Spinach & Artichoke Dip (Hot or Cold)

*Photo note: I made this for Easter for just my husband & me, so I only filled the bowl with half of the dip created by this recipe.  The full recipe will fill the bread bowl appropriately.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

• 
  
• 1 8oz package cream cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (1 ounce) package ranch-style dip mix
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 2 (16 ounce) loaves King's Hawaiian® Sweet Bread
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 
  
• Blend mayo, sour cream and dip; mix together in a large bowl. Add artichoke hearts, spinach and water chestnuts; mix well. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.
• 
  
• Before serving, Carefully hollow 1 loaf, leaving 1-inch on sides and bottoms. Cube removed bread and additional loaf.

To serve hot: Stir in 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese; microwave on high 4-5 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally.

Transfer dip to bread bowl and serve with bread cubes.

Baked BBQ or Hot Wings

adapted from foodnetwork.com

12+ whole chicken wings

desired sauce

Remove the tips of the wings and discard or save for making stock. Use kitchen shears or a knife to separate the wings at the joint. Place the wings in an electric steamer for 15 minutes (or place a 6-quart saucepan, with a steamer basket and 1 inch of water in the bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.  Add chicken and steam for 10 minutes). 

Remove the wings and carefully pat dry. Lay out the wings on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator to dry, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the paper towels on the pan and replace with non-stick foil or parchment paper. Roast on the middle rack of the oven, about 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook 20 to 30 more minutes, or until the meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

When the chicken is almost finished roasting, pour sauce into a bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken. Remove the wings from the oven, transfer to the bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve warm.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

from allrecipes.com

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained

2 ounces canned diced jalapeno peppers, drained

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

French bread

Stir together cream cheese and mayonnaise in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in green chilies and jalapeno peppers. Pour mixture into a microwave safe serving dish, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Microwave on High until hot, about 3 minutes. Serve with warm french bread.

Holiday Pretzel Treats

From Family Fun

Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels
Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug
M&M's candy

Heat the oven to 170F. Set a number of bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug.

Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (the white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M's candy into the center of each Kiss.

Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes. If desired, place handfuls of the candies in clear plastic bags and tie on colorful ribbons.

Turkey Queso

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
1/4 cup milk
1 can Rotel, drained
1 cup turkey, cubed
diced jalapenos, optional
salt
tortilla chips

Combine soup, milk, Rotel & turkey in a sauce pan over medium heat until warm.  Add jalapenos & salt to taste.  Serve warm with chips.

We added 2 tablespoons of canned jalapenos after taking out 2 little cups of queso for the kids.  It was spicy, but not over the top.  Add jalapenos slowly.

Cranberry Orange Bread

 From Joy of Baking

1/2 cup (50 grams) pecans or walnuts, optional

1 cup (120 grams) fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped

1 large egg, well beaten

3/4 cup (180 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon orange zest (outer skin of orange - about 1 1/2 oranges)

4 tablespoons (57 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Grease (or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray) a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. 

If desired, toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.


In a small bowl, combine the beaten egg with the orange juice and vanilla extract. 

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir in the chopped cranberry and nuts. 

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Then remove the bread from the pan and let cool completely before slicing. This bread can be frozen.
 
Makes one - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf.

Simple Hummus

from King Arthur Flour

15- to 20-ounce can chickpeas or garbanzo beans, drained, liquid saved

3 to 9 cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

3 to 5 tablespoons olive oil; or a combination of olive oil and reserved liquid from the beans

Place the drained chickpeas, garlic, salt, and cumin in the work bowl of a food processor. Process until the beans are very finely chopped. With the machine running, drizzle in the oil. If necessary, drizzle in just enough of the reserved chickpea liquid to make the mixture smooth. Remove from the processor, and refrigerate in a covered container until ready to serve. Garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley, if desired.

I sprinkled a little paprika to add some color :) We love to eat this with carrots, celery, bell pepper or pitas. So easy and so yummy!

Taco Turkey Wraps

 Adapted from allrecipes.com

2/3 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

6 (8 inch) flour tortillas

1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese or Cheddar cheese

1/2 pound thinly sliced deli turkey breast

Lettuce
Tomato
Salsa

In a bowl, combine the sour cream and taco seasoning. Spread over tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with turkey, lettuce & tomato; roll up. Serve with salsa if desired.

Pictured with jalapeno cheddar wrap tortilla.  

Can be sliced into pinwheels as appetizers or for a buffet/potluck.

Soft Pretzels

Adapted from allrecipes.com

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

5 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup baking soda

4 cups hot water

Spray butter & 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping (optional)

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.

When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope (pretzels in photo above were rolled to about 15-inches before twisting...to get a more 'pretzel' look, you'll probably need to roll them to 20 inches or so) and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a dish towel or paper towels to remove some of the moisture from the bottom. Place pretzels on a parchment lined baking sheet (optional: spray each pretzel with a couple squirts of spray butter). Sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned. Once baked, pretzels can be frozen and reheated in the oven as needed. These are simply AMAZING!! We decided to make them cinnamon/sugar pretzels by dunking each in melted butter and topping with fresh ground cinnamon and sugar after baking. Everyone asked for more :)

Best Bean Burritos

1 can refried beans
1 can diced green chilis
Flour tortillas
Shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 375 and set aside a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Mix beans and chilis in a sauce pan and heat over medium until warmed through. Assemble burritos with beans and cheese and place side by side (seams down) on cookie sheet. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Serve burritos with toppings as desired (guacamole, sour cream, salsa, olives, etc) and eat with a fork.

These are great for a burrito bar at a party. You can just make a bunch of burritos (even mini burritos using smaller tortillas) and let guests top as desired :)

Cheesy Chicken Soup

from Christel Snelson

2-3 chicken breasts, diced
Red potatoes
Carrots
Onion
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans rotel
1 box (or 3 cans) chicken broth
Velveeta cheese

Place chicken into a large stockpot to brown. Meanwhile, dice up red potatoes, carrots and onion (enough to fill your stock pot about 1/4 full). Once the chicken is cooked, add the veggies, soup, Rotel, chicken broth and bring to a boil. Then, simmer until veggies are cooked. Cube up some Velveeta, put in soup bowls, pour hot soup over cheese cubes and enjoy.

In the photo above, I didn't have Velveeta so I just used shredded cheese. It was yummy! It was a bit spicy, but most of the spice is in the broth. If feeding little kids, the chicken and veggies would be fine, but separate it from the broth.

Family Style Nachos

Tortilla Chips
Shredded Cheese

Topping ideas:
Chicken (cooked & cubed)
Black or refried beans
Onions and/or peppers
Olives

Preheat oven to 350. On a foil lined cookie sheet spread a layer of tortilla chips. Lightly top with a layer of cheese followed by desired nacho toppings. Add a 2nd thin layer of cheese to the top and place in the oven until cheese melts (about 5 mins). Serve with desired dips (salsa, guacamole, sour cream, etc).

We simply place the cookie sheet on a trivet in the middle of the table. Each person gets their own plate and grabs their own serving of nachos from the middle. This is a fun, easy crowd pleaser :)

Black Bean & Avocado Salsa

From: Leigh Ann Torres

1 can black beans, drained
8oz container of pico de gallo (in the grocery store produce section)
1 large avocado, chopped

In a large bowl combine all ingredients & enjoy.

This is awesome with chips, nachos and on tacos...so yummy!!

Southwestern Egg Rolls

From: Hungry Girl
This is an awesome, healthy swap of the Southwestern Egg Rolls from Chili's.

3 La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low-Carb/Low-Fat Tortillas, Original (not Large - I find these near the deli in my grocery store)
1 oz. cooked skinless chicken breast; shredded
2 tbsp. canned black beans
2 tbsp. canned corn; drained
1 oz. Fat Free Jalapeno Jack cheese; shredded
1 tbsp. diced red chili pepper
3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach; thawed & thoroughly drained
Avocado Ranch Sauce

Preheat oven to 400. Combine chicken, beans, corn, cheese, chili pepper and spinach in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave. Warm tortillas in the microwave for 15 seconds. On a clean, flat surface, lay out tortillas side by side. Put 1/3 of the chicken-spinach mixture in the center of each of tortilla. To assemble each of the rolls, fold the left and right sides in (so none of the filling escapes during the cooking process), and then roll up from the bottom of the tortilla until you reach the top (so they resemble eggrolls). Place all 3 rolls (seams down) on a baking pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 12 minutes, flipping rolls over about halfway through cooking.

While the eggrolls are in the oven, prepare the avocado ranch sauce. Once the eggrolls are done baking, allow them to cool for a few minutes. Then cut each in half diagonally, arrange them beautifully on a plate, and serve with the dipping sauce.

MAKES 2 SERVINGS
WW points per serving (includes sauce) = 3

I have used a jalapeno in place of the red chili pepper with great success.

Pizza Roll Ups

From: Lauren Villa

Crescent rolls
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Favorite pizza toppings
Marinara or pizza sauce

Roll up into crescent rolls—pepperoni, cheese, vegetables...whatever you like on pizza. Bake at 350 in oven until brown. Serve with a side of marinara sauce.

Chicken Roll Ups

From: Lauren Villa

1 cup shredded chicken
4 oz cream cheese
1 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. chives
Salt & Pepper
1 package refrigerated crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients and put mixture into separated crescent rolls. Bake for 15-20 min.

We made these the other night (I added some shredded cheese) and thought they were a bit bland, but not bad. I think next time I would keep the cheese add some green chilies and see if that would give it a bit more flavor.

Veggie Chicken Quesadillas

Steam fresh broccoli & cauliflower
Cooked chicken
Flour tortillas
Spray butter (or butter spread)
Monterey jack cheese

Cook broccoli and cauliflower following package directions. Finely chop broccoli, cauliflower and chicken and mix together in a large bowl.

Spray one side of a tortilla with butter and place buttered side down in a frying pan over medium heat. On half of the tortilla place a thin layer of cheese, a layer of the chicken mixture and another thin layer of cheese. Fold empty half over filled half and cook until cheese begins to melt. Carefully flip quesadilla and cook other side until barely brown.

Remove from heat, cut into wedges and serve with salsa, sour cream and/or guacamole.

Tableside Guacomole

This recipe was inspired by the table side guac at the Iron Cactus...yumm!!

1 Large Haas Avocado
1/4 small onion finely chopped
1 medium jalapeno pepper chopped (membranes and seeds removed)
1 medium orange
1/2 small lime
salt & pepper

Cut the avocado in half length wise. Carefully, but firmly, tap the seed with your knife in order to embed it in the seed. Then, gently twist the knife to pop the seed out. Scoop out the avocado into a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add the onions and jalapeno.

To maximize the amount of juice in the orange, roll it back and forth on a counter with the palm of your hand, pressing firmly down. Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice from both halves into the bowl and then add the juice from the 1/2 lime. Mash all ingredients together with a fork until well blended and to the consistency of your liking. Salt and pepper to taste.

The heat from a jalapeno pepper is in the membrane and seeds. With this part removed, the pepper adds lots of flavor, but not heat...don't be afraid :) Use within 24 hours. If you plan to make the guacamole ahead, reserve the avocado pit and add to bowl to keep from browning.

You can also add some chopped tomato. We are not a tomato loving family so we opt to leave it out :)

Baked Tortilla Chips

1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas

Spray olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Cut each tortilla into 8 chip sized wedges and arrange the wedges in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

3. Combine the cumin, chili powder and salt in a small bowl

4. Spray each tortilla wedge with olive oil until slightly moist and sprinkle salt mixture on the chips.

5. Bake for about 7 minutes. Flip each chip and bake for another 8 minutes or until the chips are crisp, but not too brown.

Serve with salsas, garnishes or guacamole.

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning
1 pound shredded cooked chicken meat
8 soft taco size (or larger) flour tortillas
Olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, stir together the cream cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, and taco seasoning until well blended. Fold in the chicken. Evenly divide mixture among the 8 tortillas. Fold each tortilla into a rectangular packet around the filling. Place on a cookie sheet and spray with olive oil. Cook for 8 minutes, flip chimichangas and spray again with olive oil. Return to oven and cook another 8 minutes.

I usually 1/2 this recipe as they are rather filling. My husband can eat 2, but served with any sides 1 is sufficient. You can also cut them in half and serve as an appetizer. Serve with salsa, sour cream and/or guacamole.