Monday, March 21, 2011

Guy Party Recipes

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It’s no secret that I love dips {insert obligatory husband joke here}, so I was all over the opportunity to prepare the dips for our Guy Party.

To keep things simple while adding variety, Kim and I decided to provide a selection of mustards to use as dips for soft pretzels and also as spreads for the pretzel sandwiches.  Additionally, we made up a couple of salsas for chip dipping and some awesome seasoned popcorn.

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It only takes a few simple ingredients to make some tasty mustard dips, and you probably already have most of them in your fridge & pantry.  I used this horseradish mustard recipe which was so fantastic my husband has requested a second batch, and a beer mustard recipe which received only mediocre reviews so I won't post the link (just keeping it real, yo). 

I enlisted my brother to help me use ingredients I had on hand to whip up the following mustards.  The honey mustard is a basic recipe if you like a sweet mustard, and the creole mustard was hands-down mine and Kim’s favorite.

Uncle Rod’s Super Simple Honey Mustard Dip

3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 dash white pepper (add more to taste)

Whisk all ingredients together.  Chill in refrigerator before serving. (Overnight is best.)

Easy Creole Mustard Dip

3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon prepared spicy brown mustard
1 teaspoon creole seasoning mix (I used Tony Chachere’s)
1 generous dash pepper
1 splash lemon juice

Whisk all ingredients together.  Chill in refrigerator before serving.  (Overnight is best.)


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This is a basic fresh salsa that can be prepared in a jiffy, and it’s great if you need a side dish to take to a bar-b-q or picnic.  I promise there won’t be any leftovers.

Fresh Orange Salsa

3 roma tomatoes (seeds and innards removed)
1/2 red onion
1 small bunch cilantro (I totally eyeball this)
Juice from 1/2 medium or large orange (add more to taste)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Dice tomatoes, onion, and cilantro.  Add sugar and salt, and toss all ingredients with orange juice.  Chill before serving.

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This popcorn seasoning is so flavorful and scrumptious, the possibilities for using it are endless.  It has a nice smoky bar-b-q flavor and the slightest hint of sweet.

Tim’s Popcorn Seasoning

This will make a lot of seasoning, but don't worry it's good on lots of stuff besides popcorn.  We also love homemade french fries with this seasoning mix.

1/2 c. paprika
1/2 c. chili powder
2 tbs onion powder
1 tbs garlic powder
2 tbs mustard powder
3 tsp salt
3 tsp black pepper
1/2 c. sugar (we like to use stevia or Splenda instead, just use a little since it's sweeter)

Mix together and keep in an airtight container.  We use spray butter or margarine on air popped corn first, and then sprinkle on the seasoning.