DIY In The Making

This. I am doing this in the future. The very near future. It will most likely be a DIY in a few weeks. I'm in love. I already have a picture frame picked out and everything. I can't wait to show you guys. Make sure to look for it! DIY Living Succulent Wall.

Thanksgiving Dishes

This Thanksgiving, before the chaos of the whole family under one roof, people get assigned a dish to bring. For some people this is no big deal. They bring their same old, same old traditional dish that just has to be there. For other people, they stress about what to bring for weeks ahead of time.  I made 2 different dishes this year. One is more of an appetizer and one is a way to jazz up a relish/veggie tray.  Even though Thanksgiving has come and gone you can make this appetizer for any event in which you need to bring something. (Christmas is coming after all.) If you wanted to jazz up your veggie tray you can turn it into any shape you want. (Like a Christmas tree.) 

Dish 1: White Trash Dip… One of the most addicting,  fattening dips ever. Eater beware. (For the record, mine was gone in 20 minutes this year.  No joke.  I was so pleased everyone liked it.)

For this dish, you will need 2 8oz boxes of cream cheese, 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (I use pre-shredded because I HATE shredding cheese. It's a horrible task. Also, I use sharp cheddar cheese. I feel like it gives it some extra flavor.), 1 can of chili, bacon (I use a bag of real bacon bits because cooking bacon is a pain. You are also supposed to use a pound of bacon but that would seem like an over kill. So really, it's your call on bacon quantity.), green onions, and tortilla chips to eat it with.

You will also need a bowl, something to stir with, and a pie plate or something similar (not pictured) to bake the dip in.

I like to mash my cream cheese with a fork to soften it before adding the other ingredients.  You could also microwave it for 20 seconds or so. 

Next, start adding in the rest of the ingredients.  Make sure the green onion is cut small enough. 

Then, mix it all up.  I use a spatula because I prefer the fold and smash method of mixing things of this consistency otherwise I end up flinging food all over the kitchen.

Then add it to a pie plate. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  It is much tastier and easier to eat warm.  If you don't eat it all in one sitting (which I assume 1 person wouldn't but at an event probably) you can reheat it in the microwave or stick it back into the oven until its warm again.

I've had this dish be consumed by 6 people in one sitting.  It is annoyingly addictive. 

Dish 2: Turkey Veggie Tray…

Veggie trays. Boring, square, oval…these are the things that I think of when I hear the words relish or veggie tray.  So this year, when my mom told me we were tasked with a veggie tray, I was determined to jazz it up. So, I made it a turkey. Every family has their own preference for veggies. I used, celery (don't throw away the leafy part. You'll need that.), carrots, radishes, grape tomatoes, canned black olives, green olives, and pickles.

Prepare you veggies as you would normally.  I wash mine. Peel my carrots, and cut the ends off the carrots, celery, and radishes. for the canned veggies I just rinse the olives. After that, start placing your veggies. 

This starts out the turkey so you can see his head and the start of his feathers. Keep building. 

To make the face use radish pieces and the tiniest olive piece. The toothpick helps keep the pieces in place.  Just break the toothpick off so its flush. (I forgot the olive piece until the end. Oops.)

For the legs, just slice carrot pieces really thin.

Then, I got really excited and forgot to take more pictures so here is my final result.  Mine started out sort of rectangle and weird shaped so I moved and squished the veggies until it had the sort of square shape I desired.  Don't forget those tail feathers I told you to save. 

I hope you guys try these. I'm really glad I did. (Ideas courtesy of Pinterest) I think the turkey especially will add a fun element to the array of food this year. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.