Saturday, August 25, 2007

Red Beans & Rice

Ingredients:

1 can red beans (rinsed, drained)
1 cup chopped ham (approx. 8 oz.)
2 cups chopped smoked sausage (approx. 1 16 oz. pkg.)
3 tbsp. dried onions
2 tbsp. celery flakes
1 clove chopped garlic or equiv. of garlic juice
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper
pinch of cayenne (red) pepper
pinch of creole seasoning
dash of salt (optional)

Put in crock pot with enough water to come just below the top of the mixture. Mix well with large spoon. Let cook in crock pot for approx. 5-6 hours. When red bean mixture is done, cook rice as directed on box and serve. (Reheats well)

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Chile Con Queso, Revved Up


Ingredients:

2 lb package Velveeta Cheese
1 lb package Hot Breakfast Sausage (Jimmy Dean, Potter’s, etc.)
½ large onion
1 regular can Rotel (either Regular or Extra Hot, according to preference)
1 7-oz can diced green chilies
1 to 3 finely diced jalapeno peppers, according to preference. (If you like things more spicy, leave the seeds and white membranes.)

Chop the onion and brown with the breakfast sausage. Drain excess fat so you won’t have a coronary. Cut Velveeta into cubes and add to warm skillet. Add Rotel and green chilies, and stir together over low heat until mixture is melted. Add finely diced jalapenos, stir together, and serve warm with tortilla chips. During serving, Queso needs to be kept warm, either in a fondue pot, chafing dish, or Crock Pot.

Queso can be frozen flat in Ziploc bags and reheated.

Recipe from Pioneer Woman

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapenos


Ingredients:

Fresh Jalapenos, 2-3 inches in size
Cream Cheese, softened
Thin (regular) bacon, sliced into thirds

Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise. With a spoon, remove the seeds and white membrane (the source of the heat; leave a little if you like things HOT). Smear softened cream cheese into each jalapeno half. Wrap jalapeno with bacon piece (1/3 slice). Secure by sticking toothpick through the middle. (At this point, you can freeze them, uncooked, in a Ziploc bag for later use.)
Bake on a pan with a rack in a 375-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. You don’t want the bacon to shrink so much it starts to squeeze the jalapeno. If, after 20 minutes, the bacon doesn’t look brown enough, just turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes to finish it off. These are best when the jalapeno still has a bit of a bite to it.

Recipe from Pioneer Woman

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Sausage Lover's Dip

Ingredients:

1 pkg. sausage
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 c. cheddar or 8 oz. velveeta (more if you want)
1 c. sour cream
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 c. green onions

Cook sausage and drain. Add back to pan and add cheese, cream cheese and sour cream. Stir over medium-low heat until melted. Add Rotel, spinach and green onions. Cook approximately 10 minutes until well combined. Serve hot with chips or crackers.

Recipe from Melissa Wright