Sun dried tomato, Red pepper, and Feta dip

A few months ago I attended my friend Christen's engagement party. There was an orange dip. I fell in love with it. I then spent the next month or so attempting to get ahold of the recipe from her, and after various emails amongst her aunts, I finally received a copy.



To save you the trouble of having to email her aunts, I'm going to share it with you.

3-5 cloves garlic
1 8oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained
1 8oz. jar sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained
¼ cup pepperocini, drained and stem removed
½ lb. feta cheese, block not crumbled
8oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ tsp. Worchestershire sauce
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley



In a large food processor blend garlic, roasted peppers, tomatoes, and pepperoncini until finely chopped.




Add feta, cream cheese, Worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper; blend until smooth, about 1 minute


With motor running, gradually add olive oil and blend until incorporated.

Add basil and parsley and pulse until smooth


Makes 4 cups; serve with pita bread, chips or crackers, celery or cucumber slices.

To make pita chips, brush pita bread or flat bread with olive oil. Using pizza cutter, make small triangles. Bake in 350 degree oven for 7-8 minutes.


Then eat it with your friends, and share the recipe.


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Mt. St. Helens - layer dip

My family has always called this Mt. St. Helens...because that's what it was called in the cookbook where my aunt found the recipe. It's very similar to what a lot of people call "Mexican Layer Dip", maybe exactly the same in some cases. But either way, it's easy to make, and everyone will love it.



Oh the excitement you can have with less than 10 ingredients...

You will need:
guacamole dip
sour cream (16 oz container)
a packet of taco seasoning
shredded cheese (the recipe calls for Cheddar and Monterrey Jack, but I tend to buy the pre-shredded blends that are a mix of several cheeses)
a tomato
a small bunch of green onions
a small can of minced olives

This will fit in a 13 x 9 casserole dish, or the equivalent. I've used disposable cake pans, round trays, etc., depending how fancy I want the end product to look. I also like to make it the day or so before the "event" because it just tastes better after it's sat awhile.

There is a big football game this weekend, and I am expected to join some people in tailgating. I figured this dip would be the perfect thing to contribute, so I'm making a double recipe.


We start with guacamole. Before you go thinking this is "real" guacamole, I assure you, it's not. It's actually guacamole flavored dip (you can typically find it next to the sour cream and french onion dips).


Next, mix the sour cream and taco seasoning. I usually do this within the sour cream container, but since I was mixing up two containers, I poured it in a bowl first.




Cheese comes next. I used to grate this myself, but now I buy the pre-shredded "fiesta" blend because I am lazy.


The last three ingredients are to add some color as well as flavor. But if I ever don't have one of these items, I'll make the dip without it, and there usually isn't a huge degradation of quality.

First chop up your tomato...


And spread it all over your cheese.


Keep up the good work, and add some chopped green onions.


Last but not least is our minced black olives. I buy these in a little can, and I never use the entire can...but that's the size container they come in, so that's what I buy. And I squeeze out the extra juice first.


I didn't even use the whole can on this huge double-batch dip. But regardless, I know my efforts will be appreciated.


It now goes into the fridge, until it's time to tailgate. Then we'll devour it with a collection of corn chips and tortilla chips.

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Potato, Cheese, and Ale Soup

The original recipe comes from Bitchin Camaro, brought to my attention by Crepes of Wrath.



1 tbsp. olive oil (I used bacon grease muhahahaha)
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 5)
2 large Idaho potato, diced (I left the skin on…fiber!)
1 cup chicken stock
1 12. oz Ale-style beer (I used Sam Adams Summer Ale)
3/4 cup shredded cheese, plus 1/2 cup for garnish (I used cheddar and jack)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
optional garnishes:
bacon (and to use the grease)
pretzels
sour cream

The original recipe is meant to serve 2...Since I wanted more than 2 servings, I added another potato. But I guess my potatoes were extra large, because it made a huge amount. I used a little extra of each other ingredient to accommodate, but still needed to add more liquid (to keep it creamy) so I added milk as well.

Yay, making soup!


Set a large pot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil/bacon grease. Saute the onions for 5 – 7 minutes, or until soft, then add the garlic and saute for another couple of minutes.

Add the potatoes and brown them a bit.


After 8 to 10 minutes, add the stock and beer and reduce the heat to medium. Let simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or so, or until the potatoes are tender.


Use an immersion blender, regular blender or food processor to puree the soup until smooth. (Because my extra potato made so much, I had to do this in two batches). Return to the pot and reduce the heat to low.


Stir in the cheese, salt, paprika and vinegar until well-combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.


Ladle into bowls and garnish with your choice...my choice was bacon, sour cream, and more cheese.


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Pita Bread Pizzas

I've perfected my Chicken Alfredo Pita Bread Pizzas, and come up with a BBQ Chicken version.



You just need chicken, pitas, alfredo sauce and pesto sauce (or bbq sauce), and shredded cheese. I also added bacon.

Cube some chicken


fry some bacon


lay out some pitas


cook the chicken (in the bacon grease if you're feeling unhealthy)


I use sauce out of a jar...alfredo sauce and pesto sauce mixed, and then straight bbq sauce.


Add the chicken (I don't normally have this much chicken on them, but the breasts I cooked were big, so just whatever your preferences is)


I'll use whatever shredded cheese I have around. This time I had a six-blend Italian mix, and I also used some cheddar for the bbq chicken ones.


Crumble your bacon


And sprinkle


Then it's just 10 minutes in the oven at 400 (you're mainly just melting the cheese).


And they reheat pretty well, so I make extras to take for lunch.


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