Baked grilled cheese and Chili Bar

I hosted a dinner party for friends the other night.  Eight of them to be exact. I made a huge batch of chili and all the fixings.  Where I grew up, you accompany your chili with a cinnamon roll or grilled cheese.  I know, some of you say, what? Where's the cornbread? I'm from the North, that's just how we roll. I didn't want to waste precious wine drinking time at the stove cooking one or two grilled cheese at a time.  I found a few recipes online that said you can make them in the oven. I've heard this rumor before but never had a reason to try it.  This was the night. There are different variations of how to do it but I chose the simplest one.

Grilled Cheese in the oven
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Butter one side of 6 pieces of bread and place butter side down on a baking sheet.  Top with a slice of cheese of your choice.  Butter 6 more slices of bread and lay on top of the cheese, butter side up.  Sprinkle with salt.  Bake for 6-8 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown.  Flip and bake 6-8 more minutes.  Keep in mind the tops won't be brown, it cooks from the bottom!

The sandwiches turned out great! I cut in diagonals and we dipped away!

For the chili I used my usual recipe found here but doubled it to feed the crowd.  I threw it in the crockpot before I went to work in the morning so it was really easy prep pre-party.

For the Build Your Own Chili Bar I had the following for people to enjoy:
shredded cheese
green onion
jalapenos
sour cream
cinnamon rolls
french bread
grilled cheese
saltine crackers
ritz crackers
tortilla chips
butter
hot sauce

Success!!! 

Southwestern Cheeseball

Ingredients:

8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

¼ cup finely diced onion

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

4 oz can chopped green chilies

chopped cilantro

crackers, for serving

In a medium bowl, combine the cheddar, cream cheese, butter, onion, garlic powder and green chilies. Mix completely.  Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form into a ball and wrap tightly. Refrigerate until set up, 2 hours to overnight.  Place chopped cilantro on a plate. Unwrap cheeseball and roll in the cilantro until coated. Serve with crackers.

First of all, I left this as a dip and added the cilantro instead of rolling in it.  I found the original recipe to be a bit blah so I added 2 Tbsp of ranch dressing, a few dashes of hot sauce and half a diced jalapeno.  

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole

Serves: 8

I'm warning you, before you make it, this is highly addictive.  Creamy, yummy and just delicious. You have been warned.  Proceed with caution. 

3 large chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

3 slices bacon, crumbled

1 onion, chopped

2 jalapenos, seeded, deveined and diced

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or mayonnaise)

4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

For the topping:

1/2 cup crushed butter crackers (1/2 sleeve)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

4 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375*F. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook bacon in a large skillet until done, but not too crisp; using a slotted spoon, remove to a paper towel lined plate and reserve. 

Add onion and jalapenos to the same skillet and saute until onion starts to soften. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes longer.

Stir in cream cheese, yogurt, cheddar cheese and Parmesan until mostly melted and combined; stir in chicken and bacon. 

For the topping: mix together crushed crackers, cheese, and melted butter. Sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake 25-35 minutes or until casserole is hot and bubbly and topping is brown. If the topping gets too dark before it's done, cover with foil. Serve warm.

Spicy sausage dip

Ingredients:

16 oz. spicy/zesty sausage

15 oz. can rotel

2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese

1 small can of yellow corn, drained

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Hot sauce to taste

Cook crumbled sausage until browned. Drain off fat.  Reduce heat to medium and add all other ingredients.  Stir frequently until melted together.  Serve warm with crackers or tortilla chips.  Add more hot sauce as needed. 

I made this in the crockpot and it turned out great. The original recipe did not call for the corn or the shredded cheese but I’m glad I added them.  It made it go a little farther and added a nice texture.  You could add black beans to this as well.