Jalapeno Popper Dip

My sister-in-law has brought this dip to the past few family gatherings and everyone loves it.  I finally made it myself and took it to my side of the family's party this past weekend.  It seemed to be a hit with them as well, with several asking for the recipe.  I didn't get a picture but here is the recipe.   It is so simple to make, tastes good, and probably terrible for you.  Enjoy & Happy New Year!!! 

Jalapeño Popper Dip
2- 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temp
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1- 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
1- 4 ounce can sliced jalapeños- double if you like heat
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 stick butter, melted
In a food processor add the first 6 ingredients and process until smooth. You do not need to drain either can of peppers. Spread the dip into a greased 2 quart casserole. (or 8 x 8 pan) In a bowl mix bread crumbs and the other 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Pour melted butter over top crumb mixture and mix well. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over the dip and bake in a 375° oven for about 20 minutes. You want the top to get browned and the dip to be heated through and bubble gently on the edges. Do not over heat this dish or the mayonnaise with separate and you will have a grease puddle in your dip. Serve with Buttery crackers or a sliced French baguette. Serves 8-10.

Source: Big Red Kitchen

Banana Cookies with Banana Frosting

My brother Clint got this recipe from one of his co-workers.  These cookies are moist and so yummy.  The best part is the banana frosting! Enjoy!
Banana Cookies With Banana Frosting
1 c sugar
1 c shortening
1 c mashed bananas
2 eggs
1/2 c butter milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c chopped nuts (optional- I substituted chocolate chips)

Banana Icing
1 banana
1 cube butter, softened
powder sugar (mix in till you have a good frosting consistency)

Cream together the sugar, and shortening.  Then add in the bananas and the eggs, mix well.  Add remaining ingredients and mix till combined.
Bake at 350 for 8-10 min. on a greased cookie sheet.

For the frosting mix the banana and the softened butter and powdered sugar till smooth.
When cookies are cooled frost with the banana frosting.

lZucchini Dill Pickles

Sure enough we had a lot of zucchini this year and we make pretty good use of it.   Towards the end of the season when I knew it would soon freeze I picked finger sized zucchini and decided to make pickles out of them.  I love dill pickles so thought I would try it and I liked them.  Texture is just a bit different than cucumber pickles but the taste is great.   This recipe comes from Grandma's Gracious Goodness and is simply her dill pickles made from zucchini.  So if you have pickling cucumbers just use the same recipe for regular dill pickles.

For each quart of pickles, add 2 TB sugar to each bottle, a couple of sliced garlic buds, and put in the cucumbers, adding dill weed as you go.  One package of dill will do from4-6 quarts.  Boil together 5 C water, 3 C vinegar, 6 TB non-iodized salt and green food coloring if desired.   Pour boiling liquid over zucchini in bottles.  Wipe tops of bottles, place lids and caps on and tighten.    Water bath pickles for 10 to 15 minutes for a good seal.  Cool and store in a dark place.  Pickles will be ready to use in about three weeks.

Oat Focacia Sandwich

Aunt Cherrill sent me this recipe and I tried it and liked it.  Has kind of a sweet taste to it because of the molasses.  Clark didn't think it that special but it was fun to try.  I should have taken a picture before I cut it but that slipped right by me.

Oat Focacia Sandwich

5 1/2 C white flour
1 C quick cooking oats
2 pkg dry yeast
2 tsp salt
 2 1/4 C water
1/2 C molasses
1 TB butter1 egg slightly beaten
1 TB minced dry onion
1 tsp garlic salt
1 TB sesame seeds

In large bowl combine flour oats, yeast and salt.  In a sauce pan heat water, molasses and butter to 120 - 130 degrees.  Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients and knead till smooth.   Press dough into greased 14 inch pizza pan and cover and let rise till double, about 30 minutes.  Brush with egg and sprinkle with onion, sesame seeds and garlic salt.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, till golden.   Cool on a rack.  
Split loaf in half horizontally and spread with a mixture of 6 TBS mayo and 2 TBS mustard.  Add desired filling.  Suggested fillings are ham, cheese, lettuce, onion, green pepper and tomato, or roast beef slices, cheese, red onion, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.  Replace top of loaf and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate till ready to use.   Cut into wedges.   Serves 12

Chicken Cauliflower Soup

Today I am sharing a recipe I  tried this last weekend for our family conference campout. I had several family members ask for the recipe, so here it is.

Chicken Cauliflower Soup

2-3 chicken breasts                        salt and pepper to taste

5 medium potatoes, cubed            1 can chicken broth
3 stalks celery, diced                    2 C skim milk
3 carrots, peeled and diced           1 C cream
1 onion diced                                1 C grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
1 head cauliflower, cut into
small florets

Cook chicken breasts in 6-8 C water, seasoned with salt and dried onion, till done. Remove chicken from water and strain out onion bits and other “debris.” Add potatoes, celery, carrots, onion, and garlic to water and boil till softened, about 10 minutes. Add cauliflower florets and chopped chicken and chicken broth if it seems to need more liquid. Cook another 10 minutes till cauliflower is tender. Stir in skim milk, then cream, then Parmesan cheese. Heat till cheese is melted. Serves 10-12 people.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and made a few adjustments to it as I went along, not so much in ingredients, but in how I cooked it. The cream was my own addition. If you would like to view the original recipe, it may be found here

Picture to be added later.

Crash Hot Potatoes

These potatoes take a little prior planning, but they are really good!

Begin by boiling new potatoes or other smallish round potatoes in a pot of salted water.  Boil until fork tender.  Next, generously drizzle olive oil on a sheet pan.  This will keep the potatoes from sticking, so don't be shy with the oil.  Place potatoes on the sheet pan with plenty of room to spread out.  Then take a potato masher and gently press down on each potato till they slightly mash.  Then rotate the masher 90 degrees and flatten the potato out to resemble a cookie.  (If you don't have a potato masher, a fork will work just fine.)

Brush the tops of each potato generously with more olive oil, then season with salt, peper, and whatever herbs you want to use.  Garlic and parmesan cheese would be a good combination.  I used a Rosemary Garlic Seasoning that I had on hand, and it was delicious.  Place the sheet pan on the top rack of a very hot oven (450 degrees) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden and crispy.  Recipe comes from the Pioneer Woman, and I discovered it through Pinterest.

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread

I found this recipe on Pinterest just in time to use my four overripe banans.  The cream cheese adds so much to this recipe, giving it a very moist but light texture.  Plus, the roasted pecans are the perfect addition.  Roasting the nuts brings out their natural oils and adds SO much flavor...Don't skip this step!  To roast them, simply place the pecans on a cookie sheet in a single layer and bake at 350 degrees for a few minutes until fragrant and lightly toasted.  I had some sugared, roasted pecans leftover from another recipe, so I just used those.  The original recipe comes from Sugar and Spice by Celeste.

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread
***Makes 2 loaves***

3/4 c. butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 medium bananas)
1 cup roughly chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in bananas, pecans, and vanillla. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8x4 inch loafpans.  (I used 6 smaller loaf pans.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan, shielding with aluminum foil last 15 minutes to prevent browning, if necessary.  (I  cooked my smaller loaves for about 40 minutes.  They turned out perfect.) Cool bread in pans on wire racks for a few minutes. Remove from pans, and cool 30 minutes on wire racks before slicing.

Sausage/Egg/ English Muffin Sandwich with a bit of zip.

I love sausage/egg sandwiches on an English muffin and fix them regularly.   When straightening out my freezer the other day I found some jalapeno sausage that Cordell had made and given us so I thought I would give it a try.  Gave the sandwich a little zip.  I prepared the sandwiches in the microwave which makes things easy for me.  Here is what I did to make two sandwiches.

Since most of us don't have jalapeno sausage as I did, chop up desired amount of a jalapeno (depending on how much heat you like), and mix in with ground sausage.  Shape sausage into patties and fry, draining on a paper towel when the meat is done.  Poach the eggs  by putting a bowl in the microwave with 1 cup of water and zap for 2 minutes.   Crack two eggs into the bowl, poke the yokes with a toothpick,  and microwave for 1-2 minutes.   While the eggs are cooking, toast the English muffins and spread on a little mustard.  Put sausage on mustard side of the muffin, add the drained poached egg and then a slice of whatever kind of cheese you like and add top of muffin.   

Philly cheesesteak Sandwich with Garlic Mayo

I found the recipe for this delicious and easy sandwich on allrecipes.com submitted by Tera.  The garlic mayo is what sets this recipe apart from others.  Umm, ummm.  I'm a garlic lover :)

Ingredients:
1 C mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
1 lb beef round stead cut into thin strips
2 green bell peppers, cut into strips
2 onions, sliced into rings
salt and pepper to taste
4 hoagie buns, split lengthwise and toasted
1 (8oz.) pkg. shredded mozarella cheese

In a small bowl, combine mayo and minced garlic.  Cover, and refrigerate.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Saute beef until lightly browned.  Stir in green pepper and onion, and season with salt and pepper.  Saute until veggies are tender.

Spread each toasted bun generously with garlic mayonnaise.  Divide beef mixture into the buns.  Top with shredded cheese.  Place sandwiches on a baking pan.

Heat sandwiches in preheated oven, until cheese is melted or slightly browned.

Southwestern Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

My daughters and daughter-in-law started a recipe blog recently.  I am also one of the contributors.  Unfortunately, I have not yet made a contribution!  However, I have been happy to try some of the recipes they have published.  I know, I'm a freeloader... Here is one recipe we tried from the blog recently.  This one comes from Laurel, and it is definitely a keeper!  Laurel found this recipe here

(If you are interested in viewing our blog, email Laurel for an invitation.) 

 

3 medium sweet potatoes

1.5 cups corn (frozen or canned)

1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
cilantro, to taste
1 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1 to 3 chipotles in adobo, finely minced (I used 2)
1/2 cup shredded cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet or large pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until fork tender. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle. (I was short on time and microwaved them instead! Much faster and still gets the job done.)

Saute the corn in a skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle with salt, cumin, chili powder and oregano. Cook until the corn is roasted and browned (about 7 to 10 minutes). Transfer to a small bowl; set aside.

To the skillet, add the canola oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until just tender. Remove to the bowl with the corn; add the black beans and as much cilantro as you wish to the bowl and lightly mix to combine all ingredients.

When the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half, lengthwise. Carefully scoop out the flesh, leaving about a 1/8″ border in the skins, and place into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the cream cheese, sour cream, chipotle pepper(s) and salt to the mixing bowl with the sweet potatoes. Mash with a potato masher to desired texture. Gently stir in the corn and black bean mixture.

Preheat the broiler. Fill each potato skin with the potato-corn mixture, and top each with about 1.5 Tbsp. of cheese. Broil for 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted and hot. (There will be leftovers of the filling. You can use this to fill a quesadilla for lunch the next day.)