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.  

Ranch Cheddar Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 package Ranch Seasoning Mix (I didn’t have a packet of dry so I used 3 oz of ranch dressing)

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

6 chicken thighs (skin removed)

Salt and pepper, to taste

8 Ritz crackers, crushed (or panko breadcrumps)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, cheese, Ranch Seasoning and garlic.

Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste. Place chicken in a single layer onto the prepared baking dish and top with mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle with crackers.

Place into oven and cook until completely cooked through and golden brown on top, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.

My chicken took a little longer than 30 minutes.  I liked the combination of flavors. You could still taste the ranch even though I used liquid instead of a ranch packet.  

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

1-1/4 lb. ground beef

15 oz. can tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

8 oz. egg noodles

1/2 cup sour cream

1-1/4 cup small curd cottage cheese

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown meat in a large skillet. Drain fat and add tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.

Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir.

To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted.

This is a great casserole for a cold night at home.  Easy to make and doesn’t take too long.  Can be served alone or with a side of crusty French bread.  

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.  

Crockpot cheesy chicken & rice

Guest blog by Kristin O’Meara

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) box Zatarain’s yellow rice, cooked according to package

4 boneless chicken breasts

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (10.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup

1 (15 oz) can of corn, drained

2 cups chicken stock

Place chicken in crockpot and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with chopped onions.  Mix together chicken broth and cream of chicken soup.  Pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours (or 4 hours on high). 

Before serving, shred the chicken with 2 forks.  Add in cooked rice, shredded cheese and corn.  Mix well until cheese is melted and serve. 

Easy to make warm meal for winter.  And who doesn’t like chicken and cheesy goodness?  This was great plain and I also tried with chips.  I bet it would be good on a bun too, like a sandwich.  

Neiman Marcus Dip

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

5 - 6 green onions

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1 jar Hormel Real Bacon Bits

1 pkg. slivered almonds

Chop the green onions.  Mix the onions, cheese, mayo, bacon bits, and slivered almonds together. Chill for a couple hours. Serve with Ritz crackers or corn chips.

So I’m kind of known among family and friends as being the dip queen.  I’m proud of that title.  During a family get together a few weeks ago I wanted to try a new dip.  It’s summer and it’s hot so I didn’t want to make a warm dip or use a crockpot since we were camping.  I had seen this recipe multiple times on Pinterest and decided to give it a try.  It was cheap and easy to make.  The crunch of the slivered almonds was perfect with the bacon bits and green onion.  I served this with Ritz but you could definitely do corn chips or club crackers as well.  Will definitely make this again. It doesn't make a giant batch so if you are feeding a large crowd, you might want to double it up. 

Macaroni Salad

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (1 lb) pkg. macaroni (or shells)

1 1/2 c. mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. mustard

1/4 c. sour cream

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt (or to taste)

ground black pepper (to taste)

1 c. ham steak, cut into small cubes

1 c. cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes

2/3 c. frozen peas, thawed

2-3 carrots, shredded

Optional mix-ins:

cucumber, peeled and diced

dill pickles, chopped

tomato, diced

red bell pepper, diced

celery, chopped

Instructions:

Prepare macaroni to al dente according to package directions. After macaroni is cooked, drain and rinse in cold water. Once macaroni has cooled down, drain well.  In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, mustard, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.  In a large bowl toss macaroni with ham, cheese, peas, carrots, and other mix-ins.  Fold in mayonnaise mixture until pasta is well coated.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit overnight.  If the salad seems a little dry after setting up overnight, add some milk a little bit at a time until salad becomes nice and creamy again.

I didn’t do any additional mix-ins. This salad was easy to make and tasted great. The mustard was a bit stronger than I would’ve thought it would be so if you aren’t a fan of mustard, I would half the amount.  Still, it was a great salad that made a big batch and fed my large crowd with ease.