Jalapeno Popper Dip

At the end of January, I hosted a baby shower for my best friend Maggie. I was searching for some "non traditional" baby shower foods because really, who doesn't like something a little less traditional every now and again? I came across this Jalapeno Popper Dip recipes on Annie's Eats blog & I knew I had to use it. It was simple and tasty, everything I look for in a recipe :-)

Ingredients:
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 (4 oz.) can diced jalapeño peppers, drained
½ cup shredded Mexican style cheese
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, green chiles, jalapeños, and shredded cheeses. Mix thoroughly with a spoon or spatula until smooth and evenly combined. Spread the mixture into a baking dish (approximately 9 x 9-inches).

In a second bowl, combine the Panko and Parmesan and stir with a fork until combined. Sprinkle over the cream cheese mixture in the baking dish. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and the topping is golden. Serve warm with baguette slices, vegetables, etc. as desired.

Queso

David *my hubby* is from TX and he always makes this amazing queso for all of our family GTG's and such so I thought I'd post his recipe. I'm not sure where the original came from since it's something that was passed down from his mother, to his sister, and now to him. The great thing about this dip is that it can make as much or as little as you like so the ingredient quantities are based on how many bricks of cheese you use and of course your personal taste.

"Dave's Queso"

2 bricks Velveta Cheese
1 small onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
3 strips of Bacon cooked and finely chopped
A good bunch (we use lots because we like spice) of jar jalapeno pepper rings and some juice
2 fresh jalapeno peppers (seeds and veins removed)
2 cans diced green chiles
1 can evaporated milk (used for thinning)

Chunk the velveta cheese and place in your slow cooker.
Sautee the bacon on the stove top, drain and chop into small pieces. Then sautee the onions and garlic in the left over bacon grease (we drain some off if the bacon is especially fatty). Place bacon, onions, and garlic in slow cooker. Mix in remaining ingredients (minus evaporated milk) and set your slow cooker on low.
We usually have this in the cooker for a couple of hours before we're serving it. Taste it and add what you need to to satisfy your pallet. The evaporated milk can be used to thin out the cheese as it starts to thicken over time.

This is really yummy with tostitos, crackers, on burgers/hotdogs...and just about anything else you put cheese on!
ENJOY!

Other Recipes

These are some other recipes that I have made in the past several months. Most of them are from http://www.allrecipes.com/ or http://www.cooks.com/ although I have altered many of the ingredients to suit our tastes.

The first one is Stuffed Shells. This was from allrecipes.com submitted by Karen Marshall.
It serves 8 people.

Ingredients:
16 oz package jumbo pasta shells
4 cups small ricotta cheese (or small curd cottage cheese)
12 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 pinch garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
26 oz jar spaghetti sauce (I used a lot more because we like lots of sauce)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (for the top)
I also added 1 package of chopped frozen spinach defrosted and liquid drained.

Directions:
1. Cook shells according to package directions. Place in cold water to stop cooking process. Drain
2. Mix together Ricotta (Cottage) cheese, Mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, eggs, garlic powder, and spinach if using. Rub the dried herbs in the palms of your hands to pulverize them, and stir into the cheese mixture. Stuff mixture into the shells.
3. Spread 1/3 spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 15x10 inch pan. Place shells open side up, and close together in the pan. Spread remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with remaining parm. Cheese.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving!

I actually made 2 pans of this with intentions of freezing 1 of them, and my husband threw a fit because he wanted to eat them all--and he did!

This next recipe is for BBQ Beans. This recipe came from a good friend of ours D. Sears. It's amazing! We make it for all kinds of gtg's!

Ingredients:
4 cans butter beans--drained and rinsed
1 can stewed tomatoes
1/2# brown sugar
1 large green pepper sliced into strips
1 large onion chopped
1# bacon fried and cut into chunks
1# Kabassi--cut into rounds

Directions:
You can either bake this in the oven at 350 degrees for 2 hours covered and then the last 30 minutes with the lid off OR in the crock pot for 5-6 hours. It's amazingly delicious.

This 5 pepper hummus Recipe came from allrecipes.com as well. I took this to my grandmother's 75 birthday party and it was a HUGE hit! It's very easy to make!!

INGREDIENTS
1 large green bell pepper
1 (16 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
4 fresh jalapeno peppers
1 (16 ounce) jar banana peppers, drained
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1/4 cup tahini

DIRECTIONS
Remove top 1/4 of the green bell pepper, keeping bottom part intact to use for serving the hummus. Discard stem, and remove seeds and pulp from both parts of the pepper.
Chop top part of pepper, and place in a blender or food processor with garbanzo beans, jalapeno peppers, banana peppers, garlic, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and tahini. Blend into a smooth paste. Scoop into the bottom part of the green bell pepper to serve.

I served this with Celery, Triscuits, and pumpernickle sticks. It was so yummy--Spicy too!


This next recipe is from the food network! This was the very first whole chicken I had ever roasted and let me tell you--it was the absolute best chicken I had ever had! It was amazingly moist and literally fell off the bones! My husband keeps asking me to make it again!


Garlic and Citrus Chicken
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:
1 (5 to 6-pound) whole roasting chicken, neck and giblets discarded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 orange, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
1 head garlic, halved crosswise,
plus 3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 (14-ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
Kitchen string or butcher twine

Directions:
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the orange, lemon, and garlic halves. Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen string to help hold its shape. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.
Place a rack in a large roasting pan. Place the chicken, breast side up, on the rack in the pan. Roast the chicken for 1 hour, basting occasionally and adding some chicken broth to the pan, if necessary, to prevent the pan drippings from burning. Whisk the orange juice, lemon juice, oil, oregano, and chopped garlic in a medium bowl to blend. Brush some of the juice mixture over the chicken, after it has baked 1 hour. Continue roasting the chicken until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the innermost part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F, basting occasionally with the juice mixture and adding broth to the pan, about 45 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Tent with foil while making the sauce (do not clean the pan).
Place the same roasting pan over medium-low heat. Whisk in any remaining broth and simmer until the sauce is reduced to 1 cup, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Strain into a 2-cup glass measuring cup and discard the solids. Spoon the fat from the top of the sauce. Serve the chicken with the pan sauce.

I think this is all I have time for now. I promise--more tomorrow! Enjoy!