Black bean hummus

This recipe is really easy to throw together, delicious, and super healthy especially if eaten with some veggies.

Ingredients:
1 cup canned black beans - drained and rinsed
1 garlic clove minced - roasting the garlic would most likely add some extra deliciousness
1 TBS olive oil
1 1/2 TBS lemon juice - I've used lime since that is what I normally have and it works well
1 TBS white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste



Methods:
1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.

*Depending how tangy you want your hummus you can either increase or decrease the lemon juice and vinegar.  I reduced it slightly from the original recipe.  I also decreased the amount of olive oil by half from the original because I didn't feel like 2 TBS was necessary.

Black bean and corn salad

This is a delicious summer dish that can be used as a dip and eaten with chips or made more into a meal/side dish by eating it over bulgur.  You can really put in whatever summer veggies you like.  I think avocado would be delicious in it but Kevin is now allergic so I leave it out.  I didn't follow all the measurement guidelines in the recipe to a T I just added things until it looked like it was enough.  For example I think I only used like 3/4 of a can of beans.

Ingredients:
1/5 c lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2-1 clove garlic - minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cilantro
small slice of jalapeno - remember you can always add more so I normally add a little at a time
1 ear fresh corn - cut kernels from cob
1/2 red bell pepper - chopped
1small  tomato - chopped
1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
3 green onions - chopped


Methods:
1. Place lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, cilantro, and jalapeno in a small blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
2. In a bowl combine all other ingredients, pour dressing over, stir, and serve.

Buffalo chicken dip

This is really easy and really delicious.  I frequently make it in the crock pot and when I take it to parties it is always a pick hit.

Ingredients:
1 package cream cheese - softened
1/2 c ranch dressing
1/2 c hot sauce (I normally use Frank's since it is not too spicy)
1 10 oz can chicken - drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Mix cream cheese, ranch dressing, and hot sauce in a baking dish or crock pot.
2. Add chicken and cheddar cheese.
3. Heat on low for 2-3 hours in a crock pot or bake in the oven for approx. 25 at 350 degrees

Fresh tomato salsa

This is a really simple and delicious salsa, well I guess it is closer to pico de gallo.  If you want to make it more salsa like you can add a bit of tomato paste to it.  This recipe makes a pretty large batch

Ingredients:
3 tomatoes, chopped - I just used whatever tomatoes were on sale.  mine were pretty big if yours are small add a few extra tomatoes.
1/2 c finely diced onion
1 jalapeno pepper - I used a small one from my plant seeds and all and my salsa came out very spicy.  You could also use 2 Serrano chilies if you like
1/2 cup fresh cilantro - chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lime juice - about a lime

Directions:
1. In a bowl mix together all the ingredients and chill for about an hour in the fridge before serving.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

This dip is delicious and addictive, although I'm pretty sure anything that starts with a base of mayo and cream cheese is going to be delicious.  Everyone can thank Amy for introducing it to me.  Here is the full recipe but it works just as well if you half it.

Ingredients:
2 - 8oz packages of cream cheese - at room temp. so it is nice and soft
1 c mayo
1 - 4oz can of chopped green chillies
1 - 4oz can of jalapenos chopped
1 c Parmesan cheese
enough bread crumbs to cover the top

1.  Mix all the ingredients together except for the bread crumbs
2. Place mixture in an 8x8 pan and top with bread crumbs
3. Bake at 375 degrees until hot around 20 minutes
4. Serve with tortilla chips or sour dough bread

 

Soft Pretzels

I channeled my inner Auntie Anne last night and churned out some delightful pretzels that I got from another food blog - which I recommend they have some really tasty looking things on there.  These are relatively simple and I found quite relaxing to make.  They can be a little time consuming.  They are best eaten hot; however, I had some today with lunch and they were still decent not as good of course.  Do not store them in a covered container they will get soggy.  I only made a half batch of this recipe and I got 16 small pretzels from it.

 Makes 16 full-sized or 32 small

2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup baking soda
1 large egg
Coarse or pretzel salt -  I had some pretzel left from the frozen pretzels I eat but i think coarse salt would work well too
cooking spray


1. Pour warm water and 1 tablespoon sugar into a large bowl and stir to combine. Sprinkle with yeast, and let sit 10 minutes; yeast should be foamy.
2. Add 1 cup flour to yeast, and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Add salt and 4 cups more flour, and mix until combined and  until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.  Add another 1/2 cup flour, and mix.. If dough is still wet and sticky, add 1/2 cup more flour (this will depend on weather conditions); mix until combined. Transfer to a lightly floured board, and knead about ten times, or until smooth.
3. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray (I just quickly washed and reused the bowl I made the dough in)  Transfer dough to bowl, turning dough to completely cover all sides with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel, and leave in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size.
4. Heat oven to 450°F. Lightly spray two baking sheets with cooking spray (parchment paper, ungreased, also works). Set aside. Punch down dough to remove bubbles. Transfer to a lightly floured board. Knead once or twice, divide into 16 pieces (about 2 1/2 ounces each) or 32 if making miniature pretzels, and wrap in plastic.
5. Roll one piece of dough at a time into an 18-inch-long strip. ( I found that rolling pretzels on a plastic cutting board worked much better than my floured counter) Twist into pretzel shape; transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel. Continue to form pretzels; eight will fit on each sheet (you may need a third sheet if making miniatures). Let pretzels rest until they rise slightly, about 15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, fill a large, shallow pot with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Add baking soda (and step back, it foams up quickly) and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Reduce to a simmer; transfer three to four pretzels to water. Poach 1 minute on each side. Use slotted flipper (a slotted spoon will work but you may also break a pretzel or two)  to transfer pretzels to baking sheet. Continue until all pretzels are poached.
7. Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush pretzels with egg glaze. Sprinkle with salt. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack, or eat warm.

Egg rolls

These are a delicious adventure - especially if you are deep frying them in a pan.  It can be tricky to get and keep the oil at the right temperature, but it is worth it.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups cabbage, shredded - I shredded the cabbage but both Kevin and I agreed that the eggr olls were missing that crunch that we love so we are going to dice it into fine strips next time
• 1 carrot, shredded - see cabbage
• 1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion (optional)
• 1 (4 ounce) can shrimp - I used 4 oz ground chicken, really you can use any meat you want or leave it out all together
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• black pepper to taste
• 1 egg, beaten
• cornstarch
• 20 egg roll wrappers
• vegetable oil for frying - I used peanut oil because it can go to a higher temperature before burning.  I used an entire medium sized bottle of oil.

1. In a large bowl, mix together cabbage, carrots, sprouts, and onion. Stir in chicken, soy sauce, garlic powder, and black pepper.You may want to add some more spices and these were a little bland.
2. Pour beaten egg into a skillet placed over medium heat; cook flat and thin, flipping once, until done. Remove from skillet, cool, and chop finely. Stir egg into cabbage mixture. Sprinkle top with cornstarch, mix, and allow to sit 10 minutes.
3. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water. Set aside.
4. Place 2 or 3 tablespoons of the cabbage mixture into the center of an egg roll skin. Dip a spoon into the water and cornstarch mixture, and moisten all corners but the bottom corner. Fold the egg roll skin from the bottom over the mixture, making a tight tube of the shrimp mixture. Fold corners in from the sides, and press to stick against folded roll. Then roll the rest of the way. Repeat with remaining egg roll wrappers. This will take a little practice but is easy to get down.  Remember the fuller you fill them the longer they will take to get hot in the center.
5. Pour vegetable oil into a deep frying pan to a depth of 3 or 4 inches, and heat oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Carefully place egg rolls into hot oil, and fry until golden brown. Remove to paper towels.Only put in 2 or 3 at a time or else the oil temp will drop too low.
6. Dip in your favorite duck sauce and enjoy.

There are reviews on the website that recommended baking them; however, we didn't try this. Christina said she tried it and they just weren't as good.  We made all 20 or so and the ones we didn't eat I froze.  I will let you know how they turn out reheated in the toaster oven when I eat them.  UPDATE:  After frying them we let them cool and froze them.  They reheat wonderfully.  We reheated them straight from the freezer at 425 degrees for 20 minutes and they were delicious.

UPDATE #2:  We made these again and chopped the cabbage and carrots instead of grating them and it made them much better; although they were slightly harder to roll.  Also I would recommend still grating the carrots because they frequently punctured our rolls since they were so firm.  Overall the chopping of the cabbage brought back the delicious crunch I think of when you eat egg rolls.

Chili Cheese Dip

This is a great last minute, oh shit what can I take to the party, dip. It is so simple, delicious, and unhealthy. When you look at the recipe you might say to yourself oh that doesn't sound that good but man oh man it tastes great.

Ingredients:

• a package of cream cheese - I like to use the Neufchatel 1/3 less fat type because I think it tastes the same
• a can of hormel's chili, I like the turkey with beans - You could of course use some of your own chili for this which would make it a bit lower in sodium and better for you
• enough cheddar cheese to cover the top of the dish
• an 8x8 glass baking dish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Let the cream cheese sit out at room temperature so that it is soft and easy to spread.
Spread the cream cheese in the bottom of the baking dish.
Next, place the chili on top and spread out evenly.
Lastly cover the chili with cheddar cheese.
Bake for 20 min or until hot and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips.

Artichoke Spinach Dip

This is my go to dish for all occasions. I have made it a gazillion times and the recipe is now just right. I think it's awesome and love eating it generally other people agree.

Ingredients:

10 oz spinach (you can get the cheap little frozen boxes or use fresh if you feel ambitious) - thaw, squeeze out the water, and roughly chop before adding
12 oz cream cheese (it's like a package and a half) - should be at room temp.
1/2 heaping cup of mayo (not miracle whip)
2 TBSP garlic
2 tsp lemon juice
14 oz can of artichoke hearts (drain and give em a squeeze so they don't make your dip runny then just roughly cut them up before putting them in)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
handful of mozzarella cheese

Put everything into a bowl and mix it up. You can do this by hand but I
think it turns out better if you use a mixer.
cook at 375 degrees for 25 in an 8x8 casserole dish. If you use a 9x13 check after 15 min.
minutes.

Amy's Ranch Pretzels

This is a fabulous ranch pretzels recipe courtesy of Kevin's sister Amy.

Ingredients:
1 bag hard pretzels - broken into small pieces (I like to mash the pretzels still in the bag with a meat mallet)
2/3 c vegetable oil
3 TBS/one packet ranch seasoning

Place crumbled pretzels on a cookie sheet in one layer.

Combine oil and ranch seasoning and mix well. Pour this mixture over the pretzels and mix around.

Bake 5 minutes in a preheated 300 degree oven.

Dave and Amy's Crab Dip

Delicious and simple crock pot dip.

Ingredients:
2 packs cream cheese
1-2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
2-3 TBS Dijon mustard
2 sprinkles garlic powder
2 TBS Old Bay
1 lbish crab meat
Shredded white cheddar cheese for the top


Soften cream cheese and combine all ingredients in the crock pot. Heat until warm - an hour or two