I didn’t know what to do with the rest of my day because I originally planned on spending my day traveling, so I started cleaning, repacking, and thought, “heck, why not blog since I’ll be leaving my computer behind!” I will get lost in a new book this weekend instead of spending it on screen time. One of my goals for the new year is to start my book club again, but maybe with fewer books each month to keep the expectations reasonable! Hoping this weekend sparks my book club interest back up.
Yesterday, I made one of my mom’s recipes for a fun snacking tray. My parents are staying at our house while we are gone, so I stocked up the fridge with a few of their favorites. Since I was a little girl, my mom has been making this cheeseball recipe. She made it on Christmas Eve, Superbowl, and anytime we had people over for a party. If you’ve been a long-time reader, you’ve probably already seen it on the blog. I usually keep it in a ball shape or form it into a football. I thought it would be fun to reshape it into a tree to keep it festive for the holidays. I was so happy with how cute it turned out! You should make this if you have any holiday parties coming up. It’ takes about 20-minutes, doesn’t have a ton of ingredients, and it’s delicious. People will be begging you for the recipe! During my demonstration speech class my senior year, I made this recipe, and it was a big hit.

I always use red and green bell peppers to make it seasonal in December. The combination of the red and bell pepper adds so much more flavor to the dip. If you’re not a big fan of peppers, you can leave them out or add less. If you want to spice this recipe up, you can add jalapeno peppers or jalapeno powder.

This dip reminds me a lot of the pimento cheese dip you get at the grocery store (but way better.)
 You can use your hands to mix all the ingredients or an electric mixer. Definitely keep the mixer on low if you decide to go that route. Make sure to grab your spoon and give it a taste test. Determine if you need more garlic, onion, orange, lemon, or pepper! I always end up adding more orange or garlic.

If you’re going the low-carb route this Christmas, this cheeseball is deliciously dipped with cucumber, carrots, and celery! If you choose all gluten-free crackers and pretzels, this is a great gluten-free friendly recipe.

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Holiday Tree Cheese Spread

The best recipe to spice up any holiday party this year!

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword cheese, party, dip, charcuterie, appetizer, cheese and crackers, finger food, holiday, christmas

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Author Taralynn McNitt

Ingredients

• 16 Ounces Plain Cream Cheese
• 2 1/2 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 3 Tablespoons Yellow Onion finely chopped
• 1 Medium Green Bell Pepper finely chopped
• 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice freshly squeezed
• 1 Tablespoon Orange Juice freshly squeezed
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
• 1/4 Teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Dill
• 1 1/2 Cups Chopped Walnuts finely chopped

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, shredded cheese, chopped bell pepper, chopped onion, lemon juice, orange juice, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder, and dill together.

  *you can use your hands or an electric mixer to combine. If you use an electric mixer, keep the speed on low.
• Use a spoon to give your cheese spread a taste test. It may need more citrus, garlic, or other seasonings to get it to your liking.
• Form the cheese mixture into a christmas tree (or any shape!)
• Coat the tree with chopped walnuts.

  You can add tomatoes and bell peppers to make it even more festive.
• Surround the tree with crackers and vegetables for dipping. This cheese spread is also good with carrots.

How cute did this tree turn out?! You can shape this into a tree, a heart, a football, or an Easter bunny! I can’t wait to see what you do with this recipe. You’re going to love it!

Cheers to the cheese lovers!

Questions for you!

1. Do you have a recipe you’ve been making since you were a kid?
2. Do you like dips on the sweet side or the savory side?
3. Do you have holiday plans for this weekend?

My mom is meeting up with me this afternoon so we can go for a walk with the dogs and enjoy a quick break in the rain. Before I head out, I want to share a quick guacamole recipe with you all! What would a Friday night be without guacamole? Not a very exciting one…

I have always loved making my own guacamole because most recipes call for cilantro, and I am NOT a cilantro lover. Yes, I’m one of those “it tastes like soap” kinds of people. I also love adding flavors like garlic, onion, and my secret ingredient, cumin!

I also want to thank you all for giving me the extra boost and confidence to start creating videos. I’m learning how to navigate the whole “YouTube” world, and it’s so fun. I have many videos planned but don’t worry, I’ll always stick to blogging as my main squeeze. It’s just fun to try out new platforms and change things up a bit. And since I’ve been diving into making videos, I decided to put together a guacamole tutorial. The homemade guacamole recipe video is at the bottom of this post!
Guacamole is literally good on anything. I like it on sliced bread, on my eggs, with my chili, with chips, crackers, and for dipping vegetables into! It’s become one of my favorite low carb snacks. I could eat an entire cucumber with guacamole in one sitting. No shame, no shame. 
Avocados are one of my favorite superfoods! They are filled with healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. I could eat them for every meal
Lately, I’ve been topping my rice cakes with guacamole as an afternoon snack. It’s a delicious treat for an afternoon pick-me-up after my dog walks.

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Homemade Guacamole

Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Author Taralynn McNitt

Ingredients

• 4 Large Ripe Avocados
• 1/4 Cup Sliced Red Onion
• 1/4 Cup Cherry Tomatoes Sliced
• 2 Tbsps Lime Juice
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tbsp Onion Powder
• 1 Tsp Sea Salt
• 1 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1 Tsp Ground Mustard
• 1 Tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 Tsp Cumin

Instructions

• Slice the avocados in half, and scoop them into a mixing bowl. 
• Mash avocados with a fork.
• Add onions, seasonings,  tomatoes, lime juice, and mix well. 

Questions for you!

1. Do you like cilantro?
2. What recipe would you like me to film next?
3. What’s your favorite way to eat guacamole?

I am beyond excited for the summer. In just a few short weeks, the pools are going to open up, the farmer’s markets will be in full force and all of our friends will be getting together for cookouts by the fire. I tend to cook a lot more in the summer and love using fresh fruits and vegetables.

Last minute plans seem to be a repetitive reoccurrence in my life. Last summer there were so many last minute get togethers that I would have to scramble foods together. I’ve taught myself how to make recipes that have cohesive ingredients, so it saves time and money! One of the most important things to keep on hand is a can of Tuttorosso tomatoes as they are so versatile.

Last night, I had some friends over to enjoy delicious chips and salsa on the patio. It was gorgeous outside yesterday, which was nice because we had a pretty cold weekend. I was in the mood for chips, salsa and guacamole! I thought it would be cool to make a guacamole and salsa using the same ingredients with some slight changes. This takes the time away from cutting up extra veggies, purchasing additional ingredients and it’s so much more convenient.

A couple months ago, I made a delicious homemade sauce using Tuttorosso tomatoes and it was such a huge hit. I’ve actually made this sauce five times since and I can’t get enough. My friends love it so much that I can the sauce in a mason jar and send the leftovers home with them. The tomatoes have everything to do with the flavor of the sauce and I know this because I tried to make it without the Tuttorosso tomatoes. I’ll never do that again.

I decided to give the salsa and the guacamole recipe a shot using Tuttorosso tomatoes.

HOMEMADE PEELED PLUM TOMATO SALSA & GUACAMOLE

INGREDIENTS:

•  28 Ounce Can Peeled Plum Tuttorosso Tomatoes
• 2 Large Avocados
• 1/2 Red Onion
• 1/2 Sweet Onion
• 1 Green Bell Pepper
• 1/4 Cup Italian Parsley
• 1/4 Cup Chives
• 2 Medium  Jalapeños
• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
• Garlic Powder
• Minced Onion
• Salt & Pepper

Chop up all the vegetables.

Drain the juices from the can and chop up the plum tomatoes.

Slice the avocados.

Mash up the avocados in a mixing bowl. Add salt, pepper, garlic, and minced onion to the avocados to taste. I like mine extra garlic-y.  Do the same to the tomato bowl.

Add 1/4 cup of the tomato mixture to the bowl with the avocados.

Add two tablespoons of red onion, two tablespoons of sweet onion, two tablespoons of bell pepper, one tablespoon of jalapeños and one tablespoon of Italian parsley to the avocado bowl and mix.

Add the remaining vegetables to the bowl with the tomatoes.

Mix up the guacamole and take some taste testing bites. It may need more salt, pepper, or garlic! You can also add lime for an extra kick.

Add brown sugar to the tomato salsa and do the taste test to determine if it needs more seasoning!

I was so thrilled with how the salsa and guacamole turned out. I made it in twenty minutes and it was super easy. You can customize it anyway you’d like and add all your favorite salsa ingredients. I think it would be good with black beans and corn next time! If you have the time, I also suggest chilling the salsa and guacamole for about twenty minutes – it will lock in the flavor of the tomatoes.  

My friends and I sat out on the patio, listening to some of our favorite music, and ravenously devoured the entire bowl of salsa and guacamole. We were insatiable. I love fresh, wholesome food with healthy ingredients that I can trust! It makes last-minute cooking simple and delicious. Tuttorosso truly believes that the most important ingredient is you. The tomatoes are all natural and their cans have a BPA free lining. Genius! I love eating my favorite foods and feeling completely nourished afterwards. 

Tuttorrosso has so many great recipes on their website and you should definitely check them out!

Don’t forget to check out my Tuttorosso challenge to see why I LOVE their tomatoes.

Thank you Tuttorosso for partnering up with me on this delicious post!

QUESTIONS FOR YOU!

1. Do you have a cohesive combo that you like to cook up last minute?
2. What is your favorite summer dish that is fresh and delicious?
3. What is your favorite part of summer nights?

One of my favorite parts about Monday morning is sitting back with my cup of coffee and reflecting on the weekend. I love spending time with family, bringing the friends together for good food, and getting time to work on projects we can’t normally do on the week days. I especially enjoyed this weekend becuase it was the first time I felt comfortably enough to leave the house after getting a bad case of poison ivy. It also happened to be in the mid 70’s all weekend, so there was no excuse to stay inside.

We took an afternoon break to meet up with some friends for lunch and to shoot some photos. One of our friends, who is an incredible event planner in Charleston, needed a couple of head shots for a feature story her company is running on her. I was so thrilled that she asked me to take them and they turned out so well.

We did the photos uptown so we could get the city in the background. Since we were already up there, we ended up having lunch at Vapiano’s Italian restaurant. I ordered the Reef n Beef salad. It had grilled beef filet, shrimp, grilled vegetables, cherry tomatoes, spring onions and lettuce. Their food is so good and I love their fun set up and environment.

I also had a slice of their proscuitto pizza. I liked how thin and crispy the crust was.

After we tore everything apart, we took the dogs for a well deserved walk around the neighborhood. I couldn’t get over how nice it was. I’m all for the cold Christmas spirit days, but no way am I going to complain about a 75 degree day in December!

I decided to relax on Saturday night and catch up on some sleep.

Sunday was all about Funday.

We decided to bring all the friends together for a football Sunday filled with food, drinks, and cigars.

After church, I took the dogs for a walk and then headed to the grocery store to grab everything for the get-together. I just wanted to spend every waking second outside soaking up the fresh air and sunshine. It felt like spring.

We I love putting spreads together for football games. It’s my thing! I picked up items to make a cheese, meat and cracker platter, a nacho bar, mimosas, and some other little finger foods.

I wore the Simply Taralynn Collection weekend drink shirt! (after church of course)

Items I picked up for the spread:

• Crackers
• Summer Sausage
• Pepper Jack Cheese
• Cheddar Cheese
• Jam
• Almonds
• Pistachios
• Figs
• Popcorn

Mimosa Supplies

• Fresh oranges
• Fresh pineapple
• Lemon slices
• Orange juice
• Lemonade
• Champagne
• Ice

My mimosa had 1/4 cup of high pulp orange juice, juice of one lemon slice, pineapple chunks, ice, and topped with champagne.

Our other friends brought some ingredients over to make bloody Marys. Bloody Marys will never be my thing. I can’t even stand the smell of them, but I definitely think anyone who drinks them are kind of badass. They were throwing in hot sauce, worcestershire sauce and all kinds of crazy ingredients.

Someone once told me that a bloody Mary cures hangovers and I think the first sip made me even sicker than before. Since then, I’ve never touched another bloody Mary.

We also put together an EPIC nacho bar.

I made up a huge batch of nacho cheese. In a large pan, melt together: 1 box of Velveeta, 1 stick unsalted butter, 1/2 cup light cream (or milk), 4 cans diced green chilies, 2 cans Rotel, 1/2 can drained jalapeños, and 1/2 tablespoon chili powder.

Keep the heat on low and continue to stir once all the ingredients are melted.

Nacho bar included:

• Grilled Steak
• Grilled Chicken
• Diced Avocados
• Black Beans
• Jalapeños
• Onion
• Salsa
• Chips

I ended the weekend having my favorite coffee drink, watching Christmas movies, and being old!

These are the weekends I live for. I love making memories, sharing laughs, and remembering what life is all about – especially with everything going on in our world. It’s important to enjoy the small things in life.

Now, I love leaving my posts with three questions for you. 

1. Do you enjoy bloody Marys?
2. Why are weekends special to you?
3. What kind of weather did you have this weekend?

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One of the best things about summer is the fresh avocados. I buy them all year round, but they never taste as great as they do in the summer. I love putting avocados in my salad, in my wraps, and in my omelets, but nothing compares to turning them into guacamole.

My friend’s dad always makes an Italian style guacamole. I love a garlic based guacamole; I’m not a fan of eating it plain. I hate boring. Whenever we are over for dinner, he usually has a giant bowl sitting on the counter for us, and it’s to die for. I decided to make his version for our cookout yesterday to go with the peach salsa.

Ingredients: 4 large ripe avocados, 1/4 cup chopped green onion, 1/4 cup diced red onion, 3 roma tomatoes, 1/4 cup chopped italian parsley, juice of 1/2 small lime, garlic powder, salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/4 red bell pepper.

Scoop out avocado and add them to a large mixing bowl.

Add tomatoes, onion, parsley, pepper, lime, olive oil and mix.

Start adding salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Use your tastebuds to determent if you need more of the three. I kept adding them until it was perfect!

I garnished the guacamole with a tomato slice, lime, parsley, and pepper!

The guacamole was a hit! I like to use carrot chips with it. The dip had so much flavor and I could have eaten it all night! Some put it on their burgers.

What is your favorite style of guacamole?

Grumples was all about that Guac! (dogs cannot have avocados…)

I’m kind of torn. I don’t want summer to end, but I can’t wait for Fall to begin. I’m going to try to be patient and wait a couple more months before I jump into pumpkin mode. The great thing about summer is that I can make fresh recipes like this one!

I mentioned in my post yesterday that we had a grill out. It was our friend’s birthday, so we all whipped up some awesome dishes and had a cookout.

We stopped at the grocery store after breakfast to grab some things for the BBQ. I wanted to make fresh homemade guacamole. As I was shopping around the produce section for ingredients, the peaches caught my eye. They were juicy and just screamed, “buy me.” I thought, “why not make some peach salsa to go with the guacamole?” so I threw them into my cart!

I didn’t have an exact recipe for the peach salsa. I grabbed ingredients that I thought would go well and used my taste buds to season it just right.

Ingredients: 1/3 cup green onion, 1/2 small red onion, 1/2 small sweet yellow onion, 1/4 cup fresh chopped italian parsley, 4-5 medium tomatoes, 1 green bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 2 large peaches, garlic powder, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, salt, and pepper.

Dice all the ingredients up and throw it into a large mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar. Sprinkle the seasonings in a little at a time and keep tasting the salsa to get the right flavor.

After getting the perfect consistency, place it in the fridge to chill and marinate. The salsa gets better with time.

It was so good paired with guacamole and carrot chips.

I love how fresh and healthy this salsa is. It’s a great way to fit in your vegetables at party and everyone loved it! It’s also nice to offer a dish that is vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, and dairy free for guest!

I am going to mix this salsa into a chicken wrap later.

I’ll post the guacamole next!

Even though I didn’t get any sleep on Saturday, I still had a great Sunday. You all know how worried I was about Mr. Grumples and how little sleep I got in the past couple of days, but he was finally feeling better on Sunday. He was keeping everything down, his bathroom issues were getting better, and his medications were finally kicking in. The probiotics that were injected on Saturday seemed to be a big help.

Even though I was up all night on Saturday,  I still forced myself to wake up after a couple hours of sleep for Church Sunday morning. I could have easily just slept the day away, but I owed my Sunday to God after all the prayers for Mr. Grumples were answered.

After church, I went out to breakfast with Nick’s family and we tried out this new breakfast cafe in Fort Mill. I ordered the omelet, home fries (potatoes), bacon and toast. My omelet had onion, cheese, peppers, and spinach. It was a pretty good place! Stacks was too far away and I didn’t want to leave Grumples by himself too long.

Nick was throwing a playoff party at his place and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go or not because of Grumples. But Grumples seemed to be doing really well and so I decided to head over there. Before that, I stopped at Nick’s parents to grab their cone pillow to put around Grumples neck so he would stop licking his back.

Grumples was so relaxed and slept in the middle of all of us. I was happy that he was finally getting some sleep. Coffee was keeping me alive Sunday. Three hours of sleep in two days is not a great look for me. Nick was cooking homemade spaghetti and meatballs for everyone and it smelled so good. I am going to miss football Sundays next month, but I’ll probably eat so much healthier when it’s over with!

While Nick was cooking, I put out some bread and made a dipping oil for it. I decided to experiment and flavor the olive oil instead of serving it plain. I’m not kidding you, or trying to brag, (well maybe a little) but that dipping sauce was bomb! Everyone was eating it up so fast. I had to make about three bowls of it and us girls had to run up to the store to pick up more bread. I toasted the bread lightly and then dipped the bread in the oil and then the balsamic.

This won’t be the last time I make this!

I didn’t measure anything so if you plan on making this, you’ll have to go by the power of your tastebuds.

-olive oil, -italian seasoning, -garlic powder, -sea salt, -minced onion, -parmesan cheese

The best part of the meal was obviously Nick’s spaghetti and meatballs. He makes the meatballs the size of baseballs. They were soooooooooo good! If I had the power of not feeling full, I would have had like ten bowls! This is his family’s recipe and it’s incredible. All of us sat around the table and enjoyed dinner. I felt like I was in Italy:)

After dinner, I was ready to pass out. I walked Grumples, watched the rest of the football game, and then headed straight upstairs to sleep.

Ive never slept better in my entire life. I woke up once to go get Grumples some water, but that was it. I woke up at ten, which is rare. I’m a seven am kind of person. We were all drinking wine last night and so we all passed out at Nicks. Nick had is little brother stay this weekend too. His parents headed over early morning with Panera bagels for us and I had coffee and a blueberry bagel. I thought it was cute that they missed their son and bringing us bagels was an excuse to see him

After breakfast, I went on a walk with Grumples and then MC and I went to the mall to get Hornets shirts for the game. I didn’t end up getting a Hornets shirt. Instead, I left the mall with four new H&M shirts. That always happens to me.

At two, we all went to the Hornets vs. Timberwolves game uptown. I’ve gone to so many Hornets games this year because Nick is a season ticket holder and he brings me. I love the games! They did a nice halftime show in honor of DMLKJ, which was cool.  It was 65 degrees in Charlotte today and the city was gorgeous. It felt amazing to be outside for once.

After the game, the eight of us went to Wild Wings Cafe for dinner. I ordered their fiesta fajita salad and a side of sweet potato fries. Tonight, I am making brownies, drinking coffee and watching The Bachelor!

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I can honestly say it’s been a great Monday! After the Bachelor, I am going to curl in bed and catch up on more sleep!

I love when the weekends are full of “F” words…friends, football, food, family and fun.

The cheeseball is my mom’s go-to recipe for parties. It feeds a lot of people and it’s a favorite. She makes it for work parties, holiday parties, and for the heck of it. This has been one of my favorite dishes since I was a little girl. I love hand-me-down recipes, not hand-me-down clothes.

It’s a great last minute dish to make because it requires no baking at all!

Ingredients:

*2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, *2 packages of cream cheese (8oz) *1/2 medium onion finely finely chopped, *1 red bell pepper finely chopped, *1 green bell pepper finely chopped, *1 tablespoon garlic powder (more to taste), *juice of 1/2 small lemon, *salt & pepper to taste, *chopped walnuts, and *crackers.

You can totally make this recipe lighter. I do it a lot. Just replace the cream cheese with lighter cream cheese, use a lower percentage sharp cheese, and add more vegetables!

You can also make this match the party or holiday you’re serving it at by switching up the pepper colors!

After all ingredients are added to the bowl, use your hands as if you were preparing a meatloaf and combine. You’ll have to break out the inner chef and do a lot of taste testing to make sure it has enough lemon, garlic, salt and pepper!

Once the ingredients are all blended and the cheese ball taste just the way you want it, roll it into a ball.

You will need a bag of walnuts. I used chopped walnuts to save time. Add the chopped walnuts to a plate and roll the cheeseball in the walnuts. You can use almonds, pecans, or peanuts. I’ve see some people use pretzels for nut allergies.

Place the cheeseball in the refrigerator for a while to firm.

Add the cheeseball to the center of a serving plate. I bought an adorable white one at home goods for $12.00. The original price was $89.00. Seriously what a deal! Add the crackers around the edge of the plate.

Emilee and I had fun arranging the crackers. We are weirdos like that. We used pretzels, wheat thins, Triscuits and Ritz crackers. You can use gluten free crackers if you need to.

When you’re done, store everything in the refrigerator. The cheeseball is perfect for large parties because it makes so much!

*WARNING
INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS! EXTREMELY ADDICTIVE! PACKED WITH FLAVOR!

One of my favorite dishes we made during our hands on cooking class was the zucchini & squash noodles. I love the idea of getting rid of heavy pasta and replacing it with fresh vegetables from the farmers market. It’s a great way to incorporate vegetables into your meals without taking away the deliciousness. I want to try this concept out with some ground turkey burger, parmesan and homemade spaghetti sauce.

The zucchini noodles are easy to prepare and look beautiful on the plate.

This dish is full of fiber, healthy fats, vitamins, and it’s low carb. The dish was light, but at the same time tasted as if it was guilty and heavy. If you’re trying to eat fresher and light, definitely give this one a try.

Want to learn how to cook? Check out Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen for more details!

Ingredients: *1 large zucchini, *1 large summer squash (using zephyr variety), *2-3 large heirloom tomatoes, *2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced, *2 tablespoons olive oil, *2 sprigs fresh basil, *salt & pepper to taste, *1 tablespoon of Asiago cheese.

First, create the zucchini noodles. You can use a julienne peeler, spiral slicer or mandolin. Place the zucchini in a strainer basket or colander, sprinkle with a tsp of salt and toss.

Let it sit for about fifteen minutes to release extra moisture. Rinse the noodles under cold water, then gently squeeze off the extra water.

Dice up the heirloom tomatoes.

After dicing up the tomatoes, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the garlic and red pepper flake and cook until it becomes golden, about a minute.

Add the diced tomatoes and salt, and cook for 10 minutes; allowing the tomatoes to soften and reduce.

Add the zucchini noodles to the pomodoro sauce and cooke until tender. Adjust seasoning to taste.

To plate, remove the noodles with tongs and then spoon the sauce over the top. Add torn basil leaves and shaved asiago cheese.

Read about my chef Alyssa’s cooking class experience!