Queso Blanco Dip

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before or not but Southern California has some great Mexican food. There are a ton of little hole in the wall places that may look a little scary from the outside but produce the best Mexican food. But, not a single place out here serves queso. Not one. The closest I've seen is a white cheese sauce over a burrito at a chain Mexican place that didn't come close to tasting like queso blanco dip that you get back home in Georgia.

So, every time we go home to Georgia I always want to eat at one of the Mexican restaurants. Sure it might be considered "fake" Mexican food by anyone from Southern California but it's delicious to me. It's always sooooo good but only getting it twice a year isn't enough. I finally decided I wanted to try it at home and figured what better time than now with my Super Bowl Saturdays? Queso has been sitting there on my 23 x 23 list for awhile so I finally made it.

This recipe was perfect. I upped the heat by adding a second jalopeno but you can choose how spicy you want it to be. This also heats up nicely in the microwave.

Queso Blanco Dip

Source: Annie's Eats

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1 jalopeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

12 oz. white American cheese, shredded (can be found at the deli counter)

4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1/4 -2/3 cup milk

1 tomato, seeded and finely diced

2 tbsp cilantro, minced

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and jalopeno to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add both of the shredded cheeses and 1/4 cup of the milk. Whisk or stir until completely melted. Mix in the tomato and cilantro, and add additional milk gradually as necessary to achieve desired consistency. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Super Bowl Saturdays: Crack Dip (Buffalo Chicken Dip)

Crack Dip. Doesn't sound very appetizing. But it is. If you are going for the white trash vibe, feel free to refer to it as "Crack Dip." If you like to keep it on the classier side, you can refer to it as "Buffalo Chicken Dip."

This recipe made the blog rounds awhile back and was dubbed "Crack Dip" because of how addicting it was. I made this to try out for the Super Bowl and was hooked. Luckily, we had an appetizer pot luck at our Growth Group that night so I was able to bring this along with the meatballs and not eat it all by myself.

It tastes just like buffalo chicken but in a dip form. We served it with chips but you could also serve it with celery (or other vegetables), bread chunks (you could scoop out a bread bowl and place this inside and use the extra bread to dip), crackers, pretty much anything that sounds good to you.

I modified the recipe from Frank's Red Hot Website because the original called for canned chicken chunks and Blue Cheese Dressing and Crumbles. Taking the extra time to cook and shred chicken breasts will definitely make this dip taste better. If you like Blue Cheese, feel free to substitute or mix with the ranch and mozzarella.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Source: Frank's Red Hot Sauce

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup ranch salad dressing

1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

Preheat oven to 350º. In a deep baking dish, mix cream cheese, ranch dressing, buffalo sauce, and cheese. Stir until combined and then add in chicken and stir.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until heated through. Serve with whatever you like. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Week: Homemade Pumpkin Butter

I'd like to welcome you to Pumpkin Week! Pumpkin is my favorite Fall flavor so I decided to devote a whole week to it on the blog. That's right. 5 days full of pumpkin flavors with some extra pumpkin fun tossed in. I've got appetizers, drinks, dinners, and desserts packed with pumpkin flavor so make sure you check back every day this week for a new one!

The first recipe this week isn't one that I've made, but I can vouch for its deliciousness. Last Friday, we had some friends over for our traditional (can it be called traditional if it was our first but we plan on making a tradition out of it?) pumpkin dinner. Don't worry- that delicious recipe is coming at you tomorrow. Being the sweet person that she is, Karisa brought us a jar of homemade pumpkin butter. Being the pumpkin lover that I am, I couldn't wait too long to try it out.

The hubs and our roomie with the delicious breakfast they cooked. And yes, this is the best picture out of the four I took. I decided the hubster looked better with his eyes closed rather than open with a vacant creepy stare. He hates pictures. It's kind of his only fault.

This past weekend was the perfect lazy weekend. Temperatures actually dropped below 65º and it was rainy! I can't even remember the last time we had rain in San Diego, probably last March. Karisa recommended trying the pumpkin butter with pancakes, toast, or straight from a spoon. I decided to start with pancakes and the boys were all for that. They whipped us up a delicious brunch of pancakes (my hubby's "secret" recipe-he adds cinnamon and vanilla but they taste different each time and they're always delicious), bacon, sausage, and eggs (our roomies recipe added just a hint of cinnamon, and it was good). The pumpkin butter earned a spot amidst all the food on the table.

It was good. So good. As in screw the pancakes and hand me the spoon good. You need to make some of this. Now. You can make the pancakes too but I guarantee you won't be able to resist slipping a spoonful of this butter inside your mouth.

Homemade Pumpkin Butter

Source: Recommended by Karisa, made from Oh She Glows

1 (29 oz) can pumpkin puree

3/4 cup apple juice

1.5 tsp ground giner

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

juice of half a lemon

Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan and stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Cover and stir frequently.

Remove from heat. Adjust spices to taste. Stir in lemon juice and add more to taste. Once cool, pumpkin butter can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge.

Canning is not recommended. This recipe makes enough to fill one large mason jar.

Feta Baked in Olive Oil with Marinara, Red Onions and Oregano

Most of the recipes I blog about come from hours of just looking around the internet and finding something that looks good. When I find something, I'll add it to my "To Make" list and I usually pick 3-4 things off of the list when I make our weekly meal lists. When I saw this recipe from Oishii, I wrote down the ingredients and sent Neil out to buy them so we could have it for dinner that night.

This was delicious! It was so simple to put together but it was honestly one of the best things I have made. It's not often that the hubs is okay with a block of cheese for dinner but this is definitely one recipe he'll be okay with.

1 block of feta

extra virgin olive oil

jarred marinara sauce

red onion, diced

fresh oregano, chopped

salt and pepper

red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 375º. Place the feta in a shallow baking dish. Pour olive oil on and around the feta so that it almost covers the feta, but leaves the top uncovered. Add spoonfuls of marinara around the feta. Top the feta with the onion and oregano and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bake for 20 minutes, until the oil is bubbling and cheese is softened. Serve with sliced crusty bread. Enjoy!

Rotel Dip

This dish is one of my staples during the holiday season. There are so many parties and events to attend and I'm usually assigned to bring an appetizer. It requires hardly any preparation and can transport easily. We had this for Thanksgiving and I prepped the sausage the night before and the day of I just placed it in my crock-pot and left it alone until the guests arrived!

This is another simple recipe!

1 small box of Velveeta, cut up

1 can Rotel

3 spicy Italian sausages

Fry the sausages until cooked through and no pink remains. Grind the sausage up in your food processor. Mix the Velveeta, sausage, and rotel into a small crock pot. Set on high for 2 hours and then switch to warm. Serve with chips and enjoy!

Texas Caviar

This recipe is so easy because all it involves is opening up a few cans and cutting up a few ingredients. It's a perfect dip for a party with a large amount of guests because it makes a ton and it's super addicting! Recipe from here.

2 cans white shoepeg corn

1 can black eyed peas

1 can black beans

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

8 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)

16 oz bottle Fat Free Kraft Zesty Italian dressing

Mix all together in a large bowl. Store in the fridge for at least 4 hours to let flavors marinate.

It's as easy as that! You can also add some chopped avocado if you like!

Salsa Cream Cheese Dip

I know I've posted a lot of dips lately but it's all I've had time to make! We've had so much going on and dips are so easy and quick to prepare. This dip we had today at a going away party for some friends from church. The Muche's were leaders of our bible study group and they are such an awesome family. We are definitely going to miss them. They are PCS'ing to Okinawa so the church decided to throw them a Mexican-themed going away party. California has the best Mexican food and I'm sure they are going to miss the carne asada and horchata.

This was a dip at the party that I basically couldn't stop eating :) It was served both hot and cold and was incredibly addictive!

1 lg. cream cheese

1 (24 oz.) jar salsa

All you do is stick the cream cheese in the crockpot, cover it with salsa, and set it to warm. Or, if you prefer it as a cold dip, let the cream cheese soften to room temperature. Put in a serving bowl. Pour salsa over the top. With a fork, chunk up cream cheese, mixing slightly with salsa as you go. I personally liked it with a lot of cream cheese. Chill and serve with your favorite chips.

I promise my next post will not be a recipe for a dip!

Chocolate Chip Cheese Dip

This recipe is a sweet alternative to your regular dip. It's very easy and definitely a crowd pleaser. I brought this to a brunch with a few other Marine wives and luckily I didn't have to take a lot home!

I found this on Allrecipes as a recipe for a cheeseball covered in pecans. I'm definitely not a fan of nuts and didn't have time to make it into a cheeseball so I just left it as a dip!

8oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbs. brown sugar
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
graham crackers, chocolate graham crackers, vanilla wafers or animal crackers.

Beat softened cream cheese, butter, & vanilla until creamy. Slowly add sugars until blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Place mixture in a covered container. Refrigerate for 1 -2 hours. Form into a ball and roll in pecans (optional) you can also roll the cheese ball into graham cracker crumbs or more mini chocolate chips. Serve with graham crackers, vanilla wafers or animal crackers.

Easy French Onion Dip

A few weeks ago, my mom emailed me a recipe for french onion dip from one of her coworkers. I was so excited but just now was able to get around to making it. Hubby and I love french onion dip although we try not to indulge to often. This one was delicious and tasted very much like the store bought brands!

1 Cup Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
1 8oz cream cheese ( I softened beforehand)
1 can french onion soup

Mix together using an electric mixer. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes or let sit in a crockpot for a few hours.

It's that easy and would be perfect for any get together. Minimum preparation but maximum enjoyment :) We served ours with pretzels and torn up bread.