Eerie Eyeball Pasta Salad

Happy October!  Happy Halloween!  I hope you like your food staring back at you, because I've got a spooky side dish that should scare the appetite right into you.  I realized a few weeks ago that October was coming in hot and I had nothing new to share with you that was pumpkin spiced, scary, fall-ish, or remotely Halloween-themed.  Thankfully Mr. Devilish Dish is a good sport, and albeit reluctantly, spent an entire Saturday watching football and golf, being fed an assortment of tricks and treats.  I had the "eyeball idea" and couldn't decide between using it for a spaghetti & meatballs type dish (which would be super cute also) or a pasta salad.  I opted for the pasta salad, knowing it is something that could easily be made ahead and ready to eat before an evening of trick or treating, or Halloween partying.  I served this as a spooky side dish, but you could definitely add some additional ingredients like cubed salami or pepperoni, or even grilled chicken and serve it as a meal.  I kept the ingredients super simple, with just grape tomatoes and cucumbers, but feel free to add carrots, artichoke hearts, more olives, onions or anything else your Halloween heart desires.  Just don't forget the mozzarella "eyeballs" or it won't be eerie.

This turned out to be so much fun.

The ingredients.  Feel free to add your favorite
meats or veggies to create your favorite pasta
salad combination.

I used a tiny pumpkin cookie cutter to cut
my cucumber slices into tiny pumpkins.

Combine the halved tomatoes,
cucumber slices and the cooled cooked
pasta in a large bowl.

Add your favorite Italian salad dressing.
(You may not need the whole bottle)
Toss, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, toss the ingredients one
more time and scatter your mozzarella eyeballs
around the top of the salad.

So fun and cute!

I served my salad on the side of 
some Mummy Hot Dogs.

EERIE EYEBALL PASTA SALAD

1 (12 ounce) box Fusilli pasta (I got the tri-color so some would be orange and green)

1 container grape tomatoes, halved
1 English cucumber, peeled and sliced

1 bottle of your favorite Italian salad dressing

1 container Bocconcini (small Mozzarella cheese balls)
1 small can sliced black olives

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, drain and cool.  Add the grape tomatoes, cucumbers and salad dressing.  (You may not need the entire bottle - just get a good coating.) Combine, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  

Prior to serving, drain the liquid from both the mozzarella balls, and the black olives.  Using the end of a wooden spoon, CAREFULLY make an indention into the mozzarella ball and insert a sliced black olive into the indention to create eyeball.  Continue until you've used all of your mozzarella balls.  Toss the pasta salad together one more time, and place the eyeballs all around the top of your pasta salad. Serve and enjoy.

New York Style Cheesecake

I started this blog in 2011.  On and off I've shared recipes and such with you all these years.  Now I married Mr. Devilish Dish in 1994.  This has been his chosen Birthday Cake in all of those years of marriage.  If you do the math that means I've made him 31 of these cakes.  Give or take a couple of years.  Plus all of the times I've made it for Little Devil and the Devilish Nephew, because they too request this for their birthday every year.  That means I've probably made this cake AT LEAST 50 times, and I've been sharing recipes with you all for 14 YEARS, and I've never shared this!  What the heck?!? This is truly our family recipe.  There is nothing fancy about it.  No "turtle business." No chocolate sauce.  No swirls of any kind.  Just a PLAIN 'OL New York Cheesecake.  It is creamy and decadent and the texture is to die for.  Sometimes I'll serve it with a raspberry coulis because the kids like it that way, but honestly it needs nothing.  It's just a handful of ingredients, baked the traditional way and results in a beautifully textured dream.  Over the years I've had mixed results with the top cracking.  When we were first married we had a gas oven and those were the years of the best cheesecakes.  Until recently we had a series of subpar electric ovens and usually had cracked cheesecakes. Don't get me wrong, they still taste absolutely fabulous, but I want perfection.  We recently replaced our electric stove and oven with a gas stove, so I was anxious for Mr. Devilish Dish's birthday to get here, to test out this recipe again.  Perfection!  One tip I will say, after years of trial and error is to follow the recipe exactly - ESPECIALLY the part about cooling it in the oven with the heat turned off.  AND I used a wooden spoon to prop the oven door open.  I've read this is the best way to prevent cracking.  If it cracks? Who cares.  You can hide that with raspberry sauce!

A true Family Favorite!

The perfect top! No Cracks!

This is thick and indulgent
and soooo good.

Just look at that perfect texture.

No wonder the whole family requests
this for their birthday cake.

THE BEST NEW YORK STYLE CHEESECAKE

For the Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Place the crumbs in a bowl and stir in melted butter and sugar.  Mix well.  Press into the base of a Springform pan, making sure the mixture is tightly-packed and even across the base of the pan.

(NOTE: We prefer a thinner base/less crust ratio at our house, so sometimes I don't use all of this mixture.  I also do not press the crumbs up the sides of the pan.  How much you use is up to you.  We just enjoy the flavor of the cake so much, we prefer less crumbs.)

For the Cake:

2 pounds plain cream cheese
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (if you like the look of the specks)
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup whole sour cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  In a large bowl by hand or bowl of a stand mixer: Beat together the cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth and light. 

Beat in the eggs, vanilla and cornstarch until thoroughly mixed.  Stir in the sour cream until everything is well blended.  Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and bake for 45 minutes.  Turn the oven off, prop the oven door open slightly with a wooden spoon and allow the cake to cool in the oven (with the door propped open) for 3 hours.  Remove, cover and chill overnight.

Halloween Fruit Char-BOO-terie Board

I was working on blog stuff the other day and it dawned on me that September was nearly over and that I had very little "Halloween-y" stuff to post about for the month of October.  Fortunately my Oklahoma Sooners football team had a bye week.  If you know me, then you know our entire Fall revolves around tailgating and football.  So a bye week is a true gift, where I get a break from tailgating prep and actually have some time to get other things done.  Now don't get me wrong, there was no rest for the weary around here this past weekend.  We went to a concert on Friday night AND Sunday night.  You know how much Mr. Devilish Dish and I enjoy live music.  But don't think just because the Oklahoma Sooners weren't playing that he didn't watch football all day long on Saturday.  When I asked what he had planned for Saturday he replied, "I'm watching the Ryder Cup Golf Tournament and about 400 football games on the patio." To which I said, "Great!  I'll make you some snacks but it won't be buffalo wings and queso.  It's gonna be Halloween-themed treats for my blog for the month of October."  So I spent my day in and out of the kitchen creating, taking pictures and snacking with him on the patio.  It was actually kind of funny to see his face when I brought these things out.  You'll see in upcoming posts all of the silly things I came up with.  All of them are super cute, and while they're all fun and appropriate for any kind of Halloween meal or party, a lot of them would be ideal for kids.  And my Littlest Tiny Devils are all the way in Colorado, so I served all of these juvenile snacks to my beer drinking, football watching husband.  He just laughed and was a great sport about the entire thing, as he is a huge part of the Devilish Dish, and always supportive.  Which just proves that ANY of these spooky snack ideas are perfect for kids and adults alike!

This little fruit Char-BOO-terie Board
so was fun to create. 
 I actually took this to a breakfast tailgate
that happened to fall on October 31st a
couple of years ago.  
We have a lot of kids at our tailgate
and I knew this would be a huge hit.  

HALLOWEEN FRUIT CHAR-BOO-TERIE BOARD

For this board you will need:

Mini Oranges -peeled (like Cuties or Mandarin Oranges)
Celery sticks - cut into small pieces to create the "pumpkin stems"
Bananas - peeled and cut into halves to create the "ghosts"
Purple icing for ghost faces
Green apples - cut into wedges
Creamy Peanut Butter
Mini Marshmallows
More celery sticks
Candy Eyes and Halloween Sprinkles
Mini Skewers
Cantaloupe cubes
Blackberries

Peel the oranges and use small pieces of celery to create the pumpkins.

Cut the bananas in half and make ghost faces with purple icing.

Spread creamy peanut butter onto an apple wedge and prop another apple wedge over it - slightly offset to create a "mouth."  Stick the mini marshmallows to the peanut butter to look like teeth.  Apply candy eyes with a drop of peanut butter or purple icing.

Spread peanut butter onto celery sticks and decorate with Halloween Sprinkles and Candy Eyes.

Alternate the Orange Cantaloupe cubes and Blackberries onto mini skewers for a pop of Halloween color.

Copycat Texas Roadhouse Green Beans - It's Southern Food Heritage Day

 I'm going to be honest.  I've never tried the green beans at Texas Roadhouse.  So I cannot vouch if these are an authentic copycat or not.  Because I fill up on rolls and cinnamon honey butter and then I don't even want a side dish when I eat there.  I can say this is a very good green bean recipe, and I love that takes canned green beans and doctors them up.  Like my Macaroni & Cheese recipe, this one always gets compliments. It is one of my favorite side dishes, and if I need to transport it to a tailgate or other event, I simply keep those green beans warm in the crockpot.  Honestly the hardest part of the recipe is chopping up and separating the little pieces of bacon.  My complaint is probably based on the fact that I usually double, triple or even quadruple this recipe - especially if I'm making it at Thanksgiving or tailgate.  That's a lot of bacon to fiddle with.  But sometimes I pass those boring jobs off to Mr. Devilish Dish.  Regardless of who deals with the bacon, it is worth the effort for this recipe because aside from the fresh-snapped green beans at Grandmother's house from my childhood, this is my favorite green bean recipe to use now.  It's the perfect combination of sweet & tangy and they taste exactly like you'd expect a good 'ol Southern version of green beans to taste. 

These are a true Southern side dish!

I love that this recipe is just canned
green beans all doctored up with 
good flavors.

The bacon chopping and separating is 
the most tedious part.

Once your bacon is cooked and 
crispy, add the diced onions and 
get them softened.

Add all of the other ingredients and
simmer over low for 10 minutes.
So Easy.

COPYCAT TEXAS ROADHOUSE GREEN BEANS

6 sliced bacon, chopped
1/2 cup diced white onion
2 (16 ounce) cans green beans, drained
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
salt & pepper to taste

In a large skillet that has a lid (or Dutch Oven if you are multiplying the recipe) add the chopped bacon to a hot pan and cook until the bacon is just starting to get crispy.  When the bacon is crisp, add the diced onion and cook until the onion is softened, approximately 5 minutes.  Once the onions have softened, add the drained green beans, chicken broth, garlic, butter, vinegar and sugar.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir to combine and reduce the heat under the pan to low.  Cover with the lid and simmer until the green beans are hot and tender, approximately 10 minutes.  

Pumpkin Spice Pretzels

I know I've confessed to you before I'm not a pumpkin spice person.  I love just about everything else associated with this time of year, including football, pumpkins, haunted houses, Halloween candy, fall leaves, apple cider and eventually cooler weather.  Back to number one on that list: Football.  I'm constantly looking for new ideas for tailgating snacks and it's even easier knowing I am in the minority of folks that don't like pumpkin spice.  Just about everyone else I know loves it, and the Browned Butter Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats are a tailgate staple.  I knew right away this recipe would be a hit, and surprisingly I actually enjoyed them too!  They aren't too strongly spiced, and the sugar, combined with the little bit of salt on the pretzels makes the perfect combination.  The best part is the recipe is literally 4 ingredients making it a quick and easy snack to throw together.  I even whipped up a batch in little bags to give away to some friends.  Ideal if you need a fall hostess gift, co-worker treat, or something fast as simple for a fall bake sale.  I will definitely be making these often, and next time I plan to double the batch so I can fill my football-bowl right to the top!

A fun and flavorful Fall treat.

Only 4 ingredients

Whisk together coconut oil, sugar
and pumpkin spice.

Add a bag of pretzels, tossing
carefully to coat.

Spread onto a foil-lined baking tray.

Once they are baked, allow to cool
completely.  The sugar will dry into a 
lovely frosty coating.

Fall flavor in the perfect snacking bite!

Great for tailgates, hay rides,
and snacking while
watching scary movies.

These are great bagged up for little
hostess gifts, trick or treating
or a fall bake sale!

Enjoy the flavors of fall in
an easy to make treat.

PUMPKIN SPICE PRETZELS

1 cup coconut oil (melt in the microwave for a few seconds if necessary)
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons pumpkin spice seasoning
1 bag pretzels

In a large bowl whisk together the coconut oil, sugar, and pumpkin spice until well combined.  Add the pretzels and toss carefully so they don't break.  Make sure they are well coated with the mixture.  Place the pretzels on a foil lined baking tray and place in a preheated 350 degree F oven.  Bake for 5 minutes, stir and then bake another 5 minutes.  Remove from oven, carefully stir once more and allow pretzels to cool completely.  The sugar will dry on them and create a beautiful frosty, flavorful coating.  Enjoy!

The Best Macaroni & Cheese in the Slow Cooker! - It's National Noodle Day

I have worn this recipe out already this year.  I think I've made at least two double-batches in the last month or so.  I served it back in August for my Dad's Birthday FISH FRY, and I made it a couple of weeks ago for our BBQ-themed tailgate.  I made a double batch in my huge Kitchen Aid Slow Cooker.  And when I do that it is filled to the brim.  When I took this to tailgate I don't even think there was a single piece a macaroni stuck to the side.  When I say the entire double batch was absolutely demolished, I'm serious.  When I saw that today was National Noodle Day,  I figured this was the perfect time to share this recipe.  Macaroni is the original American noodle after all.  Just ask Yankee Doodle.  I'm not a fan of macaroni and cheese that is baked in a casserole dish and topped with bread crumbs.  I want an ooey-gooey cheesy mac and cheese and this one checks all the boxes.  It was hearty, creamy and very cheesy.  The bonus is the slow cooker does most of the work, making it the ideal side dish for any kind of get-together.

Our favorite Mac & Cheese Recipe.

 

The ingredients. 
It's easy because the crockpot
does most of the work.

Once your noodles are cooked 
and drained, you just start dumping
in the ingredients.

And when I say dump them in, 
I mean literally.

Now your slow cooker
does the work for you.

This is the best, and easiest side dish.
We love it with green beans and a protein,
and it's the hit of tailgate for those BBQ games! 

SLOW COOKER MACARONI & CHEESE

16 ounces small dried macaroni
1/2 cup pasta water, reserved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 jar Alfredo sauce (I just buy whatever is on sale - not a huge jar)
2 cups whole milk
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Colby-jack or cheddar cheese, or a mix of the two
8 ounces Velveeta, cut into cubes
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
salt & pepper to taste


Boil the macaroni noodles for two minutes less than the package directions.  You want these to be on the hard side of al dente.  Be sure to save 1/2 cup of the pasta water.  Drain the noodles and dump them into a greased crockpot.  Stir in butter while the noodles are hot to prevent them sticking together.  Add the pasta water, alfredo sauce, milk, sour cream, shredded cheese, Velveeta and spices.  Stir together and cook for 2-3 hours on the lowest setting, stirring every once in a while.  

NOTE: Keep an eye on your crockpot so it stays VERY LOW or this will dry out.  It's still good, but not as good as when it is cooked correctly and eaten timely.  I have even kept this on the warm setting, rather than low to keep it at its premium.

Taquito Enchiladas

 I love to cook, and I love to cook from scratch.  I've been known to grow my own herbs, dry them, use them to make my own ranch dressing mix and then prepare said mix into fresh ranch dressing.  It's very rewarding to start with some seeds in the early spring and end up with a fresh homegrown salad topped with homemade dressing.  You know what else is rewarding?  Spending the day catching a big fish.  Spending the day hitting golf balls.  Spending the day sitting on my patio enjoying a cold beverage or reading a good book.  On those days I am the complete opposite of homegrown and homemade.  Those days are made for recipes like Busy Day Casserole or  Slow Cooker Mississippi Meatball Subs. This is another one of those recipes, perfect for a busy day, or a school night (school has started back - ugh) Literally 4 ingredients, about 5 minutes of prep work and 40 minutes in the oven for a hearty meal that is surprisingly delicious.  I'll have to admit Mr. Devilish Dish was slightly skeptical when he saw me buying canned chili.  (The HORROR - as he makes his own award winning version.)  I said, "Trust me on this, we aren't going to the trouble of making a batch of chili from scratch to pour over frozen taquitos." Not that I don't love his chili, but this recipe didn't need it.  The canned worked just as well and the point of this whole recipe is EASE.  Try this one soon when you need a night off from the kitchen.

Hot, bubbly, and most importantly
only 4 ingredients and super easy.

Line a greased baking dish with frozen taquitos.

Add chili and spread to cover taquitos.

Next add the can of enchilada sauce.

Cover with the package of cheese.

 I like to serve this with a chopped lettuce and 
tomato salad and salsa.  That's what my mom
always served with Mexican casseroles.

TAQUITO ENCHILADAS

1 Package Frozen Taquitos (Approximately 20) Your choice - we used the beef style in corn tortillas (they were the skinnier ones and turned out great)

1 (15.8 oz) Can Chili (We used Wolf Brand - beans/no beans your choice)

1 (15 oz) Can Red Enchilada Sauce

1 (8 oz) Package Shredded Cheese (Mexican, Cheddar, Colby Jack - any is fine)

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.  Place the frozen taquitos in the baking dish.  (Mine wound up kind of stacked which was okay because I was using the skinnier ones.  If you have thicker taquitos, go for a single layer.)  Spread the can of chili evenly over the taquitos.  Pour the can of enchilada sauce over the chili layer.  Top with the package of shredded cheese.  Bake in the oven for approximately 40 minutes or until the taquitos are cooked through, the casserole is bubbly, and the cheese is melted.