Greek layered dip

My other contribution for the Easter festivities this year was a layered Greek dip...sort of like the 7 layer Mexican dip I make on a semi-regular basis, but with a Greek flair. I've had a love affair with hummus and Greek yogurt lately so I was almost went through the roof when I came up this concoction while trying to decide what I should bring to our Jamison get together. I actually had the stuff to make the Mexican dip, and was looking around in the fridge for something when I thought "I could do this with anything!" Saw I had some feta cheese and a cucumber, knew I always had hummus and Greek yogurt on hand, and was pleasantly surprised by these Greek flavored sundried tomatoes I found in the cupboard. This was meant to be, my fellow food freaks!  The only thing I had to pick up was some pitas to dippity dip into the stuff...I'd say the heavens wanted this to happen.

 

1 bag sundried tomatoes (Greek, oregano, basil and garlic flavored preferably)

1 cup reduced fat feta cheese

2 cups Greek yogurt (I use Oikos brand, LOVE that stuff!)

1 container roasted red pepper hummus (I used Trader Joe's brand but I also like Athenos brand)

1/2 cucumber, diced

1 T Greek seasoning

1 T olive oil

pita bread cut into pieces for dipping

 

The instructions are pretty self-explanatory for a layer dip. You just....layer. I started with the creamy ingredients, hummus on bottom followed by the Greek yogurt. Then the sundried tomatoes and cucumbers, and finally the feta. Drizzle with olive oil and your Greek seasoning and you're in business! I made this the day before we served it and it was fine staying in the fridge overnight. I loved the full flavored bites of Greekness you got with each scoop...layered dips make for the perfect bite, you get some of each ingredient in each mouthful!

Perfect for a party...but don't judge me when I say I could sit down and eat this for a meal. It's very filling, and I am a dip girl, you know. Hummus and Greek yogurt both contain a good amount of protein so it will keep you satisfied like a meal would, not like a normal dip. So you don't have to feel like a heathen for ruining your dindin with this stuff...but I'm not admitting to anything. Happy Friday, all!

Pepperoncini salami rolls

Easter apps, ya'll! I have a quick and painless humpday recipe for you. And when I say quick and painless, I mean you won't find a more mindless recipe to assemble. Ever. In your life. Pinky swear. Here's what you need:

 

salami

pepperoncinis

cream cheese (I used fat free)

 

Boomsauce. That's it. Oh, I guess you need toothpicks too, but that doesn't count as an ingredient unless you eat them. Don't eat them, please. Not sure on my liability level if you do...but I told you not to so it's on you now. Although I did eat the tine off a plastic fork once without knowing it, and never had an issue afterwards, so maybe you would be fine? Either way, let's not.

 

Assembly line time! Lay out slices of salami, dollop some cream cheese on top, and throw on a pepperoncini. Fold in half and stick a toothpick in them, they're done! There weren't many left of these after the Easter nibbling, so I'm thinking they were a crowd fave. I had quite a few fly-bys, I'll admit. A little zing, a lot of flavor, and served on a toothpick. Can't beat 'em!

BLT bites

Wanna know a secret? This is the last recipe from the Christmas season...all the recipes from here on out were actually prepared this year. Sorry for being so behind on life. I've always been a little slow :)

 

I realize this picture is not the best. I realize I didn't actually make these with my own two hands (thank you Teri, these were lifechanging). But you have to understand...there was no way that I could keep this recipe from you. Not a possibility. I plowed through these things like a snowblower, you guys. Actually maybe more like a woodchipper...chewed them up and kept coming back for more. No matter how full I was, I could always fit one more into the pit. Kinda like the pesto cream cheese tomatoes I made for Easter this year. Something about cherry tomatoes stuffed with goodness. They're my kryptonite.

Ingredients

• 1 container cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 lb sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup chopped green onions
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

• Cut a thin slice off of each tomato top. Scoop out and discard pulp. Invert the tomatoes on a paper towel to drain.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon into tomatoes. Refrigerate for several hours. Yield: 16-20 appetizer serving

If you want to see what an actual photographer can make these look like, and not a fat kid snapping a pic in between handfulls of food, check out the link to the actual recipe here at Taste of Home.  Un.Real.

Deviled egg dip

In case any of you were interested, I was featured on Simply Bridal's website a couple of months ago since I won a free wedding dress from them last year. I entered a Facebook contest based on votes from friends and won 3rd place, which qualified me to choose a dress from their website. I still feel bad about my constant posting begging all my friends to vote for me, but only a little bad when I think about how excited I was to find out that I won on Christmas morning. Seriously...best Christmas ever. Anyway, check out my interview with them and if you are in the market for a wedding dress anytime soon, I would recommend them hands down! I would not, however, recommend eating this dip. This is a post wedding dress diet dip, mind you. You may even want to stop reading now, because the calories could be airborne. Not sure, just playing it safe...I'm here for you.

 

You know how I feel about deviled eggs, right? Well, at least how I feel about my Aunt Vicki's deviled eggs...

 

They are strictly holiday food. No cheating. There's no reason in this world that I should eat 12 deviled eggs, and that's exactly what I would do if I was only sharing with Main Man. The only reason we stop eating them at holidays is when they're gone. There's literally never one deviled egg leftover from the double to quadrupled batch at my family gatherings. But they're kinda a pain to make, ya know? It's a process. With a result like Aunt Vicki's deviled eggs, it's worth it. But I was sort of thinking life could be a little easier...kinda like when I discovered that I could cook sweet corn in the microwave. Lifechanging. So I figured this was worth a shot. I saw a couple recipes for it on Pinterest, but decided to use Aunt Vicki's recipe to make this a dip. I just diced up the egg whites and added them to the filling, rather than filling them with the yolk mixture. Check the link above for the ingredients and instructions, and throw this stuff together for your Superbowl party...you won't be disappointed! I used Triscuits for dipping but you could use Wheat Thins, or even Club crackers. Waaaaaay easier, and my deviled egg lovin' Main Man was impressed as well. Win, win!

 

 

Crab bruschetta

If you like rainy days, today would be a great day for you in Iowa. If you like snowy days, today would be a great day for you in Iowa. This year, Old Man Winter or Mother Nature (whichever one of them is behind this) has been finicky and persnickety at best. It was in the 50's while we were on our honeymoon, when we got back there were 40 mph wind gusts and below zero windchills. It's been warmish and rainy the past couple days, but we're supposed to get 3-6 inches of snow with some nice wind tonight, and on Thursday the high is 1. Yeah, that's right. The high is 1. Which means if you include the windchill, we're supposed to be negative 20 something. I'm not complaining, I grew up in Iowa, I'm used to this shizz. But I will say that it's a little harder to remember what -25 feels like when we didn't even hit zero last year. Whether it's global warming or whatever, I would be fine with the temperature shift we've experienced in the past year...this -25 business is for the birds...and they're not even here!

 

This recipe was very much a throw-together that I made at the very last second for the Wid party we had this Fall at my place. I had a recipe laying around somewhere for crab bruschetta so I had all the ingredients, but I couldn't find my printout, so I just wung it (winged it, wang it?) and this was the result. I had people ask me for the recipe so I guess that meant it was good...I never did get a chance to snag a piece, so I will have to trust my guests and their taste buds.

 

One thing I would have done normally, but failed to do so because guests started walking in, was brush the bread with olive oil and bake it for 5 minutes at 400 degrees to give it that telltale bruschetta crunch...but these did disappear just the way they were so if you would like to, I think you can get away with skipping that step.

 

1 baguette, thinly sliced

1 lb jumbo lump meat crab

3-4 roma tomatoes, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 T lemon juice

2 t basil

2 t oregano

2 T olive oil

cracked black pepper to taste

 

Combine all ingredients besides the bread, and mix thoroughly. Pile the bread slices with the mix and bake for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees. If you want to have crispier bread as mentioned above, brush each slice with olive oil and bake before the toppings are added, then add toppings and bake as directed.

 

Main Man is under the weather this week so we've been having a comfort food marathon, which means I will have some great recipes to share with you soon...think crockpot chicken cordon bleu! Stay tuned for sick week postings...comfort foods to make anyone feel better!

Buffalo chicken cups

Oh me, oh my...I've noticed we're still on Christmas food. And this isn't the last of it. It's tough to go back and look at garlic artichoke cheesy bread and these buffalo chicken dip cups when I'm trying to eat clean after the unforgivable amount of food on our recent cruise. Salivation at 9 am is not attractive...or comfortable.  It's a long time till lunch, people! Sorry if this does to you what it's doing to me...or maybe you aren't drooling since you don't have the memory of how fantastic these tasted. In that case...you lose. I shall salivate my own little desk puddles and imagine myself swimming laps in one of these buffalo chicken cups with my mouth open the whole time. Was that too far? Sorry...

 

This is a very simple recipe, and I had the idea for quite a while before I ever got to execution stages. You know how I love the buffalo chicken dip, right? Like I love it so much, I have to come up with ways to limit my intake of the stuff. Individual cups that I can put on my plate, rather than hovering over the crockpot and dipping till I can't dip no more seemed like a good way to do that. And it worked! I only had 2 cups rather than two actual measured cups of dip layered onto 2 huge handfuls of chips. You too can trick yourself into portion control! Because let's be real...tricking myself is the only way portion control really happens...

 

Here's what you need:

 

4 chicken breasts, seasoned, baked, and diced

1 container fat free cream cheese

3 T light Ranch (I use Ken's because it's the best, just ask my friend Jennnnnn, she's a ranch connoisseur)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

hot sauce to taste (I use Frank's buffalo sauce)

1 package wonton wrappers

 

Mix it all up in a bowl. Mixmixmix, mixmixmix, mix your dippy, yeah, mix your dippy!! Name the tune that is sung to and you will receive...nothing, I guess, but there will be some respect involved if you can climb into my head that far and come out with my weirdness unscathed.

 

Pam up your muffin tin, and place wonton wrappers in each hole to be spoon filled with the love that is buffalo chicken dip....

Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye on them because ovens are testy little suckers and some ovens will burn things while others have to cook them twice as long. Mine tends to burn things...he's got muscles. Anyway, all the ingredients are cooked so you're just trying to warm them throughout, and crisp up the wonton wrappers while simultaneously melting the cheese. Doesn't take long atall. Serve while piping hot with the dip oozing out of the crispy cup when you take a bite. And that right there...is a little piece of heaven.

This recipe yields quite a lot of cups, so you will have plenty to throw a couple staggered batches in while hosting a party to replenish the empty plate after they're devoured batch by batch. And there you have it folks...a perfect dish to serve at your Superbowl party coming up. You're welcome :)

Garlic artichoke cheesy bread

Two million views as of yesterday, folks! Two. Flipping. Million. I can't even comprehend that so many of you want to read my ramblings from day to day, but it does recharge my batts and make me wanna keep coming back to you all each day. I'm pretty pumped to have seen that stat, and then realize that I'm sharing one of the best/easiest recipes we've had since Christmas...that way I don't feel like a dope for giving you a mediocre post on a day when you've shown me how much you enjoy the food porn I attempt to give you through this blog. I've been super refreshed after my week off honeymooning last week, and getting back into my workout routine as well as clean eating this week, so this news was especially great to hear today to keep me on track with posts...thanks for reading, peeps :)

 

I've had this recipe killer artichoke bread pinned for ages...and I mean aaaaaages. Check out that blog, by the way, the woman is a genius! I couldn't very well justify downing a whole loaf of all these rich ingredients between Main Man and I (it would've happened), so I had to bide my time and bring this to the Jamison Christmas for everyone to share the calories and get a taste. I am soooo glad I did! This stuff was scrumptious...I know I would've eaten half the loaf on my own if it wasn't devoured before I got a second piece. Note to self: when making this for a crowd, always double the recipe!

2 T butter
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup sour cream (I used greek yogurt)
1 large shallot, diced (I omitted this part as I didn't have it on hand)
1 French bread loaf (I used my favorite ciabatta bread)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the artichoke hearts, Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese and sour cream. Stir to blend. Remove from the heat and cool.

 

 

Since we were heading to a gathering, I just loaded up my spread into a container, grabbed my loaf of bread, and took off. I prepared it at our destination with no trouble at all. Slice the bread lengthwise. Spoon the artichoke mixture evenly onto the bread. Broil till cheese has melted and bread is hot. Slice and enjoy! Suuuuuper garlicky (just like I like it) and just all around fantastic taste...your taste buds will soar with this appetizer. Happy hump day, all!

Spinach ricotta cups

I missed you yesterday. Really...I did. I missed everything to do with civilization actually. We got hit with Winter Storm Draco, just as the weather people predicted, and he didn't take it easy on us because we are out of practice, that's for sure. Sidenote: when did we start naming blizzards? Anyway, I was stranded at home alone since Main Man and his guys plow quite a few businesses around town (for 27 hours straight yesterday and he left at 10 pm so didn't get sleep for 42 hours...no bueno). I am used to be alone during snowstorms, so that wasn't an issue. The issue was the fact that I didn't have power for 13 hours during said snowstorm. The heat was off, I couldn't watch tv, blog, do a p90x workout, cook my holiday food...nothin. I tell you what, the house is spic and span though! My kindle was dead so the only distraction I had was my cell phone, which got old after a bit, so cleaning things was my only means of keeping busy and warm. The power did get restored right at dark, when I was just starting to get worried about not having real candles in the house (I'm a Scentsy addict but those require electricity), and the heat not coming on again all night.

 

Main Man tried to get home to nap a couple times but he was actually snowed out while I was snowed in...even with his big old truck with a plow on it. He walked home from down the road around midnight last night and was asleep before he hit the bed. So glad he got some rest finally...I know people get anxious and annoyed at the street cleaning crews and the power companies when they're stranded but those people who worked with no sleep in the freezing cold the last couple days to restore my power and clear the roads for me to get out today are saints in my book! I sure wouldn't want that job!

 

After the week we've had, I'm ready for the long Christmas weekend, followed by the long New Years weekend, followed very closely by our honeymoon cruise in January...besides being petrified of flying even though I've done it a million times, I am over the moon excited to be looking at a full week of relaxation! It's been a busy month, with preparations for the holidays, and other events...like the WIDZ party I made these spinach ricotta cups for a couple weeks ago. I have to admit that I never actually got a chance to try one of them because they disappeared so quickly, but that's a good thing, right?! I received a lot of compliments on these, which is nice because they really didn't take much effort...see for yourself:

 

2 packages phyllo cups (you can get the phyllo dough and make cups yourself if you like, but this is way easier)

5-8 oz fresh spinach

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T butter

1 16 oz container low fat ricotta cheese

4 oz goat cheese

cracked pepper to taste

thyme to taste (sprinkled on top)

 

I had originally thought of just filling these with the cheeses, but decided to add a little to the pot for flava's sake. I performed my normal routine of wilting the fresh spinach with the butter and minced garlic in the microwave. Heat for 30 seconds, stir, heat for 30 seconds, stir...done. Add that to a mixing bowl with the ricotta and goat cheese. Add cracked pepper and thyme and mix all that shizz to perfection.

 

I decided to put the mixture into a plastic baggie and cut a corner off in order to squirt it into the cups without getting them all messy using a spoon. It's a shortcut I think you'll come to appreciate if you're anything like me...and by anything like me, I mean sloppy. Things tend to come out perdier this way. Anywho...squirt the filling into the cups, sprinkle with thyme for a garnish and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Yum-diddly-umptious.  

 

Well, folks...it looks as though this is the last you'll hear from me until after the holiday...so I hope you all have wonderful celebrations with fantabulous food and unforgettable family time! I will be back late next week to hit you with some of the holiday treats I've made for the festivities...like the batch of Leslie's homemade caramels that are now going to be a yearly tradition. No one is counting how many of those I took down yesterday while being snowed in with the whole pan...

Sausage balls

We're getting off to sort of a rough start in December, aren't we?! I hope this doesn't effect our friendship. I've been sick this week, working from home a little bit, laying on the couch dying a little bit, and wishing this germiness away a lotta bit. The only thing I've gotten really accomplished is reading The Help because my power was out yesterday and besides sleeping on and off, and facebooking some on my phone, reading my kindle was the only non-electricity powered activity I could fathom. You would think being home would give me this glimpse into a real bloggers life...someone that does this for a living, you know? I've always thought it would be so fun and leisurely. Well it's not. At least, being a sick blogger is not fun or leisurely. It's boring, and tiresome, and it makes me whiney...no one likes a whiner. So how about a subject change!?

 

Alas, the memory of these sausage balls were dancing through my head over on said couch, and I just HAD to share them with you...today. Now. Before I go crazy from no social interation.

 

This was a special treat made just for Main Man and his meat loving food chewer (that's his mouth, if you aren't familiar). I knew from the minute that my friend Laura sent this recipe to me alllllllll the way from Colorado last year, that these would happen in our house. Unfortunately I think I got the message late in the holiday season when we were all partied/appetizered out and they sort of feel like a holiday food, not a summer app. So it's been a year...but all good things are worth the wait, right?? Right.

 

Cream Cheese Sausage Balls (as written by Mrs. Laura Holker)

1 lb hot (spicy) sausage, uncooked
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups Bisquick
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix all ingredients until well combined. (I use my KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook attachment) Roll into 1-inch balls. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until brown.

Sausage balls may be frozen uncooked. If baking frozen, add a few minutes to the baking time.
I found that about 18 minutes cooked mine in my oven so just watch them closely. YUM!

 

Look at those little balls of meat! Heaven, they are heaven on Earth, I tell you! Funny part about it is...Main Man wasn't as impressed with them as I was. He surprises me like that. I didn't think these stood a chance against my carnivore, but he was plowing on Aunt Vicki's deviled eggs and Cynthia's boursin stuffed mushrooms, the non-meat items, while I took care of these little buggers....one. at. a. time. What has this world come to?

Anyway, if you're looking for a super simple, super quick, carnivore pleasing appetizer....look no further. Word of advice: don't leave these outside to keep cool after you're done serving and saving for later if you have a dog. We didn't have room in the fridge and left some leftovers outside (covered in tin foil, of course, to stay chilled until we served dinner that night for everyone once their tummies recovered from the feast that was lunch. Sam the man was thankful for human stupidity this Thanksgiving, while picking the sausage balls out of his teeth later that afternoon...dummies.

Funfetti dip

I'm sure you've seen this stuff all over the interwebs like I have...it's a Pinterest celebrity, you know. And why wouldn't it be? With 3 ingredients, who wouldn't jump on this recipe? Plus, this is the skinny kind. I think sometimes when I think something is "light" it actually is more detrimental to me because I faceplant in the stuff and swim synchronized swimming teams of animal crackers in laps around a bowl rather than taking it easy and maybe just letting a few single divers hop in and swim around if I think it's a full-fat, evil recipe.

 

Anyway, you can't get a simpler recipe than this one. Someone brought it to the Mohr household for the Iowa v Iowa State game this year (I don't need to remind you that ISU was the victor again this year, do I?) and Michelle raved about it so it was an easy recipe to throw in the chow line for her birthday! I also had roasted red pepper hummus with Stacy's pita chips for a dipper...love that stuff! P.S. Look at all my neat serveware...I will never get enough of having cool serving dishes for parties :)

 

Soooooo, for the funfetti dip:

 

1 box Funfette cake mix

2 cups fat free plain yogurt

1 cup lite Cool Whip

fat free animal crackers

 

Yes, I realize that's 4 ingredients but one of them is the dipper, so that doesn't cound...right? Whatev. Anyway, mix the first 3 ingredients together and chill. Serve with animal crackers to dip and VOILA! You have a happy birthday party on your hands...

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend...this was my first full week back after wedding activities so I'm dragging booty a bit...looking forward to dinner with some good friends at our house tonight (in sweatpants of course). Enjoy your weekend, all!!

 

Sweet chicken bacon wraps

For the next installment of "What we ate at Michelle's birthday party" we have my MOH Cynthia's contribution, the bacon wrapped chicken bites. If you can't tell by this and the spanikopita bites I posted earlier this week, we went with a finger food theme :)

 

The fun part about these chicken bites is the colored toothpicks made each piece of chicken its respective color when you pulled it out...festive!  Anyway, I didn't make these myself but I know she found the recipe on Pinterest, so here is the link to Paula Deen's sweet chicken bacon wraps to get the details on the know how to throw these bad boys together. There was not one left...not one. So I think the recipe speaks for itself...

 

Spanikopita bites

Alright, alright, alriiiight. I meant to say that as in "let's get down to business, I'm back from my hiatus, let's do this", but I'm hearing it in the voice of Matthew McConaughey's creepy older dude character in Dazed and Confused. You know the guy..."I keep getting older, and they stay the saaaame age". Giggity. Gross.

 

Well, that opening paragraph went well out of the direction I planned it to, but that's life, I suppose. It's been a minute since I've given you a recipe, so I figured I better start with a sweet one. Not sweet as in sugary, but sweet as in yumtastical, and a little different than your average appetizer. We recently planned a surprise 30th birthday party for my friend Michelle, and this was one of my contributions to the spread of mouthwatering food. We had the staples...like the buffalo chicken dip and a pony keg of the seasonal pumpkin beer that she loves so much around her birthday. But I wanted to go out of the box a little for my part, and with Michelle and I having similar tastes in food, I thought this sounded delightful, light, and tasty...so I hoped Michelle would too!

 

I found this recipe on Pinterest...naturally...and had been saving it for our next get together. Check out my new bakeware I got from the wedding...cork bottoms to put them in after baking so you dont need a pot holder or a trivet. Yeah, we're moving up in the world.  Anyway, besides being really tasty (in my humble opinion), they were also easier than pie! I did cheat though, I used mini phyllo cups that were already formed (in your freezer section) rather than rolling out the phyllo dough and making my own. Do what you choose...I choose quick :)

 

2 packages phyllo cups

1 small onion, chopped (I left this out because we had an onion hater in our midst, Christina I love you)

3 green onions, chopped

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (I used fresh spinach)

6 oz feta cheese, crumbled (I used reduced fat)

1 cup cottage cheese (I used fat free)

1 egg

2 T olive oil

8 T butter (I used 1 T butter for a little flavor)

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add white and green onions, cook until softened (3-4 minutes). Add spinach and butter until spinach is wilted, stirring continuously. Meanwhile, mix feta, cottage cheese, and egg in medium bowl. Add cooked onions and spinach and season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

I covered the filling and refrigerated until I went to the party the following night, so that would be your best bet if you're preparing this ahead of time. Otherwise, just scoop the mixed filling into the phyllo cups, and place them in a greased baking dish to cook. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown....they should look like this:

 

 

 

If you use phyllo dough, you will need to roll it out and bake the dough in mini cupcake tins to make these phyllo cups to fill. I skipped that step...

The party went off without a hitch and I was glad I had my food prepared before hand so everyone could munch for the evening and there was not much cooking involved. If I were making this again, I would add some crushed red pepper for a little bite...you know me :) Besides that, these were a wonderful finger food that's a little different than the average dip! Enjoy the first recipe I've given you in a couple weeks...as well as a picture of the birthday girl I will leave you with:

Yeah, that biz had a baby less than 2 months ago...30 and fabulous!!!!

Gumbo dip

When Manda comes to town, I always try to whip up something Cajun, southern, or Louisiana style as a special treat for her. You remember when we did the gator sausage boil when she was visiting over the week of the 4th of July? Anyway, she's one of my great friends who is from NOLA, but lives in Houston now, so I try to keep her coming back to Iowa to visit by enticing her with food from her home...and it seems to be working! She came up this past weekend for my bachelorette party and I made her this dip the night before while we sat and had some beers and chatted with Mama K and Leslie...it was a perfect night!

 

4 T butter (I used light Country Crock)

1 large green bell pepper, seeded and diced

3/4 cup sliced okra pods (I had to leave this out since the store was out of okra, sadface)

2 ribs celery, diced

6 green onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 t Cajun seasoning (I use Tony C's religiously)

1 lb large cooked (pink) shrimp with tails removed

8 oz cream cheese (I used fat free)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 andouille sausage, sliced (I added this since I omitted the okra, and am very glad I did, yummmmm!)

 

Preaheat the oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper, okra (if you have a store that keeps stock), and celery to the pan and saute until beginning to soften, about 6 minutes. Stir in the green onions, garlic, and cajun seasoning. Cook 1 more minute, just until fragrant. Stir in the shrimp, andouille, cream cheese, and Parmesan. Stir over low heat until cream cheese is melted and everything is evenly mixed. Spoon the mixture into a baking dish.

 

Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is browned and bubbling. Serve with toasted baquette slices. I had a loaf of focaccia and a loaf of baguette to dip that we just warmed in the oven. The first bite was a little disappointing, I was underwhelmed. But the second bite and all the subsequent bites after that...I win. Actually, my mouth wins. My waistline doesn't win. But we can't all be winners, now can we!? If you got a bite with a little sausage and a little shrimpy in it, your mouth hit the freaking lotto, I'm telling you!

 

7 layer dip

Labor Day. Labor Day. Labor Day. No matter how much I say it, I can't believe we're already here. Where did the Summer go? I told you earlier in the year that Memorial Day is pretty much the kickoff to Summer in my mind, and that makes Labor Day the "See you later" party for Summer. Obviously, I have many reasons to look forward to Fall...besides the usual hoodie weather and comfort food recipes, Main Man and I will be tying the knot in under 2 months. For realz. This year went by at lightning speed. I'm told that it continues to speed up each year you get older and as you have kids of your own, but I'm not sure how time could fly any faster!

 

Labor day weekend is our last planned weekend at the lake, with all the wedding stuff coming up, and Main Man's work taking up a lot of his time.  I'm sad Summer is coming to an end but am really looking forward to the first ISU football game this weekend, so I guess it's an even trade!  If you're looking for some recipes to bring to a potluck or bbq this weekend, check out the suggestions I made for Memorial Day tummy fillers, they will be great contributions to a Labor Day shindig too! 

 

I'm going pretty simple for our last lake weekend, and went with a few easy items to lug down there so we don't have to bring much back with us when closing up shop. I made:

 

huge garden salad from fresh veggies (cleaning out the garden)

turkey rollups

bangin' grilled shrimp skewers

marinated pork loin for the smoker (recipe to come)

italian stuffed zucchini (recipe to come)

7 layer dip

 

Seven layer dip is the most simple appetizer I make, and I always have all the ingredients around to throw it together, since you pretty much use what you want. I've even made it with more or less than seven layers before...that's how crazy I am. Keep your distance, folks...I'm not sure you want this insanity to rub off on you.

 

I started with a layer of fat free spicy refried beans for the base. Layered on a diced jalapeno, and half a can of diced black olives I had leftover from another recipe.

 

Cover those layers with a layer of greek yogurt (rather than sour cream). Top that with a layer of taco sauce, a layer of 2% mexican cheese, and a layer of fresh picked cherry tomatoes from the garden. I would normally do onions, but I know there is one particular onion hater that will be amongst us this weekend (don't worry, I won't name names, Christina!) so I omitted that part. Use tortillas chips to schoop up that goodness and see if that dish isn't licked clean by the end of the day.

You can add a layer of quac, a layer of salsa, a layer of lettuce, a layer of onion. You can also omit any layers you're not too fond of...it's really up to you. Don't you love recipes like that?? Superbly easy, built to please personal tastes, and didn't even require a run to the store. I'll go ahead and wish myself a happy Labor Day for you, since you'll be wanting to thank me for this go-to dish sometime this weekend.

Alright, folks...I'm out to take the dogs on a walk, get packed up, and maybe get a little reading in this afternoon. Enjoy the long weekend, and we will see you back here on Tuesday!!

Chicken fajita quesadillas

Aaaaand for the lazy way out Tuesday, still getting in the swing of the week, type post.....what do you do with your leftover meat from the crockpot chicken fajitas you made yesterday? Boom. Chicken fajita quesadillas! When cooking for only two people, it's imperitive that you get creative with leftovers if you don't want to eat the same thing over and over all week or throw out any leftovers (my food hoarding ways wouldn't have that). Sooooo....after getting your fill of fajitas and fajita salads, head on over to quesadilla town and really get down and dirty with your south of the border cravings.

You don't even need any new ingredients! Lay a tortilla flat, cover with chicken fajita mixture, cover with shredded cheese, and top that with another tortilla on top. Throw it in the microwave for about 40 seconds (or if you're really feeling posh you can toss it in a skillet to heat up like we did the boursin chicken quesadillas a while back and get that crispiness to the shells) and you're in business! Dinner served in less than 5 minutes and tasting just like a restaurant with half the grease? No, you're not in heaven...you're in my kitchen in Iowa :)

I topped this with some Chalula hot sauce, which is pretty much the only hot sauce that exists in my world, and some greek yogurt before going to town on this appetizer for dinner dish....hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Texas trash dip

The original recipe (from www.allrecipes.com) goes something like this....

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

2 cans (16 ounces, each) refried beans

1 packet taco seasoning

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cream cheese and sour cream in a large bowl. Mix in refried beans until combined. Stir in taco seasoning.

Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Spread mixture evenly into the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the top with both cheeses.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese in melted and slightly browned. Serve with tortilla chips.

The Never Trust a Skinny Cook version had a few modifications though:

1. Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese...can't even tell the difference!

2. Greek yogurt instead of half of the sour cream.

3. Skip the cheddar and monterey jack cheese and use Velveeta Queso Blanco...I used the whole brick, cubed.

4. Use fat free spicy refried beans.

5. Double everything and throw it all in a crockpot with a liner in it. I like my dips to stay warm while people munch on them all day, not have to continually heat it up (nobody likes cold bean dip)!

So, you can try this recipe either way you think will work best for your purposes...but I'll tell you that my version was doubled and had none left untouched. I didn't throw one refried bean out...this was perfect to leave bubbling at the lake with some buffalo chicken dip and I didn't have to worry about cooking alllllllll day. Tell me that's not the stuff dreams are made of....

Grilled wings

It seems that cooking shows get me into a trance even when I'm just flipping through channels...."Oooooo, what's that?!" goes through my head and then I'm frozen until a commercial. It happened last night with Master Chef (how mean are those judges?!), and it's a common occurence with Chopped. That's how I stumbled on this little tip...on how to grill chicken wings.

I ALWAYS make my wings the same way, a "don't fix it if it ain't broke" kinda thing. Seriously, try those....they fall right off the bone.  It's love at first finger lick. I was flipping through the channels on a Sunday afternoon though, and there was some show where these Italians were explaining how to make wings and pulled pork. Normally, I don't think of wings and pulled pork when I think of Italian cuisine...but all these men were very heavy so I know they know how to cook :)

The trick to the wings is to grill them when they're frozen. If they're thawed, they will stick to the grill and burn. If you start them frozen, they work great. I made these for Father's day lunch...Big Dan loves him some chicken wings and grilled shrimp scampi.

Just toss the wings on the grill, and be careful to keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Turn every so often until they're cooked through, I think it took about 20 minutes.  After they come off the grill, throw them in a bowl with a little butter and spin them around to coat.

I did half the batch in one bowl with Frank's Buffalo sauce....because it's the best, duh.  I also did one half of the batch in Rich and Sassy BBQ sauce...but pick your fave. The hot sauce batch was the crowd favorite by far. These are far easier and quicker than the wings I normally make, and linked to above. So if time is an issue, head in this direction.  I will be keeping this little trick in my pocket for future reference, that's for sure!