Movie Night

Hope you enjoyed today's show! We had a blast coming up with these recipes. Try our twist on some of your favorite movie theatre snacks, and see if you won't want your next movie night to be in your own living room!

Monster Nachos
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 lb. Mexican chorizo
1 lg. can refried black beans
1 pkt. Goya Sazon seasoning packet
16 oz. pkg. Velveeta
1 (4 oz.) can green chilies
Salsa, to taste
Sour cream, to taste
Black olives, sliced, to taste
1 Haas avocado
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Grown-up helper: Cook chorizo in sauté pan for approximately 10 minutes. Drain on paper towel. Season chicken with Southwestern seasoning. Grill chicken breasts (approximately 10 minutes per side for thicker breasts). Slice chicken in thin slices (similar to fajitas).

Mini-chef: Microwave refried beans with packet of Goya seasoning mixed in for 5-6 minutes. Meanwhile, using a kid-safe knife, cut Velveeta into cubes and place in bowl. Add 4 oz. can of chopped green chilies to bowl. Microwave cheese mixture one minute and stir. Repeat process three more times (for a total of 4 minutes in the microwave).

Layer chips on platter. With the help of your grown-up helper, spoon refried beans onto chips. Pour melted cheese mixture over beans. Sprinkle chorizo and sliced chicken on top.

Top with salsa, sour cream, and black olives, to taste. Have grown-up helper peel and slice avocado. Place avocado slices on top of nachos. Top with grated cheddar cheese.


Jell-O Popcorn
1 c. white corn syrup
1 c. sugar
2 small pkgs. Jell-O, your flavor preference (enough for 8 servings)
1 bag popped popcorn, light butter flavor

Pour popcorn onto a baking sheet or stone cool. Mix corn syrup, sugar, and Jell-O in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring after each 30 second (to 1 minute) interval. Have grown-up helper pour Jell-O mixture over popcorn. Bake at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool completely.


Stuffed Pretzels
1 can refrigerated pizza dough, thin crust style
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
¼ c. sugar
2 heaping Tablespoons strawberry preserves
Melted butter
Cinnamon
Brown sugar

Cut pizza dough lengthwise into three strips. Mix cream cheese, sugar, and strawberry preserves. Place cream cheese mixture in plastic sandwich bag, seal, and cut small slit in corner of sandwich bag. Squeeze line of cream cheese mixture down the center of each pizza dough strip. Overlap sides of dough slightly, and pinch seams down the length of each dough strip, creating on long “rope” of filled dough. Bring each end around, as if forming a heart. Overlap, strip ends, and twist, bringing ends to a rest at the bottom end of the pretzel. Press slightly, being careful not to cause cream cheese mixture to squeeze out. Baste pretzels with melted butter. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon, to taste, on top of pretzel. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown.

A Little Guacamole for You!

Hola! This weekend, we had some culinary adventures with avocados, plantains, and homemade doughnuts. There was a LOT of playtime for us in the kitchen, and the recipe we wanted to share with you today was loads of fun to make!


We find that letting the kids out of the cart in the produce section of the grocery store means we come home with a HUGE variety of fruits and vegetables. It also means the kids are open to trying new things because they helped choose what went into the cart! This week, we came home with apples, strawberries, bananas, plantains, grapes, mango, kiwi, avocados, pineapple, blueberries, green onions, several colors of bell peppers, mushrooms, etc. It's made for a fun week.


Last night, we decided to break out the avocados and make some guacamole! The recipe we came up with is below, and let me tell you! Mommy (that's me!) has REALLY enjoyed it! Hope you like it!


Guacamole


2 avocados
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. sour cream
1/2 c. tomato salsa (your favorite brand)
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. dried cilantro


Have your grown-up helper cut a line around the avocado. Twist the avocado to remove one half. Have the grown-up helper place the knife, sharp side down on the large avocado seed and bang the knife gently to stick in seed. Twist the knife gently to remove the seed from the avocado. Using a spoon, remove the soft, green flesh of the avocado from the avocado peel.


In a medium size glass bowl, mash the avocado using a potato masher. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with spoon until fully incorporated! Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!


***Tip: We suggest using juice from fresh fruit, but you can use bottle lemon juice, if desired. Additionally, if you have not lemon juice on hand, you can substitute lime juice. you will notice a slight change in flavor, but the guacamole still has a delicious flavor to it.


***Tip: You may use fresh cilantro instead of dried. We actually prefer the fresh, but dried is what we had on hand!