Hot Corn Dip

I know I have mentioned it before, but Denver loves Corn. So when we have parties to go to I sometimes make Corn Dip to bring to share with everyone. I have been experimenting with this recipe and now think I have it figured out the perfect recipe. I know it is strange it has mayonnaise in it but it is really good.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray to grease your pan
2-11 oz cans of drained Mexican Corn
1- 7 oz can of drained chopped green chilies
2 C of grated Pepperjack cheese (8 ounces)
2/3 C of grated Parmesan Cheese
1/3-1/2 C of mayonnaise
Red Pepper to sprinkle

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a dish. I use a 9 X 9 Pampered Chef Stoneware pan because it will keep the dip warmer longer.

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients except for the red pepper. Smooth into a dish and sprinkle with the red pepper sparingly. A little bit can go a long ways!

Bake it until bubbly around the edges approximately 30 minutes. I serve mine with tortilla chips but corn chips would be good too.

My Favorite Guacamole Dip

Ingredients:4 ripe avocadosJuice of one lemon or lime2 chopped roma tomatoes (I use these in the winter because they taste better, feel free to substitute any kind)2 cloves of garlic minced1 tsp. chili powder1-2 seeded jalapeno chopped finely (use gloves or you will burn your hands)¼ yellow onion chopped finelySalt and Pepper to taste

Remove insides of avocado into a bowl. Discard seeds and peeling. Add the rest of the ingredients, and mix well together with a spoon. No need to chop the avocados as they will eventually blend and remain slightly chunky, which is my favorite. Serve immediately with your favorite tortilla chips.

If you aren’t going to serve this within the next hour, the lemon juice will help it not turn that ugly color, however you will need to cover tightly with saran wrap making sure none of the dip is exposed to air. This dip will not keep overnight; so make sure you make it fresh.

This was a picture of my dip in the process of making. This looks like pure heaven to me. I love guacamole! 

Hawaiian Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 Pkg of Hawaiian Rolls (24 rolls total)
1 1/2 pkgs of Petit Jean Ham (smoked or peppered)
1 Pkg of sliced cheese (cheddar or swiss are my favorites)
Sauce:
4 tbsp mustard
4 tbsp poppy seeds
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
4 tbsp butter melted
2 tbsp dried onion flakes

Mix sauce ingredients together. Split rolls in half and put ham on bottom, top with cheese, and spread sauce on top portion. When done making all the sandwiches, brush remaining sauce on top of the sandwiches.

Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted. Serve warm!

I make these for parties or baby showers. Everyone loves them and they are the perfect size!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites

 

 

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)

1 (1-pound) package sliced bacon

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons chili powder

 

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Mix brown sugar and chili powder. Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces. Cut the bacon into thirds. Dredge chicken in brown sugar mixture. Wrap chicken in bacon and secure with tooth pick. Dredge chicken again in brown sugar mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until bacon is crispy.

 

These were the hit of the party! Everyone loved them!

Sausage & Cheese

1 pkg of your favorite sausage (I use Petit Jean Arkansas Style Smoked Sausage)
1 pkg of colby jack cheese
1 pkg of sharp cheddar
Randevous rub

Slice your sausuage and brown in a little bit of water in a skillet. Slice your cheeses and arrange all on a platter. Sprinkle with Randezvous rub! Server with crackers.

Ranch Bacon Awesomeness Dip

Ingredients:
1 pkg of Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix
1 pkg of cream cheese softened
8 oz sour cream
1/2-3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6 strips of bacon crumbled (save some to put on top)

Mix all the ingredients until mixed well. Put some of the reserved bacon on top. Serve with veggies or crackers.

I made this dip for my small group last night. Everyone loved it! I had something similar at the football game, but I came up with my own recipe. Denver named the dip for me.... isn't it a funny name? He wouldn't let me change it.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I made the meatballs for my small group to have as an appetizer. They are pretty good to serve like this and sometimes I serve them with sliced french bread pieces. I make just the meatball portion of this recipe and grab a jar of my favorite canned sauce to serve over them. I have gotten lots of rave reviews (even though it is the quick and easy way to make them). I usually make them the night before, and drain the grease, and put them back in the serving dish, pour the sauce over them, and all I have to do is pop them back in the oven until they are warm and ready to serve.

It is well worth it to make the sauce for a dinner for a special someone!

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti (or any other noodle you prefer)
• Salt, for pasta water

Meatballs:

• 1 1/4 pounds ground hamburger meat
• 2 teaspoons worcestershire, eyeball it
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup italian breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (this has to be fresh for the best)
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped (we love garlic in this household)
• Salt and pepper

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup beef stock, available on soup aisle in market in small paper boxes
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• A handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
• A tablespoon of basil (you could also use fresh, but I rarely have it on hand)
• A tablespoon of sugar to sweeten the sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place a large pot of water on to boil for spaghetti. When it boils, add salt and pasta and cook to aldente.

Mix beef and Worcestershire, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Roll meat into 1 1/2 inch medium-sized meatballs and place on nonstick cookie sheet or a cookie sheet greased with extra-virgin olive oil. Bake balls 10 to 12 minutes, until no longer pink.

Heat a deep skillet or medium pot over moderate heat. Add oil, crushed pepper, garlic and finely chopped onion. Saute 5 to 7 minutes, until onion bits are soft. Add beef stock, crushed tomatoes, and herbs. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.

Toss hot, drained pasta with a few ladles of the sauce and grated cheese. Turn meatballs in remaining sauce. Place pasta on dinner plates and top with meatballs and sauce and extra grated cheese. Serve with bread or garlic bread. Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Appetizer

Why recreate the wheel when one of my favorite people have already done a fantastic job at it. I love to make these. I didn't get the recipe from her, I think someone at work gave it to me. It requires three ingredients and even the men can make them. Actually, the man of our house does make them because I have had bad experiences with fresh jalapenoes on my hand, so it is Denver's duty to make them. When we get together with friends, you can also count on my best friend, Tanner whipping up a batch (or three) since they are so easy! When asking him what he wanted for our small group fellowship, he said he could make these. For one, it is another easy thing to prep ahead of time, and they always go over well in a group, even the ones who say they don't like spicy things. The seeds come out and that is where the majority of the heat is at.

So I borrowed this post from the Pioneer Woman becuase she is fantastic, and I wouldn't ever take the time to take all the amazing pictures like she does. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 20 whole Fresh Jalapenos, 2-3 Inches In Size
• 2 cubes Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 pound Thin(regular) Bacon, Sliced Into Thirds

Preparation Instructions

If you have them, slip on some latex gloves for the pepper prep… Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise. With a spoon, remove the seeds and white membrane (the source of the heat; leave a little if you like things HOT). Smear softened cream cheese into each jalapeno half. Wrap jalapeno with bacon pieces (1/3 slice). Secure by sticking toothpick through the middle.

Bake on a pan with a rack in a 375-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. You don’t want the bacon to shrink so much it starts to the squeeze the jalapeno. If, after 20 minutes, the bacon doesn’t look brown enough, just turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes to finish it off. These are best when the jalapeno still has a bit of bite to it.

Serve immediately, or they’re also great at room temperature.

You’ll love these so much, you’re gonna come out of your skin. Or something like that.

Seasoned Oyster Crackers

Ingredients

3/4 cup vegetable oil1
(1 ounce) package dry Ranch-style dressing mix
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (12 ounce) package oyster crackers

Directions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).

In a mixing bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, ranch-style dressing mix, dill weed, lemon pepper and garlic powder. Pour this spice mixture over the crackers in a medium bowl, and stir until the crackers are coated. Arrange the crackers on a large baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated 275 degrees F (135 degrees C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Spinach Dip

I stole this Spinach Dip from Kelly's Recipes Blog and have found it to be my new favorite kind!

Spinach Dip

1 pkg frozen spinach

8 oz cream cheese

8 oz Monterrey jack cheese

6 oz Parmesan cheese

1 can Rotel

Cook the spinach according to package. Add cheeses and melt in microwave for 3-5 minutes until liquid form. Add rotel and mix together. Serve with crackers or bagel chips or melbatoasts.

Dried Beef Dip

Some of our family friends always made this and I finally got my hands on the recipe! This stuff is so addictive!

Dried Beef Dip
1. Cut up six medium to large green onions

2. Chop two jars of dried beef

3. Soften two 8oz boxes of Phil. cream cheese (not melt)

4. Thoroughly mix (1) 8oz sour cream with the cream cheese

5. Mix in 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce

6. Add a dash to 1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt

7. Add green onions and dried beef. Stir and mix until
green onion begins to separate.

Wonton Appetizer

Wonton Appetizers
1 lb sausage, cooked, drained and chopped up

8 oz bag of shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese

1 small can of diced black olives

1/2 cup red bell pepper - minced

1 cup Ranch Dressing

1 pkg fresh Wonton wrappers (usually in produce section cooled case)

Preheat oven to 350 deg. In a bowl mix everything together except wrappers
Set aside. Spray mini muffin tins with Pam and gently press wonton wrappers
in the tins. Make sure you mold them so they will be easy to fill with the 
mixture later. Spray them lightly before you put them in the oven. Bake for 5 
minutes. Take out and fill them with the mixture. Put back in the oven to heat 
for five to seven minutes.

Serve immediately.

Lenora's Homemade Salsa

Lenora's Homemade Salsa

My sister makes great homemade salsa, and this is her recipe!
1 can whole tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 jalapeno/serrano (depending on the hottness)
1/2 onion
1 tsp garlic powder, cumin, sugardash of salt and pepper
1/2 to 1 juice of a limecilantro

I do all this in my food processor! Hope you love it!

Arkansas Caviar aka Hog Caviar

This is a weird combo, and I promise, mix it all up and let it chill in the fridge for the flavors to mix. It tastes so much better the next day! I always thought the girls at work who made this was crazy, until I tried it. After that I couldn't keep from sneaking a bite!

1 Can of Rotel, drained
1 Small can of Shoepeg Corn, drained
8 oz Zesty Italian Dressing or what you think it needs to cover it all in it
2 tbsp Garlic minced
1 Onion Chopped
1 Bell Pepper Chopped
2 Cans Blackeyed Peas, drained
Salt and Pepper to taste

Serve it up with some big scoop fritos! Please give it a shot and tell me what you think! The good thing about the recipe is you can adjust to your tastes!