Mexican Layered Dip

Ingredients:
1 16-oz. (450 grams) cann of Refreied Beans
1 mixture of Taco Seasoning (see recipe bellow)
4-oz. (220 grams) Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Salasa (tomato based); click here for my personal recipe: Texas Salsa
2 Cups shredded Iceberg Lettuce
1/2 Cup chopped Tomato
1 Cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Green Onion, chopped
1/4 Cup chopped olives (I used Green Olives in this recipe, but Black Olives are best)
1 Dinner Plate
Tortilla Chips

Directions:
On one normal-sized Dinner Plate, spread the Refreied Beans. Sprinkle the Taco Seasoning onto the Refreied Beans. Spread the Sour Cream over the Refreied Beans and Taco Seasoning. Gently spread the Salsa over the Sour Cream. Sprinkle the Lettuce over the Salsa, and then sprinkle the shredded Cheese, Green Onions, and Olives, respectivly (ending with Olives). Scoop the dip up with Tortilla chips.

This is best if made one day ahead to let the Taco Seasoning flavors set in. But, it can also be eaten right away.

Taco Seasoning:
1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
1/4 teaspoon ground Cumin
1/4 teaspoon Cayan Pepper
1/8 teaspoon Salt

Directions:
Mix all spices and Salt together in a small bowl.

Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:
6 Eggs, hard-boiled
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon Chili Powder
1/4 Cup Bacon chuncks and drippings

Directions:
De-sheel the Eggs, and vertically cut in half. Remove the yolks to a seperate bowl, careful not to break the white part. In a skillet, fry up the bacon peices. In the seperate bowl, mash the Egg Yolks, and mash-in Mayonnaise, Chili Powder, and Bacon. Re-stuff the Egg Whites with with mixtzre, and serve.

Salad Deliziosa

Ingredients:
6 Artichoke Hearts (canned; in water), quartered
6 Palm Hearts (canned; in water), chopped
1 Avocado, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 head Romain heart Lettuce, chopped
juice of 2 Lemons
4 tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 large heads of Endive (make sure it is in season, or it may be very bitter tasting)

Directions:
Place the first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, mix together Lemon juice, Olive Oil, and Salt and Pepper.  Pour over salad; mix.  Remove the larger leaves from the Endivine and stick in the salad vertically so that people can pick them out.  Use the Endivine leaves to scoop the salad out and eat it.  Serve immediately.

Veggie Platter

This is one of the easiest dishes to put together. Just neetly put together some freshly washed and cut vegetables that are good for dipping in a sauce or dip.

Here I have used, Broccoli, Celery, Cucumber, Carrots, and Cherry Tomatoes.

What a simple fruit can do

Ingredients:
1 Pinneapple
5 Kamkuats

Directions:
Remove the skin from the Pinneapple. Cut the leafy top of the Pinneapple off and set asidefor later use. Cut the Pinneapple into large disks. In a 10-inch pie dish, place the leafy top of the Pinneapple in the center. Layer the Pinneapple disks around it. Place Kamkuats aroundthe base of the leafy top for decoration.

Spicey Chicken Wings

This was a very daunting recipe for me the time. Living in Germany, it is very difficult to find the American products that I was accustomed to. Tabasco Sauce is available in Germany, but it is not my favorit condiment, and it is a bit pricey here.

*Usually, I list ingredients in exact amount, but it has been so long since Imade this recipe to the date I am posting it (slightly over 2 years), that I only remember the basics, but it is a very simple recipe that can be adjusted to you taste.

Ingredients:
Chicken Wings
Tabasco Sauce
Butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 200°C (417°F). In a sauce pan mix Tabasco Sauce with Butter. If you add more Butter than Tabasco Sauce, the sauce will be mild. If you add more Tabasco Sauce than Butter, the sauce will be spicier. I suggest adding the butter a little at a time and tasting it until you have found the level of spice that you desire. Ok, so, melt these 2 ingredients in a sauce pan, remve form heat, and set aside.

On a cookie sheet (or multiple cookie sheets if you have more wings) place the chicken wings in rows, but make sure they are not layered on top of each other. Brush them each with the Sauce mixture that you just made. Place them in the oven and cook them brushing them with more sauce every 5 minutes until they are done. Once the wings are cooked, set the oven to "broil" or "grill" and grill the wings for 2-3 minutes. Watch them carefully at this stage because they could easily burn. The point of this step is to make them crispy because we have baked the wings and did not fry them, which would have given them a crispy crust.

Another variation on cooking the wings, which I have done time and time again, is to only broil or grill them. What I do is place them on a cookie sheet (upside down so that the bottom gets crispy first) and brush them with my suace mixture. Then, I place them in the oven on the "broil" or "Grill" setting for 10 minutes. Make sure that the cookie sheet is always in the middle level of the oven. Then, I turn the wings so that they are right-side-up, and I brush them with more sauce and place them back in the oven to continue "grilling" for another 10 minutes. At this point the Chicken wings should be cooked through. Brush on one last thick layer of sauce and, this time, place the cookie sheet on the top level of the oven and let the wings "grill" for 2-3 minutes, watching them carefully to make sure they don't burn.