Recipes

Soccer Game Day Dip

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Dips are synonymous with watching sporting events on TV. This dip, even though I’m calling it “Soccer Game Day Dip”, is a great accompaniment to any yelling in front of the TV get-together.

So why am I signaling out soccer?

Gold Cup Final

Partially because we’re watching the CONCACAF Gold Cup final. Partially because my brother has a game day dip that we associate more closely with football games.

But mostly because I got this recipe from one of my husband’s soccer buddies. He brought it over one soccer game day. I was very hesitant to try it, especially once I found out what was in it! It’s not very pretty, and it’s far from gourmet. But don’t judge it yet.

This dip is cream cheese and canned chili. That’s it. I don’t like canned chili and my husband doesn’t like cream cheese – but we both gobble this one up. The best dipping vessels for this party dish are Frito Scoops.

If I’m trying to minimize the amount of dirty dishes I’ll heat the dip in the microwave. And if your serving dish is microwave safe – then that’s an exciting bonus!

Soccer Game Day Dip

Ingredients:

  • 1 block cream cheese
  • 1 can chili – whatever variety you prefer
  • 1 bag Frito Scoops

Steps

  1. Combine cream cheese and chili. This can be done one of two ways: A) Warm chili in a pot on the stove. Slowly add in the cream cheese until it’s melted. B) Put both cream cheese and chili in microwave safe bowl. Heat for 2 minutes. Stir. Heat for 1 minute. Stir. Heat another minute. Repeat until completely melted and hot.
  2. Serve with Fritos Scoops.

Soccer Game Day Dip

 recreatedbysrc

Blueberry Bars

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

It’s PCS (permanent change of station) season here in the military community and a lot of our friends are packing up and moving on to their next great adventure.

I recently made these Blueberry Bars for a going-away party. We were celebrating after an indoor soccer game, and in retrospect I probably should’ve chosen cherry pie filling instead of blueberry because they wear red as a team. But, it’s July and July is National Blueberry Month. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!

Blueberry Bars

Ingredients:

  • 1 C room temperature butter
  • 1 3/4 C sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 C flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 can blueberry pie filling, or whatever flavor you desire!

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add in eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. Beat until combined. Mix in the dry ingredients until combined.
  3. Spread all but 1 1/2 C of batter into greased 9×13″ cake pan. Spread the pie filling on top and then spoon on the remaining batter.
  4. Bake 40 minutes.

*This recipe is adapted from Alicia at http://www.everydayhomecook.com/2011/08/fruit-squares/*

Blueberry Bars Blueberry Bars

Update May 2017: While this electronic update is occurring end of January 2018, these updated photos are from May 2017! Wow. I made these bars for a church picnic and they were a huge hit. These blueberry bars are incredibly easy to assemble and perfect for bringing to any potluck. You can change the filling with your favorite pie flavor or a fruit that better fits the season.

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A dusting of powdered sugar never hurts!

bb bars (sugar)

Penne with Vodka Sauce

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

I love pasta. I could never do a carb-free diet… because, I love pasta.

When I was a little girl, the only thing I would eat was Macaroni and Cheese in the Blue Box. And then my pasta diet grew up a little bit to pasta with butter and balsamic vinegar. (I had some recently, and it’s still delicious!) I love pasta.

Now, my favorite pasta sauce is Vodka Sauce. And I’d always wanted to try making my own. Then I found a recipe on a friend’s food blog. So I made it! It takes time to make because the sauce actually gets baked in the oven, but I multi-tasked and while the sauce was doing its thing, I prepared dinner for the following night! When I opened the oven to pull out the sauce, it smelled like Italy. Okay, so I haven’t actually been to Italy, but it’s what I imagined Italy would smell like. I would also advise to not skip out on the fresh oregano. I’ve been known to substitute dried herbs in lieu of purchasing fresh (because I can’t grow my own…) but in this recipe, I’m glad I didn’t. The best bites were those with some fresh oregano. I love pasta.

Penne with Vodka Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1/8 C olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes depending on your spicy preference
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 C vodka
  • 6 roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 lb penne pasta
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano, divided
  • 2/3 C heavy cream
  • 1/4 C parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. In a large, oven-proof skillet, saute onion in olive oil over medium-high heat. When translucent, add garlic, pepper flakes, dried oregano, S+P. Pour in vodka and cook until reduced by half, stirring occasionally.
  3. Put the peeled tomatoes in the pan and crush with a potato masher. Season with S+P, cover, and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove and let cool slightly.
  4. Cook pasta according to box directions.
  5. Blend cooled tomato sauce and heavy cream and puree until smooth. Return to the stove and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in 3/4 of the fresh oregano, S+P. Toss in the pasta and parmesan cheese.
  6. Garnish with remaining oregano, extra Parmesan, and red pepper flakes if desired.

*This recipe makes 2-3 servings and is modified from Tara at http://www.tarasmulticulturaltable.com/penne-alla-vecchia-bettola-penne-in-tomato-vodka-cream-sauce/*

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Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Salad

~ lk529 ~ 5 Comments

When I travel I like to bring a magazine on the flights with me. On my last business trip in April I made it through the 3 Food Network magazines I brought with me before my last flight, so during my layover in Atlanta I scoured the shelves for something that would interest me. I was hoping for a book of crosswords, but all I could find were Sudoku and Word Searches. Then I saw the most appetizing looking salad on the cover of Everyday with Rachael Ray. It was the May issue and had lots of Mexican style recipes and party ideas. This salad recipe has been worth the $4 I spent because I’ve made it four times already! I’ve even made just the sauce for leftover chicken and created nachos when I didn’t have any lettuce left.  Another variation, and time saving tip, is to use leftover chicken and warm it through in the sauce.

You have to make this! (It takes care of Mexican Monday and Salad Night)

Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lb chicken, sliced into strips
  • 1 tsp each cumin, paprika, coriander
  • 1/3 C + 1 tbsp olive oil, divided use
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce depending on your desired heat level
  • 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 hearts of romaine lettuce
  • 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • juice 1 lime
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1/2 C chopped cilantro
  • 2 C crushed tortilla chips

Steps

  1. Season chicken with salt and pepper and spices. Cook completely in a large skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
  2. Make the sauce/dressing in a food processor or blender. Puree shallot, garlic, chipotle peppers, vinegar and brown sugar. While the machine is running, pour in 1/3 C olive oil. Simmer in the same skillet from step 1 for about 1 minute.
  3. Make salad with remaining ingredients. Top with chicken and warm dressing.Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Salad

And don’t throw away the remainder of the can of chipotle peppers in adobo! I have an ice cube tray that I use for freezing foods. Simply put a pepper in each segment of the tray and the sauce over each of them, when frozen put into a freezer bag and now you’ll have chipotle peppers in adobo whenever a recipe calls for them. As a general rule of thumb, one ice cube is about 1 tbsp. I do this for tomato paste too.

Update August 2016: We’ve made this salad many times and it was a favorite go-to dinner for quite some time. It was fun to revisit it this summer, and while I’m still not thrilled with these updated photos, they’re immensely better than what you see above! I now prefer to buy the colorful tortilla strip salad toppings to crushing up regular tortilla chips; I find they provide a better crunch ratio as they don’t get soggy as quickly.

Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Salad | Sew You Think You Can Cook | http://sewyouthinkyoucancook.com

Mini Cinna-Crescent Rolls

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had cinnamon rolls for Sunday breakfast. Not the slave in the kitchen home made cinnamon rolls, the pre-made refrigerated dough in a can kind. My brother and I actually still prefer them to the “real thing”. Now that I’m “all grown up” and married, I still buy them! 

Before going to sleep last night, my husband was already looking forward to cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Unfortunately we didn’t have any. But I wasn’t about to disappoint! I had a can of crescent rolls so I decided to wing it. The experiment was successful so now the photographs won’t be going to waste! A blog post has been born. 🙂

Mini Cinna 1 Mini Cinna 2 Mini Cinna 3 Mini Cinna 7Mini Cinna 4 Mini Cinna 5

Mini Cinna-Crescent Rolls

Ingredients:

  • 1 can crescent rolls
  • 1/2 C brown sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 C powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp milk

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9″ round cake pan.
  2. Unroll crescent dough, making a rectangle out of two crescents. Over lap and press the seam together. Repeat making a total of 4 rectangles.
  3. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon.
  4. Top each rectangle of dough with a good heaping tablespoon of the brown sugar cinnamon mix. Roll along the longest edge. Cut into 1-2″ rolls. Place cut side down in cake pan. Bake for 15-18 minutes.
  5. Make frosting by whisking the powdered sugar and milk. Add more milk 1/4 tsp at a time if needed. Drizzle frosting over Mini Cinna-Crescent Rolls.

Mini Cinna 6

Kahlua Coke Floats

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

July 20th is National Ice Cream Soda Day! If you’re an adult or big kid over the age of 21 you have the perfect excuse to try this dessert cocktail. Vanilla ice cream, Kahlua, coke. Done.Kahlua Coke Float

(It’s also National Lollipop Day and Fortune Cookie Day)

Buffalo Chicken Salad with Avocado Ranch

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

In an effort to keep a balanced diet, I try to do Salad Night once a week. As you could imagine, this could become pretty monotonous – unless you’re a rabbit and you like that kind of thing.

When I met my husband in college, he did not eat lettuce. He didn’t eat too many vegetables actually. On our one year anniversary I prepared a three course meal, complete with Caesar Salad. He amused me and ate a couple bites. He said it was a texture thing. That I don’t get – lettuce is light, and crisp, and refreshing! After we got married and I fell in love with cooking, our pallets became more adventurous. His more so than mine I’m sad to admit. He eats vegetables now! And better yet, salads. He’ll even choose salad at a restaurant while I opt for the burger.

Buffalo Chicken Salad with Avocado Ranch

Ingredients:

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 1/4 C hot sauce
  • 1 tbsp dry ranch seasoning
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 6 tbsp Ranch dressing
  • 4 C salad mix
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, deseeded and diced

Steps

  1. Marinate chicken for at least two hours in hot sauce and ranch seasoning. Grill chicken until cooked through.
  2. In a blender, puree avocado and ranch dressing.
  3. Assemble salad with remaining ingredients. Top with chicken and dressing.

*This recipe is modified from Amanda at http://www.theskinnyfork.com/blog/skinny-grilled-buffalo-chicken-salad*

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Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

~ lk529 ~ 6 Comments

You’ve probably heard of Taco Tuesdays. In my household, we do Mexican Mondays. It allows for more versatility. It’s a culinary “tradition” that we’ve been doing for over a year and I’m impressed that I’ve been able to keep it fun and interesting. There are a few recipes that have become tried and true favorites and I will and do repeat them, but more often than not I’m finding something new to try.

These Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas are a best seller – we’ll even have them any day of the week! If I’m entertaining family or friends, this is a simple go-to. And I haven’t gotten a single complaint yet! My mom’s cousin claims to hate honey, yet she cleared her plate.

The very first time I made this dish was after a vacation and my fridge and pantry were pretty empty. I did not have green enchilada sauce and knew that without tomatillos I wasn’t going to be able to make my own either. But, I found Emeril’s recipe for red enchilada sauce and had everything on hand to make that. Enchilada sauce is now a pantry staple, so I don’t bother making my own anymore. (But in a pinch I’ll always come back to Emeril’s recipe.)

The second time I made this dish, we had a crowd so I doubled the recipe. Because we loved it with red enchilada sauce, we decided to keep one casserole dish with red and with the other tried the green. I haven’t made it with green since! I’ve noticed that the red (medium heat) enchilada sauce creates a unique flavor profile with the chicken that keeps you coming back for more. But I urge you to try it both ways and see what works best for your family.

The recipe calls for cooked chicken and I have tried just about every preparation of cooked chicken with this dish. Honestly, my favorite is using grilled chicken, the extra flavor you get from the grill rounds out the dish perfectly. My quick go-to method is putting a whole chicken in the slow cooker, but you can easily pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store on your way home!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

  • 1 lb cooked shredded chicken
  • 6 tbsp honey
  • Zest 2-3 limes
  • juice 2-3 limes
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • Salt, to taste
  • 1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce (red or green)
  • 1/4-1/2 C heavy cream
  • 8 oz Mexican-blend shredded cheese
  • 8-10 soft taco sized flour tortillas

Steps

  1. Marinate cooked chicken in honey, lime juice, chili and garlic powders, and salt for 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. In a measuring cup, whisk together enchilada sauce and cream. Pour a thin layer of sauce on the bottom a 9×13″ baking dish.
  4. Assemble enchiladas with chicken and cheese (reserving some cheese for the top). Place seam-side down in the baking dish and top with remaining sauce and cheese.
  5. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 5 minutes until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbly.

*This recipe is adapted from Danelle at http://www.letsdishrecipes.com/2012/04/honey-lime-chicken-enchiladas.html*

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Be prepared for many more Mexican-style recipes in the future!

Corn and Black-Eyed Peas Dip

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Every Sunday after July 4th weekend my Dad’s family has a reunion picnic. Today is the 15th Annual Dominican Picnic in Chicago. Even after we moved to Florida we did our best to make it back up there to see all of our family. It would always be a two week vacation, split between Busia’s summer home in Lake Geneva, WI. As we got older and our schedules became more hectic, our Illinois-Wisconsin vacations got shorter and skipped a few years. Unfortunately, this year I am not up there – instead I’m battling this never-ending rain in the FL panhandle.

Last year I was very excited to bring my husband to Lake Geneva and Chicago. Lake Geneva is my favorite place to be and I was glad I could share a piece of my childhood with him – and better yet, he enjoyed it too! I also immersed him into my gigantic family at our reunion. Luckily he’s very outgoing! He spent about 45 minutes helping my uncle set up the volleyball net (why it took them that long I still don’t know!) and he taught cousins how to play Ultimate Frisbee. Give him a sport to play, and he’s happy!

547708_3835277598687_1339327212_nDSCN3423Ultimate Frisbee

Stu, Mom, Me
Stuart, Mom, and Me at the Dominican Family Picnic 2012

We assign potluck dishes by letter of your last name – Mom (S) was a salad and I (E) was a fruit/vegetable. I bent the rules slightly and combined our assignments into a tailgating favorite of Corn and Black-Eyed Peas Dip. I can’t remember where I first got the recipe, but it’s become one of my go-to party dips over the past couple years. It’s super simple and nice and light for a hot day.

Corn and Black-Eyed Peas Dip

Ingredients

  • 2 cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cans sweet corn, drained
  • 1-2 pts cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 2-3 avocados, diced
  • 1 lime
  • 1/4-1/2 red onion, diced
  • 2 bottles zesty Italian dressing

Steps

  1. In a large bowl combine all veggies. Squeeze lime over top to keep avocado from browning. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add in dressing and mix to combine.
  2. Tostitos Whole Grain Scoops are the best complimentary chip for this dip.

You can adjust the amount of avocado and tomato so suit your preferences, but they do make the dip beautiful! I’ve also tried the recipe using thawed frozen corn because I always have it in on hand, but I’ve found the canned corn works better.

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Busia’s Cheese Soup

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

My first truly culinary post is in honor of the woman who introduced me to the kitchen, my Busia. (Busia, pronounced boo-sha, is the Americanized Polish word for grandmother.) Busia didn’t teach me how to cook in the ways you might traditionally think of a grandmother teaching her granddaughter, but she did welcome me into her kitchen and let me be her sous chef – peeling carrots and potatoes and chopping veggies. And even still, my favorite part of making dinner is all the prep work! It might be the engineer in me though too – I love trying to keep everything the same size while I’m chopping.

If I had to choose just one recipe that makes me think of my grandmother, it’s her cheese soup. There are potatoes and carrots that need to be peeled and chopped along with celery. I don’t recall ever chopping the onion when I was younger, but it’s one of my favorite foods to dice now that I’ve learned the proper technique from watching countless hours of Food Network.

To me, the most comforting smell in the kitchen is the smell of onions sautéing in butter! And I think this recipe is the reason why.

While I was preparing the soup yesterday afternoon, the smells of Busia’s kitchen came into mine and I knew she was looking down on me, making sure the milk wouldn’t curdle when I added it to the roux and didn’t burn on the bottom of the pot.

I think it’s true when they say the secret ingredient is love, because it turned out perfectly.

Busia’s Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

  • 6 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 onion
  • 6 tbsp flour
  • 4 C warmed milk (I heated it in a glass bowl in microwave for ~4:30)
  • 4 C boiling chicken stock (I did this on the stove)
  • 4 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 4 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed (The potatoes will break down a little bit during cooking time)
  • 1 lb Velveeta, cubed

Steps

  1. In a large pot, melt butter. Add onion, season with salt, and cook until translucent. Add the flour and whisk until combined and a roux is formed, be careful not to let it burn.
  2. Add the warmed milk and whisk until combined. Add in the boiling chicken stock and the vegetables. Let simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
  3. Melt in the Velveeta – it’s best to do it in batches, making sure the cheese melts completely before your next addition. After all the cheese is incorporated, let warm back through completely and serve.

Cheese Soup 2

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