Avocado Pesto

A few years ago my mom made an avocado pesto that was delicious. I started looking for avocado pesto recipe with ingredients I had at home and found this one. It's a great sauce that is very easy to make. I call it a pesto only because it has some of the classic pesto ingredients, but it won't be exactly like a traditional pesto in flavor. It can also be used in many different ways. You can use is for a pasta, as a dip with veggies, or as a sandwich condiment. I am sure there are many more possibilities I haven't thought of. You could add grated Parmesan to the recipe too if  you'd like but I enjoyed keeping this a little bit lighter.

Pin It Now!

5 Layer Dip

Five layer dip is one of those tried and tested appetizers that I have loved for decades. You can easily put your own spin on it by adding additional items (I sometimes like to add black olives) and adjusting the amount of each layer to meet your preferences. I tend to love a lot of guacamole and sour cream, but I kept the ratios a little more traditional in this recipe. This is a very easy dip to whip together, and you can cheat by using pre-made guacamole to make it even simpler.

Pin It Now!

Grilled Steak with Avocado Salad

I've been visiting my family and friends back at home this past month and have been on an avocado kick the whole time. We're lucky to have readily available, delicious avocados here in California, so I've been taking advantage of it. I can't even count how many times I've made guacamole or sliced avocado into a salad. The other week I was flipping through the pages of Sunset magazine and came across this steak recipe. It looked delicious and luckily I had almost everything at home to try it out (I used yellow onion instead or red onion for the sake of not going to the grocery store).

I ended up loving this recipe and didn't do the best job of sharing the avocado salad. Sadly, I didn't have any tortillas at home, but this would be delicious wrapped in a warm tortilla. If you're not a fan of red or yellow onions, you could always use scallions instead since they have a milder flavor, which I sometimes prefer. This is a great dish to make for any kind of summer barbecue, whether it's for a few people or if you increase the recipe and make it for guests.

Pin It Now!

Tuna Tartare with Avocado

I remember being grossed out by anything with the word "tartare" in it when I was younger. I refused believe that raw meat or fish could be good on its own. I loved sushi, but the rice and seaweed covered the raw fish, making it slightly less obvious, and for a long time I stuck to veggie rolls. When I was visiting my mom and dad quite a few years ago, my mom made this as a little happy hour snack and I ended up loving it. I remember not wanting any dinner afterwards since my snack turned into a meal.

I love the addition of avocado in this recipe. It not only adds flavor, but it seems to almost bind the flavors to the tuna. If you like tuna and can find fresh seafood, I definitely recommend this recipe. It's my favorite tuna tartare, even when I compare it to ones I have had at restaurants. Make sure you eat this all the day you make it since it will not stay fresh overnight. Also, serve this with any cracker you enjoy that isn't too flimsy.

Pin It Now!

Guacamole

 
I realize that most people have their own interpretation of guacamole, and that everyone consideres different ingredients as essential or not necessary. I thought I'd share my version of guacamole that my mom has been using for years. A trick that I learned from a friend last year is to add a little bit of cumin to guacamole, and I have been making it that way ever since. This version of guacamole a little chunky since I use tomatoes, and it tastes great. I can eat it by the bowlful and am even guilty of licking out the leftovers from bowls.

What I love about this is that you can use all sorts of dipping devices, not just tortilla chips, and make a healthy appetizer. I usually serve this with cut up carrots and cucumbers if I want to snack on something nutritious. If you want to prepare guacamole ahead of time, save the pit from one of the avocados and add it to the finished product. If you threw the pit away, you can cover it with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic lays directly on the guacamole. Serves this as an appetizer, or as an accompaniment to a main dish, like tacos or quesedillas.

Pin It Now!

Grilled Chicken and Corn Salad

 
This weekend, the weather in Denver took it easy and stopped the nightly thundershowers for 2 evenings. This meant that grilling season was once again open, but it also meant there was no break from the 90+ºF heat. Since I'm not usually all that hungry in hot, muggy weather, I thought it would be nice to make a filling salad for dinner. I wanted something with some protein, but didn't feel like anything heavy.

My mom recently brought over the August edition of Real Simple magazine and it is filled with great salad ideas. Although I make salad often, I have never experimented with the types of salad dressing in the magazine. In this grilled chicken and corn salad, the dressing relies on rosemary for flavor, which is not an herb I typically think of putting into a salad. There's also a strong garlic flavor to accompany the rosemary, so for me, it was a great dish. I usually stick with basil, cilantro, or parsley to flavor a salad dressing, but I love this variation. If you're not into garlic flavors, cut back on the amount of garlic cloves you use. Also, if you don't feel like grilling meat, you could pull apart half a rotisserie chicken and the salad would still be good.

Pin It Now!