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  

Tried It & Loved It: Vanilla Biscotti

I have had biscotti on my list of things to bake for a LONG time.  Like over a year ago long time.  I know.  I remember making some when I still lived with my parents, and I loved it.  I wanted to try my hand at it again and I finally got around to it.

A few weeks ago I sat down and found a recipe and made this wonderful biscotti.  I can't wait to make some more!  Next time, I plan on adding in some fun little yummies, like almonds or dried cranberries.....or maybe even both.  I so would have this time, but I didn't have any on hand, so vanilla it was.  It was still so tasty.  Crumbly and buttery just like it should be.  A great accompaniment to my coffee.  Need I say more? 

Vanilla Biscotti ~ from King Arthur Flour

6 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar (I did use sucanat, which is why the uneven color to my biscotti)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 large eggs
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (I did.....can you believe it?)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a baking sheet for biscotti.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer, using paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and baking powder until mixture is evenly combined.   Add in eggs; mix until creamy.  Add in flour and mix until evenly combined.  Dough will be sticky. 

Scoop dough onto prepared pan, and shape into a flattened log.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool about 30 minutes.  Using a spray bottle with room temperature water, lightly and evenly spritz water on biscotti log.  This will make the biscotti easier to slice.  Using a serrated knife, slice biscotti into 1/2 - 3/4 inch slices.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Set the biscotti on edge on baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  They will appear dry and be starting to turn golden when they are done.  They still may be a tiny moist in the center, but they will continue to dry as they cool.  Remove from oven and transfer to rack to cool.

Store in an air container for several days. 



  

Tried It & Loved It: Graham Crackers

Many years ago my Mom's friend gave me a cookie calendar that included a recipe for graham crackers.  I remember just being floored that those were something you could make at home.  I am little older now and a little wiser (at least I hope I am) and I have been a stay at home mom for nearly three years.  I have learned time and time again that most everything you can buy premade at the store can be made at home with fairly simple ingredients.  Whether it's household cleaners or snacks, you can probably make it at home.  And if it's a food item, you control the ingredients, so then you know exactly what's in them too, which is SO cool.  Finally, if you are like me, and you have more time than money, then this can save you money too!

My friend sent me this recipe probably close to a year ago and I haven't bought premade graham crackers since!  They are sooo good and they make an excellent graham cracker crust for your favorite pie recipe too--if you ever have enough leftover to get that far!

Homemade Whole Wheat Graham Crackers ~ slightly adapted from Heavenly Homemakers 

2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour (I used graham flour this time, but whole wheat works/tastes just as well)
½ cup rapadura
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
4 Tbsp honey
¼ cup water
1 tsp vanilla
 ½ cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a stand mixer or larger bowl, mix together dry ingredients.  Melt butter and stir in honey, water, and vanilla.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until a dough ball forms.  Split dough ball into two equal portions.  Laura suggests rolling each portion out between two sheets of parchment.  I use my Silpats and roll each portion out on the Silpat mat and place on the cookie sheet(s).   Using a pizza cutter, slice rolled out dough into two inch squares.  Prick each square with a fork several times.  Bake for 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking.  At the 18 minute mark, turn off the oven, but leave the crackers in the oven.  Leave in the oven for an additional 30 minutes to one hour.  The 30 minute mark works well with my oven, but you may want to play around with it to see what works for you. 

The key to these are two fold.  First, roll the dough out very thin.  Second, leave the crackers in the oven for the additional time after you turn off the oven.  Some people might call that following the instructions.  I didn't do this the first time I made them, and while they still tasted good, the texture was more of a cookie, not a cracker.  The additional time in the oven allows them to crisp up without over baking. 

Store in an airtight container.

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.