Jalapeno Popper Dip
30 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in appetizers, company's coming!, snacks
Hey all! We’re still here…but in our house, it’s baseball season x3 kids, so many evenings are consumed by practices and games right now, meaning I go straight to a few standbys for dinner!
I’ve had a couple of failures in the kitchen lately (pumpkin bread that turned out like rubber-how does that even happen?), but I’m moving on from those to give you this really delicious dip that is perfect for serving to a crowd!
Via Pinterest, of course, and approved by my small group as worthy of sharing! It’s spicy, but not at all burn-your-mouth hot. Original here, my very slight changes below.
PS…Listed below is the full recipe, but I made a half-recipe for small group last night, baking it in an 8×8 dish. There weren’t any leftovers 
2 (8 ounce) packages light cream cheese, softened
1 cup light mayonnaise
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
4 ounces diced pickled jalapeno peppers, drained (I used them from the jar and chopped up the slices)
1/2 cup shredded Mexican style cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Sliced french bread, carrots/broccoli/cauliflower, tortilla chips, or crackers for dipping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an oven safe serving dish (I’d go with 9×13 or so) with non-stick cooking spray or grease with butter.
Using an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth. Add green chiles, jalapeno peppers, and Mexican and mozzarella cheeses. Spoon this mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Mix together the Panko and parmesan cheese and sprinkle it over the cream cheese mixture. Spray the Panko and parmesan with a quick spray of non-stick cooking spray (or oil from your Misto!).
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and the topping is lightly browned.
Peanut Butter Apple Roll-ups
16 Mar 2012 1 Comment
in at least one kid ate it, sandwiches, school lunch, snacks
This is a quick, delicious lunch or snack that I can’t believe I haven’t posted before now! I’m not sure where I saw it…maybe Tiffany’s blog years ago? Anyway, I just quick put these together for the boys’ lunchboxes yesterday.
You need:
Flour tortillas
peanut butter
honey
apple slices
Sprite or similar if you’re making them to be eaten later (like school lunch)
Lay out the tortilla, spread some peanut butter down the middle and drizzle on a little honey. Cut the apples into large slices (1 large apple makes 2 roll-ups) and put them in a bowl with some Sprite for a minute if you’re serving them later, so they don’t brown. If you are serving them immediately, you can skip this step.
Roll them up, cut them in half, and you’re done!
Really easy and my boys gobble these up.
Hot Chip Beef Dip
09 Mar 2012 2 Comments
in appetizers, beef, company's coming!, crockpot, snacks
My mom made this over the holidays and I remember liking it. I made it last night for bunco. Even better than I remember! It was a HUGE hit. I just put it in my mini crock pot and it was perfect.
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
small can mushrooms, drained and diced (Nic – just pretend that says fresh mushrooms
2.25 oz jar of dried beef, diced (I bought a jar where it was sliced and then I diced it)
1/2 onion, diced
I diced the onion and put it in a microwave safe bowl with a tiny bit of water for about a minute to soften the onion. Drain and place in crockpot with cream cheese, sour cream, diced mushrooms, and diced beef. Serve with small pieces of french bread. So. Good. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers
No-Bake Energy Bites
31 Jan 2012 3 Comments
in at least one kid ate it, snacks, there's chocolate in this!
Holy cow. So good and so so easy. And, really, quite good for you. All three kids ate these! They are a great snack to have on hand. I will be making these regularly! I did make some changes so my recipe is below (only because I despise coconut…if you like it click the link for original recipe). Thank you, once again, pinterest. Original here.
1 and 1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
Mix everything in a bowl. Let chill in refrigerator for about an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy. Store in tupperware and keep refrigerated.
I added extra oatmeal and chocolate chips to make up for the missing coconut. After I made them, I read in the comments that some substituted crushed cheerios for the coconut. I’m definitely doing this next time! They formed into balls easily in the beginning but by the end my hands were a mess! I think adding crushed cheerios would help with this. So, I’ll cut the oatmeal back down to a cup. Original calls for 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips, but I may keep that at 3/4 cup. It didn’t feel like too much to me!
This makes about 20, and I’m not kidding when I say we have about 5 left from yesterday. Yummy!
New Year’s Day Dip
01 Jan 2012 1 Comment
in appetizers, company's coming!, holidays, snacks, vegetables
It’s tradition in some parts of the country to kick off a new year by eating black-eyed peas in some fashion, and for many years, we’ve tried to do this!
I know lots of people call this Texas Caviar, but I kind of think that’s a dumb name, so I call it New Year’s Day Dip. This particular recipe came from my parents!
1 can black-eyed peas
1 can red kidney beans
1 can shoepeg (sweet white) corn
1 jar diced pimentos
Put all ingredients in a colander and drain; transfer to a large bowl, and to that add:
1 cup finely chopped celery
3/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 bunch green onions, sliced thinly (I use the light green part, but not the stalk part)
In a small saucepan, combine:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Pour liquid over the bowl of vegetables, and refrigerate for a couple of hours. STRAIN BEFORE SERVING (so your serving bowl should not be full of liquid).
this is what it looks like before it's strained.
Serve with tortilla chips or Fritos – Scoops work best!
Easy Peasy Breadsticks
02 Feb 2011 1 Comment
in at least one kid ate it, bread/muffins, snacks
With the first of potentially many snow days today, we needed a project. And this was perfect, though very messy, as the pictures will show.
I only made a couple of minor tweaks (brushing on the butter saves you from using more than you need) to the original over on Tasty Kitchen:
1-½ cup warm water
1 Tbl sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbl dry active yeast
3-½ cups flour
½ cup melted butter (I used less than this)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese (I also used much less than this)
Garlic salt or powder
Mix together warm water, sugar, salt and yeast. Allow yeast to activate (about 10 minutes). Add flour and stir in with a fork until dough holds together. Turn out onto floured board.
Knead lightly into a ball. Divide into 32-40 equal portions. On floured board, roll out into bread sticks. Brush with melted butter and then sprinkle Parmesan cheese and garlic over the top. Place onto greased cookie sheet (I used 3 cookie sheets to make all of these!) We made one into a ball (well, Jack Henry did) and it cooked up fine, too! We also rolled a few out really thin and then twisted them together.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. This gives the bread sticks about 10 minutes to begin to rise. Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
I haven’t tried this, but the author says: May be made in the morning and kept in the refrigerator unbaked. Remove from the refrigerator about 30 – 45 minutes (depending on how warm your house is) before baking.
They were good yesterday, and pretty tough today, though warmed up they still have potential (and I’m sure that the kids will still eat them today). What are you doing to pass the time while you’re snowed in??
this is only a small part of the aftermath. i made them leave their clothes in the kitchen.
i realize this is a horrible picture, but i forgot until last night to take one of the finished product!
Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips
21 Dec 2010 2 Comments
in appetizers, apples, at least one kid ate it, company's coming!, dessert, fruit, holidays, side dishes, snacks
So, I was making my grocery list for hosting Christmas this weekend via this website. I didn’t realize I hadn’t posted this much requested recipe. Here it is! Great for holiday gatherings, bridal/baby showers, etc. So good!
2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and diced
8 oz rasberries (I’ve used frozen)
1 pound strawberries
2 tbspn white sugar
1 tbspn brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor (I’ve used all different, really whatever I have here at home)
10 10-inch tortillas
Butter flavored cooking spray
2 cups cinnamon sugar
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar, and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in fridge at least 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Coat one side of each tortilla with cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray. Bake in oven 8 – 10 minutes. Serve with fruit salsa!
Blueberry Muffins, with some updates
15 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
in at least one kid ate it, bread/muffins, breakfast, freezes well, fruit, snacks
Sonya first posted this blueberry muffin recipe a long time ago, and it has become a staple in our house. I’ve made a few changes and calculated out some of the nutrition information, so I will include that, too.
1 1/4 cup all-purpose white flour
3/4 cup wheat flour
1/3 cup flaxseed meal (flaxseed is so good for you, and it’s better for you to eat it ground into meal)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
8 oz Dannon vanilla yogurt (obviously, use what you want, but this is our favorite)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbl butter, melted (this last time I used just slightly less; probably 3 1/2 T)
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (you can use frozen, but fresh are much better)
Preheat oven to 350. Grease 15 muffin cups or line with paper liners. DO NOT make mini-muffins; they don’t turn out well.
Stir together flours, flaxseed, sugar, baking soda and baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine yogurt, egg, vanilla, butter and blueberries. Stir mixtures together just until combined; batter will be be very thick. Scoop into muffin cups.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Per muffin: 118 calories, 4.5 g fat, 3.5 g protein, 2 g fiber
Chipotle’s Guacamole
27 Jun 2010 2 Comments
in appetizers, snacks
This is like a dream come true for me. And why I didn’t think to try and replicate it at home before last night is beyond me.
I am in.love. with Chipotle. Really, their burritos are amazing, but it’s the guacamole that Matt and I can’t get enough of. And I’ve been thinking that I could probably make it at home, since it’s fairly obvious what the ingredients are, but I googled it last night and found the recipe. I made a couple of minor quantity changes, which I’ll note here, but here’s where I got the recipe. There are other versions online, but to me, this seems the closest.
2 large or 3 small Hass Avocados
1/2 of a jalapeno pepper, seeded, and minced
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon of Cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 of a lime, juiced
salt to taste
Mash the avocados; stir in the rest of the ingredients. Adjust as needed. You can leave the jalapeno seeds in to make it hotter, or use the whole jalapeno seeded for a stronger pepper taste. Start with these quantities and add onion and cilantro to your liking. Then pig out. Prepare to just eat this for dinner.
Jalapeno Hummus
07 Jan 2010 4 Comments
in appetizers, hidden vegetables, sauces/dressings, snacks
Matt and I were fortunate enough to attend the Illini/Mizzou basketball game on December 23rd…actually, it was unfortunate because Illinois was AWFUL and we lost. BUT: Matt and I sat in a suite and I ate my weight in crostini and roasted red pepper hummus. Which made it all okay.
When the Christmas festivities settled down, I had to find a suitable recipe, and decided to go with a Jalapeno version for my first try. This is great as a dip for vegetables or chips or pretzels of any kind, a spread for sandwiches, or spread on a bit of crostini or any crusty bakery bread. It is spicy, though! But it’s healthy and relatively low in fat, so a great alternative to dairy-based dips. I’ll post more hummus recipes as we try and like them!
I did buy some really good Roasted Red Pepper from Trader Joe’s and had the kids try it, and none of them liked it (Jack Henry wouldn’t even touch it, which is no surprise). However, I will try again with milder flavors because I think there’s a chance this could work!
1 cup garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas)
3 Tbl tahini
2 Tbl lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1/3 cup canned/jarred jalapenos plus a little juice (NOTE: I would recommend starting out with about a 1/4 cup and adding more if you want it spicier…it’s pretty hot)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
salt to taste
Put everything in your blender or food processor and blend until smooth. You might need a few drops of water or some of the juice from the jalapenos (if you want it hotter) to make it smooth enough.
