Chili Cheese Dip

This isn't that kind of chili cheese dip.  You know the ooey gooey processed cheese (chemicals) and a can of chili dip.  But you know?   That other stuff is good.  No redeeming nutritional value whatsoever, but good.  This is all just to clarify that I have eaten junk (and liked it!) and lived to tell about it.  ;)

Anyhow, I set out to make a recipe the other night and realized I didn't have all the ingredients, so I just came up with my own version.  The verdict?  Amazing.

Like so amazing I would have ate it all for dinner and not left any for Hubs when he got home amazing.  But I was a good little wifey and I did leave some for Hubs.

Begrudgingly.

Chili Cheese Dip

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup mayo
2 cans (4 oz. each) diced green chilies
1 cup Monterrey jack cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs (see my tip here)
Diced jalapenos for topping, if you like the extra heat (Peanut and I don't, but Hubs does)
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together softened cream cheese and mayo until well blended.  Add in chilies and Monterrey cheese and mix evenly.  Place in an oven proof bowl and top with bread crumbs.  Heat until warm and starting to bubble and bread crumbs are browned on top, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Top with additional jalapenos if desired.

Serve with veggies, chips, crackers or bread slices. 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This recipe is linked to:

Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Designs By Gollum Foodie Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen
Hearth 'n Soul Recipe Swap at Premeditated Leftovers
Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday  

Warm Blue Cheese Bacon Dip

Yes, I have been on a blue cheese kick.

I had some leftover bacon (I know) the other day and decided to make some of this dip.  I haven't had it in awhile and it was so GOOD.   It is so easy to make and such a great mixture of flavors.  It's perfect for entertaining too, as it can be made ahead.  I made this for my parents 30th anniversary party we threw for them several (!) years ago and it was a hit! 

Warm Blue Cheese Bacon Dip

8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup cream (you can use whole milk, half and half, whatever you have on hand)
2 cloves garlic, minced
7-8 strips cooked bacon, chopped
1 Tbsp green onions (green parts only, minced--not just sliced)
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles

2 Tbsp chopped, smoked almonds (mine weren't smoked, just dry roasted)

Beat cream cheese to soften and mix in cream/milk.  Add in garlic, bacon, green onions, and blue cheese.  Mix evenly to combine and place in oven proof dish.  If making ahead, refrigerate.  Pull out of refrigerator 30 minutes prior to baking.  Heat in 350 degree oven until heated through, about 30 minutes.  Top with almonds and serve warm, but not piping hot.  Serve with celery sticks or crackers. 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This recipe is linked to:

Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Designs By Gollum Foodie Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen
Hearth 'n Soul Recipe Swap at Premeditated Leftovers
Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday  

Chunky Bleu Cheese Dressing

After making this amazing spread, I had some bleu cheese leftover and I decided to make some bleu cheese dressing. I get in such a rut with my homemade ranch dressing (as I've mentioned before) and I forget that there are some other great salad dressings out there.  And we all love bleu cheese in our house--even the Peanut.  This child snacks on bleu cheese crumbles.  Yes, snacks on them.  I love bleu cheese and all, but snacking on it is even a little much for me.  I can't complain though, because she has a very diverse palette. 

So without further ado....

Chunky Bleu Cheese Salad Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles (as always, you can't beat the price at Costco for this!  WAY cheaper than the grocery store!)
1 clove garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together and use as a dip or top on a green salad.   This is a little thick--we like it that way!--but if you prefer, you can thin it down with a few tablespoons of milk.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This recipe is linked to:

Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Designs By Gollum Foodie Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen
Hearth 'n Soul Recipe Swap at Premeditated Leftovers
Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday  

Onion Dip

I had a hugely weak moment a couple of weeks ago.  The forecast was for the high nineties and pork chops were on the menu for that night.  Ughhh.....who wants pork chops in 90 degree heat?  Not me.  Then in addition, our landlord called us and invited us to go swimming (again!).  Well, we couldn't be rude and tell her no (wink, wink!).  Knowing we would be gone all day I definitely wasn't going to want to lounge by the pool and then come home and cook dinner.  I mean, what a kill joy right? 

So I went to Costco and bought lunch meat (turkey, no added preservatives) and Kettle brand potato chips (better than most). 

I know, I couldn't believe it either.  I mean, what has the world come to?

Having this Costco size bag of potato chips to use up, I thought, why not add insult to injury and make some homemade onion dip? 

Oh, yes I did. 

But of course I had to draw the line somewhere and I made the dip from scratch.  (Insert sigh of contentment here.)

It was so good.  And not really that hard or involved either.  Do try! You'll love it!

Onion Dip

2 large yellow onions, finely diced
4 Tbsp butter
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Pinch of cayenne pepper (or more if you like it hot)
Salt and pepper

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and saute onions for 15-20 minutes.  They should just be starting to caramelize.  Remove from heat and cool completely.

In a large mixing bowl, cream cream cheese with beaters until soft and pliable.  Stir in sour cream and mayonnaise and mix until well combined.  Fold in cooled onions. Add cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with potato chips or with fresh veggies if you are feeling guilty.  ;)

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This recipe is linked to:

Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Designs By Gollum Foodie Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen
Hearth 'n Soul Recipe Swap at A Moderate Life
La Bella Vita's Fresh Clean and Pure Friday 
Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday

Onion Rings and Special Sauce

So during my little unexpected blogging hiatus, I made some homemade onion rings.  We had these with some sizzling grass fed steaks on our anniversary.  Yes, that's how we roll--onion rings on our anniversary--but seriously, can you say yum?   We sure did.  This is entirely my own creation as I was computer less and had no way to reference any online recipes.  They came out pretty well, if I do say so myself!

Onion Rings with Special Sauce

1 large, softball sized onion
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup bread crumbs, preferably panko
3/4 cup flour
Coconut Oil (I used expellar pressed, unless of course you would like coconut flavored onion rings)
Seasoning salt

In a large skillet, over medium high heat, heat coconut oil.  There should be enough oil so that it is about a half inch deep.  You know it's hot enough to start frying when you stick a wooden spoon in the oil and bubbles roll off the spoon quickly.  Thank you, Rachael Ray, for that tip. 

Peel onion and slice into half inch slices, separating rings individually.  Soak onion slices in buttermilk for about ten minutes.

Mix bread crumbs and flour evenly, adding several dashes of seasoning salt.  Dredge onion slices in flour mixture and allow to set up on a plate prior to frying.  Fry rings in an even layer, flipping after about 3-4 minutes.  Rings should just start to look a little golden, but they won't be super dark due to the coconut oil. Remove from hot oil and layer on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet.  Season with additional salt, if needed. Repeat until all rings are fried.  Keep warm in a 250 degree oven until ready to serve.  

Special Sauce

1/2 cup mayonaisse
1/2 cup barbeque sauce

Mix together thoroughly.  Serve with homemade onion rings.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This recipe is linked to:

Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Designs By Gollum Foodie Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen
Hearth 'n Soul Recipe Swap  
La Bella Vita's Fresh Clean and Pure Friday
Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday 

Tried It & Loved It: Cheese Crackers

My dear friend sent me this recipe awhile back.  She told me how much her family all loved them and I gave them a try soon after.  Let me tell you...they are fab. u. lous!!!  Plus, if you have a food processor, they are ridiculously easy!  I make mine with white whole wheat flour and they are still wonderful--and the Hubs and the Peanut love them too.  Although Peanut does tell me every time she eats them that they are "Bicy."  {Spicy}

And then she proceeds to demand her milk.  :)  However, she still always wants some when we eat them, so she must not mind too much. 

These are also a great alternative to those store bought cheese crackers--you know what's in them and they taste way better too.  My only complaint is that they are somewhat fragile--so these are more for serving at home--they definitely would not hold up being tossed in your big mom purse for an easy snack on the go.  (For this reason, I still do the organic cheese bunnies when we are out and about.)  



























Cheese Crackers ~ Adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Cheese Straws 

1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In your food processor, combine cheese, butter, flour, salt, and red pepper flakes.  Pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add whole milk and combine until mixture forms a ball.  This takes about 15-20 seconds in the food processor.  

Roll dough into a one inch log--mine was about 6-8 inches long.  Wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer for 20 minutes.  Don't go too much longer--I did that the first time I made these and they don't slice too easy when the log is rock solid.  Twenty minutes is perfect.  Trust me.  

Remove cheese mixture from the freezer and slice log into slices about 1/4 inch thick.  Bake on a cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes, or until crackers just start to brown around edges.   

Tried It and Loved It: Pickled Jalapeños

Last summer, along with our abundance of fresh basil, we had a ridiculous abundance of jalapeños.  Like pounds and pounds of them. Even though these are food group in Hub's world, he can only eat so many and the three of us can only eat so much grilled salsa.  So I googled a way to preserve some of those peppers.  And you know Google never disappoints.  Jalapeño jelly came up as a suggestion and although it would have been wonderful, I was way. too. lazy for that.  So pickled jalapeños it was.  

I have to be honest though, I haven't actually tried these.  Not on their own at least, but I do use them for cooking things like my Spanish rice and grilled salsa (in the winter). I use these whenever diced chilies are called for in a recipe.  Hubs also eats them as a late night snack and they serve as a condiment in nearly every Mexican inspired dish he eats (enchiladas, tacos, burritos, nachos, etc., etc.).  Spicy things are his additional food group--mine is sour cream. 

Although David suggests only keeping these a few weeks in the refrigerator or canning them for long term preservation, we have had them in the fridge for several months without any problems.  I would have canned them, but I don't have a pressure canner, so I figured I would keep them until they went bad and so far that hasn't happened.   Of course, you want to use your best judgment and if they look bad/smell bad/taste bad--out they go!

Pickled Peppers ~ from David Lebovitz

1 pound fresh jalapeno peppers, washed
2 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups vinegar (I used white distilled as well as white wine vinegar)
3 tablespoons sugar (they were a little sweeter than Hubby would have preferred, so next year I will probably do half this amount)
3 tablespoons coarse salt, such as kosher
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons black peppercorns

1. Poke each pepper two to three times with a sharp paring knife or fork and place them in a large glass preserving jar.

2. In a large non-reactive saucepan, bring the other ingredients to a boil and stirring until the sugar and salt are dissolved.

3. Remove from heat and pour the liquid over the peppers. Place the lid loosely on the jar and let cool. Once cool, refrigerate for at least a week before using, if possible.  Hubs didn't of course.  

Enjoy on their own or in your favorite spicy dish.

Veggie Pizza

A dear friend of mine gave me this recipe shortly after high school. That is getting to be a really long time ago. It is really more of an appetizer food, but I came across the recipe the other day and decided to make it for dinner. It has always been a hit at potlucks and get-togethers--I don't know of anyone who doesn't like it...except of course, your run of the mill picky eaters who don't like anything that's green. But everyone else likes it.

I have modified it a little, as I make the crust from scratch...

Veggie Pizza

1 pizza crust (The original recipe calls for the refrigerated crescent rolls in the tube. You simply unroll these and press flat onto a cookie sheet and bake until done. Nice and easy, but I have more time than money so I use my bread machine to make the dough from scratch and then bake and let cool...see below.)
8 oz. cream cheese
1 tablespoon ranch seasoning (or you can use about 1/2 a packet of pre-made seasoning)
Toppings of your choice (I use broccoli, carrots, red pepper, black olives, green onions, and cheddar cheese)

I use the basic dough recipe from my bread maker:

1 1/8 cup warm water
1 1/2 Tbls oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups flour
2 tsp active dry yeast

Place the ingredients in the maker according to the manufacturers directions and use the dough setting. Once the cycle is finished, punch the dough and let rest about 5 minutes. Spread a little olive oil on your baking stone and press the dough into the stone.



Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes.

This of course can be done earlier in the day or while your crust is cooling, mix your seasoning into the cream cheese and chop up your veggies of choice. Once your crust is cool, spread the seasoned cream cheese onto the crust and spread your toppings evenly. Slice up and enjoy!

Sundried Tomato Pesto

My sister shared this recipe with me over a decade ago and it is always a hit! A food processor really helps with the preparation.
Sundried Tomato Pesto:
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sundried tomatoes in oil

*1/3 cup olive oil

In your food processor with the blade running, drop in cloves of garlic to mince. Add pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and salt. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Add tomatoes, pulse until coarsely chopped. With blade running, add enough olive oil for desired consistency. *I usually only use a tablespoon or two, as the tomatoes in oil provide enough. Serve with toasted sourdough baguette slices. Enjoy!
For other great recipes, visit Gayle at The Grocery Cart Challenge.