Recipe Swap: Taco Dip

Football season is upon us. Sadly, the only sport I actually enjoy watching is hockey and they are still on lockout (BOO). And to be honest, when it comes to watching sporting events, my favorite event is the epic eating fest of foods that are just far too bad for you. When else is it considered acceptable to park yourself in front of a tv and eat tons of greasy chips, dips, and other unhealthy yet awesome foods?

This recipe swap theme was Game Day and I submitted the Outback copycat Blooming Onion with Dipping Sauce recipe. I received a traditional Taco Dip from Nicole at Cookies on Friday. It's a recipe of unknown origins that has been handed down through the family.

Though I've eaten taco dips many times before, I've never made one.  Since there was no game for me to watch, after having a few generously dipped chips and staying true to the recipe, I ended up turning this into a taco salad dinner. Somehow this made me feel like it was an acceptable meal but I still ate far to much of it. It's like crack. So creamy and addicting even with fat-free and low-fat substitutions!  It's also amazingly simple to put together.  Yum.

Checkout the rest of the swap submissions in the blog hop below and thanks as usual to Sarah at Taste of Home Cooking for hosting!

One Year Ago: Cheesy Chili Mac
Three Years Ago: Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

Taco Dip

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey 
• 1 package taco seasoning (I used a low-sodium version)
• 15 ounce can refried beans (I used a fat-free version)
• 1-1/2 cups sour cream (I used a low-fat version)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese 
• Toppings: Sliced olives, chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, red onions, jalapeno peppers
• Tortilla Chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have a large pie plate ready.
2. In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef over medium high heat. Drain the meat and add the taco seasoning as the package directs. Allow to cool slightly.
3. Spread the refried beans in the pie plate. Top with the ground beef. Top with a layer of sour cream and then with the cheese.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are heated through. Top with desired toppings before serving. 

Source: Submitted by Nicole at Cookies on Friday

Crazy Cooking Challenge: Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning

I'm excited to be participating in my first ever Mom's Crazy Cooking Challenge.  I've seen other bloggers doing this and it seemed like fun.  Basically the concept is that each month there is a set theme and participating bloggers go off and make something related to that theme.  Then on the 7th of each month the real fun begins because everyone reveals their challenge recipe and the blog hop begins!

For this challenge, we had two, yes TWO days to complete it. But thankfully it was easy.  I took a little liberty in this challenge in that I didn't make it fully into the dressing/dip...simply because I didn't have any mayo, sour cream, or even yogurt (a first!) in the house to do so.  Besides, now this seasoning can really show off its versatility as a dressing, dip, or seasoning for things like meats and potatoes.  It's completely homemade and literally took a minute to whip up from pantry ingredients.  One step to the recipe.  Seriously.  You'll never go back to the packaged stuff again!

I didn't have garlic salt or onion salt as the original recipe calls for so just used more regular garlic and onion powders and added roughly 1 tsp of salt.  I figure you can always add more later depending on your final application!

Upcoming challenges:

October 7, 2012 - APPLE PIE

November 7, 2012 - STUFFING Recipes
December 7, 2012 - PERFECT SUGAR COOKIE

Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning

Yields: ~1/2 cup

Ingredients

• 4 saltine crackers (I only had Ritz crackers around today...time to go to the store!)
• 4 Tbsp dried parsley
• 4 Tbsp dry minced onion
• 1/2 Tbsp dill weed
• 1.5 Tbsp onion powder
• 1.5 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt

Directions

1. Add all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor or blender and process until you form fine particles.  (I LOVE the Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender with Whisk and Chopper Attachments...so versatile and the perfect size for this application!)

To make into Ranch Dressing: Add 1 Tablespoon of the ranch seasoning to 1 cup of mayonnaise + 1 cup of buttermilk.  Stir to combine and if necessary, season with salt and pepper.

Source: Modified from Kayotic Kitchen

Product Review and Giveaway: Daelia's Beer Flats

Remember the good people at Daelia's that gave me those incredibly delicious Biscuits for Cheese to review and giveaway?  Well, they added some new products to their lineup last month and they sent me some to review.  Furthermore, one of you lucky readers get another chance to win some free yummies, too!

This product is called Beer Flats and they come in two flavors: Porter and Pilsner.  These are artisanal flatbread crackers that are made with whole grains, craft beer, and butter.  They are suggested to be served with cheese, cured meats, and/or dips alongside a good craft beer.  I kept things simple time and served my Beer Flats with pre-made Sabra Classic Hummus (another favorite product of mine...hmmm...think they'll send me some to review, too?) and a block of Maple Cheddar Cheese.

Photo Credit: Emily H.

Let's start with aesthetics.  I like the packaging.  The window makes it easy to see what the product looks like inside before you buy it and the tray keeps the crackers all tidy and helps to prevent breakage (ugh, hate broken crackers!).  The porter is the darker colored cracker while the pilsner is the light one.  Both look quite robust and I love the flecks of bubbly texture and salt.

After tasting Daelia's Biscuits for Cheese which I feel is much more "frou frou" and filled with many different complementing flavors I have to be honest and say that these fell a little flat for me (Oof, forgive the pun!).  

The Pilsner was especially light in flavor on its own with just a hint of sweetness and a bit of buttery flavor.  Very much like a large, plain pita chip and needing a pairing with quite a bit more oomph than what I had offered.  I personally enjoyed the Porter much better.  It had a wonderful rye flavor (did I mention I'm a sucker for rye?) though both Emily and Scott felt the flavor was too pungent (they are non-rye lovers...boo!...no wait...yah!  More for me!).  I would love to serve the Porter in the future with this Hot Reuben Dip that's still on my "to make" list.  I think the flavors would work perfectly together and would be a great twist from the standard Rye bread pairing.  My mouth waters just thinking about this...

So there you have it.  My honest opinion on the latest offering from Daelia's.  If I were you, I'd consider picking up the Porter Beer Flats from your local specialty store or Amazon and making the Hot Reuben Dip for poker night or the big game or something.  Or, you could just enter to win some free Beer Flats here because Daelia's and I love you...

How to Enter

To enter to win a set of four (4) packages of Daelia's Beer Flats (two of each flavor: Porter and Pilsner; Approximate retail value of $32):

MANDATORY: Tell me which flavor of Daelia's Beer Flat you look forward to trying the most and what you'd serve it with.

You can receive UP TO THREE ADDITIONAL ENTRIES to win by doing any or all of the following:

1. Follow them on twitter @BeerFlats. Come back to let me know you've followed me in an additional comment to score an extra entry.  (The additional comment part is really important!).
2. Follow me on Twitter @ChrissesKitchen.  Come back to let me know you've followed me in an additional comment to score an extra entry.  If you're already following me, let me know too so my loyal readers get credit!
3. Tweet the following about the giveaway: “RT @ChrissesKitchen @BeerFlats: #Win Daelia's Beer Flats #giveaway: http://tinyurl.com/d4o4rgp #beerflats”.  Come back and let me know you've shared in an additional comment.

Last but not least, Daelia's Beer Flats and I would love if you'd follow us on Facebook too but we can't give you a credit for entry for that because it's now against their terms and conditions.  So, you'd follow us out of the kindness of your heart ;).  Follow Beer Flats.  Follow Christine's Kitchen Chronicles.

Deadline: Friday, August 17, 2012 at 11:59pm EST.

Eligibility and Winner: Sorry, this contest is only open to those in the Contiguous 48 United States and Canada.  The winner will be chosen at random using random.org and announced in a blog post by 12:00PM (noon) EST on Saturday, August 18, 2012.  To claim the prize, the winner must email me at christineskitchenchronicles@gmail.com.  If the winner does not respond within 48 hours of being announced, another winner will be selected.

Thanks for reading (and tell all your friends)!
Christine

Disclosure - This blog is a personal blog written and edited by Christine @ Christine's Kitchen Chronicles. The owner(s) of this blog was compensated with free products to provide an opinion on the products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

Greek Salsa

Hi!  I'm back from my trip and figured I better post something soon so you know I made it back alive.  I had a blast but have to say that I thought rafting would be more thrilling than it actually was.  I guess I'm a thrill seeker and was expecting more rapids one after another...and with bigger water and drops...like what you see in the movies!  Had everyone in my boat not gotten dumped into the river it frankly might have been a bit boring.  Don't worry though, like I said, we're alive and all okay...the worst injury was a tiny scratch and some bruises (which I suspect were from getting back *in* the raft versus being dumped out of it). 

What happened was at Scramble Like a Rat (class III rapid) we somehow ended moving head on towards a HUGE undercut rock.  Our raft guide yelled "back" so that we'd paddle back but it was too late.  We made contact with the rock and our raft started tipping so she then yelled "high side" and that also failed.  I saw the raft was about to keel over so I was the first to bail.  Others were soon to follow.   Thankfully I went towards the side where the water was very still. I just stood up and when I looked around, to my horror I saw some of my friends floating down river and I had no idea where my husband was.  I also saw our guide.  She somehow was able to climb up the rock and held onto the raft by herself (amazing considering how heavy that thing is...it took 9 of us to move it from the road to the river bank!).  She right sided it and then came my way and I jumped back in.  Then we headed downstream and began collecting everyone else.  It's amazing how strong you can be on an adrenaline rush.  I was pulling folks into the boat that I'm sure were heavier than me.  Our raft guide said had I not bailed at the time that I did, we would have capsized the raft over for sure.  I feel like that's more dangerous because you can get stuck under the raft.  I found out later that my husband was the last to bail from the boat and he did get stuck under for a bit before being carried away by a strong current.  He was picked up by our friends in another raft.

We later found out that we did what is called a "dump truck" which is when a raft dumps all of it's passengers but remains upright.  In our raft guides 10 year career she has only had to call a "high side" manuever 15 tmies and this was only the 4th time she has had a dump truck.  Lucky us.  Some of it was her error (she is the one steering after all and she was kind of hard to hear) some of it was us (we kind of sucked at paddling backwards...give us a break though, 6 of the 8 people had NEVER rafted before!).  Either way, this wouldn't keep me from doing it again or venturing into bigger water.  The next day my entire upper body was sore as was my butt from sitting on that hard raft all day.  This was an awesome tricep, pec, and ab workout for me lol.  I didn't feel so bad about not being able to exercise.

Anyway, so that was our wild rafting adventure.  I recommend it!

Since my friends and I took a "refreshing dip" in the Lower New River I leave you know with this refreshing dip (ba dump dum!) recipe which used my CSA beets.  It's the first time I've ever roasted beets and I wish someone would have told me that they stain your hands  *lovely* color of hot pink when you peel them.  While pink is my favorite color, it doesn't mean I want to be semi-permanently colored that way on my skin!  I loved the flavor of this "salsa"...like a greek salad!

Come back tomorrow to find out what I did with the beet greens :).

Greek Salsa
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Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1.5 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1.5 tsp. oregano
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
• 2 tsp. chopped dill
• 1 cucumber, seeded and diced small
• 1 large tomato, seeded and diced small
• 1/3 lb. feta cheese, diced
• 10-12 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped green or red onion
• 1/4 cup diced beets (roasted or pickled)

Directions

1. Whisk together the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and oregano, and then season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients (the beets turn everything hot pink, so add them slowly at the end to partially avoid this).  Stir in the dressing, tossing well to combine.

Source: Elly says Opa! 

Shrimpo de Gallo

It's recipe numero quatro of the Cinco Recipes for Cinco de Mayo series.  We're nearly done but don't worry, the fiesta has yet to begin!  The title of this particular recipe makes me laugh...as does Ree's (AKA Pioneer Woman) struggle to determine what it should be named... 

Shrimp Pico de Gallo
Shrimpy Pico de Gallo
Pico de Shrimpo
Shrimpo de Gallo
Shrimp Salsa

No matter what the name, this dip is a nice change from the traditional salsa and will win your heart over.  (And then give you some heartburn if you can't take the heat and/or you over-fiesta!).  It can be thrown together quickly for those last minute fiestas if you get your slicing and dicing on.

This recipe is Tapas Themed Dinner Club approved and once again, I suck and forgot to take a picture so thank you Emily for the photo!  The dip is in the center and NO, you don't dip the churros into the Shrimpo de Gallo.  Use tortilla chips, silly!  (The items were plated this way for ease of transport.)

One Year Ago: Hm yeah seriously...apparently I took the entire month of May off so...nothing.  I blame being on vacation and then trying to catch up from vacation.  Sorry!
Two Years Ago: Blonde Brownies...because blondes have more fun?

Shrimpo de Gallo
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Yields: 12 servings 

Ingredients

• 1 pound Cooked Cocktail Shrimp (tails removed), Chopped
• ½ whole Red Onion, Diced Finely
• ½ cups Green Or Black Olives, Chopped (I omitted...I hate olives, yuck!)
• 2 whole Tomatoes, Diced
• 2 whole Fresh Jalapeno Peppers, Minced (I used about 15 slices from a jar)
• 2 whole Avocados, Chopped
• 2 whole Limes, Juiced
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• 2 cups Cilantro, Chopped

Instructions

1. Combine shrimp, red onion, olives, tomatoes, and jalapenos in a large bowl. Add lime juice to taste, then a dash of kosher salt. Add cilantro. Stir gently with a spoon, then taste on a tortilla chip so you’ll have an accurate gauge of the salt content. Add more salt and/or lemon juice if needed.
2. Chill until serving. Note that the avocado will brown if too much time passes, so if you want to make this ahead of time, leave out the avocado until just before serving.
3. Serve with tortilla chips!

Source: Pioneer Woman

Guacamole

I'm baaack!  We had a wonderful time in Italy, Greece, and Turkey these past couple of weeks.  I saw many ancient World Wonders, took a dip in the (freezing cold) Mediterranean (stupid idea!) off the coast of Capri, and was inspired by lots and lots of food.  I'm also delighted to announce that despite all my fear (and not to mention previous track records on cruises), I gained ZERO weight over the course of the past couple weeks.  It's truly a miracle!

Anyway, remember how before I left for vacation I left you with these Churro Bites as a Cinco Recipes for Cinco de Mayo teaser?  Well, here comes the rest of the series since Cinco de Mayo is rapidly approaching.  No Mexican Fiesta is complete without everyone's favorite (and relatively healthy) dip, Guacamole!  Personally, I think that Chipotle has the best guac but at the crazy caloric content of those burritos and the extra they charge to add guac, it's only good as an occasional treat.  This homemade version is a very close second in my mind and was ridiculously easy to make.  Take that, Chipotle!

By the way, to add more to your fiesta or in case you "over-fiesta", check out the Build Your Own Pinata Smash video on Pepto-Bismol's YouTube page!  //End shameless plug//

One Year Ago: Slow Cooker Carnitas are also an easy Cinco de Mayo crowd pleaser
Two Years Ago: Focaccia Bread (I had THE most delicious Focaccia EVER this past trip at Babbo's in Rome!)

Guacamole
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Yields: 2.5 cups

Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 ripe avocados, peeled and halved
• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 green onions, white plus 3-inches of green chopped
• 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1.5 tsp Tabasco sauce
• 1/2 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• Tortilla chips

Directions

1. Put garlic and jalapeno into your food processor with the motor running. Process until finely chopped. Add half of the avocado and all of the lemon juice. Process until smooth.
2. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and add remaining avocado. Mash with a spoon, leaving as chunky or smooth as desired.  Add the remaining ingredients (tomatoes through cilantro). Mix thoroughly with a fork.
3. Serve at room temperature within 1-2 hours. If you're going to store it, press plastic wrap all over the top to prevent it from browning.  Enjoy with tortilla chips.

Source: The Piggly-Wiggly as passed along by her co-worker Sharon's sister

Football Snackadium

Soooo...I hear that NFL Playoffs are winding down and the Super Bowl is coming up in a couple weeks thus I felt it appropriate to share this "recipe" for the Football Snackadium.  After all, I did promise that I would earlier this week when I shared the Blooming Onion recipe.

Honestly, since the Bengals sucked this year I didn't follow football AT ALL this season (not that I ever really follow it any season...).  But, in the spirit of tailgating I hosted our Dinner Club in September by having a Tailgating theme.  I served this and Who Loves Ya Baby Back? ribs.

Normally when someone makes a Snackadium it comes in EPIC proportions and is designed to feed a huge crowd.  It gained popularity when it was posted to This is Why You're Fat because they're so big and full of unhealthy snack foods.  Since there were only 10 of us and I knew there would be plenty of delicious food I scaled mine down so the whole thing (including chips) fit inside of a 2 1/2 quart oval casserole dish.  A mini-snackadium.  Tres cute!  If you want to scale yours up, suggest you use Sara's Piggly-Wiggly Blog for guidance.

You can make your Snackadium easy by buying pre-made dips and just setting up the stadium or you can go all out and make your dips from scratch.  I went healthier with mine and used hummus instead of the traditional queso dip and served with baby carrots and celery in addition to chips.  Oh and if you're *really* trying to impress (and give your guests a cardiac arrest) you'd create a barricade out of food too but like I said, I went easy and small scale so a casserole dish served as my arena.  The recipe which I'll list below is pretty loose.  Go ahead and just have fun with this one.

Who are you rooting for and who do you think is going to be this year's Super Bowl champ?

One Year Ago: Basic Pizza Dough 

Football Snackadium

Ingredients

• 3 Types of dip - salsa, gaucamole, queso, ranch, hummus, spinach dip, etc.
• Sour cream (optional - for field lines)
• 2 Slim Jims
• Assortment of chips and/or veggies - tortilla chips, fritos, pita chips, cheetos, doritos, pretzels, baby carrots, celery slices, etc.
• To go all out: Rice crispy treats, pigs in a blanket, cocktail weiners

Additional Supplies

• Toothpicks
• Rectangular container (9 x 13 baking pan for large scale; Small tupperware container that nests within casserole dish for mini) 
• Oval casserole dish (optional)
• Foil (if you're picky and don't like your dips to mix...personally my dips were thick enough in texture and small enough in quantity that I thought this was unnecessary)

Directions

1. If creating a mini-snackadium, put rectangular pan into the center of your casserole dish.  In your rectangular pan, if desired, create foil dividers to create 2 end-zones and a center field area.  Fill each of the three zones with a different type of dip (suggest something green like guacamole or spinach dip for center field).   
2. Cut Slim Jim into 4 pieces.  Use toothpicks to secure them in the shape of a field goal.  Stick it into the end-zone (if you have trouble getting it to stand, use a toothpick to connect the supporting post to a block of cheese).  Repeat this process for the other field goal.  If desired, pipe sour cream lines onto the field.  Place mini-cocktail weiners on the field to represent the "players".
3. Fill casserole dish with "fans" (ie: your assortment of chips and veggies).  
4. Serve and watch the fans go wild!

Source: Inspiration from The Piggly-Wiggly

White Bean Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Welcome to the first new food post of 2011. 

Since I'm sure many of you have made New Years Resolutions that probably include something like "eating healthier" I decided to make today's post a very simple, healthy dip.  And, I apologize in advance for the sinful peanut butter fudge brownies that is in my queue to post soon.  This healthy(er) recipe will offset that one.  I also say healthier because I'm not really known to cook like a health nut anyway.  I love food too much to sacrifice flavor and comforting creaminess for health food.  Sorry.  But, if I happen to cook food that tastes delicious AND is healthy, that's a bonus! :)

I really must have a thing for this type of dip because I realized that I have no fewer than THREE distinct recipes bookmarked in my Google Reader.  That is a true sign that the recipe is to be made and will not dissapoint!

Also, this recipe has a single step in it.  Unless you count opening the cans and cleaning the dishes...then I guess you're up to two or three :).  Really can it get any easier than that?  The result tasted much like a hummus to me.  I served it with Stacy's naked pita chips (yum!), baby carrots, and celery sticks.  It's great for parties or whip up a batch to eat for your daily afternoon snack.  Snacking and several small meals throughout the day (about every 3-4 hours) is said to be one of the keys to energy management and weight loss, by the way.

So give this dip a whirl....literally!

Love Roasted Red Peppers?  This copy cat of Pasta Bravo will knock your socks off!
One Year Ago: Vanilla-Peppermint Cupcakes and Clone of a Cinnabon

White Bean Roasted Red Pepper Dip
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Yields: About 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (15 oz.) can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small jar (about 1 cup) roasted red peppers, drained
• 3 ounces lowfat (neufchatel) cream cheese, softened
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary (I used about 1/3 tsp dried rosemary)
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Puree everything in a food processor until smooth.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 77 / Fat: 2g / Saturated Fat: 1.3g / Carbs: 10.4g / Fiber: 2g / Protein: 4.1g

Source: As seen on and adapted by Elly Says Opa from Smitten Kitchen

Honey Mustard Sauce

This sauce is very versatile.  I made it to accompany my Ham, Cheese, and Green Pepper Pretzel Bites which were brought to my Uncle's Super Bowl Party and it found second life as a dip for Pretzel Chicken Tenders later in the week for dinner.  It'd also be great over a salad, as a spread for sandwiches (my cousins made various cold cut sandwiches for the party and people ended up using the sauce for this application, too!) or as a dip for regular soft pretzels.  It really gives dishes that special sweet n spicy creamy zip.

I don't think I have to remind you that Chris HATES mustard...and mayonnaise for that matter.  The sight and smell of it literally makes him want to vomit...or at least that's what he tells me.  Thankfully, we've never had any issues and since it's a side (optional) dip he doesn't have to partake.

This recipe was modified from Ms. Paula Deen, who by the way is coming to Cincinnati for a special cooking show.  You can have dinner with her and/or go to a cooking demo.  How cool is that?!  Anyway, for this recipe I subbed dijon mustard for the yellow and removed the horseradish (figured the dijon would have that needed zip).  I also didn't need to use any of the orange juice but depending on the consistency you are going for you may decide you want/need to add some.  Oh yes, and there is 1 step to this recipe.  It doesn't get much easier than that!

Sorry this picture is so shady.  I snapped one of it near the end of the night.  I can't say it was ever that pretty to begin with but since it was heavily used it got drippy all over the bowl haha.

Honey Mustard Sauce
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Prep Time: 5 minutes
Chill Time: 2 hours
Ready In: 2 hours 5 minutes
Yields: 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or juice from 1/2 lemon)
• 2 tablespoons orange juice (more or less as needed)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients except orange juice; stir well. Thin to pouring consistency for dressing or dipping consistency for dips with orange juice. Cover and chill for 2 or 3 hours.

Source: Modified from Paula Deen

Spicy Sausage Dip

They might as well call this one "crack dip" because it's so addicting.  I had to taste test it before bringing to my Uncle's house for the Super Bowl party and it was so hard to stop eating it straight from the pan!  I'm kind of like the unofficial appetizer/dip bringer to our family events...probably because I personally prefer savory/salty stuff to sweets and Ali owns that arena, anyway.  I think it kind of looks a bit unappetizing (dare I say, like vomit?) but don't let that fool you...

Yes, it's fattening but your taste buds will thank you for eating this one.  If it makes you feel any better, make it with turkey sausage and low-fat or fat-free cream cheese.  I doused mine with who knows how many dashes of Tabasco sauce.  I like it hot!!!  I feel like the cream cheese can cool the overall heat of the dish down so I could really load up on the spiciness.  It's the kind of yummy spiciness that builds over time so be careful if you plan on getting addicted and eating a lot.  You can adjust the seasoning to your desired spiciness.

Spicy Sausage Dip
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Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz.) package spicy/zesty sausage
• 1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
• 2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese
• Hot sauce, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the crumbled sausage until browned. Drain off any excess fat.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and mix in the tomatoes, cream cheese, and hot sauce. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is warmed through and the ingredients are well blended.
3. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Serve warm with tortilla chips and/or crackers.

Source: My Baking Addiction as seen on Annie's Eats

Corn and Avocado Salsa

I made this to accompany our Copycat Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bols and to use up the leftover avocado from when I made sushi for Dinner Club (yes, I'm that behind on posting recipes!). 

While it wasn't quite like Chipotle's corn salsa nor was it supposed to be, it tasted delicious and was a great chunky dip for our tortilla chips.  It's a nice change from your traditional tomato salsa and filled with fiber from the corn and black beans.  In fact, there aren't ANY tomatoes in this one!  Oh, and it has more CILANTRO.  Yum!  I actually forgot to buy a red pepper so there wasn't any in mine but I can imagine it would be awesome in this salsa. 

A couple of words of caution - maybe cut back a little bit on the lime if you're using a lot of this over the Cilantro Lime Rice because it was a bit too tart and limey for my tastes.  Or maybe I just use a lot of salsa... :).  Also, this makes a lot (about 1 quart or 4 cups).  So unless you're making this for a crowd, you may want to scale this recipe down.

Corn and Avocado Salsa
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Ingredients

• 3 ears fresh corn, husks and silks removed (Used 15-oz can of corn, drained)
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 avocados- peeled, pitted, and cubed
• 1/4 large red onion, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice (roughly 2 limes)
• Salt and Black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Place the corn in a large pot with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook until kernels are tender but crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain, and cool in cold water. Use a knife to scrape kernels from the cobs.  Place kernels in a medium bowl.
2. Stir in avocados, red onion, bell pepper, and garlic.   Add cumin, red pepper flakes, and cilantro.  Mix in vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Put mixture in refrigerator and allow flavors to meld for at least 30 minutes.

Source: All Recipes as seen on The Piggly Wiggly Blog

Mmmm...BACON!!!

This isn't one recipe but OVER ONE HUNDRED recipes on how to use bacon in all things savory or sweet.  I saw this shared on my brother's friend's facebook and had to cross-share it with my Dinner Club friends.  We do a different theme every month and we often joke that one day, we should have a bacon themed dinner.  I'm pretty sure this blogpost is driving us one step closer to that...

Here's a little photo teaser...

Check out all the delicious recipes and photos for 100 Ways to Use a Strip of Bacon at the Endless Simmer.  Just try not to drool on your keyboard, okay?

PS: Taking requests on something to make with bacon.  Leave a comment!

Pumpkin Fluff Dip

In addition to my Mac and Cheese potluck contribution for Thanksgiving I always try to bring either an appetizer or a dessert.  My family's Thanksgiving celebration is never in short supply of food and we graze all day so these types of dishes work well.  I chose this dip because of its ease of preparation and the fact that it would be a relatively light dish compared to everything else we'd be eating all day.  According to the directions, this is best prepared the night before because it helps the flavors to meld and yields a smoother texture (allows the pudding granules to fully dissolve).  It turned out well and was well received!  I think if I make it again, I might try cheesecake flavored pudding to give it a slight twist.  Yum!

Pumpkin Fluff Dip
Printer-Friendly Version

Prep Time: 5 Min
Ready In: 5 Min
Yields: 32 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) container whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together instant vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.
2. Fold in the whipped topping.
3. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.  Overnight is best to let flavor and textures meld, if you have time.  Serve with (cinnamon) graham cracker sticks and sliced green apples.

Source: All recipes

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

This dip was included in our recent open house menu.  Who can argue about something creamy, cheesy, and gooey?!  Oh and yes, there is spinach and artichoke so count that towards your veggie quota for the day ;).  Once you make this dip, you'll be so happy that you can make it home instead of buying it at the restaurant!  It's so easy and so good!  I've found that you can just use the "italian blend" cheese instead of individual cheese and it works great (and it's cheaper to not have to buy 3 types of cheese individually!).  I heat mine up then throw it in the crockpot to make sure it's nice and hot throughout the party :).

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
(Source: Modified from All Recipes)

PREP TIME	15 Min
COOK TIME	25 Min
READY IN	40 Min

SERVINGS 12

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened (low fat OK) 
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (low fat OK) 
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese  
• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or instead of above 3, just use 3/4 cup Italian Style shredded cheese)
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 
• salt and pepper to taste
• Dash of hot sauce 
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheese(s), garlic, basil, garlic salt, onion powder, salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.
2. Microwave until mixture is hot, stirring occasionally.
3. Transfer the mixture to a crockpot on "warm" setting.  Turn off occasionally or add water or additional mayo over time if mixture starts to become too dry.  Serve with tortilla chips, pita chips, and/or celery.

Avocado, Tomato, and Mango Salsa

Mexican is probably one of my favorite food styles.  This salsa takes a bit of effort with all the chopping involved but it's delicious and worth it.  Sweet, salty, and spicy - it will tantilize your taste buds!  It's great not only with tortilla chips but also to serve over fish or chicken.  I made it without the avocado this time because I am making it in advance and didn't want it to brown.  I also left out the cilantro because for some reason, I can never find cilantro at our (ghetto) Kroger.

Avocado, Tomato and Mango Salsa
(Source: All Recipes)

PREP TIME	15 Min
READY IN	45 Min

SERVINGS 6

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1 mango - peeled, seeded and diced
• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
• 4 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper (fresh or canned), seeded and minced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, combine the mango, avocado, tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro, and garlic. Stir in the salt, lime juice, red onion, and olive oil. To blend the flavors, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving  (overnight is best!).