Southwest Corn Dip

I tried out this dip for New Year's Day. I happened to see it on the Pioneer Woman's blog - she recommended it, and you know she doesn't steer us wrong! I was intrigued because it seemed a little different than some of the dips I usually make.

Well, I thought it was really good. A warning, though - it makes a TON OF DIP. Like, enough to feed an army. So you may want to cut it in half if you don't have a big crowd to feed. We ate it with Fritos and when those ran out, we resorted to tortilla chips and it was good with both. I definitely recommend it for your next get-together!


Southwest Corn Dip
(from Karenpie at Tasty Kitchen)

•4 cans Corn (15 Oz.), Drained
•1 can Chopped Chilies (4 Oz), Drained
•1 can Chopped Jalapenos (4 Oz), Drained
•1 can Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
•1 whole Red Bell Pepper (Chopped)
•1 bunch(es) Scallions, Chopped
•1 cup Sour Cream
•1 bag Finely Grated Mexican Cheese (8 Oz)
•½ bunch(es) Fresh Cilantro, Coarsely Chopped (or To Taste)

1. Drain corn, chilies and jalapenos. Put in a large bowl with the beans and tilt the bowl on its side while you chop the other veggies. Add the rest of the veggies and drain – there will be liquid accumulated in the bowl. Stir in the sour cream and grated cheese. Add the cilantro last.

2. Refrigerate before serving if you have time and the self-control to keep from eating it.

3. You must eat this dip with Fritos Scoops or lime Tostitos. It’s like the law or something.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Sometimes I feel like I'm in an appetizer rut. I have a few that I really like and I just keep making them over and over again for every party and get-together that I have. So I was trying to come up with ideas for something kid friendly for my son's birthday party and saw this recipe on another blog. I knew immediately that I had to try it, and I'm so glad that I did.

This cheese ball was fantastic! It was so easy to make and everyone loved it - kids AND adults. Everyone kept asking me what was in it and how to make it. And my sister took the recipe and made it for a gathering at her house the next weekend.

Make this - you won't be sorry!


Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball
(from Mommy's Kitchen)

1 8oz. package cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
For coating: 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans, crushed graham crackers, or 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
For dipping: Graham crackers, chocolate graham crackers, vanilla wafers, pretzel sticks, Teddy Grahams or animal crackers.

1. Beat softened cream cheese, butter, & vanilla until creamy. Slowly add sugars until blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Place mixture in a Tupperware or plastic container. Refrigerate for 1 -2 hours.

2. Form into a ball and roll ball in pecans, graham cracker crumbs, or mini chocolate chips. Serve with graham crackers, vanilla wafers, Teddy Grahams, pretzels, or animal crackers.

Black Bean Dip

This week I made the Black Bean Dip for the group My Girl, Paula. This seemed a lot like other cheese dip recipes I've made in the past, but had the addition of beans, which sounded fantastic.

It didn't turn out to be the most fabulous looking dip, but it was really tasty and easy to whip up. I liked that it was a little "different" than my normal cheese dip. I'm glad that I tried this one, and I may make it again in the future if I want something different, but I think I'll stick with the other dip that is always a sure-fire hit and uses a few less ingredients!


Black Bean Dip
(from Paula Deen)

2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. chopped onions
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies, chopped
1 tomato, diced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 teaspoon Paula Deen's house seasoning
1 (15 ounce) can black beans with jalapenos
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 (4 ounce) package Velveeta Mexican cheese, diced
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, diced

1. Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the onions and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the green chilies, tomato, cilantro and House Seasoning and cook for 5 minutes longer. Add the beans and cheeses, and simmer until hot and bubbling. Serve hot with tortilla chips.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Inside-Out BLT's

I'm still here! Nearing the end of my first trimester and starting to get my energy and appetite back. Life is busy, though, and I know I just don't have the time to post to my cooking blog like I used to. But I promise to share anytime I find a great new recipe! I love to cook too much to stop!

I've made these Inside-Out BLT's a few times now and really enjoy them. I'd kind of gotten tired of the usual dips and meatballs that I usually turn to for appetizers, so I went searching for something new and found these. They're a unique appetizer that will go with just about any type of dinner you're serving. They're also quite easy to put together. Everyone who tries them always likes them. So whip these up for your next get-together!



Inside-Out BLT's
(from My Tasty Treasures)

3 slices of bacon
⅓ cup chopped Romaine lettuce
⅓ cup coarse soft bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 medium Roma tomatoes
Freshly ground black pepper
Mayonnaise

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels and chop into chunks.

2. In a medium bowl, combine bacon, lettuce, crumbs, cheese and olive oil. Mix well and set aside. Halve roma tomatoes lengthwise. Scoop out insides leaving a ¼ inch shell. Sprinkle black pepper on each tomato half. Brush with some of the mayonnaise. Mound the bacon mixture into tomatoes; transfer to baking pan.

3. Roast tomatoes, uncovered, for 10 to 12 minutes or until tomatoes start to wilt.

Makes 2 servings, but can be multiplied easily.

Enchilada Dip

I first made this enchilada dip several years back for a Superbowl party. And I believe the original recipe came from a TV show. It's quite an unusual dip, and one that I would have been a little leary of if it hadn't been for the persuasion of the people cooking it on TV. Sometimes I fall for their Mmmm...'s and Yuuummm's just too darn easily. And fortunately, every now and then, that quality of mine pays off.


This dip is really very good! The ingredients include crushed Doritos, enchilada sauce, onion, chili (yes - a can of chili), cheese, and tomato sauce. A little odd... but it all comes together nicely.



Once baked, it's taken out of the oven and spread with sour cream, sprinkled with more Dorito pieces, and topped off with freshly grated Cheddar cheese. Stick it back in the oven for five minutes to let it all melt.


It's great served with tortilla chips. Or, if you're a real big fan of Doritos and don't think there's enough in the dip, you can take that option as well. We promise not to judge you.



Enchilada Dip

1 large 13 oz. bag Doritos
2 Tbsp. onion, grated
10 oz. can chili with beans
10-15 oz. can enchilada sauce
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 and 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Topping ingredients:
2 cups Doritos, crushed
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 and 1/4 cups sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Crumble 6 cups Doritos into a large mixing bowl. Add the onion, the chili, the enchilada sauce, tomato sauce, and 1 and 1/2 cups of the Cheddar cheese to the crumbled Doritos. Stir with a rubber spatula to combine. Place mixture into an 8.5 x 11-inch oven proof casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes.

3. Remove from the oven. Spread the sour cream over the top of the casserole with a large spoon or a rubber spatula. Top with remaining 2 cups Doritos. Then sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of the Cheddar cheese. Bake for another 5 minutes and serve warm.

Chili Con Queso - Revved Up!

This recipe is for all the people who are sitting around trying to come up with something fun to make for their Superbowl party. This chili con queso is one of my all-time favorite dips, courtesy of the Pioneer Woman Cooks. I've made this the last couple of times we've had get togethers and it's always a big hit.


Not only is it sure to be a hit, but it's quick and easy to make. You can increase or decrease the spiciness depending on your taste preference. You'll notice the recipe calls for 1 to 3 jalapeno peppers. The real heat from the peppers comes from the inside membranes. I usually throw in two peppers but strip the membranes from one of them. This gives it a nice kick, but not so much that your mouth is on fire.

I've gotten into the habit of serving this up in our fondue pot, as it needs to stay warm. It makes a rather large batch, so serve it in something fairly big - a crock pot would work perfectly. And it is just perfect served with tortilla chips.

So stop racking your brain about your Superbowl menu. Buy some drinks, make a serving of Swedish meatballs, maybe some small sandwiches, and this dip. And enjoy the game!

p.s. I have no idea who I'm rooting for, as I'm not a football follower. Who should I root for?


Chili Con Queso - Revved Up!

2 lb package Velveeta Cheese
1 lb package Hot Breakfast Sausage (Jimmy Dean, Potter’s, etc.)
½ large onion
1 regular can Rotel (either Regular or Extra Hot, according to preference)
1 7-oz can diced green chilies
1 to 3 finely diced jalapeno peppers, according to preference

1. Chop the onion and brown with the breakfast sausage. Drain excess fat then return to pan. Cut Velveeta into cubes and add to warm skillet. Add Rotel and green chilies, and stir together over low heat until mixture is melted. Add finely diced jalapenos, stir together, and serve warm with tortilla chips.

Queso can be frozen flat in Ziploc bags and reheated.

Swedish Meatballs

Oooh, I love swedish meatballs. So easy to prepare and perfect as an appetizer or as a whole meal. I made these in a joint effort with my husband and my mother-in-law. We had them at my son's first birthday party and all had fun helping. My husband mixed up the meat, my mother-in-law formed the meatballs, and I cooked them all up.

Let me tell you the best thing about this recipe. It freezes fantastically! In a moment of craziness, I decided we needed to quadruple this recipe for the party. Each batch makes about 25 meatballs. I clearly didn't take into account the ton of other food I was making and grossly overestimated the hunger of our guests, because we had a lot left over. So they were shoved in the freezer the next day. When I later defrosted them and served them over egg noodles, they were just as good as the day I made them.


Happy Halloween everyone!

Swedish Meatballs
(adapted from Allrecipes.com)

1 and 2/3 cups evaporated milk
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. allspice
dash of pepper
1 pound ground round
2 tsp. butter
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1. Combine 2/3 cup evaporated milk, onion, crumbs, salt, allspice, pepper, and meat; mix well. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

2. Shape meat mixture into 1 inch balls. In large skillet, brown meatballs in butter. Dissolve bouillon cubes in boiling water; pour over meatballs and bring to boil over medium heat. Cover; simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, blend together cold water and flour. Remove meatballs from skillet, skim fat from pan juices and reserve juices. Stir 1 cup evaporated milk and flour/water mixture into pan juices in skillet; cook, uncovered, over low heat, stirring until sauce thickens. Return meatballs to skillet. Stir in lemon juice.

Makes approximately 10-15 servings.

Bacon Appetizers

These adorable little appetizers I made a few weeks ago for a baby shower. I found the recipe on one of my favorite cooking blogs - The Pioneer Woman. The Pioneer Woman is incredibly witty and smart. She has some awesome recipes and I love her step by step guides and hearing her stories. These bacon appetizers just sounded so good and looked so cute.

So, I tried them! They call for very popular, yet basic ingredients. I mean, what could be more delicious than crackers, cheese, and bacon? And that's really all there is to these.


I set out to make these and found them to be quite a bit more time consuming than I predicted. Don't get me wrong, they were easy, but it took so long to wrap each piece of bacon around each piece of cracker. But hey, greatness does not always come easy, right?

You seriously should have smelled my house as these were cooking. My entire house smelled like bacon. They cook in the oven on low heat for about an hour and a half and they will permeate through your walls and into every room. If you live in an apartment and have close neighbors, you might just get a few knocks on your door from people wondering what's for dinner and if they're invited.

These little appetizers were really tasty, but I also must warn that they were seriously greasy! I guess that's what you should expect when you're cooking bacon. The crackers in the center shrivel and become gooey from grease. But I guess no one ever claimed these were healthy, so what else did I expect? After I had a few I decided these would be more fitting to be served to men watching some sort of sporting event. But oh well, the folks at the baby shower did enjoy them!


Bacon Appetizers
(from The Pioneer Woman)

Club crackers
Thin-sliced bacon
Grated Parmesan cheese

Optional Alternatives:
Brown sugar instead of Parmesan cheese

1. Lay crackers (as many as you want) face up on a cookie sheet.

2. Scoop about 1 tsp. of grated Parmesan cheese onto each cracker. Cut your package of bacon in half (or cut pieces individually) and, carefully so the cheese doesn't fall off, wrap each cheese covered cracker in one half piece of bacon, completely covering the cracker. It should fit snugly around the cracker.

3. Place the bacon wrapped crackers onto a baking sheet that has a rack on it.

4. Place in a 250 degree F. oven for about 1.5 to 2 hours.

Broccoli with Zesty Lime Dip

There's always the usual dips with plain old broccoli, but this one actually marinates the broccoli - what a great idea! I threw this together so quickly and easily and brought it to a picnic we went to this weekend. There was one woman there who was going on and on about how great this was. She literally sat herself in front of this and ate away. I guess I'd call it a hit!

I used Zesty Italian dressing for the marinade. I actually think I over-blanched the broccoli a bit, because I think the goal was for it to still be crispy, but mine was definitely more cooked. But it didn't matter, it was still yummy. I zested the entire lime, and it gave a nice color to the dip. This one is really foolproof, and so good.


Broccoli with Zesty Lime Dip
(Adapted from For Goodness Taste cookbook by The Junior League of Rochester)

2 bunches broccoli
8 oz. Italian dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 fresh lime
2 to 3 Tbsp. horseradish
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. salt

1. Cut broccoli into florets. Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes to brighten color; cool immediately with cold water.

2. In zip-top plastic bag, marinate broccoli in Italian dressing. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours or overnight.

3. Remove zest from lime and squeeze juice. Combine with remaining dip ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes about 10 servings.