Top Secret (not really) Recipes Revealed!

Got your attention, hey??  :)  They are definitely not top secret (I found them, didn't I!?) but they are too good not to share!

A few weeks ago, a bunch of very cool ladies got together to celebrate the upcoming marriage of my niece.   We had a great time showering her with gifts and having some fun along the way!  And you know how those things go, it's not complete with out a fantastic spread!!

I thought I'd share two of the recipes.  I've been emailing them to a bunch of friends anyway, so figured might as well document them here!!  The cheese cakes were my sisters' specialty, so you'll have to sweet talk her into divulging them!

The first recipe is a great appetizer!  It's a pretty easy recipe, and has a ton of variations.  I've seen it called Texas Caviar...Cowboy Caviar....and I'm sure Menno Caviar would pass as well!! So take this recipe and do with it what you'd like!!  Add spicy peppers and jalapenos or chilis, garlic or other spices if you like, or omit some things that you don't want!  It's nice to make this at least a few hours before and put it in the fridge for the flavors to blend.  You can even do it the night before.  But then I would not add the avocado until closer to serving time.

Here is the basic recipe.

Texas Caviar

1 red and yellow pepper, finely diced

1 or 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

1/2 red onion, finely diced

1 tin black eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 tin black beans. drained and rinsed

1 tin corn

a couple of roma tomatoes

1 avocado diced (add closer to serving time)

cilantro (use as much as you like, the recipe called for 1 bunch, but I thought that would have been way too much, I used less than 1/4 bunch, chopped.

juice from one lime

1/4 cup Italian dressing

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together.  We served it with blue corn chips which was an awesome flavor, but you could use any taco or corn chip, etc.

 

And a little something sweet!  These are SO delicious!!  I was curious about the addition of coffee, and was told that it helps bring out the flavor of the chocolate, which is exactly what it did!!  So good!

Rolo Cupcakes

1 Devils food cake mix

1 pkg instant chocolate pudding

1 cup sour cream

1 cup oil

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup warm water or coffee

1 tsp vanilla

Frozen rolos

Beat all of the ingredients together (except the rolos!) for 3 minutes.  Scoop into cupcake liners.  Push one rolo down into each cupcake.  Bake for 18-22 minutes at 350.  Once cooled, frost with the following caramel buttercream.

Caramel Buttercream

2 cups unsalted butter

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup caramel (the ice cream topping variety)

1 1/2 lb icing sugar

Cream the butter.  Add vanilla, salt and caramel and mix well.  Add the icing sugar one cup at a time.  If desired, you can add more caramel as wanted for flavour.  Frost the cupcakes and top each one with another rolo!  And try not to devour them all!!