Dip Baby Dip

A few weeks ago, my friend Adriane made this amazing artichoke dip for a potluck dinner.  Well, actually after talking to my friends, I am not sure if it was a potluck or a BBQ, but I digress lol.  The point is, Adriane's dip was so good, it got me in this DIP mood.  About a week after eating Adriane's dip, our friend Tim had a promotion ceremony and his wife made a sausage/rotel dip.  That same weekend, Tim came over to watch football and I thought "well it is the season of the dip; why not make one while they watch football."  Anyone who knows me, knows that I love chicken and spicy food, so I decided on a buffalo chicken dip.  When I tell you that this dip was absolutely delicious, it would be an understatement.  It took me about 10-15 minutes to make and it was gone the same day.  Other than my corn dip, it's my new go to recipe for tailgating parties.  Today, I tried a new recipe and it was just as good.  I made a Pepperoni pizza dip.  There is about a spoonful left (not for long). We are having a work tailgating party in honor of the Kansas City Royals going to the World Series (Go Royals) and I don't know which one to bring.  Decisions, decisions.  Both recipes are posted below.  I know you, your friends, and/or family will enjoy both!  

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Dip

picture courtesy of chocolatemoosey.com

Ingredients:

2 (12 ounce) cans chunked chicken (drained) OR 2 cups of cooked chicken cut into chunks 

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup of Ranch dressing

3/4 cup of Frank's Red Hot Buffalo wing sauce 

3/4 cup blended Shredded Cheese (mine had cheddar, Colby, and Mozzarella)...you can just use shredded cheddar

Directions:
1. Heat chicken and Buffalo sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. 
2. Make sure to break up the chicken so there are no big chunks. 
3. Add cream cheese and ranch dressing.   
4.  Stir until well blended and warm. 
5. Add shredded cheese. 
6. Pour into a shallow dish or a crock pot
7. Serve with pita chips for dipping.

Recipe: Pepperoni Pizza Dip

Ingredients:

12 ounces cream cheese

3/4 tsp dried oregano

3/4 tsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp dried basil

2  (8 ounce) cans of tomato sauce

1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste 

2 tsp dried oregano 

2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup of Pepperoni

1/4 tbsp of BBQ sauce

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray the bottom of a casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, 3/4 tsp of oregano, 3/4 tsp of parsley and 1/4 tsp of basil.  
3. Spread herbed cream cheese on the bottom of casserole dish. Layer with ½ cup mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese.
4. In another bowl, mix together tomato sauce, tomato paste, 2 tsp of oregano, 2 tsp of basil, 1/2 tsp of sugar, garlic powder, and 1/4 tbsp of BBQ sauce. Pour over cheese layer in dish.
5. Cover with the remaining cheeses. Top with pepperoni.
6. Place in preheated oven and bake for 20 mins or until heated through and bubbly. 
7. Serve with pita chips or bagel chips.

Parmesan Meatloaf

A few weeks ago, I had a friend over for dinner with his fiance.  I racked my brain as to what I could make for them.  At first, I was going to go with a Mexican theme, because my neighbor inspired me to make chicken enchiladas.  I decided against that once he told me they would prefer a down home type of meal.  Being from the south, I thought about all the possibilities of what I could make.  After a couple of days, I decided on meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad, and corn.  I knew I didn't want just any meatloaf, so I searched all of the web for the perfect meatloaf recipe.  I finally found one and it is the best meatloaf I have ever had.  Of course, I added my own twist on it and let's just say: AMAZING.  My guests thoroughly enjoyed the meal, which lets me know they agreed that it was AMAZING.  I am also including the recipe to a cake my mother in law introduced to me.  Last year, she brought this same cake to my mothers house and my mom literally ate this cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  It is my go to cake to bake when I have to bring a dessert to a potluck.  I actually made two of them last weekend and ended up eating one ALL BY MYSELF (Don't judge me lol).  It's simple, requires few ingredients, and oh so good.  

Recipe: Parmesan Meatloaf

Picture courtesy of ontario.foodland

Ingredients: 

2 lb ground beef or ground turkey 

2 eggs 

1/4 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs 

1/2 teaspoon dried basil 

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 

2 tablespoons of minced garlic 

1 small onion, chopped fine 

1/2 teaspoon season all 

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

1/2 cup your favorite marinara pasta sauce 

1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese  

1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese 

1/2 cup of cooked chopped bacon 

Cooking Spray

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a meatloaf dish with non stick spray/cooking spray.  

2. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, season all, pepper, chopped bacon and Parmesan cheese. Do not over mix the ingredients.  Put the ground beef mixture in the greased meatloaf pan.  Top the meatloaf with pasta sauce.

3. Bake the meatloaf in the oven for 1 hour (may take 1 hr. 15 mins). Remove the meatloaf from the oven and add the remaining cheese on top.  Place the meatloaf back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted.

4. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving/slicing.

5. Enjoy with mashed potatoes, a vegetable, and some garlic bread!

Recipe: Orange Cake

Picture courtesy of YouTube

Ingredients for cake: 

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 box of instant lemon jello pudding

3/4 cup of oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup of water

1/4 cup of orange juice

a splash of milk

Ingredients for icing:

2 cups of powdered sugar

1/3 cup of orange juice

2 tsp. warm water

2 tbsp. of softened butter

Directions for cake: 

1. Grease and flour a cake pan.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 for a glass pan). 

2. Mix together the ingredients for the cake and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Directions for icing:

1. Mix butter with powdered sugar before adding the juice.  Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. 

2. Immediately removing from oven, punch holes over the entire cake with a fork.  

3. Pour the icing all over the cake and spread evenly.  The icing will be absorbed leaving only a slight glaze.  

4. ENJOY!!!! 

 

Mexican Stuffed Shells

This is one of my all time new favorite recipes.  The entire family enjoyed them.  It only took about 15 minutes to prep, about 45 minutes to cook, and 2 minutes to devour.

Recipe: Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound ground beef (you could use ground turkey)
• ½ cup yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 packet of McCormick taco seasoning
• 4 oz softened cream cheese (I used fat free cream cheese)
• 1 box of JUMBO pasta shells (I boiled 30, but used 20)
• 12 oz enchilada sauce
• 1 cup of chunky salsa 
• 1¼ cup fiesta blend cheese
• ½ cup mozzarella cheese

Instructions: 

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
2. Boil your pasta shells for about 10-12 minutes When your shells are done cooking, rinse with cold water.  Put to the side. 
3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
4. In a large skillet, cook your ground beef over medium high heat.  While the meat is cooking, season with garlic powder, season all, and black pepper.  Stir.  Then add in chopped onions.  Continue to cook until meat is cooked through.  
   
5. Drain the extra grease from the pan. 
6. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the ground beef and stir. 
7. Turn the heat to medium and then add in cream cheese. Cook until cheese is mixed in and melted throughout. Set aside.
   
8. In a large bowl, combine your salsa and enchilada sauce 
   
9. In the bottom of a 9x13 pan, pour about half of your salsa/enchilada mixture.  Then spread it evenly around the pan. 
   
10. Fill each jumbo shell with a good portion (about 1 TBS) of the meat mixture and place into the pan with sauce. 
    
11. Repeat until all shells or meat mixture is gone.
12. Pour the remaining salsa/enchilada sauce mixture over the tops of the shells.
13. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. 
14. Bake for 30 minutes.
15. Remove aluminum and top with cheeses.
16. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes until cheese is melted. 
17. Let stand for about 5 minutes. When you serve, you can add sour cream and Jalepenos on top for garnish/extra flavor. 
    
18. Enjoy!