Jalapeno Poppers plus bonus dip

These are wonderful.

Ingredients

18-20 jalapenos (18 halved directions below plus save 2 for the dip)

2 bricks cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup red pepper diced

1/4 cup onion diced

Cheese I used a mexican blend one time, a cheddar blend another time, and parmesan another time. I prefer the parmesan. I am going to guess that it is 1/2 - 1 cup.

A package of bacon Cut in 1/2 and then cut again. It doesn't take that much to go around the jalapeno.

Toothpicks

Here we go. Take cream cheese out of the fridge. Go outside and help son with water balloons. Check with husband about the placement of planting the peach trees. Come back in and check to see if the cream cheese has softened. On a cutting board, dice the red pepper and onion and place in bowl. Nerdy me, I then put on gloves. I wash the jalapenos first. Pat dry. Cut the top off with the stem. Cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Put the seeds in the plastic produce bag they came in. Don't just rise down the drain unless you feeling like coughing, choking, or crying. Remember you are going to be doing 18 of these things. When I get done I place the jalapenos on a baking sheet. I then put the cream cheese, cheese, red pepper and onion in my KitchenAid and mix. Put a small spoonful of the dip into the halved jalapeno. Wrap with bacon. Secure the bacon with the toothpick. Cook at 375 for 20 minutes. Anyone who visits while these are cooking will invite themselves to stay.

Okay, what if you have extra cream cheese mix. It is your lucky day!

Make it as a dip.

Jalapeno dip

You should have about 6 quarters of bacon left. Cook and crumble into the dip. You should have 2 jalapenos left. Follow same instructions as above except dice the jalapeno after seeds removed. Mix in to leftover cream cheese and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Serve with warm bread or wheat thins. This dip may be more enjoyable for those who don't like things too spicy.

Both are winners!

PS for you Todd I added no onions on your birthday:)

recipe adapted from my husband Eric, friend Kurt Jensen, and the pioneer woman.

Fruit Dip

Okay...it's so hard

1 8 oz. cream cheese softened

1 jar marshmallow cream

Mix. Done. Enjoy. Possibly share:)

Butternut squash soup

2 TB olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 carrot peeled and cut ( I used 1 cup worth of baby carrots cut up)
3 cloves of garlic minced
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 large butternut squashes
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage ( I didn't have fresh)
kosher salt and pepper to taste

I cut the squash in 1/2 and removed the seeds. I covered a baking sheet with tinfoil and baked the squash (skin side up) for an hour at 350 degrees. 10 minutes before the squash is done, begin the other half of the soup. In a large pot, pour in olive oil and add onion & carrot. Cook for about 5-10 minutes or until onion is soft. Add garlic and cook for another 3 minutes. Add broth and sage. Remove squash from the oven and scoop our the insides. Set aside in a bowl. In batches, put broth mixture and squash into the blender. (or use an immersion blender) Continue until all is blended. Put back into pot and let simmer until you are ready to serve.

Fontina Crostini
Whole wheat baguette (I used regular)
olive oil
2 TB sage
1 cup grated fontina (I used 3 cheese parmiana)

Cut baguette at a diagonal into 1/2 inch think slices
Drizzle olive oil over bread and sprinkle with sage. Top with cheese and season with salt. Bake at 400 degrees for about 6-8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Ladel soup into bowls and garnish with crostini.

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis in Shape mag Dec 09

Becky's Taco Salad

Justin and Becky are very good cooks. This is one of their recipes that we make quite often. Miraculously there was just enough to have again for lunch today.

You will need chicken, lettuce, cheese, and tortilla chips along with the following salad and dressing to complete this yummy meal.


Black Bean & Corn Salad
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn
2 large tomatoes
1 large avocado
1/4 purple onion
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
3-4 TB lime juice
2 TB olive oil
1 TB red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bow cover and chill.

Dressing

1 cup ranch (or more)
1 cup cilantro
1 jalapeno (I remove the seeds)
1-2 limes' juice
1 tsp chili powder
Put in blender, mix well, and chill.

Grill or cook chicken with a little taco seasoning. Shred lettuce and cheese.

Assembly: Chips, lettuce, chicken, black bean salad, cheese, and dressing. No need to thank me, ...I will forward your thanks to Becky.

Lori's Tacos & Salsa

2 tomatoes
1/4 bunch cilantro
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 red pepper
4 green onions
water
salt to taste
1 tsp cumin

Put ingredients in the blender. Pour over 1 lb. of raw hamburger and let cook/simmer for 1 hour.

Salsa
3 tomatoes, diced
1/3 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 red pepper, diced
2 TB olive oil
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 lime juiced or 1/4 c lime juice
2 avocados, diced
salt to taste

Mix and add to the top of the tacos.
Yum!

**If you have this in the family cookbook it is meant to be made together:)

Stuffed Shells

I finally started to feel better yesterday so I made stuffed shells. I stuffed 28 shells with this recipe. 14 of which I cooked for last night's dinner and 14 that are frozen for another time. I tell you that so you can adapt it according to the size of your family. You may need to use all 28 shells and also the whole jar of sauce. Eric's mom came for a visit after Trey was born and made a similiar recipe but froze several meals worth. I was inspired and grateful.

3 links Italian sausage
28 jumbo shells
2 TB pesto
24 oz. cottage cheese
2 oz shredded parmesan cheese
1 jar of fav spaghetti sauce or about 3-4 cups of homemade sauce
1 cup mozzarella sauce

Brown the sausage while you cook the noodles. Pour half of your jar of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of your casserole pan and place the noodles on top of the sauce. Mix the cottage cheese, pesto, parmesan cheese, and Italian sausage. Put the mixture in a ziploc and snip the corner. Gently squeeze a bit of the mixture into each shell. Top each shell with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for approximately 25 minutes. Yum.

What were the older two eating? No, I didn't make them homemade pizza, or french bread pizza, or tortilla pizza. They got frozen pizza. I did cook the frozen pizza for them if you were wondering. Some day, and I hope soon, they will like pasta. They just don't know what they are missing.

Hamburger Soup

Okay I made the other soup before I got sick. No it didn't make me sick. My boys passed along their yuckiness and so I made this soup which make me think of home. Too bad my mom wasn't here to make it for me. Serves 6.


1 lb ground beef
2 cups carrots chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1/4 cup onion
1 cup potatoes
1 can Italian style diced tomatoes
2-3 or more cups spicy V8 juice
1/2 cup rice
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger and onions. I also add a little garlic powder. Add meat to a large pot with 2 quarts of water. Add everything else except the rice. Add the V8 until the soup looks mostly red...meaning who wants a watery soup. Let cook for 20 minutes. Add the rice and cook an additional 10 min or until rice is soft. This soup will need the salt and pepper. If you do not have Italian style tomatoes just add basil, Italian seasoning, and oregano. Always have more V8 on hand. When I reheat this soup for myself the next day for lunch, I first pour in some V8 and then add the soup.