Recipe

I’m posting this for the mystery commenter that wanted the spinach and artichoke dip I posted last summer.  She is pregnant and is craving this dip, so I’m hoping I can quench the craving….(I don’t have any email address or contact info.. so I thought she may see it if I just re posted it)

Wherever you are {Sarah} I hope this is the one you were wanting.. my sweet friend Shannon Prager brought it to Martha night…I’m sure that is why you had a hard time finding it – it was with a ton of different recipes from all the wonderful neighborhood mama’s I miss so dearly!

Spinach Artichoke Dip
4 oz of cream cheese
8 oz Helmann's mayo
1 small white onion (about 1/2 cup)
1 box of frozen spinach
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
1 14oz can of quartered artichoke hearts
garlic powder (to taste)  start with 1/8 teaspoon
2 cups of shredded Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Thaw spinach and drain thoroughly.  In oven safe dish, mix cream cheese and mayo, garlic powder and onion.  Add drained spinach and 1 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.  Mix thoroughly.  Mix artichokes last to keep them from separating and being mashed during mixing.  Bake covered for 30-35 minutes at 350.  Then add remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to the top and bake uncovered for an additional 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted
Serve with Pita chips, tortilla chips or toasted French bread

BTW, Sarah said this was the best one she has ever eaten.. I’m embarrassed to say I still haven’t made it.. but I’ll be hunting down these ingredients in my Arabian grocery stores now for sure! Thanks for reminding me how delicious it is!!

Appetizers

Baked Brie

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry

1T unsalted butter

1/2 cup walnuts

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 8oz wheel of brie

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

preheat oven 375 degrees

defrost puff pastry 15 to 20 minutes and unfold

trim off only the top of the outer coating on the brie

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Sauté the walnuts in the butter until golden brown, approx 5 minutes.  Add the cinnamon and stir until walnuts are coated well.  Lay the puff pastry out on a flat surface.  Place the brie in the center of the pastry. Place the walnut mixture on top of the brie and sprinkle brown sugar over the mixture.  Gather up the edges of the brie, pressing arount he brie and gather at the top.  Gently squeeze together the excess dough.  Brush the beaten egg over the top and side of the brie.  Place brie on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes until pastry is golden brown.  Serve with Ritz crackers.  Enjoy!

  

Southwestern Spinach Dip

10 ounces frozen chopped spinach  (1 pkg) DEFROSTED & DRAINED

1/2 red onion finely chopped                                   

12 ounces shredded cheddar cheese                                      

8 ounces cream cheese softened                                 

1/4 cup chopped jalapeno chiles (can be canned)                

2 cans Rotel 1 drained, 1 undrained

1/3 cup sour cream                                             

1 teaspoon cumin                                               

1 teaspoon chili powder                                        

Mix and bake at 350 until bubbly

Serve with tortilla chips – SO YUMMY!

Apple Dip

1 block cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 container of caramel apple dip
chopped up heath bars
green apples (4 or 5)
mix together cream cheese and powdered sugar spread on a platter
top with caramel apple dip
top with chopped up heath bar
line the platter with apples.

Paula Deen's Old Fashioned Fudge Pie

This is the simplest pie and in my opinion & Charles': one of the BEST in the whole wide world.  I'm keeping the pie crust on hand in the freezer since I usually already have all the other ingredients here..  I thought I would share it with you.  If I had to describe it.. less dense than real fudge, much more dense than pudding, tastes similar to brownie batter and Oh My Goodness Good.   Don't be fooled with my wordy directions, this pie is super simple and FAST to make.  I explain things in great (too much) detail just so my fellow mama cooks can get it right the first time... Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 squares (2-ounces) semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten (in medium sized mixing bowl)

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust found in freezer section- (not deep dish)

Directions - with my added tips for not screwing it up. No offense, Paula, but yours were pretty vague..left lots of room for error..  I still love you!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

(Take your hand mixer out and plug it in.)

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heavy saucepan over low heat.

 Remove the pan from the heat and add the sugar, (mix well & let it cool for a bit - 2 or 3 minutes while you beat the eggs in a larger than necessary bowl so that you have room to add chocolate/butter/sugar mixture in a minute)

 Then add a little (two to three tablespoons) of this chocolate/butter sugar mixture to the eggs to "temper" the eggs.. fancy term for raise the temperature of the eggs so when you add all of the hot chocolate mixture to the eggs you don't get chocolate scrambled eggs!)

Then add the remainder of the chocolate mixture to the eggs;
Beat well with hand mixer for about 2 minutes.

Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 25 minutes or until just set. (When you take a look at it it puffs up pretty high, but it will deflate as it cools.. no worries about it being really tall.)  Serve warm or cold, with ice cream or whipped cream.  

Shortbread Cookies

I noticed a recipe on the back of the cornstarch box and had to try it.. it is a fast recipe.. threw it together in a few minutes.. however, you must try to hold off eating them until the next day. worth the wait! I ate one, (okay a few) right after they were done and although they were good, they were sort of dry and crumbly tasting. With my coffee this morning..BETTER, this afternoon when I added chocolate to them... MO' BETTA!

THE BEST Shortbread Cookies

1 cup butter, softened (no margarine)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/4 cup Argo® Corn Starch

*1/8 teaspoon salt - tiny pinch(i added this)

*1 cup semi-sweet morsels (i added this)

Preheat oven to 300°F. Mix butter, brown sugar and vanilla thoroughly using an electric mixer. Gradually blend in flour and corn starch.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball.

Roll into a 1/3" thick rectangle.

Cut into 2 x 1-inch strips. Or whatever shape you want (*I used a pizza cutter. easy & fast)

Place 1-inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes.

(the recipe says 25-30 minutes - but mine were ready in 20 - i could tell because the smell was from the oven was calling my name!)

Let cookies cool completely.. I waited overnight

I melted chocolate using a double boiler system (putting a few inches of water into a small pot, put a glass bowl on top - make sure water doesn't touch bowl - and add chocolate chips to bowl.) Let water come up to a simmer and stir chips until melted. Slather on a thick layer of chocolate goodness to your cookies and lay them on a cookie sheet - place in freezer to harden chocolate quickly.

I have a inherent weakness for these type of cookies and now that I have a quick and easy recipe for them.. oh no. i'm in trouble. I love love LOVE shortbread cookies and with the chocolate added -they remind me of Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies, but BETTA'

yes, Mom I'm saving you some... you too Mr Travis... I know you like these too :)

Red Beans & Rice Shortcut Version

Disclaimer * This is a semi-homemade version of Red Beans and Rice.. not your grandma's real deal but oh so close. We have this dinner ALL the time since it is probably one of the easiest recipes ever and I make it ahead of time on Saturday, put the whole pot in the fridge and when we get out of Church on Sunday it reheats fast and delicious. I use a lot of words to describe stuff so that you get a good idea on what I'm talking about.. don't let a lot of words fool you into thinking this is complicated.. b/c it is extremely simple.

What you'll need:

1 pkg your favorite sausage, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 - 1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans of red beans.. I usually get one can of dark red kidney beans and one can light red kidney beans.. sometimes I can actually find a can of just "red beans" but whatever the store has is fine. I always buy the off brand. They were out of the light red kidney beans this week so we had 2 dark red cans.. whatever.
about a tablespoon of corn starch

Cooked rice *if you want a wow flavor, substitute the water for chicken stock (in the box).. MUCH BETTER with this dish
Jiffy cornbread. no substitutions. it is the best :)
Tony Chacheres, or seasoned salt

here we go...

I buy something different each time.. I like this stuff from HEB - however, I don't love kielbasa sausage in it.. use a local-ish type sausage

Brown the sausage a little bit

while it is browning, chop onions, bell pepper & garlic

Add onions and peppers to sausage and saute *hold back garlic until after onions and peppers are cooked down a bit. *I do this b/c the garlic would burn and taste bitter.

open the cans of beans, DO NOT DRAIN! Dump it all in juicy syrupy stuff and all.

Look in the bottom of the can, you'll see a little bit of bean sediments at the bottom.. fill the can about 1/3 of the way up and add tablespoon of corn starch and dissolve completely *stirring up those little bean bits off the bottom of the can.

Add corn starch mixture (rosey cloudy pink color) to skillet and stir it up
It will look like this (below). Season with Tony's or whatever seasoned salt you like. (*be careful with seasonings if you have an extra spicy sausage). Stir, cover and bring it up to boil for a minute and lower it to a slight simmer for about 15 minutes.

(The function of the corn starch is to change the liquid from watery to more of a gravy consistency.. if yours is still too watery, add some corn starch to a little water, dissolve it and then add it to your pan. never put dry corn starch into your food - it will make gummy clumps. If you have the opposite problem and it is too thick, add chicken stock or water to thin it out. no problem.)

Serve over rice and a side of Jiffy corn bread! YUMMO. I have served this dish to some true cajuns and have gotten two thumbs up. Simple. Easy. Good & CHEAP.

Pizza Bread

Here is one of our household favorites - and a bonus is that it is a SUPER easy recipe!

Start out with this bread dough found in the freezer section:

Let one loaf defrost on a greased cookie sheet - also spray the plastic wrap so it doesn't stick later
It needs to double in size -so take it out first thing in the morning *but if you're like me and forget, I put my oven on the lowest setting 135 degrees and leave it in there for a couple of hours until it looks like this:

Sprinkle some flour onto the dough and onto a rolling pin and spread it out.
Take 1 cup of mozzarella and sprinkle it down the middle of the dough. Then take 1/2 bag of pepperoni (I use turkey pepperoni since it is 70% less fat - you can't tell the difference once it is all cooked together) and put it on top of the mozzarella. Finish by topping the pepperoni with the remainder of the cheese (1 cup). Fold the short ends towards the center and then stretch the long sides to meet in the middle (sort of like a burrito). Pinch together and flip the whole thing over so that the seam side is on the cookie sheet. Brush the top with a beaten egg (to help with browning) and sprinkle on some Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese (both optional).
Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until it looks like this:

Slice and Eat! You can also use this as an appetizer if you just slice it smaller... yum!

Fun Finds

What a Great find! :)

I stumbled upon this recipe when I was blog hopping...

Mexicorn Salad

2 ripe avocados, peeled and diced

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

3 tomatoes, diced

1 1/2 cup Jack/Cheddar cheese, shredded

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can mexicorn, drained and rinsed

Combine all above in a large bowl.

Mix the juice of 2 limes,

1 Tbsp. olive oil, a pinch of salt, and garlic powder to taste and drizzle over salad.

Serve with corn chips.

I'm making this recipe on Saturday.. i'll let y'all know how it goes :o)!

Another interesting find! I originally saw this one on Tip Junkie - but then quickly clicked over to their page Kari and Kijsa.. this was done with chalk board paint.. but they mentioned a product that I am certainly going to try.. chalkboard stickies. They supposedly stick anywhere and you can reuse them.. hmmm... possibilities are endless.

Last Night's Dinner

Ok.. girls - here's a super simple and quick dinner to add to the rotation.. PEPPER BEEF (growing up we called it Pepper Steak.. but whatever...I just like the fact that it isn't ground beef or chicken.. something a little different..
I got the recipe from Lake Charles' famous "Pirate's Pantry" cookbook.. (Page170 for those of y'all reading this from the great state of Louisiana...) I did change a couple of things though - in my opinion, for the better :)

You'll need:
1 to 1.5 lbs of lean beef cut into 1/4" strips -
(I buy the beef sliced & ready to go in the meat section labeled "stir fry beef")
4 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 (i do a heaping) teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Accent (not sure if this is vital to the recipe - but it is a seasoning)
1 teaspoon salt
3 bell peppers cut in strips
1 onion cut in strips
vegetable oil

cooked rice - to serve pepper beef on top of

Mix beef with soy sauce, cornstarch, pepper, salt & accent - set aside.
In a large skillet, saute bell pepper in about two tablespoons of oil
Once those get going a little bit then add onion. Saute both until done, but still crisp (not wilty)
Remove onions and peppers from the skillet and set aside in a separate dish.
Add a little more oil to skillet and then add beef, saute until browned (doesn't have to be completely done). Add bell pepper and onion mixture back into the skillet and gently mix with beef. Cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes - peppers and onions should be soft at this point and beef should be tender - (serves 4 easily) Simple and Yummy -
I make this about an hour before Charles comes home from work and let it sit on the stove turned off.. right before we are ready to eat I crank up the heat to warm it back up and VOILA!

Crawfish Lovers

Easiest Ever Crawfish & Corn Soup

2 Tbls. oil, butter or margarine

1 Medium Onion, Chopped

1lb peeled cooked crawfish tails (in seafood frozen section) rinse and drain them

1 (10oz) can Rotel

2 (10 oz) cans cream of potato soup

2 (17oz) cans cream style corn

2 (17 oz) cans regular whole corn (drained)

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

3Tbls. fresh parsley (optional)

3Tbls. fresh green onions (optional)

Heat oil in large heavy pot, add onions and saute' until tender

Add crawfish & cook about 3 minutes

Add half-and-half and all the cans of stuff

Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes

add chopped parsley and green onions if desired.

(If it is too thick, just add some regular milk to it)

*I made this tonight and forgot the two cans of whole corn; you couldn't tell - We loved it :)

Enjoy!! It's Delicious!

Food for Thought...

Hey friends!

It was my turn to bring food to play group today. Mexican Lasagna was my choice and people seemed to like it... I had some requests for the recipe and the easiest way to get it out there is through "the blog." I usually don't make it from a recipe, but for some reason I already had it typed and saved on my computer. I was super surprised to see how much the recipe has changed since Audrey has come along. This recipe has "evolved" into something much simpler - to fit my life.. Either way is good. This is the one I made today:

Makes about 6-8 servings
1 pkg flour tortillas
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1/2 can refried beans
Mexican style cheese shredded
1 can chopped green chillies
Sour cream
Pico de Gallo

Preheat oven 350
brown ground meat, drain,
add taco seasoning, 1/3 cup of water & can of green chillies,
let sauce thicken
line 13x9 dish with tortillas, sides too!
Then layer these:Refried beans (spread not too thick)
ground meat mixture
cheese
another layer of tortillas
refried beans
ground meat mixture
cheese(top with green onions – optional)
bake for about 30 minutes until cheese bubbles
let casserole rest for about five minutes, top with sour cream & pico de galloand Serve! (it is good served with corn)
ENJOY!

I hope this helps my playgroup pals!