Shrimp Dip

Shrimp Dip

1 small pkg. salad shrimp (or use small shrimp lightly chopped)
2-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 bottle Heinz cocktail sauce
3 tbsp. Worchestershire sauce

Mix shrimp, onion, Worchestershire sauce, and 3 tbsp. cocktail sauce. Fold in cream cheese.

Layer bottom a glass dish with cocktail sauce (I use an 8"x8" Pyrex dish). Spoon in cream cheese mixture, spread out. Top with a small amount of cocktail sauce. Refrigerate 6 hrs. or overnight. Serve with crackers.

Spinach Dip

Spinach Dip

1 12 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip)
1 pkg. vegetable soup mix
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

Chop all ingredients finely and mix. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.

My sister-in-law likes to serves this inside a hollowed out round loaf of bread. Then serve with the chunks of bread and raw veggies.

Bean Dip

We hosted an open house yesterday and made lots of munchie food. After requests for some of the recipes I figured I ought to post them to share. Here's an old favorite.

Bean Dip

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can green chilies (optional)
1 can refried beans
1 can Armour No Bean Chili (the Walmart store brand works, but we don't like Hormel)
1 lb. Velveeta
1 lb. Mexican Velveeta (I often just use a 2 lb. pkg. of Mexican Velveeta)

Brown the ground beef with the onion. Add green chilies if using. Mix in taco seasoning according to pkg. directions. (This can be done ahead.)

In a 3 qt. Crock Pot, mix together the taco meat, refried beans, and chili. Cook on high for an hour. Add Velveeta (if in a time crunch skip the hour of cooking and just add the cheese). Stir occasionally. Once the cheese has melted, turn down to low and serve with tortilla chips.

Chicken & Broccoli Pasta

Wow it's been a long time since I've posted. I know I've cooked, but nothing has been noteworthy. I'm surprised I've never posted this pasta dish before. I've kind of been perfecting the sauce though and my technique varies. Here's what I did the other night:

Chicken & Broccoli Pasta

1/2 lb. pasta (can use whole wheat), we prefer small shapes that hold the sauce

florets from 1 bunch broccoli (may use half cauliflower)

1 lb. chicken breast, cubed

Sauce:
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups milk
4 ozs. shredded parmesan
nutmeg

Put on water to cook the pasta, cook until nearly done.

Get chicken started in a skillet with some olive oil. Season with salt & pepper.

For the broccoli, there are options. Usually I throw the broccoli in for the last 4 minutes with the pasta. The other night I put it in the skillet with the chicken after the chicken had browned a bit but was still pink in the middle. The chicken and broccoli were all cooked through at nearly the same time. I added a bit of water to add a little steam to help the broccoli along at the end.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan with the olive oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds, until you start smelling it. Add the flour and salt and pepper to taste. After about a minute stir in the milk. Cook until it starts to thicken. Add the cheese. At this point you can probably turn off the sauce and let the cheese melt, stirring once in a while. Add a little nutmeg at the end to round out the flavor.

Once everything is cooked, add the pasta to the skillet with the chicken and broccoli reserving some of the pasta liquid. Add the sauce to the skillet. Stir and let come together for a couple minutes. If it gets too thick, add some of the reserved pasta liquid.

Serve with a salad and you've got a meal. If there are leftovers, add some of the reserved pasta water to the dish when you put it away. The extra liquid with help keep it from getting too dry when reheating.

Upside Down Pizza (Skillet Pizza)

We tried this "pizza" a month or so ago. It was better once we realized that we should have served it flipped over (crust side down). It calls for using jarred pizza sauce, but I used half a batch of sauce found in Cook's Country.

Upside Down Pizza

12 ServingsPrep: 20 min. Bake: 25 min.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 jar (14 ounces) spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until the
meat is no longer pink; drain. Add spaghetti sauce. Cover and simmer
until heated through. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking
dish. Sprinkle with cheese.

In a blender, combine the milk, eggs, oil, flour and salt; cover and
process until smooth. Pour over cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 400°
for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 12 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 cup) equals 225 calories, 12 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 79 mg cholesterol, 373 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 15 g protein.

Pizza Sauce

2	tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3	garlic cloves , minced
1 1/2	teaspoons dried oregano
1/4	teaspoon red pepper flakes
2	tablespoons tomato paste
1	(28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2	tablespoons chopped fresh basil
	Salt

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Cook garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and cook until just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer until reduced to 3 cups, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil and season with salt.

Hamburger Macaroni

I had found a recipe for Skillet Macaroni with Zesty Meat Sauce in an issue of Cook's Country. I tried it but substituted some pickled jalapenos instead of the jarred banana peppers (I didn't have banana peppers). I later learned that this is similar to one of my husband's family recipes for Hamburger Macaroni. The next time I made it I added a diced onion because I put onion in nearly everything. I also had to add a bit more water. If its looking fairly dry before the pasta is cooked, it gets gummy. Add a little extra water and the pasta cooks through and you avoid the gumminess.

Hamburger Macaroni

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
3 tbsp. dried basil
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
12 ounces elbow macaroni (I used whole wheat pasta and just used the full box-13.25 oz.)
1 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. When nearly browned, drain some of the grease if needed. Add onion, some salt and pepper. When onion is tender add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add basil.

Stir in tomatoes, water, and macaroni. Cover and cook, stirring often until macaroni begins to soften, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until macaroni is al dente, about 7 more minutes.

Stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, cover and cook until cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Serve.

Quick Soft Breadsticks

I found this recipe over on Cookie Madness. My boys eat too many breadsticks and biscuits to buy the ones in the tube at the grocery. And really, these are far better. There isn't much work involved as they can be made with a mixer using a dough hook. I only kneaded by hand a few times. Then roll out and cut to bake. I only got 13 breadsticks, but I probably could have cut them a bit narrower. They rose more than I expected in the oven. I'd say these were a hit and will likely make them many times in the future. I just need to make sure I leave about 2 hrs. lead time to allow for the rise and bake times.

Quick Soft Breadsticks

3 cups bread flour or all purpose flour (13.8 oz)
1 packet fast rising yeast (instant yeast)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
optional — 2 tablespoons melted butter mixed with a clove of crushed garlic or garlic powder

Mix the flour, yeast, brown sugar and salt together in bowl of a stand mixer. Add the water and stir until almost blended, then add the oil and stir well. Using the dough hook (you can also do it by hand, of course), knead until smooth and elastic. With the dough hook, this is only takes a few minutes.

Rub a second bowl with olive oil. Turn dough into bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, set in a warm place and let rise for 30 minutes. Punch down dough. Roll out into a 10×12 inch rectangle. Cut into strips (I cut mine lengthwise for long bread sticks) about 3/4 inch wide. Twist the strips and place on a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Let rise for 20-30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. Brush with butter or garlic butter.