Mexican Street Corn

Original Photo and Recipe

This is sooooooooooooo good, great way to eat fresh corn.  I don't actually follow this recipe, just the general idea of it.  I basically just omit the lime and mayo but stick with the cotija.

Fresh Corn with Queso, Cilantro and Chile (Mexican Street Corn)

Serves: 4
Approx. 300 calories per ear

• 4 large ears corn 
• butter
• sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 + 1/2 cups Queso Fresco, crumbled or Cotija or Parmesan cheese, grated 
• 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced 
• 4 teaspoons chile powder 
• 1 lime, cut into four wedges 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush corn lightly with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast 20-25 minutes. Alternately you can grill or boil it.

Working with one ear of corn at time brush with mayonnaise, sprinkle with cheese, cilantro and chile powder, pressing it onto the corn to help it stick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve with lime wedges.

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

Original Photo and Recipe

Yummmmmmmyyyyyy.  And barely more effort than a rice-a-roni box.  Totally will make again.

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil
Serves:  4
Approx. 420 calories in 1/4 recipe

• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 1-½ cup Orzo
• 3 cups Chicken Or Vegetable Stock
• 6 Tablespoons Fresh Chopped Basil
• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Pepper

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the orzo and saute for a few minutes, until the orzo starts to get golden brown. Add the broth and cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until all the broth has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, add the basil and Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. 

Spicy Mac and Cheese

Original photo and recipe

We loved this, and the leftovers were good too!  I made a couple substitutions but this was another winner from Annie.

Spicy Mac and Cheese
Serves:  4 piggies, 6 is more realistic
Calories:  About 3600 in the recipe, my way

4 cups pasta shapes (I used 2.5 cups of mini penne and it was perfect) 1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup roasted red pepper (jarred or home roasted), finely chopped (I used like 1/2 cup+)
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely minced  (I used jarred sliced)
6½ tbsp. butter, divided
4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2½ cups milk
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
8 oz. colby jack cheese, shredded
4 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded
4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 oz. baguette or crusty Italian bread, torn into large chunks  (I used about 2 cups of dry corn flakes, smashed)

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  When the water boils, cook the pasta according to the package directions.  In the meantime, melt ½ tablespoon of butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, red pepper and jalapeno to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until fragrant and tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat.  Once the butter is completely melted, whisk in the flour.  Cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until it turns a light golden brown color and begins to foam, about 2 minutes.  (Be careful not to burn!)  Whisk in the milk until well blended.  Cook the mixture, whisking or stirring frequently, until it begins to bubble and thicken, about 5 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium-low.  Whisk in the spices.  Add the cheeses to the mixture and whisk until completely melted and well incorporated.  Remove the mixture from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 375° F.  Grease a 2-quart casserole dish. (I used a 2.5 quart)  Return the drained pasta to the large pot.  Add in the cooked vegetables and the cheese sauce, and mix until well blended.  Transfer the mixture to the prepared casserole dish.

Use a food processor to pulse the bread into coarse crumbs.  Transfer the crumbs to a small bowl.  Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and toss with the bread crumbs.  Sprinkle the crumb mixture in an even layer on top of the pasta.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until the mixture is heated through and the topping is golden brown.  Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Jalapeno Popper Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

 Original Recipe and Photo

Make this immediately.  I totally did a huge happy food dance when I ate this.  I will say that the name is a little misleading.  It isn't like it really tastes like the poppers or the chicken, just the ingredients from those items make a ridiculously awesome mac.  This might be my favorite Pinterest find yet.  I would make a couple small changes (listed below, see link for original recipe) just to make it easier, but overall it was fantastic!  I don't know how she fit a full recipe in a 9x9 pan, mine was full with a half. 

Jalapeno Popper Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese
Serves:  4 (or 1 of me)
Calories:  About 3200 in full recipe (no chicken, my way)

Ingredients:
4 slices of bacon
1 tablespoon bacon grease {reserved from said bacon}
1/4 large onion, diced {about 1/2+ cup}
1 jalapenos, sliced {ribs and seeds removed} (I might go with a bit more next time)
1/2 pound elbow macaroni

for the sauce-
2 tablespoons butter
2.5 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup milk {whole or 2% please}
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt & pepper, to taste
1 pinch nutmeg
2 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon hot sauce {such as Frank’s Red Hot} (I use 2-3 Tb Frank's Buffalo Sauce)

1 1/4 cups grated cheddar cheese  (I use Kraft's Shredded Triple Cheddar with Philadelphia)
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese  (I use Kraft's Shredded Mozzarella with Philadelphia)
1/8 cup grated provolone  (I just diced up a slice or two of deli provolone I had)
1/8 cup blue cheese crumbles  (It needs like 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup precooked and shredded chicken {optional}  (I included it, but won't again)

for the topping-
1 cup corn flakes, crushed  (Throw in a baggie and smash with a can or mallet)
1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles
{4 slices cooked bacon, as listed above}

parsley, for garnish

Directions:
In a large skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Remove from pan, drain on paper towels and crumble. Pour off excess bacon drippings, keeping 2 tablespoons in the pan. Place skillet back on heat and saute onion and jalapenos until soft, about 6 minutes over medium heat. Set aside.

Bring large pot of water to boil. Salt water generously and cook pasta 2 minutes short of package directions. You want the macaroni to be very al dente, but not still crunchy. Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. whisk in flour and cook 1-2 minutes. Whisk in milk, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Increase heat to medium high and continue mixing until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Stir in cream cheese and hot sauce until melted smoothly into the sauce. Pour cooked pasta and sauteed onions and jalapenos into the sauce. Stir to coat. Stir in cheeses and chicken. Pour into a buttered baking dish {9×9, 9×13, or somewhere in between should be good} and spread out evenly. Top with blue cheese, corn flakes and crumbled bacon. Bake 20-30 minutes until top of macaroni has browned. Remove from oven, top with parsley and serve hot.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Original photo and recipe

I had every intention of making this recipe exactly as it was written, complete with the flambee... really, I did.  Well, that didn't happen.  And I didn't have any other dinners planned.... so I made this the lazy way.  If you want the original recipe to do it right, click the link above.  If you are lazy like me... see my way below.  I am sure the original is super tasty.

Also, this was delicious.  We had it on Friday and Matt asked for it again on Sunday.  That never happens.  We like things spicy so you will have to adjust the red pepper flakes to your liking.


Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Linguine (the lazy way)
Serves: 3
Approx. 560 calories

1/2 lb. frozen shrimp (I had the 50 ct/lb size on hand)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes, divided
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp. salt
6 cloves garlic, minced (about 1/8 cup)... I have the pre-minced stuff that squeezes out of a bottle
½ tsp. sugar
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained (I had basil/oregano seasoned ones)
1/2 cup medium-dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
handful of minced fresh parsley
1/2 lb. linguine

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a pan and drop in a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Throw in the frozen shrimp and cook a little on each side until you see them start to curl up a little.  Remove them to a plate and rip off their tails.  Take the pan off the heat and reduce heat to low.  I also dumped out the contents because I didn't want all the shrimpy water.

Return the pan to the low heat and add the rest of the oil.  Once heated, drop in all the garlic and more red pepper flakes, frequently.  Watch for the garlic to turn golden and get foamy and sticky.  Turn up the heat to medium and add the wine.  Let it cook for a couple minutes.  Then add the salt, sugar, and tomatoes.  Let simmer until thickened, about 7-10 minutes.  Squish the tomatoes with the spoon every couple minutes to break them up.


While the sauce is simmering, add the linguine to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions until al dente.  Drain, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta water in the pot.

Stir the reserved shrimp and the parsley into the sauce.  Simmer until the shrimp are heated through, about 1 minute.  Add the pasta and pasta water to the pan and toss to coat.  Sprinkle on some parm if you want.  Serve immediately.

CMC 3

This year's cider mill crawl was a huge success... the weather was gorgeous, the donuts and cider were awesome, and the company was so much fun.

If you missed out on previous cider mill blog posts, here is some background:
CMC 1
CMC 2

Because we have already mostly covered the southwestern metro Detroit area mills, we headed to the northwestern area.  Next year, east bound!  Check out a few pictures from the day here, but if we are friends on Facebook I will upload a bunch more when I am done blogging.

 Place settings with judging card

 Bags for this year's crawl... resuable totes from JoAnn's with little apple trees!

 Jacki and Katie enjoying the first taste of the day at Spicer's in Fenton

 Jill is very excited about the cider at Spicer's

 While Steph and I are stoked about the donuts at Spicer's!

 Second stop, Parshallville Grist mill in Parshallville just down the road from Spicer's

 Very tasty... Steph had to grab a bowl of caramel apple slices too mmmmm

 Jacki is impressed at Parshallville's selection of apples

 Hanging out at Diehl's in Holly... Katie is excited because she just caught a bee under a cup

 Slightly less excited faces at Long's in Commerce... something broke in their barn and it was closed inside.

 Back to my house for tasting and judging

 Katie had to leave early, but here is the rest of the cider mill gang

 After all that sugar and carbs, we had a light dinner of wraps, veggies, fruit, and salad

Thanks girls for another awesome crawl!  I cannot wait until next year for CMC4!

And now, for the results!!!!

Overall Experience:
1st-  Parshallville
2nd- Spicer's
3rd-  Diehl's
4th-  Long's

Best Donut:
1st-  Spicer's
2nd-  Parshallville
3rd-  Long's
4th-  Diehl's

Best Cider:
1st-  Spicer's
2nd-  Parshallville
3rd-  Long's
4th-  Diehl's

OVERALL RANKING (120 points possible)

1st-  Spicer's with 106 points  WINNER!

2nd-  Parshallville with 100 points
3rd-  Long's with 81.5 points
4th-  Diehl's with 62 points


Here are my thoughts:
Spicer's - It was very busy and seemed like there was a ton to do there.  Parking sucked and the line for donuts was confusing.  But... the cider and donuts were seriously amazing and would probably beat out any of the previous year's winners.

Parshallville Grist-  Adorable.  It was pretty empty but the other customers said that wasn't usually the case.  No activities to do here, but a very nice store area.  The cider and donuts were very close to Spicer's, so it is worth the visit.

Diehl's-  Not very impressive.  The cider was like apple juice and while the donuts were flaming hot, they were just ok.  There is a large parking area with tables and play areas but it is in the middle of nowhere.

Long's-  This is a little hard to judge because the barn was under repair so we could only buy donuts and cider from the stand in the parking lot.  The cinnamon sugar was coarser than the other places so it was crunchy.  These donuts actually held up the best over the couple days following the crawl.  I would have loved to have had them fresh and hot.

Definitely try this at home!!  Grab a few friends and head out to a couple places and do your own judging!  Here are a few tips:
1.  I highly recommend light meals before/after.
2.  Don't eat more than 1/4 donut of each kind at each mill if you are doing a tasting later as well.  It is hard, but limit yourself.
3.  Bring napkins because most places don't have them.  They usually have small cups for the cider.
4.  Throw a cooler in the car if you want to keep your cider cold.  Also, throw in some water because you will need something after all the cider.
5.  Three mills is really what you should be doing, we added a fourth because it made sense geographically.  But when you get to that fourth mill, you are a little sugared up and need a break.

Thanks for reading and good luck with your own crawls!!

Salsa Chicken Tacos

 

So my random return to the food blog world is a fail in the picture department.  Sorry, you will just have to trust me that this is delicious.  I make it as often as I can but realized I never blogged it... at least I don't think so.  Either way, it deserves a quick post.

Salsa Chicken Tacos

Serves: 4ish

-3 frozen chicken breasts
-3/4-1 jar salsa (I like Pace thick and chunky- hot)
-1 cup frozen corn kernels
-1/2 block cream cheese
-1 cup canned (rinsed) black beans
-shredded cheese
-10 pk taco sized tortillas
-rice (plain white instant... 1 cup water/1 cup rice)

In a crockpot, throw in the frozen chicken and dump salsa over top.  Cook on low for about 6 hours.

Break up chicken in the crock, throw in the corn, cream cheese, and beans and stir.  Turn up to high and cook for about 30 minutes.  Stir to make sure it is all mixed up and hot.

Spoon into tortilla shells.  Top with cheese if you want.  We usually add some plain rice to the shell first because it can be kinda juicy and the rice will soak it up.

TA DA!  Difficult right?  Well it is ridiculously awesome so you should go make it (looking at you Pete).  It even works great as a dip... just add more salsa to make it thinner and scoop with chips.

Apple Crisp - 1

I love apple crisp, probably more than apple pie which is amazing. I plan on trying several apple crisp recipes in search of my favorite so I have labeled this one as apple crisp 1. This is a classic and super delicious. I cut the original recipe in half because I am the only one with a sweet tooth in this house and I didn't want to be a piggy and eat a huge pan (ok, well I WANTED to but I knew I shouldn't).



Apple Crisp 1
Serves: 6

5 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used Jonamac... select something tart for a good baking apple)
1/2 cup white sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup water

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).

2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x9 or 8x8 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and
ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.

3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes. Make sure you check it around 35 minutes to make sure the crust isn't burning.

**If you don't have one of those apple peeler/corer/slicer things, you should totally buy one. They work great!! BBB has them for $20 and Meijer has them this time of year for $20.

Awesome Jambalaya

Ok so this isn't a true jambalaya, but I don't have a better name. If you want to make yourself feel better, add some chicken, shrimp, okra whatever. It doesn't matter anyway because this turned out awesome. Now, I really hate it when bloggers say "you must try this" because I always get suckered into trying it and usually it doesn't live up the to the expectations the blogger has built up in me. BUT.... you should probably try this =)


Awesome Jambalaya
Serves: 3


1/2-3/4 rope of Italian Style Smoked Sausage sliced (I thought it really made the dish)
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1/2 cup onion diced
1/2 cup green pepper diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on taste and freshness of flakes)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Franks hot sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 3/4 cups instant white rice
1 can chicken broth


1. Heat a little oil in a large fry pan and saute the sausage, onion, and pepper until tender. Add the garlic for a couple mintes at the end.

2. Stir in crushed tomatoes, cajun seasoning, red pepper, black pepper, salt, Franks, Worcestershire sauce and broth. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and then bring to a boil.


3. Stir in the rice and remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes until rice is done.

**Depending on how much the liquid reduces, the rice/liquid ratio may be off a little. I originally used 2 cups rice and thought it might be a little too much.

Spicy Red Sauce Pasta

Make this. Just do it. Then invite me over so I can have some. It is delicious. I think Matt would eat this every night. Ok, maybe every other night.

Spicy Red Sauce Pasta
Serves: 2

2 cups penne pasta
6 slices cooked bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup red onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes (Del monte with green peppers and onions) UNdrained
1/4+ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more depending on how new and potent)
1/4+ teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup half and half
Parmesan or mozzarella cheese


1. Cook the pasta like the box tells you.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skilled combine olive oil, garlic, and onion. Saute until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add in the cooked bacon for a couple minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and red pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes, squishing the tomatoes as you cook. Add the half and half and stir.

3. Plate the pasta and pour sauce over top. Sprinkle on parm or mozz as desired.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Yep I said cookie dough cupcakes. I saw this recipe and HAD to make it. I read all the reviews and there seems to be 2 complaints: they are dry and the cookie dough cooks instead of being raw dough. Well I fixed the dry problem and think I eventually fixed the raw issue, but I will have to make them again. See the last 2 pictures? The one at the bottom is putting the dough top and center, the one with the hole in it was from me pushing the raw dough into the batter which worked much better. Next time I might try putting the dough in first then the batter.

I didn't use the actual original recipe, just the concept. So here is my version:

Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Cookie Dough:

Make one recipe Nom Cookies but do not bake them. Instead take a small cookie scoop and fill it just barely full and place on a pan. Repeat 23 more times. Freeze at least 2 hours (I froze them overnight).

Batter:
-1 box Devil's Food cake mix (or whatever flavor you like)
-1 small box chocolate pudding and pie filling (I think it is around 3 oz)
-4 eggs
-1 cup water
-1/3 cup veggie oil

Mix all the ingredients together. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups. It is probably best to do this in 2 batches of 12 so that the oven will bake properly. Fill each cup 2/3 full of batter. Press a frozen dough ball into the middle of the batter and push all the way down. Or try 1/3 batter, add the dough, 1/3 batter... see if that works better. Bake in the oven for 16 minutes. If you bake it too long, the dough will cook ruining the point of this recipe. Cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely. After fully cooling, frost.

Frosting:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream. You may want to refrigerate this for a little while to try and firm it up a bit. Put a big blog in a Ziploc sandwich bag, cut off a small corner and use it like a piping bag to get the frosting on there.

I really like these cupcakes refrigerated. Plus with the halfway raw dough and the cream cheese frosting, you should probably serve these immediately or refrigerate them anyway.

Fabulous Corn

We make this a lot when we grill. It is an easy and awesome side dish and we can't get enough of it. Try it, you will like it.

Fabulous Corn
Serves: 2-3

1 can corn, drained
1/2 cup of diced onion, red pepper, and green pepper... don't measure, just dice up a couple small hunks
1 tablespoon butter
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Garlic Salt
2 tablespoons chive & onion cream cheese (or plain if you have that)

1. Over medium heat in a small pan, saute the onions and peppers in the butter for a few minutes until they soften some. Add the corn and continue to cook, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with the steak seasoning and garlic salt to taste (maybe like 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of seasoning). Cook for about 8 minutes.

2. Add the cream cheese and stir to coat. Cook for another couple minutes and serve. YUM

Apple Dumpling

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. That's all I have to say about that.

Apple Dumpling
Serves: 6 (or just me)

Ingredients:
+1 large granny smith apple, peeled, cored and cut into 6 slices
+1 roll of BIG crescent rolls (there are 6 inside)
+1/2 stick butter
+3/4 cup sugar
+3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
+2/3 cup Mountain Dew

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x9 or 8x8 baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Toss in the apple slices to coat. Roll out and divide the crescent rolls. Take an apple slice (shake off excess goo) and roll up inside the crescent, starting at the small end. Pinch the ends closed. Place in the pan. Repeat with the remaining 5.

3. Spoon the rest of the delicious butter goo over top each of the rolls. Pour the Mountain Dew over top of all of it.

4. Bake for 35-45 minutes (until golden brown). Serve after cooling for about 5 minutes.

Best Lasagna Ever

Whether or not you agree that any food can be "the best ever"... who cares. This is really freaking good. You should definitely take the time, effort, and money to make this. I made a little extra of all the ingredients and froze a small lasagna and cooked a big one. Seriously awesome.

This came from one of the best food blogs The Pioneer Woman. Here is the link to her recipe... http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/the_best_lasagn/ It is very detailed and there is a downloadable PDF so I am not going to even bother copying the recipe to here.

I think this recipe is fantastic because it uses all readily available ingredients. They may not be the premium ingredients that some little old Italian lady uses, but who cares. Delicious is delicious. ENJOY!!!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This amazingly addictive recipe comes from my favorite buffalo sauce lover Lindsay. It was a huge hit at my family's Christmas party. Warning: This is spicy. If you can't handle it, back away! I personally didn't like the celery with it, so I stuck to the chips. I also made a half recipe, which worked well for our party of 20. The entire thing got eaten with no leftovers. We needed about a full bag of Tostitos scoops.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients
* 16 oz cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
* 12 oz Frank's buffalo sauce (I used about 10 oz, and Franks is the best!)
* 8 oz Ranch dressing (I used Hidden Valley)
* 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken (just bake some plain chicken breasts and shred with forks, one medium breast makes about 3/4 cup shredded)
* 1 cup shredded colby jack or cheddar cheese


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, dressing, and buffalo sauce until well blended. Add shredded chicken and mix well.
3. Spread into a glass baking dish. Top with cheese. ****
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes. (After baking, I transferred the dip into a small crockpot to keep it warm.)
5. Serve warm with tortilla chips (scoops!) and celery.
6. Devour! Remember to breathe!!

****I didn't do any of the baking. I just mixed all the ingredients and put it in a Little Dipper crock pot. It took about 30 minutes to heat thru and melt together. Worked great!

Return of the yummies!

Here are a couple of my absolute favorites that needed to make a repeat appearance with updated pictures. Just wanted to make sure you knew they existed. These are 2 staples in my kitchen. Mmmmm!!!

Chili Cheese Dip
Serves 12-15
1. Get your crock pot heating up on high.
2. Throw in the following:
1- 8oz bar of cream cheese, reduced/fat free works too
1 can of Hormel Hot no bean chili
1-16 oz. jar of your favorite salsa
1- 2 pound brick of Velveeta, cubed
3. Stirring occasionally, heat until melty and combined. Warning, this could take an hour.
4. Reduce heat to low and serve with tortilla chips (2 regular sized bags). Make sure you set out a paper plate for the spoon, this gets messy!

Nom Cookies
(formerly known as Matt's favorite)
Yield: 15 cookies

1. Set out a stick of unsalted butter to soften ahead of time. In a pinch you can microwave the stick very quickly (like 10 seconds) to soften it. But if you melt it, the consistency of the cookies will change.

2. Preheat the oven to 350.

3. In a large mixing bowl, with a hand/stand mixer cream together the following:
1 stick softened (1/2 cup) UNSALTED butter (not margarine)
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla extract (don't mess with that imitation crap)

4. In a small bowl, sift/mix together the following:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/8 teaspoon salt (I prefer kosher for baking)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

5. Slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet.

6. Stir in about 9 ounces (3/4 of a bag) chocolate chips. I like to mix half semi sweet and half milk chocolate. I think it really 'makes' the cookie.

7. Scoop dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Make sure there is about 2 inches between each ball.

8. Bake for approximately 9 minutes, depending on how you like your cookies. Matt prefers his cookies on the (super) soft side. Cookies are done when the edges are lightly browned and still appear moist in the middle.

9. Take pans out and let cookies cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes. Then remove the cookies to a cooling rack, countertop, wax paper, whatever to cool completely... or at least until they are cool enough to devour with a big glass of milk! Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Salad

This is reeeeeeeally good. It came from my mother-in-law, but I have made it several times recently for various holiday parties and it is a huge hit. It is healthy too.... right??? Apples?? RIGHT?

Caramel Apple Salad
Serves: about 14?

1. In a large bowl, melt 1 stick of butter or margarine. Then whisk or beat in 1 cup confectioners sugar. Then stir in 1.5 cups (12 oz) cool whip.

2. Stir in all this yummy stuff:
+3ish granny smith apples (depending on size, skin on, cut up in small bite sized pieces)
+1 cup dry roasted peanuts
+2 king size snickers bars cut up in little pieces
+1 can of WELL DRAINED crushed pineapple

3. Keep chilled! This is not a make ahead recipe. You really only want to assemble it a couple hours max before serving because it can get a little watery. But I have prepped step two the day before and refrigerated. Then did step 1 and mixed it all together before the party.

Mmmac & Cheese

I took Molly's mac & cheese and spiced it up. It was deeelicious. I made the whole recipe so we could have leftovers for lunch. To reheat I just add a bit of milk so it doesn't dry out. mmmm. I like to use the largest pan I have so that it is a thinner casserole and there is more surface area for the crumbs and for it to get crunchier.

Mmmac & Cheese
Serves: 5-6

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
3 cups of milk
3 tbsp of flour
1/2 cup of italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 pound of cooked elbow macaroni
1 large chunk (16 oz?) of sharp cheddar (cubed)
1 medium chunk (8 oz?) of swiss (cubed)
3 tsp smoked paprika
3 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp black pepper

Instructions: Melt the stick of butter and add the flour to make a paste. Then add the cheese and milk and stir. Add paprika and peppers, stir. Add more milk or flour to get the consistency you like. Pour the cheese over the cooked macaroni in a casserole pan. Top it with the bread crumbs and bake for 30 minutes at 350. Then enjoy!

GBC!

(Sorry for the 'half eaten' picture...) I went to a Thanksgiving party and hosted my parents for the big turkey day itself. Both times I had to make my delicious new version of green bean casserole (GBC). It is hard to improve on such a classic comfort food, but I really like the minor additions. Hope you do too!

GBC
Serves: 6-8

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together the following:
-2 cans french style green beans, drained
-1 (10.5 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
-8 oz. Velveeta, cubed
-About a 1/2 cup of milk
-1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
-1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
-salt and pepper

2. Transfer to a baking dish and bake for about 25 minutes. (I like to use a dish that has more surface area for the French's onions)

3. Remove from the oven and top with lots of French's french fried onions. Bake additional 5 minutes. Mmmmm.

Dill Dip

I have been eating and making this ever since I can remember. It has always been a favorite in our family and something really easy to take to parties. It goes great with veggies and chips. But carrots are the perfect match. I like to make it with low fat/no fat ingredients, but of course it tastes better with the super fatty stuff.... but my way you get to eat a lot more!



Dill Dip
Serves: a party

1. In a medium bowl combine the following:
*1 cup (8 oz) fat free sour cream
*1 cup (8 oz) low fat mayo (NOT miracle whip)
*3 tablespoons dried dill weed (not seed)
*3 tablespoons dried parsley
*3 tablespoons dried minced onion (not chopped)
*3 teaspoons seasoning blend (look here)
*3 teaspoons Accent (look here)

2. Transfer to your seving dish and refrigerate a few hours or even better overnight.

3. Serve with veggies or whatever you want. Keep it cool. (see below)

Fancy Schmancy Tip: I am sure most of you understand this, but it is something to consider when bringing a dish to pass like this. Get a slightly bigger container than your serving bowl and fill it halfway with crush ice. Set the dip bowl on top. That way it can sit out for longer and still be safe to eat. Just something to consider.