White Trash Divas

We had July's Dinner Divas meeting last night and it was themed ... White Trash!

Everyone had to dress the part and bring a 'white trash' dish to share.  I struggled with that part.  I don't like many processed foods, particularly processed meats and don't do much packaged food. 

I put a plea for ideas/help out on Facebook and was overwhelmed (in a good way) at the responses.  The suggestions ranged from 'Easy Cheeze' (the stuff in a can), to Spam, to fried chicken, to potato chip casseroles, to jello molds/salad and even things like chitlins and tripe.  I ended up taking my cousin's idea and bringing the components for Frito Pie.  (Homemade chili though, not the canned stuff.  I just couldn't bring myself to go that far). 

I also was perusing Foodgawker and came across this fabulous blog post featuring 'Gourmet Potato Chips' - potato chips painted with caramel, then dipped and chocolate and finally sprinkled with bits of Heath Bar.  

The only tedious part.

They need about 30 minutes to set.

Then they get dipped in the chocolate and sprinkled with Heath Bar bits. 

These are super easy, they use processed foods and are chock-full of calories and fat. Yep, they meet the 'white trash' food criteria!  They ended up being a huge hit.  I didn't I even got to eat one. 

Here is our spread for the evening:

Cheetos and DingDongs were very popular...

as were the fried chicken strips you can kind of see in the top right corner. 

Grilled wieners with ketchup, but no buns.

Dipped Chips, served in a cheap Tupperware container.

And for dessert:

Dirt Cake complete with trashy fake flowers. 

Drinks included wine coolers, Jungle Juice (purple Kool-Aid w/ vodka) and of course it wouldn't be a white trash party without the boxed wine...

We played several ridiculous, but incredibly fun games.  I even won one of them!

Here is my fabulous prize:

You know, sadly, these brought back memories. 

Thanks, Mom. 

Copy-Cat Meal

The first Wednesday of each month is set aside for Dinner Divas. 

Dinner Divas started out as the book club "Classically Cosmopolitan", but we started focusing more on the food and drink and less on the book so we quit pretending to be something we weren't and threw the books out completely. 

Which is quite interesting considering all but 1 of us work in a school setting!

There are about 10 of us in the group and everyone has their own distinct style.  It's so fun to go to a very different dinner party every month, but only have to host once a year!

This month's hostess is one sophisticated and fabulous lady.  I would love to hire her as my personal stylist.  Her clothes are fabulous.  Always.

Here is her table setting:

Since it was Cinco de Mayo she made us delicious, fruity Strawberry Mojitos and some real-deal-lucille queso to get things going. 

For our main course she made a Latin meal that included rice, beans, grilled chicken and all sorts of fresh veggies.  For the life of me I cannot remember the name, but I remember how great it tasted. 

I decided to make my own copy-cat version for dinner one night this week...with a few of my own touches.

Layer 1:

I am never without a couple of packages of saffron rice in my pantry. 

My two favorite brands are Mahatma and Vigo. 

Layer 2:

Black beans - another pantry staple.

Layer 3:

Some leftover corn from last night's dinner. 

I had stirred in a little honey butter in to it and the way the sweet played off the other flavors was wonderful!

Layer 4:

Chicken marinated in a little olive oil, lime juice, orange juice, cilantro, salt and pepper for about 15 minutes and then grilled over low heat 5 minutes a side.

Layer 5:

A little bit of thinly sliced red onion is never a bad idea. 

Layer 6:

Shredded savoy cabbage and a little monterrey jack cheese means we are almost there...

Layer 7:

To top it off: a little bit of that yummy sauce we used on our fish tacos. 

This is what absolutely made this meal!

The further ahead this sauce is made, the better it tastes. 

Another super simple, inexpensive and amazingly delicious meal that turned in to the best 'leftover lunches' the next day.