The BIG game is a great time to give old favorites a new twist. Global flavors are finding their way into new foods, and guacamole is no exception. Make a play for flavor with these fun avocado recipes from our friends at Avocados From Mexico! Check out the great variety of tortilla chips in the snack aisle and Deli – pita, blue corn chips, scoops and multi-grain are all options to round out your party plan.   Freshen up your guac strategy with this rustic and ready dip. http://avocadosfrommexico.com/recipe/guacamole_dips/rustic-guac-with-corn/   Global flavors up your game – a lime flavored tortilla chip will take you through the halftime fun! http://avocadosfrommexico.com/recipe/guacamole_dips/guacamole-masala/   Go long with a Mediterranean guacamole that’s full of flavor and texture, and brings your party in for the win!

Mediterranean Guacamole

  Written by Maureen Murphy & Sarah Palmer When it comes to baking a pie, mastering the crust is key! While you can purchase pre-made pie crusts in the dairy & frozen section of our stores, making a pie crust from scratch will make your pie the star of the dessert table!  Below are some tried & true tips to help get you started!  

• Your butter & water must be cold; even frozen butter works as long as you cut it into cubes before freezing
• Measure ingredients carefully to prevent a tough, greasy or soggy crust
• Cut the fat into the flour just until the size of peas (use a fork or pastry blender)
• Handle pie dough as little as possible to ensure a flaky and tender crust
• Chill pie dough for several hours to tenderize the dough, and prevent shrinkage during baking
• Allow the dough to come to room temperature before rolling
• Roll dough from the center out to a 1/8̋ thickness or less
• To place the pie crust in the pie pan, carefully loosen it from the cutting board; fold it over the rolling pin. Unroll it into the pan and press down lightly
• Trim any excess dough, leaving approximately ½ ̋ for fluting the edge
• Flute the edge by pinching dough between the thumb and forefinger or seal the edge by pressing the dough with a fork against the rim of the pie pan
• When baking a crust without the filling, prick the dough with a fork and place dry beans or rice in the bottom to prevent shrinkage while baking. Bake in a preheated 450°F oven for 10 -12 minutes or until lightly browned.
• For the crust to be baked with a filling, do not prick the crust. For pies with juicy fillings, brush the bottom of the crust with egg white or melted butter to prevent a soggy crust.
• For pies that bake more than 30 minutes, place a rim of foil around the edge of the crust during the first half of baking to prevent over-browning

  Now that your pie crust skills are feeling confident, fill your crust with this delicious Chocolate-Pecan filling for a sweet pie your holiday guests will love! Chocolate Pecan Pie

• 2 PICS eggs
• 1 cup PICS sugar
• ½ cup Price Chopper flour
• ½ cup PICS butter, melted
• 1 T. PICS vanilla
• 1 cup PICS pecans, chopped
• 6 oz. semi sweet chocolate morsels
• 1 pastry shell, unbaked

Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat eggs slightly in mixing bowl.  Blend in sugar, flour, butter and vanilla.  Stir in pecans and chocolate.  Pour into pie shell.  Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool and serve.  Serves 6-8. Written By: Ellie Wilson, MS, RD  Senior Nutritionist, Price Chopper Supermarkets “Cool as a cucumber” – you can be all that enjoying the farm- fresh cucumbers in the stores right now from farmers like Walter Czajkowski and Mary McNamara at Plainville Farm in Plainville, CT. Cucumbers have a clean, mild flavor and they can star or be a supporting player in salads, salsas, and pickles. Have you ever made your own pickles? It is so easy – try Mary’s easy bread and butter pickle recipe. Everything you need, including the mason jars, are in your store.

• 6.5 cups thinly sliced pickling cucumbers
• 1 cup of onions
• 1.5 cup of sugar
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 3/4 tsp turmeric
• 3/4 tsp mustard seed
• 3/4 tsp celery seed
• 1.5 Tbsp salt

Sterilize 3 jars by covering them in boiling water for 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Pack cucumbers and onions in layers a wide mouth mason jar. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over the vegetables. Store in the refrigerator. For the first 2 days shake jar to mix well. Enjoy! Those same cucumbers are great in a cucumber and onion salad – just slice cucumbers and onions thinly (try sweet onions for this salad!). Add Ken’s Light Italian dressing and serve. Couldn’t be easier!  Summer is also grilling time, so putting together a quick and easy grilled meal for friends and family is fun and fresh! Peppers are also coming in – our friends at Blackhorse farms have beautiful peppers in the stores, and they can be enjoyed in this super summer recipe from Eating Well. The shrimp is on sale, and all of the ingredients are waiting for you. https://www.pricechopper.com/recipes/9816/Grilled-Shrimp-Cocktail-with-Yellow-Gazpacho-Salsa Delicious, and my favorite part – it is all really good and good for you. Enjoy! Written By: Ellie Wilson, MS, RD  Senior Nutritionist, Price Chopper Supermarkets There is so much to talk about! Summer squash is the star this week, and we have it from our farmer partners at Reeves Farm, Shaul’s Farm, Paul Mazza Farms, Davandjer Farms, Black Horse Farms, Hoover’s Produce, and Plainville Farm. I have visited many of these farms – this year is a good harvest for summer squash. Yellow summer squash and zucchini are super versatile – mild flavored, they can be served grilled, sautéed, ribboned (a beautiful presentation, and so easy to do with your usual handy kitchen peeler), or in salads; grated and added to quick bread batter, chopped in soup or pasta dishes – the possibilities are almost endless. These squash are low in calories, and high in Vitamin C. We also have some delicate and petite patty pan squash. Mild flavored like its cousins, patty pan adds great visual appeal to a meal. Patty pans also have a few different names – they can be called scallop squash, or button squash. Little kids call them flying saucers, and you can use that to get them to try a new vegetable! Heather Eckhardt at Kinderhook Creek Farm has shared a terrific zucchini appetizer recipe that is great for summer parties and will have your friends begging for the recipe. Heather Eckhardt’s Zucchini Appetizer

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• 4 cups diced zucchini
• 1 cup sliced onion
• 1 cup sliced green pepper
• 2 to 3 sliced tomatoes
• 1 ½ cup Bisquick baking mix.
• 1 tsp chopped Italian parsley
• 4 eggs
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup grated cheese (I used Cabot Alpine Cheddar)

Mix oil, eggs, Bisquick, parsley, salt and pepper together. Stir in zucchini. Spread onto a cookie sheet (with a high lip, or a jelly roll pan), single layer. Then layer the onion, pepper, and tomatoes, as though it were a pizza. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 350 F for 30 – 35 minutes. Cool slightly and cut into squares with a pizza cutter. I slice squash up, and depending on how hot it is, grill them with olive oil and fresh basil in a grill pan over a low flame, or oven roast them the same way. All of the summer squashes can be made this way – fresh basil, a little sea salt to finish and you have the tastes of summer on your plate. Zucchini and yellow squash are great for kabobs with a delicious Certified Angus Beef steak. You can add some fresh herbs and spices in for a little extra flavor. Summer Sizzle Steak

• 2 pounds CAB London Broil or Strip Steak, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
• ¾ cup of Ken’s Lite Asian Sesame with Ginger and Soy dressing
• 1 Tbsp Dijon style mustard
• 1 Tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 zucchini, cut into ¾ inch rounds
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
• ½ red onion, cut into chunks
• Fresh ginger root – 1 tsp minced

Combine dressing, mustard, herbs and ginger in a close-able plastic bag or bowl with a cover. Add meat and vegetables to the dressing. Allow to marinate for 2 hours, refrigerated. Thread onto wooden or metal skewers. Note – wooden skewers should be soaked in water for an hour before use. Grill kabobs 5 minutes each side until meat reaches desired doneness. Have you checked out our online helpful guides for the holidays?  If you haven’t yet, we’re having a scavenger hunt this week where you can enter to win one of three $100 Price Chopper gift cards.  Our online magazines, Cheers! and Let Us Entertain You are now readily available online, providing helpful entertaining tips, festive recipes and much more!  It’s easy- just check out our Facebook page Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and answer each of the questions posted by emailing your answers to photos@pricechopper.com.  We will randomly select three people who answer all three questions correctly to each receive $100 Price Chopper gift cards! The links to each of the magazines are below- good luck!! Cheers! Let Us Entertain You Email your answers to photos@pricechopper .com by 8:00AM Thursday, December 13th to be entered.  Read official contest rules here. When it comes to summer, there’s nothing better than a juicy, flavorful rack of pork ribs to complete the perfect meal. Because pork is such a versatile meat, you can easily adapt any recipe for the occasion and your palate! In fact, it’s easy to change the flavor profile of any cut of pork cut, especially ribs, just by adding different dry rubs, liquid seasonings, sauces, or even a single ingredient. With all of the great combinations of brines, marinades (wet seasoning), rubs (dry seasoning), mops, glazes and sauces, the options are endless (and often overwhelming!).  Here are some quick tips and tricks to ensure your ribs are lip-smackin’ good: Marinades Marinades are a great way to add flavor to grilled pork, by enhancing the juiciness and complexity. In addition to using a base of oil (to lock in the flavor and keep food moist), standard marinades include salt, an acid (such as lemon juice, wine, vinegar or citrus) and other flavor-boosting ingredients. Quick tip: Adding sweet ingredients to the marinade can help form appealing caramelized, crispy coatings on grilled meats, but be careful not to add too many sweet components, since sugars burn quickly. Rubs Rubs are blends of spices, herbs and often salt, that are applied to the meat before cooking. Rubs (also referred to as dry marinades) are a great way to form a crust and add flavor to the meat. These blends are rubbed onto food 15-20 minutes before cooking. Quick tip: Don’t rub the seasonings too hard into the food – it can damage the texture and risk over seasoning. Instead, sprinkle the rub from side to side over the pork from about a foot above. This will help evenly distribute the rub. Pat gently for the seasonings to adhere. Sauces, Glazes and Spritzes Often inspired by regions including Memphis, Kansas City or North Carolina, sauces can help define your style of barbecue. Sauces are typically added at the end of cooking time to add an additional layer of flavor and moisture. Favorite bottled sauces are fantastic stand-bys – and also an opportunity to get inspired. For more tips and tricks, as well as hundreds of finger-lickin’ good rib recipes, visit http://www.porkbeinspired.com.