding anniversary in a month, and I can say I understand the “cherished” part. I Love You, Tony!

So I saw this pin on Pinterest (which is how I start WAY too many of my conversations), and it seemed like the perfect Valentine’s drink. Only three ingredients. Just measure chilled ingredients, stir, and drink. That’s almost as easy as the “wash, rinse, repeat” directions on my shampoo bottle, and much tastier. I don’t recommend drinking shampoo, no matter what it smells like.

While I can see the simple beauty of only 3 ingredients, I think this picture from Nazra’s blog post (Make it, Bake it, Create it), with its beautiful pitcher, would have been a much better choice.

Nazra used Sprite Zero. I don’t do diet soda, so I went with regular Sprite.

Mix equal parts Moscato and Sprite in a pitcher. . .

. . . and stir with frozen raspberries.

It’s just that easy. Salud – you’re welcome. The frozen raspberries gave a lovely blush color to the spritzer. If you really want to go for

The frozen raspberries gave a lovely blush color to the spritzer. If you really want to go for a Valentine’s Day look, make this the day before and chill in the fridge overnight. The raspberries will lose much of their color, but the spritzer will be a pretty pink.

Overall Rating: 5 Pins

Accuracy: Nazra mentioned how the crispness of the Sprite would compliment the Moscato. She was right. Even my manly husband liked it.

Difficulty: With only three ingredients and nothing to do but stir, this is about as simple as you can get.

Time: Even if you bought the beverages at room temperature, it wouldn’t take long to chill them in the freezer or fridge.

Cost: The most expensive ingredient was the Moscato, which was between $5-$6.

Practicality: This makes a great party drink, whether entertaining a crowd or an intimate party for two.

Food & Drink, Soup

Tomato Tortellini Soup

Feb 14, 2013 by Anne Hernandez

Today is National Tortellini Day, hooray! I love a day to celebrate pasta and such a versatile one at that. Since I didn’t find out about this until I was at work for a couple of hours, I was thankful for the pinner who said of today’s recipe, Tomato Tortellini Soup, “apparently the best soup in the WORLD!” Challenge accepted. Let’s get cooking.

This was the original pin on my board. It originated from Krysten’s blog, Mrs. Schwartz’s Kitchen.

http://pinterest.com/pin/207869339022855635/

The Pintesting:

I did have to stop at the store after work to pick up a few ingredients, but nothing was out of the ordinary.

I sauteed the minced garlic in olive oil until it was sweating and just starting to brown,

then I added the rest of the ingredients except the tortellini and Parmesan cheese.

Let it come to a simmer then add the tortellini.

WARNING: your house is going to start smelling really amazing right about now. Do not give in to the urge to dive face first into the soup.

Cook for 8 minutes until the pasta is done, but not mushy. Stir frequently so the tortellini will cook evenly.

Garnish with Parmesan and serve to your hungry hubby or whoever you would like to feed. They will say “thank you”.

The Tomato Tortellini Soup rated as follows:

The Pintesting Results:

Overall Rating: 4.6 Pins

Accuracy: The recipe had a rich flavor reminiscent of something you would find in a nice Italian restaurant. My husband commented that the chopped sun-dried tomatoes gave an almost meaty texture, adding flavor but not acidity. Note: The recipe mentioned pepper, but none was listed in the ingredients, thus the 4 pins.

Difficulty: The hardest part of the recipe was chopping the oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. Messy, but easy.

Time: This is a good weeknight recipe. If you have everything on hand, you can have this on the table in 30 minutes or so. This includes the mincing, chopping, and grating.

Cost: I didn’t have all of the ingredients, but the grocery had everything needed (and much was on sale!). The most expensive ingredients were the oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes ($4) and the tortellini ($3.50).

Practicality: While we didn’t think it was “the best soup in the WORLD”, we did like it very much. It is good comfort food on a cold rainy day.

Food & Drink, Salads

Mexican Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

Feb 12, 2013 by Anne Hernandez

Like so many, I’m really trying to make an effort to eat better. Translation, eat more salads – especially ones that have more veggies, fruit and legumes. While strolling through Pinterest (does anyone else stroll through Pinterest?), I saw a pin that showed a blender with an avocado dressing recipe. I LOVE avocados. I was happy eating them sliced and sprinkled with a little kosher salt, but then my wonderful husband went and took it up a notch by making his guacamole. Talk about Holy Guacamole! Even people who don’t like the stuff love my Tony’s guac.

Sorry – sometimes I digress, then need to reign myself back in to the topic at hand.

When I clicked on the link, the recipe shown was different than the one in the comment of the pin. I thought Krista’s recipe for Mexican Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing sounded amazing and I had everything on hand, so went for it.

Here is the original pin that I posted from Pinterest.

THIS is picture from Krista’s blog, Krista’s Kitchen – I think it would have been a much better choice.

I gathered the ingredients for the dressing…

and the salad. (Note: I used grape tomatoes rather than slicing roma tomatoes, since I had the grape tomatoes on hand.)

The dressing was very easy to make. Krista mentions using a Cuisinart CSB-76 Smart Stick Hand Blender, but I used my regular blender instead.. All of the dressing ingredients went in.

Then they were blended until creamy and smooth. This didn’t take very long, which was very good since I had a hungry hubby to feed.

Next came the salad. I didn’t have corn chips, but I did have organic blue corn tortilla chips, so I substituted them so I wouldn’t have to make a trip to the store.

Krista used a big, lidded purple bowl to mix her salad in. Mine is green. I didn’t notice any difference. Once everything was in, I lidded the bowl and shook it to toss the ingredients together. (Sorry about the shadow in the picture. I’m working on the food photography.)

Once combined, I added the dressing then shook it up to coat evenly.

I served it with chicken enchiladas, but this could easily be a vegetarian meal on it’s own.

The Mexican Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing rated as follows:

Overall Rating: 5 Pins

Accuracy: The recipe came together just as Krista posted. The avocado dressing was creamy and delicious, with just a hint of heat to let you know it’s there.

Difficulty: Aside from my bowl being green rather than purple, I had no trouble with this recipe. It was very simple and the instructions were clear.

Time: Even with all the photography, the salad came together in about 15-20 minutes. This includes removing the avocado flesh, opening cans, etc.

Cost: I had everything on hand, but most kitchens might need a few items. None would be more than a few dollars.

Practicality: The recipe was a household hit. I could serve this at a pot luck, as a vegetarian meal, or as a side dish.

Mary Heidrich Realtor

recommends

August 22, 2024

A+ ADMINS is a great company. Anne and Tony are so knowledgeable and tech savvy ---- I am grateful to have met them and to work with them!

Jenny Ramirez

May 18, 2024

Anne is incredibly knowledgeable, organized and efficient. Anne has been an invaluable asset to my business, and I am grateful for her hard work and dedication. I highly recommend Anne and her team to any real estate professional looking for a top-notch support specialist. She will undoubtedly contribute to your success.

Robert Ferrera

December 28, 2023

My name is Lynne Ferrera with Public Title Services and Anne was our contact for the closing and she did an amazing job! I would absolutely refer her and hope to work with her again!

Jana Fonzo

September 5, 2023

Melissa Moore

July 13, 2023

Anne was a pleasure to work with, and provided excellent service and quick and timely responses to all the information I needed on this transaction. I look forward to working with her and A+ Admins again in the future. Thanks Anne!

Donna Bryant

April 5, 2023

Anne Hernandez and her team did an amazing job for me on a beautiful mailer to a specific neighborhood last week. I’ve already received a response! I highly recommend A+ for all of your Real Estate needs!

Brenda Straub Real Estate

March 6, 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Anthony (Tony) Hernandez just worked a major Miracle on my Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Website! Go-Daddy wanted to charge me $149 ($200 annually) for an SSL Certificate to make my Website secure. Who wants an unsecured Website? Right? Tony just fixed it immediately! Don't run your business without Tony and Anne Hernandez, (Excellent Transaction Coordinator), A+Admins! The Best in the Business! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5-Star Excellence!

Laura Lane Heidrich

January 20, 2023

Coldwell Banker Realty

I cannot say enough about my fellow Realtor and transaction coordinator here at Coldwell Banker Realty in Winter Park. Anne Hernandez and her company, A+ Admins, always deliver exceptional integrity and top-notch service. My clients continue to compliment A+ Admins' professionalism and availability, which we know to be truly invaluable as Realtors. As much as we love what we do, sometimes there is not enough time to fit it all in, but since using A+ Admins, I love my job even more! Anne works with many Realtors/clients from different real estate companies in Central Florida. I highly recommend you give A+ Admins a chance to allow you more time to build future client relationships.

Bruce Corn

January 18, 2023

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome! Always on top of everything and I never have to worry about dropping the ball.

December 19, 2022

Jodie Lutz

December 8, 2022

Working with Anne and Anthony Hernandez reminded me of that great song by Barbara Streisand "Putting It Together." Laid out in front of me were the pieces to rebrand my real estate business, a good foundation and hours of preparation but who would bring it to life. I was introduced to Anthony in a chance meeting, and I knew right away that he understood my vision. Both Anne and Anthony made a tremendous contribution to execute the rebrand. I now enjoy more time supporting sellers and buyers in my ever-expanding markets. Anne and Anthony, you put it together, and that's what counts. Let's keep going! Jodie Lutz, Realtor Coldwell Banker Realty

Patricia Jean-Francois

December 1, 2022

Heather Kelley

November 2, 2022

Anne was very professional and thorough throughout the entire process.

October 15, 2022

Working with Anne and Anthony Hernandez reminded me of that great song by Barbara Streisand "." Laid out in front of me were the pieces to rebrand my real estate business, a good foundation and hours of preparation but who would bring it to life. I was introduced to Anthony in a chance meeting, and I knew right away that he understood my vision. Both Anne and Anthony made a tremendous contribution to execute the rebrand. I now enjoy more time supporting sellers and buyers in my ever-expanding markets. Anne and Anthony, you put it together, and that's what counts. Let's keep going!

Tina M Christensen, Realtor, GRI

August 19, 2022

Need some work life balance? Bring in the A+Admins team! They have been lifesavers for me so I can be doing what I need to be doing; sharing my family legacy in making a difference and being a solution partner to my customers in finding their next business space or home. Thank you!

Stephanie Valdes

April 4, 2022

They were responsive & wonderful to work with. Having a TC that can work well with you is so important in this business & they were a pleasure to work with. Knowledge & sweet.

Brian Doehrman

February 15, 2022

I wanted to share that Anne with A+ Admins is absolutely amazing to work with. The whole process really started out in such a way that I really didn’t realize how good she was until it all played out. Anne messaged me one afternoon asking when was a good time to talk knowing I had an interest in creating a logo/brand for our business. I replied now is good and she quickly called me. It started with her asking a few very detailed questions but easy to answer as she got me to really think and I liked that. Everything from our business, my fiancé who is now with me at Coldwell Banker our Dog, and how I wanted it to not focus on me personally but on what we can do for our customers. Looking back, I think we were on the phone for close to an hour of a great conversation. In the end, she sent over a few things to do with our new logo and brand and we loved it. I recommend anybody that even just wants information to call Anne as you will likely have the same experience I did.

Dawn Taylor

November 23, 2021

Anne’s abilities, experience, knowledge, and skills in Administration, Marketing, and Social Media have improved my continued success and efficiency as a Realtor in Central Florida.

Christine Elias

June 8, 2021

Anne has been my assistant for a year and a half. She manages my transactions, marketing, CRM, and so much more!

Lana Watts

October 22, 2020

Thank you so much for listening to my vision, needs, and wants. I wanted a professional to create a marketing letter for me to help me with my business and also create a brand. She did both seamlessly. Working with her was a pleasure and her final project for my business was amazing.

Thank you for all that you do and I would recommend your services to anyone in the business profession.

Author: Anne Hernandez

The Pintesting:

The Pintesting Results:

The Pintesting:

The Pintesting:

The Pintesting Results:

The Pintesting:

The Pintesting Results:

Coldwell Banker Realty

Coldwell Banker Realty

Coldwell Banker Realty

Coldwell Banker Realty

Coldwell Banker Realty

Coldwell Banker Realty