Chili's Queso Dip

This is one of my favorite things to eat at Chili's. Sometimes I will just order a side salad and chips and queso for dinner. It's THAT good. :0)

1 16-ounce box Velveeta Cheese
1 15-ounce can Hormel Chili (no beans)
1 cup milk
4 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Cut the Velveeta into cubes. Combine the cheese with the remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until cheese melts, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve hot with tortilla chips for dipping.

Hot Cheesy Spinach Dip

Got these free recipe cards in the mail the other day, and out of about 12, I kept 4. :0) This was one of them. I love spinach dip....though I don't love spinach. Wierd huh? Anyway...This one is a warm version with lots of ooey gooey cheese. Don't worry Amy, I'm making the traditional dip for girls night tonight. :0)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups half and half
2 pkgs. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1 can (8 oz.) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 pkg. (1 oz.) dry vegetable soup mix
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook and stir until onion is crisp-tender and garlic is fragrant, 2-3 minutes.

Stir in flour; cook and stir an additional minute. Add half and half and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens, about 2 minutes.

Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in chopped spinach, water chestnuts, Cheddar and vegetable soup mix. Spoon dip into a 1 quart casserole or gratin dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake dip until it is bubbly and sheese is melted, 10-15 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.

Ashlee side note: As I'm not a HUGE spinach fan, one pkg. of spinach is PLENTY for me. Otherwise it's too much spinach flavor and not enough of the good stuff. ;0) I usually leave out the water chestnuts as well, because most people don't like them and they don't add too much to the dip besides a nice crunch.
If you are worried about this affecting your figure since we are all on our New Years diets, use fat free half and half and low fat cheddar. It's a great healthy alternative and you don't have to deprive yourself! Enjoy!

O Christmas Tree!

This was such an easy appetizer and it was so yummy! It also looks very festive! Yes, this is the one that I made last night for girls night. I was truly impressed with myself. ;0)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take one can of crescent rolls (make sure it's very cold) slice it into 16 rounds. (Do not unroll the dough. Leave in the roll and slice the circles that way) Place on cookie sheet in tree shape. Start with one circle on top for row 1 until you get to a five circle row. Use the final round for the trunk of the tree. Bake for 11 minutes or according to can directions. Remove from oven and let sit for 1 minute. Using a large pancake spatula remove from cookie sheet and place on cooling rack to cool.

The recipes spread uses cream cheese, sour cream, dill and garlic. I had unknowingly used the last of my sour cream for my dips, so I improvised and used the very last of my Boursin cheese (5 oz.) and a package of cream cheese and whipped it together. It was so yummy! Anyway, spread this on the top of the tree until each piece is completely covered.

Chop your choice of veggies into very small pieces. Use these as decoration for your tree. I used red pepper, yellow pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and green onion. The red pepper I used for the garland and the yellow pepper I also used to make the star on top.

Crescent Wrapped Brie

I was looking for some appetizer recipes for my girls night next week and came across this recipe. It looks so yummy!


1 (8-oz.) can Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
1 (8-oz.) round natural Brie cheese
1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 350°F. Unroll dough; separate crosswise into 2 sections. Pat dough and firmly press perforations to seal, forming 2 squares. Place 1 square on ungreased cookie sheet. Place cheese on center of dough.
With small cookie or canapé cutter, cut 1 shape from each corner of remaining square; set cutouts aside.
Place remaining square on top of cheese round. Press dough evenly around cheese; fold bottom edges over top edges. Gently stretch dough evenly around cheese; press to seal completely. Brush with beaten egg. Top with cutouts; brush with additional beaten egg.
Bake at 350°F. for 20 to 24 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Ashlee side note: How easy is this? For a video that gives you a clearer idea of how to put this together go to this website.

Pampered Chef Bean Dip

This is another recipe I got from my sister Crystal. She introduced me to it a couple of months back and I LOVE it! Of course, she got it from a home party, but still.....

1 9 oz can bean dip (or jsut a can of regular refired beans)
4 oz cream cheese1
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tblsp. taco seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1/2 med tomato
2 green onions
1/4 cup sliced olives
1 tblsp. fresh cilantro
additional sour cream

Preheat oven to 350. Place bean dip in bottom of dish, combine cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning together. Spread over beans. Press garlic over cream cheese mixture. Grate cheese over top and bake for 15-10 mins. Add tomato, green onion, and olives on top. (Optional: You can add an addtional layer of sour cream before the toamtos if wanted). Serve with chips.

Ashlee side note: This is such a great twist on the usual 7 layer dip. It's nice and warm and gooey. So good! I didn't used minced garlic. I used garlic powder instead. Worked great. And I don't think that it needs an additional layer of sour cream. It's a little bit overkill and blocks the flavors of the other ingredients.

Salsa

I originally got this recipe from my Jaysen's mom, who got it from her sister-in-law (Jaysen's aunt) who is from Mexico. Did you get all that? ;0) But, I tweaked it a little bit, and found that I like the flavor a lot more. Let me know what you think!


4 medium tomatoes
1 jalapeno
minced garlic
handful cilantro
2 limes
1 can Rotel
1 can Mexican Stewed Tomatoes
1/2 onion
salt

In frying pan, pour enough olive oil in to cover bottom. Heat on med/low. Add a spoonful of minced garlic.

Meanwhile, quarter tomatoes and cut jalapeno in half removing seeds from inside. Add these to frying pan. Fry until just heated through to inject the garlic flavor into the tomatoes. Remove from heat and pour all (including oil) into blender. Add handful of cilantro, juice from two limes, Rotel, Stewed Tomatoes, and onion to blender. Blend until all ingredients have been chopped up. This is usually where I do a taste test to see just how much salt I need to add. Sometimes, it's a lot, other times, not so much. So, salt to taste. ;0)

Ashlee side note: Jaysen LOVES this salsa. Which is why I had to have his mom come over and show me how to make it. ;0) He likes his SPICY though. So, here a few tips if you are the same.
There are three different kinds of Rotel you can use in this recipe. Mild, Original, and HOT! So, if you like it hot...I would suggest using that version instead. I usually just buy the original to keep on hand. Not everyone wants to burn up their esophogas! ;0) So, after I'm done making the salsa, I remove half of it for the sane individuals, and then add another jalapeno to the blender and blend it in.
My family loves this stuff! It gets eaten up quickly when we all get together. And I know that the Burnham's love it just as much!