Queso Yummo

Have you been looking for a scrumptious snack that's easy to put together?  Look no further...here's the snack for you.  Delicious cheese dip all melty and gooey...what could be better?

I found this recipe at Let's Dish and started drooling right away. (Okay, maybe I was already drooling, but that's another story for another time)

Anyway, the recipe calls for white American cheese, but I couldn't find it.  But I did find something called "quesadilla cheese" already shredded so I figured that would work.  

Here's how to do it, from Let's Dish:

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Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup white onion, diced
1 large jalapeno or serrano, seeds and stem removed; diced  *I only used 1/4 of a pepper because I am a huge weenie*
16 ounces white American cheese, shredded or cubed
4 ounces Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
3/4 cup cream or half-and-half
1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes and green chilies
1-2 roma tomatos, seeds removed and diced
1 small bunch cilantro, roughly chopped *I didn't used the whole bunch, just a handfull*

Directions
Heat the oil in a saute pan. Cook the onion and pepper until softened and reduce heat to medium-low. Add the cheeses and 1/2 cup of the cream. Stir until mostly melted. Add the can of diced tomatoes and green chilies, the diced tomatoes, cilantro, and additional cream a little at a time until you reach desired consistency. Serve with chips or fresh tortillas.

Now, just because this is something I cooked, and bothered to take a picture of, here is Pioneer Woman's Sour Cream Noodle Bake.

I was not bowled over by this.  Which is kind of a bummer since she makes every recipe she puts up on her site sound like it's awesome enough to melt your brain cells. (and a lot of them are...I could have that brisket of hers every day for the rest of my life and be a happy girl)  This was kinda bland, and dry. And I was a little grossed out by the curds of cottage cheese in there.  Oh well, it was pretty easy, at least.  

 

Brown Sugar Bacon

I know everyone's seen this around, sometimes known as Pig Candy. I can't quite bring myself to call it that, pretty much for the same reason I can't walk into a Fatburger.  But someone on Facebook was telling my husband he just had to try it, so I obliged. 

Yeah, mine got a little too crispy in places.  My mistake was not trusting the cooking time in the recipe and giving it a bit more.  When it comes out of the oven and the brown sugar cools off, it will be crispy enough. Live and learn.

Anyway, how did we like it? Let's just say it's something I should never ever make again. Because basically, I could eat the entire batch without a bit of help.  Even the burned parts!  

We served 'em up with waffles and called it a meal.

Here's the recipe based on the one from Deep South Dish.

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Bacon

Brown Sugar (light or dark)

2 teaspoons of chili powder, or

    A few dashes of cayenne or red pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. You really don't want to skip this step - trust me. Place an oven safe rack on top and lightly spray it with some non-stick spray.

 Get a Ziploc storage bag, place some brown sugar in it.

Toss a few slices of bacon at a time in the ziploc bag them lay them across the rack.  Sprinkle a bit of the remaining sugar over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 45 minutes

Take it out of the oven, hide in a closet, and pig out!

Stuffed Peppers Wrapped in BACON

                                     

Did I mention there would be bacon?  Just making sure.

My husband requested cream cheese stuffed bacon wrapped chili peppers for his birthday, and I aim to please.  I suppose you could use any type pepper you wanted, but these were really yummy.  I love the parts of the pepper that get all charred and crispy, yum!

We were cooking something else out on the grill, so placed these to one side, cheese side up, until the bacon was done on the bottom.  Then I finished the tops under the broiler.  A smart person would put them on a baking sheet with edges, FYI.  Here's how we put them together:

Split peppers in half and remove the seeds.
Mix 8 oz cream cheese without about 1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice.
Stuff the peppers then wrap with bacon and secure with toothpicks.  Cook as described above.

These were so good...definitely worth repeating!

Now is the part where I force you to look at my vacation pictures.  We spent this past week in Southern California and had a really nifty time.  (yes, I said nifty).  The place we stayed at had oodles of flowers.

The kids would have been more than happy to stay in the pool the whole time.                                                     

We visited the beach at Crystal Cove State Park.  It was so nice there and not crowded at all.  Maybe because there is a ridiculous parking fee, but in this case it was worth it.  

(we are the little dots in the picture)

We got to take a boat tour of the harbor and saw hundreds of dolphins.  One of the high points for me.  Unfortunately the girl has inherited my motion sickness gene and was ready for terra firma.

We attended Medieval Times Dinner Theater and got to eat yummy food and wear cool crowns while we watched people joust. 

 

The pictures are horrid, but this was my favorite meal of the trip!  The fun part is they make you eat with your hands.  Guess they didn't have silverware in those days.

Last but not least was Knott's Berry Farm.    

Mara couldn't get enough spinning and twirling.....

I couldn't get enough funnel cake.....

This is one of the few rides I got on (see aforementioned motion sickness reference).

And of course a hug from Snoopy made it all worthwhile!

PW's Homemade Salsa

Had a big game to watch today so I felt like I needed a little snack to go with it...there's a shocker, I know!  PW just bumped her salsa back up to the top of her line up, so I decided to give it a try.

Look at this cast of characters and see if you can figure out what I forgot...

Yep, it's the onion.  No wonder it didn't make my eyes water!

Since I left it out, my review will have to be taken with a grain of salt, but here goes anyway.  I actually really liked it, but I'm very glad only used half the jalapeno called for instead of the whole!  My husband said he didn't think it was hot at all, but I definitely was feeling the burn.

I liked this better than any jarred salsa I've ever had, but not quite as much as my favorite Mexican place.  (That would be Manuel's, if you're ever in the area)

I will say that my salsa was really watery.  The recipe directs you not to drain the tomatoes, but I ended up draining off about a cup of liquid after mixing it all together.  No biggie, just something to know.  

And just for the record, we hardly had any left over.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
• 2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
• ¼ cups Chopped Onion
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin  *use 1/2 if you are a weenie like me*
• ¼ teaspoons Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
• ½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)
• ½ whole Lime Juice

Preparation Instructions

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Stuffed Snow Peas & Red Onion and Purple Potato Frittata

It's two recipes for the price of one here today.  Both of these come from the April/May issue of Taste of Home.

I saw these stuffed snow peas and just thought they were the cutest things.  And they're certainly not difficult.  I think it would be cute to serve at some sort of a shower or brunch.  You know, if you're one of those type of people who has friends and does those sort of things...hehe.  

Stuffed Snow Peas

Ingredients:
8 oz softened cream cheese
2 tsp minced chives
1 tsp dried basil
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 tsp caraway seeds (didn't use these)
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
36 fresh snow peas, trimmed


Directions:
Combine first 7 ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate overnight. (I didn't do this step, and thought they tasted fine)
Let filling stand at room temp 30 minutes.  Meanwhile bring 6 cups water to boil.  Add snow peas, cover and boil 1-2 minutes.  Drain and immediately place peas in ice water.  Drain and pat dry.  Gently split peas open, pipe about 1 tsp of filling into each pod.  


my notes:  The recipe recommend not to make these too far in advance.  Need to be chilled and served within 3 hours.  I halved everything because I was only making a few, and don't really think the full recipe would fill 36 peas.

This was my first time making a frittata.  Which I suppose is just basically a baked omelet.  

I saw these purple potatoes and just had to give them a try.  My daughter didn't really believe they were potatoes.  I wonder if they have any extra nutritional value since they've got some color to them.

Red Onion and Potato Frittata
Ingredients:
1 large red onion, chopped
1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
4 tbsp butter, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound red (or purple) potatoes thinly sliced
6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese


Directions:
In 10 inch ovenproof skillet, saute onion and rosemary in 1 tbsp butter until tender.  Add garlic and cook one minute longer. Remove from pan and set aside.
In same skillet cook potatoes in 2 tbsp butter tender.  Remove and keep warm
Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and cheese.  Add onion mixture.  Melt remaining butter in skillet.  Add egg mixture, bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.  Top with potatoes and bake another 3-5 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes, and cut into wedges.

Soft Pretzels

Ah, there's nothing like walking through a mall and catching the aroma of freshly baked pretzels. Only problem is all those people.

Now you can please your agoraphobic self and just make them at home.

This is an Alton Brown Recipe which I'll post for you at the bottom here.  I thought they were pretty darned easy and kinda fun.

I didn't have actual pretzel salt so just used the coarse kosher salt on the plain ones.  (True confession time:  I like my plain pretzels just dipped in ketchup.  I blame a college friend)

These I flopped around in some cinnamon sugar, heavy on the cinnamon.

And these are graced with sharp cheddar cheese.  Bacon bits might be nice on there too.  Heck, bacon bits are nice everywhere.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

Directions

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Cheesy Reuben Appetizer

Found this one at the Betty Crocker website.

Might be a great idea for gameday.

I liked the edges where it got all crispy and brown! I served it with those little cocktail rye bread slices grilled in some butter.

1	package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2	cups shredded Swiss cheese (6 ounces)
1/2	cup Thousand Island dressing
4	ounces deli sliced corned beef, chopped
1/2	cup well-drained sauerkraut
	Pretzel crackers, if desired
	Cocktail rye bread slices, if desired
	Chopped fresh chives, if desired
	Sliced radishes, if desired

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1.	Heat oven to 400°F.
2.	Mix cream cheese, 1 cup of the Swiss cheese, the dressing and corned beef. Spread in pie plate, 9x1 1/4 inches, or quiche dish, 9x1 1/2 inches. Top with sauerkraut and remaining 1/2 cup Swiss cheese. (Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours if desired.)
3.	Bake about 15 minutes or until bubbly around edge. Serve hot with pretzel crackers or cocktail bread. Garnish with chives and radishes.

Buttery Garlic Parmesan Wings

Well, I guess the title pretty much sums it up...hehe.

We always have our wings buffalo style, and I love 'em, but I was wanting to try something a little different this time.

I baked my wings first (you could always deep fry, grill 'em, or fricassee them too I suppose).

Then I gave them a swim around in the butter with garlic powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, tabasco, and some rotisserie seasoning I had.

After that they got to roll around in some shredded parmesan.

If you enjoy butter dripping down your chin and parmesan sticking to your fingers, this may be the dish for you.

What A Dip!

Sometimes I get a hankerin' for something cheesy, gooey, bacon-y, onion-y all warm and bubbly...

...smeared on top of some crunchy bread. Of course this is just another variation of dips I've made like this in the past.

With this particular dip there wasn't exactly a recipe but it went something like this:

First, cook half a pack of bacon till just crisp, then chop it up (preferably after it cools so you don't burn yourself).

Add the following to 2 packages of softened cream cheese:

*large handful of shredded sharp cheddar (maybe 3/4 cup)

*a plop of mayo (about 1/4 cup)

*1/2 chopped onion

*your previously chopped bacon

I wanted to top it with panko but I couldn't find mine, so I used Italian bread crumbs.

Put all this in some sort of baking vessel, pop in a 350 oven about 30 minutes, then dig in!

This was the perfect snack for me to eat while finally getting to watch "Julie and Julia". (nice title for a movie, btw)

Tonight I'm planning to make Tyler Florence's ultimate brisket, so I can compare it with PW's brisket, which I think is the ultimate ultimate. A throwdown of sorts, I suppose. I'll let ya know the outcome.

Yummy Nachos

Got a sad and lonely piece of delicious brisket left from Christmas dinner. What's a girl to do?

Chop it up and throw it in a skillet with a little help from a couple of items from the pantry. (I also tossed in a little taco seasoning, it seemed to need a something more.)

I made mine in a double layer in a small skillet with the beans, some chopped onion, some of that Paul Newman salsa I got the other day, and a colby/monterey jack combo. I put some tapatio in the hubby's nachos. Threw it in the oven at about 375 till the cheese got melty and bubbly. Then as the French say, Viola! Dinner is served!

Speaking of stupid, here's a pic of me in the apron the hubby had made for me for Christmas with images from my blog.

I had to cut my arms off to try to crop off most of my messy kitchen. The Venus de Milo's got nothing on me.

P.S. I got a nice waffle maker for Christmas, but my first try wasn't exactly successful. They turned out just kinda chewy. I used the waffle recipe that came with the package, maybe it's not a great recipe? It has an indicator light that tells you when it's hot enough, so I don't think that was the problem. Any clues? Thanks!