Avocado Blue Cheese Dip

Last weekend I had some girlfriends over for movie night and made this dip. We devoured the bowl! This is a delicious dip, and during this season it is a great go-to recipe for those holiday parties!!

Avocado Blue Cheese Dip
From My Kitchen Affair
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 medium ripe avocado
2 Tbsp chopped onion
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper (to taste)

Directions:
Peel and core avocado, scooping insides into a food processor. Add onion and lemon juice.  Puree until smooth.
Add sour cream, blue cheese, salt and pepper. Continue to blend until smooth. Season again with salt and pepper to taste. Top with more blue cheese crumbles.
Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

Because of the avocado in this dip, I would not recommend making this until the day of your event.
I also served this with Town House Sea Salt and Olive Oil Flat Bread Crisps.  I highly suggest the same combination!
Enjoy!

Cheese Ball Pumpkins

Need a fun fall appetizer for Thanksgiving? Try these cheese balls! They will be a great hit!

Cheese Ball Pumpkins
Slightly Adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients:
1, 8 oz. container of Cheddar cold pack cheese (such as Merkt's)
Ritz Crackers
Pretzel Sticks
Flat Leaf Parsely

Directions:
Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
Chill container of cheese in the freezer for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is very firm, but not frozen.
Scoop out cheese with half a tablespoon, roll into balls and place on baking sheet.  Continue until the cheese is used up.
Replace cheese balls into freezer and chill for another 15 minutes or so, until firm.
Use a toothpick to draw the lines like a pumpkin into each ball.
Stick half a pretzel stick into each ball and place on a ritz cracker.  Top with pieces of parsley leaves.
Enjoy!

Merry Meet

Ever since I started (and finished) my once a month party challenge last year, I can't seem to stop planning little get togethers! I had this idea for awhile now to do a bloody mary buffet, so I decided now was as good a time as any. I invited the girls over for some appetizers and an appetizer in a glass! This would make a fun party with grillin season around the corner!

I made sure we had all the fixins....and an excuse to use my super cute veggie dishes!

I even used my dollar store mirror "vases" to create arrangements of lettuce, cabbage and artichokes.
We enjoyed mini caprese salads too!
My party wouldn't be complete without cookies! I made some to represent veggies and others inspired by the table cloth.
I wanted the "title theme" to be a play on "Mary" but didnt have much success. So I used a common Wiccan greeting, Merry Meet.
I also designed some subway-style art!
On each end of the table was a recipe for a Minnesota Mary or Wisconsin Mary (I'm originally from the real cheese state!)
Mmm...mmm....MMM! Appetizer in a glass!

March of the Penguins

I wanted to make a fun wintery appetizer for my family's holiday festivities. I had found a picture of these online, but I cant seem to find the original source. Check out these fun penguins!
Are they adorable or what?
They take a little time to make, but I think its totally worth the effort.
Ingredients:
1 can large or jumbo whole pitted black olives
1 can small whole pitted black olives
Carrots
Cream Cheese, softened
Toothpicks

Directions:
1. Peel and slice carrots into about 1/4 inch thick slices
2. Cut a small "pie slice" from the carrot slices, reserve all pieces
3. Take the large olives and cut a slit in them.
4. Using a pastry bag, pipe cream cheese into olives. This is what creates the white belly. I used a #12 tip.
5. Take a small olive, at the X in the bottom, put the "pie slice" of carrot in, creating a beak.
6. Stack small olive on top of large olive, and then on top of carrot slice that is missing the "pie piece".
7. Push toothpick through to secure. Admire the cuteness!!