Author Archives for simplifiedbystacie

So, quite a few years back, my sister happened across a version of this recipe and it has remained a staple for my family ever since. I think I may have mentioned the fact that I come from a good sized family with a ridiculously large extended family. Adding to that, my family is extremely close knit and you may see why a recipe we now offhandedly refer to as “those party sandwiches” is used so often. Ending up together as often as we do, it became a necessity for us to come up with some simple recipes that are fit for our regular large gatherings!

I’m sharing the OG version of this recipe today but, knowing me and my family, you all probably guessed that we have a handful of versions of this. Over the years we have tweaked it…then experimented on those tweaks…then creatively made use of those experimental tweaks and turned them into entirely different recipes. Say what now? This started as a ham and provolone slider sandwich on Hawaiian sweet rolls with a sweet glaze. Some of our favorite parts are that you can make it the night before you serve it, you can make a big batch really easily, and you can put it in disposable pans so there’s no clean up after everyone leaves! Delicious and brilliant, right? Oh yeah! That was a game changer for my family just as it was.

Of course, we couldn’t leave a good thing as-is. Oh no..we tweaked and drastically cut the measurement for poppy seeds because who really likes those anyway? Then, getting more adventurous (or perhaps out of lack of ingredients), we thought why not try this with turkey and sharp white cheddar cheese with some bacon crumbles (just for good measure) instead of ham? Just added a little more mustard to the sauce and a little less brown sugar and, voila! Oooh what about that same mustard glaze but smoked shredded pork and pickles for a spin on a Cuban? or what about roast beef and provolone and sautéed green peppers and onions with an au jus based glaze? Well, wait just a minute now, if we could sub the protein and/or the cheese and/or the glaze, there must truly be no rules!

Mind you, these later versions bear little (if any) resemblance to the original recipe introduced by my sister. That’s the magic of recipes (especially when you combine them with a family of good cooks). You find one good recipe and it multiplies into numerous (spiraled almost-out-of-control) versions creating even more amazing recipes. Don’t get me wrong here people, there was absolutely nothing wrong with that first recipe but we just can’t help ourselves from messing with things! To this day, each of my siblings and my mom all make the original version as well as at least one of the experimental kinds. The more parties we make it for, the more passed around the recipe gets. The smaller our fridge contents become, the more interesting the experimental versions of the recipe can be! Gotta love it, right?

Whether you love this original version as much as we do or you love the idea of trying out one of our random switch-ups or an experimental kind of your own, I really hope this makes your taste buds happy!

Actual recipe pics pending but didn’t want to hold up sharing this recipe!!!

Anyone else wondering where the heck time has gone lately? I sincerely hope it’s not just me standing here wondering how it’s almost July already!?! Summers in my friend/family/work circles are all about people making delicious dishes so we can visit (& eat!) the days away. In my case, there are a lot of food days at work because I happen to work at a fairly laid back company with some fairly amazing people! What’s a girl to do when everything that’s on the sign up sheet for the upcoming work food day is already something I would normally contribute? Make and bring in a family fave that no one at work is familiar with..of course! Why didn’t I think of that? Oh wait, I guess I kinda just did 😉 Which brings me (and now you) to the dip my family calls Fiesta Crab Dip!

This fiesta crab dip has been a long-standing family fave for about as far back as I can remember. In fact, I’ve got a great (and, by great, I mean regretfully embarrassing but still awesome) childhood memory of this dip. My cousins and I were not-so-patiently waiting for the extended family get-together’s meal to begin one fateful summer day. Much to our chagrin, the adults seemed to be in no rush to get that portion of the day underway. Obviously we were poor starving children who hadn’t had a snack in forever and we had been banished to “go play in the basement” until dinner was ready. My cousins and I were no dummies, we knew that dinner bell wouldn’t be (metaphorically) ringing anytime in our near future.

So, geniuses that we were, we decided to sneak upstairs and swipe just one serving tray of dip and one bag of chips. Our dip of choice? Fiesta crab dip! Who would notice those missing items in the smorgasbord of food already laid out on grandma’s kitchen surfaces? Apparently no one noticed. That is..until our parents finally did come downstairs to tell us dinner was ready and found that we had demolished the entire crab dip and bag of chips.

What could we say? We were just kids…growing kids at that…famished kids in dire need of some nourishment! Yeah, we didn’t fool our parents with those lines or our big puppy dog sad eyes either! On the bright side, we did make sure to share with everyone how tasty it was and that we tried to save some for everyone else, we really did. But, after so many banished-to-the-basement card games, boredom equates to hunger, everyone knows that!

Back to present day, I recently made that same dip recipe and brought it into work for a food day. It struck me as ironic that not one, not two, but multiple people said they had to have that recipe because they could eat the whole bowl themselves! This was pure validation to my childhood self that my cousins and I were indeed justified in consuming the whole dish ourselves. If adults want to eat this until they can’t eat any more then what chance did we (poor famished snack deprived kids) have? This all brings me to the most important point of this recipe: serving size is an estimate! I hope you enjoy this recipe and, for the sake of those you are serving it to, I really hope you start with a double batch 😉

This works extremely well in tortillas as a new twist on roll-ups too! (this tip brought to you courtesy of my brilliant sister-in-law!)

This recipe goes way way back in my family. Let me see now..yep, right at two whole months! If you are wondering whether this means that I’ve already run out of tried and true generations-passed-down recipes, have no fear! That is as far from the truth as could be. If you are now wondering why I’m venturing out and posting a new recipe, it’s because so many people in my family have requested it! Let me preface this post by saying that this recipe is definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Not a fan of honey mustard vinaigrette or goat cheese? Probably want to head back to my homepage and pick a different recipe to drool over. On the other hand, if you are open to the possibility of a new flavor bomb or just like the thought of a totally different kind of salad, read on my friends!

It should be apparent by now that I’m literally surrounded by amazing cooks. I can’t walk into any one of my family members’ houses without running into someone who made something delicious. Blessing? You betcha! Also a curse? Right-Amundo! What do I mean? Imagine looking forward to the next family function, holiday, or just random get together. You know you are going to eat great but you want to contribute to the deliciousness too. In most families, that’s no problem at all. Swing by the grocery store and grab a dip or salad from the deli and, voila, you brought a meaningful contribution.

In my family, the only things straight from the store are the accompaniments to the original creations (chips for the addicting new dip my sister-in-law made, fresh herbs for the sauce or dressing my sister just whipped up, crackers for the cheeseball recipe my other sister invented). Oh yeah, and most of my immediate family adds insult to injury by not even buying some of those staple items. They have the audacity to grow their own veggies and herbs and tackle making their own bread and buns and tortillas. Meanwhile I’m just sitting over here wondering how I killed that succulent plant that supposedly needed zero attention and asking myself if it’s ok to eat tortillas two weeks past the date on the package 😉

Cue this new salad recipe. Easter was coming up fast and my siblings and parents seemed to have every possible drink and food choice mapped out and everyone was bringing or making something incredible. I knew I needed to step up my game and not just bring one of our go-to salads…I needed to bring something new and oh so tasty! So, I did what any self respecting adult does, I panicked and went to the closest grocery store on my lunch break the week before Easter and prayed that something genius would come to me as I walked (hungrily) through the aisles.

Thank my lucky stars that the closest grocery store to my work is a Trader Joe’s. They just so happened to have honey goat cheese and candied pecans and pre-packaged Brussel sprouts with heavens light shining down and beckoning me! Just kidding, that didn’t even come close to happening. BUT the Brussel sprouts and honey goat cheese were on sale and the candied pecans were mostly an impulse purchase. As I walked out (toting numerous bags filled with other items that my empty stomach told me I desperately needed), I knew what my next step would be. Wasn’t there some Brussel sprout salad somewhere on Pinterest that I saved? Jackpot!!! Next thing I knew, I was combining a couple recipes and adding in extra ingredients to create this salad. It went over a little too well at Easter and I have since brought it to multiple gatherings and repeatedly been asked for the recipe so here we are folks! I hope you enjoy this as much as me and my family do!