Warm Cheddar Bacon Ranch Dip

Superbowl XLIX is upon us and the Patriots are gearing up to take on the Seahawks out in Arizona on Sunday. When I think of Superbowl I consider it another food based holiday and a time to serve the best dips and finger foods you can. Nothing says Superbowl like wings, ribs or cheesy dips. Cheddar cheese, crispy bacon and creamy ranch dressing make this warm ooey gooey dip perfect to serve at your Superbowl party. I saw a version of this dip that was cold but warming it up makes it so much better. Put it out for the game with some chips, Frito's or crusty bread and you are all set.  

Ingredients:
16 oz Reduced Fat Sour Cream
8 oz 1/3 Fat Cream Cheese - Softened
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
6-8 Slices of Bacon - Crumbled
1 Packets (1oz) Ranch Dressing Mix

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large serving bowl that is able to go into the oven combine the sour cream with the packet of ranch dressing. When you add the cream cheese to the dip make sure it is soft so it can easily mix with the other ingredients. Next mix almost all of the shredded cheese into the dip, leaving about a 1/2 cup for the top.

 Cook your bacon until crispy. I generally use the microwave but this time I roasted it in the oven for about 12 minutes on a baking tray. They were nice and crispy as soon as they were cool. Blot the grease off and crumble them up. Mix almost all of it into the dip making sure all the bits are spread out. Using the back of a spoon smooth the dip and spread it evenly out in the bowl. Top with the remaining cheese and bacon.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes until the dip is bubbling and the cheese has melted completely. This dip is thick and creamy so I suggest you serve it with something that is strong and can scoop it up easily like Frito's or crusty bread

Enjoy!!

Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

Avocado & Tomato Breakfast Casserole

My family loves avocados.  We always have a few of them on the counter waiting to ripen. I still haven't learned what to look for to know when they are ready to be eaten.  Half the time I get it right and they are perfect (not too hard and not too brown).  The other half of the time they are either hard as a rock and too green or brown and mushy. This was a very easy casserole to make and only took about 10 minutes to put together.  We all enjoyed it on Easter morning.  This recipe is adapted from Dish and Dine.

Ingredients:
2 pkgs Pillsbury crescent roll dough sheets
1 20 oz. pkg Simply Potatoes O'Brien Hash Browns
10 slices thick smoked bacon, precooked and cut into pieces
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in thirds
1 ripe avocado
6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 pan with PAM.  Roll out the two containers of Pillsbury crescent roll dough sheets and position in the pan with dough along the sides of the dish. Sprinkle the cut up precooked bacon all over the dough.  Cover with the package of hash browns.  Add cut up tomatoes and slices of avocado.

Mix eggs and milk together and pour over tomatoes and avocados.  Sprinkle shredded cheese over everything.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until egg is cooked through.  Let sit a minute then cut into servings.

Enjoy!!



Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

Bacon Cheeseburger Rolls

  It's time for another addition of Secret Recipe Club. This month we were assigned to pick a recipe from Jenny's Cookbook. She has so many delicious things to choose but I was looking for something fun to make last weekend to treat myself since I just celebrated my birthday. I picked Jenny's version of Rachel Ray's Cheeseburger Egg Rolls. I decided to add bacon to mine but to compensate for the unhealthiness I used ground turkey instead of ground beef, I know, that sounds so silly. If I was going to add bacon I probably should've just used the ground beef haha. Jenny dipped her rolls in homemade Russian dressing but I served ours with ketchup instead. We ate a few of them for lunch and I gave the leftovers to my sister, who served them for dinner with fries.

Ingredients:
1 Package Egg Roll Wrappers
1 lb Ground Turkey or Beef
8 Slices of Crispy Bacon
1/2 Yellow Onion
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Jack Cheese
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
1 Tbsp  + 1 Tsp Olive Oil
S&P
Sesame Seeds for Topping

Makes 12-14 Rolls

Heat 1 Tsp of Olive Oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion until opaque, stirring frequently so it doesn't burn. Add the meat and brown until completely cooked, breaking it up into pieces with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper then let the meat cool for a few minutes. Cook the bacon until crispy and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. It is now time to assemble the rolls. Put a heaping spoonful of the meat mixture in the middle of an egg roll wrapper. Crumble a few pieces of bacon on top and sprinkle on some cheese. Use a pastry brush and apply some water on the edges so you can easily close the egg roll wrapper. Fold each side into the middle and then squeeze the edges shut. 

Transfer the egg rolls onto a baking dish. Use the remaining olive oil to brush the tops of the rolls, then sprinkle each roll with some sesame seeds. The sesame seeds give it a really nice touch just like the top of a burger roll would have.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately with ketchup.

Enjoy!!

To see other great recipes from Secret Recipe Club members, visit the links below!

1. Beef Carbonnade  2. Asian Slaw with Ginger Soy Dressing  3. Sweet and Salty Arugula Salad  4. an affair from the heart: Brownie Bites with Rolos  5. The Bitchin' Kitchin': Sausage & Mushroom Risotto

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This is linked to www.thecountrycook.net

Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Brussel Sprouts have been given a bad rap and are an under used vegetable in my opinion. People tend to shy away from them but they can be made tender and delicious with minimal effort and ingredients. If you are looking for a side dish that isn't a casserole and doesn't require space in your oven on Thanksgiving day these Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts may be for you. They have a sweet flavor from the caramelization that occurs as they roast in the salty bacon drippings...Yum!! Pan-Roasted Brussel Sprouts as well as Brussel Sprout Salad with Pancetta and Craisins are both easily prepared on the stove and could be made right before your turkey is served next Thursday.

Ingredients:

2 lbs Brussel Sprouts

4 Pieces Low Sodium Bacon

1/2 Cup Yellow Onion - Thinly Sliced

S&P

Adapted from: http://www.kneadforfood.com/

To prepare your sprouts you want to slice off the bottom stem area which was connected to the stalk and take off the two outer leaves, then wash and slice them in half.  

Slice each strip of bacon into 3-4 pieces. In a large pan over medium heat cook your bacon until crispy. When it is done take out the bacon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pan.

Put all of your brussel sprouts cut side down into the hot pan. Put the top of the pan on so the brussel sprouts steam and cook evenly as they caramelize for about 7 minutes.

Add the onion slices and put the top back on to steam for another 2-3 minutes. Once everything is cooked through stir back in the crispy bacon slices and allow the onion to caramelize as well. Serve immediately.  

Enjoy!!, 

Linked at: http://www.thejennyevolution.com, http://www.happyandblessedhome.com/, http://www.notyourordinaryrecipes.com/, http://www.thecountrycook.net/, http://www.whatscookingwithruthie.com/, http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/, http://insidebrucrewlife.com/, http://www.chef-in-training.com/, http://www.nap-timecreations.com/ http://momstestkitchen.com/, http://thenymelrosefamily.com/, http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/, http://www.mostlyhomemademom.com/, http://www.lifewiththecrustcutoff.com, http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/, http://www.housewivesofriverton.com/, http://www.ducksnarow.com/, 

Broccoli & Grape Pasta Salad

I brought this pasta salad over to my sister's house last week for her gender reveal party. We are so excited for Owen to have a cousin so close in age to grow up with! This pasta salad was one of our sides dishes paired with a variety of different gourmet sandwiches and it seemed to be a big hit with everyone there. I doubled the original recipe so this version makes a very large amount but it's perfect for entertaining. She and her husband then enjoyed the leftovers as lunch for a few days. It has a bunch of different flavors and textures going on which are different from traditional pasta salad. The grapes are sweet, the bacon brings a salty aspect to the creamy dressing and the fresh raw broccoli and pecans gives it a nice crunch. Although I'm not a huge fan of mayo based salads this dressing was light enough for me to enjoy. In fact I called to see if we could have some leftovers as well but was disappointed to find out they were already all gone, I guess I'll just have to make it again :)

Ingredients:
1 Box Bow-Tie Pasta
2 lbs Fresh Broccoli Florets
4 Cups Red Grapes - Halved
1 Cup Chopped Pecans
12 Slices Bacon - Crispy & Crumbled
1/3 Cup Red Onion - Finely Diced
2 Cup Light Mayo
2/3 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Pepper

Adapted from: http://www.mymommystyle.com/

Prepare the pasta accordingly to package. Cook bacon until crisp and put on a paper towel to soak up some of the grease, once it's cool enough to handle crumble it. Dice up your onion, halve your grapes and cut your broccoli florets into bite size pieces.

In your largest bowl combine the drained pasta with the grapes, broccoli, onion, bacon and pecans pieces. Every time I added an ingredient or two to the pasta I tossed it as much as possible to mix everything together. In retrospect I needed a bigger bowl to add the dressing so it wouldn't all spill out when I was mixing.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together your mayo, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper. Pour about half of the dressing over the top of the pasta salad and toss to combine. Once you feel that has worked it's way in, pour the rest of the dressing on top and toss again making sure to get all of the ingredients at the bottom of the bowl covered in the dressing. I suggest making this at least a few hours in advance of serving if not the day before so it can cool in the fridge and absorb all of the flavors.

Enjoy!!

Linked at: http://apeekintomyparadise.blogspot.com/, http://www.thecountrycook.net/, http://happyandblessedhome.com/, http://www.notyourordinaryrecipes.com/, http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/, http://whoneedsacape.com/, http://www.cheeriosandlattes.com/, http://www.whatscookingwithruthie.com/, http://www.thejennyevolution.com/, http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/, http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.ca/, http://www.flourmewithlove.com/, http://www.nap-timecreations.com, http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/, http://insidebrucrewlife.com, http://www.ducksnarow.com, http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/, http://thenymelrosefamily.com/, http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/, http://www.momstestkitchen.com/, http://www.mostlyhomemademom.com/, http://www.housewivesofriverton.com/, http://www.mandatorymooch.blogspot.com/, http://www.posedperfection.com/,
www.mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com

Chicken Alfredo Pizza with Bacon & Sun-Dried Tomato

This month for Secret Recipe Club we were assigned to pick something from Robin, Restored who was formerly know as Penny Pinching Provisions. I found this recipe for her Chicken Alfredo Pizza from May of 2011. As a health conscious person I've never really had anything with Alfredo sauce but for some reason I was drawn to this combination of flavors. We had this for dinner over the weekend and boy was I surprised at how good it was. I've made a bunch of non-traditional pizzas in the past but this may be the best one so far. The sauce was creamy which paired really nicely with the salty crisp bacon and the earthy flavors of the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Thanks Robin for a new pizza to add to our rotation, John has insisted we will be making this again soon!!

Ingredients:

1 Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
5 Pieces of Crispy Bacon
1 Cooked, Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
3 Cups Spinach
1 Garlic Clove - Minced
1 Cup Sun-Dried Tomato - Sliced
3/4 Cup Light Alfredo Sauce
2 Cups 4 Cheese Pizza Blend of Shredded Cheese
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
S&P
1/4 Cup Flour
Pam Spray

Start by preheating your oven to 400 F and spray your pizza pan with Pam. Put the flour down and roll out your pizza dough till it's about a 1/2 in or so thick. Transfer the pizza to the pan. Spread the Alfredo sauce around leaving yourself a little room for the crust.

We always have chicken breast laying around because we often grill or bake a bunch a head of time for salads so I just shredded a leftover breast. You could also you rotisserie chicken if you have that instead. Also slice up your sun-dried tomato and arrange both evenly over top of the Alfredo sauce.

Next in a large sauce pan heat up the oil over medium and saute the spinach and garlic, stirring occasionally until it has completely wilted and most of the water has dissipated. Salt & pepper the spinach mixture to taste. While the spinach is cooking crisp up your bacon, I'm a fan of making it in the microwave but however you want to do it is fine. Pat the bacon dry to get rid of the grease and crumble it into pieces. Arrange the bacon and spinach mixture over top of the chicken and sun-dried tomatoes,  spreading everything out as much as possible.

 Top the pizza with a 4 cheese pizza blend of shredded cheese, the one I chose was mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan and Pecorino Romano. Bake for 20 minutes in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbling a bit and the edge of the crust looks brown and crispy. Wait 5 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!!

Linked at:http://insidebrucrewlife.com/, http://www.chef-in-training.com/, http://www.nap-timecreations.com/, http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com, http://www.momstestkitchen.com/, http://www.ducksnarow.com/, http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/, http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/, http://thenymelrosefamily.com/, http://www.housewivesofriverton.com/, http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/, http://www.mostlyhomemademom.com/, http://mylifeasrobinswife.com/, http://apeekintomyparadise.blogspot.com, http://www.lifewiththecrustcutoff.com, http://www.mandatorymooch.blogspot.com/, http://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/, http://www.momontimeout.com/, http://www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com, http://www.thecountrycook.net/, http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.ca/, http://www.flourmewithlove.com/2, http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/, http://djssugarshack.com/, 

http://www.cheeriosandlattes.com/, http://www.whatscookingwithruthie.com/

Alice Springs Chicken

Spring is finally here and I love it!  Its time to put away the warm Uggs and bring out the cool Toms.  Colorful tulips and blooming cherry trees are everywhere and it shouldn't be long before its time to bring out the flip flops. I haven't been to Outback Steak House in years but when I did go I always ordered Alice Springs Chicken.  I am a big honey mustard fan and this chicken is covered in it besides the bacon, mushrooms and cheese.  This isn't the healthiest chicken you will ever eat but give it a try at least once.  You will be glad you did.  This is from www.food.com. 


Ingredients:
1 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup honey
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
12 slices bacon, cooked
2 cups mexican blend shredded cheese

Directions:
Combine mustard, honey, oil and lemon juice with an electric mixer for one minute.

Pour 1/2 of the mixture in a ziplock bag and marinate chicken in it in the refrigerator for 2-24 hours.

Chill remaining marinade to serve with chicken.

After marinating chicken, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put remaining oil in frying pan and heat and brown chicken on both sides.  Transfer chicken to oven safe pan and brush with marinade.

Meanwhile in frying pan add butter and saute mushrooms.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper if desired.  Stack bacon across each breast, spoon mushrooms on each breast and then a handful of cheese on each breast.

Cover pan with foil and bake 10-15 minutes.  Serve with honey mustard marinade.

Enjoy!!



Linked at: http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/, http://www.momstestkitchen.com/, http://www.housewivesofriverton.com/, http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/, http://www.ducksnarow.com/, http://thenymelrosefamily.com/, http://www.semihomemademom.com/, http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/, http://www.michellestastycreations.com/, http://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/, http://www.thebusybhive.blogspot.com/, http://mandatorymooch.blogspot.com/, http://www.tasteandtellblog.com, http://www.notyourordinaryrecipes.com/, www.4littlefergusons.wordpress.com, http://www.cheeriosandlattes.com/, http://www.whatscookingwithruthie.com, http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/, http://www.nap-timecreations.com/, http://insidebrucrewlife.com/, http://www.chef-in-training.com/, http://www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com/, http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/