THE REST OF THE OLYMPIC STORY

This is where the flavors of the world started to unite...

Carmelized French Onion Dip

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoons butter

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

½ teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt, divided

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided

1 (16 oz.) container sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Potato chips

Melt butter in skillet on med-high; add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes or until browned and tender.  Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper and 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar.  Combine. Remove from heat and let stand 30 minutes.

Stir together onions, sour cream, and chives in a medium bowl.  Stir remaining salt and pepper.  Cover and chill 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

Serve with potato chips or crudite.

Spanich Gazpacho

4 (14.5 oz. ea.) cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic & oregano;

including juice

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

½ small red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 medium cucumber, peeled seeded and chopped

2 large cloves, minced and mashed to paste with ¾ t. salt

3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar, or to taste

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons Worchestershire Sauce

½ teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Tomato juice or water for thinning soup

Puree all ingredients in a blender.  Chill very well before serving.  Overnight is best.

When serving, adjust seasonings and thin a little with water or tomato juice if you want.  Garnish with diced veggies, croutons or a dollop of sour cream.

From our neighboring country to the South...

Enchilada Tacos

3-4 cups shredded chicken

(rotisserie chickens work great!)

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed, optional

1 cup frozen corn, optional

1 ½ cup sour cream

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 small can diced green chilies

1 jalapeno, finely diced

or

½ small can diced jalapenos (or more), drained

2 green onions, chopped

½ cup salsa verde, optional

2 cups shredded cheese

Additional cheese for top

Mix ingredients together, except for ½ cup cheese.

Put in a pie dish or 8 x 8 baking dish.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes,

until hot and bubbly and beginning to brown slightly.

(Also works well in a small crock pot on low.)

Serve in warmed flour tortillas or  makes a great warm dip with tortilla chips.

For an Oriental flavor...

 My mom and I have done a Chicken Salad Wrap Bar for several parties.  Our guests always love them.  The following recipe is a quicker, easier version of that idea.  

Oriental Chicken Salad Wraps

4 cups cooked or grilled chicken, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

1 cup peas

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1 can water  chestnuts, chopped

4 tablespoons chopped cilantro, optional

1 cup sliced almonds or peanuts

2 cups cooked rice

1 cup Chinese Salad Dressing

Bibb lettuce leaves

Mix ingredients together (Except dressing and lettuce) and microwave for 2 minutes.  Add dressing. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into lettuce leaves.  Can serve warm or at room temperature.  

Garnish with:

Marinated Cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped.  Add 2 T. rick wine vinegar, 2 T. water, 2 T. sugar and 1/4 t. salt.  Let set for at least an hour.)

Finely shredded cabbage 

Finely shredded carrot

A party is simply not a party without little hotdogs!  It is an All-American Favorite.  If I make these for a party they are one of the first things gone.  It is by no means an original or new idea...just a fav!

I have just wrapped store bought crescent dough and wrapped it around "Little Smokies".  I bake them according to the package directions on the crescent dough.  I love to stand them up with a skewer or skewer them and  place them in a shot glass with a little mustard in the bottom.

And last but certainly not least...my last world flavor is Italian...

This is a  treat my neighbor shared with us...I would like to thank her again!  Italian Ice is a mixture of pellet ice, a little cream, club soda and flavored drink syrups.  The kids love them.  We bought our syrup flavors at "Smart and Final" but I hear "Bevmo" has great flavors too! There are so many colors and flavors that any there is a drink to match any theme.  We used the colors of the Olympic Rings for this party.  They looked great!

I also found this "Olympic Medal Tracker" it was a free download I found online.  I LOVE FREE DOWNLOADS!  Thank You!

Happy Olympic Watching everyone...any excuse to party!  :)