Spinach Dip

Yum. I love spinach dip. When I was pregnant with my first I craved pumpkin...and spinach dip. I ate lots of it, not even the really good stuff...the pre-made stuff at the grocery store. My friend Cindy would buy it for me every week at our small group bible study and I would eat half a baguette and half a bowl of dip.

Anyway, I digress. I have a long history with spinach dip. This recipe is super simple and based off of the recipe on the back of the vegetable soup mix. My neighbors and we inhaled this entire bowl-full at a football party a few weeks ago when the Cardinals died a slow and painful death.


Spinach Dip

1 c mayo (I used light)

2 c sour cream (light again)

1 package Knorr vegetable soup mix

1 box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry

3-4 garlic cloves, grated

2 green onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Mix everything together in a medium mixing bowl. Refrigerate at least few hours. Serve with veggies and/or bread.

Monday Saving Monday: Get the Door, It's Dominoes!

Yet another super classy post. But I thought you'd like to know that we have tried Dominoes' new recipe and mmmm it's good. They brush the crust with butter and garlic and seasoning. And the sauce is a little more zippy. And I'm happy to report that the Surprise Dominos has a carry-out special of a large one-topping pizza for $4.99! Or two, two-topping mediums for $5.99 each.

We ordered two large pizzas last week and I conveniently picked it up directly after working out at the gym (turns out Dominos is right across Bell Rd from Mountainside Fitness!) How wonderful to work off 300 calories to immediately consume 1/3 of a large pepperoni pizza! I ordered my usual thin-crust pizza with sausage because it's quite a few less calories than the thicker crust. And then I got the and tossed pepperoni for Rob. BUT when I opened the box I immediately saw the hand tossed brushed with teh butter and seasoning and I had to try a piece. I ended up eating three slices of the hand tossed pepperoni, Rob ate four slices and Robbie finished off the large pizza by eating one slice. Elise didn't know what she was missing out on as she noshed on the thin crust. Don't get me wrong, the thin crust is really good too...but the new recipe hand tossed is...really really good.

So, all this to say that if you're ordering pizza this week you could really save a few bucks by ordering Dominos and giving their new recipe a try!

Truffled Parmesan Popcorn

I thought I'd do a quick post of possible game food. Even though it's the last minute, you will probably have all of these ingredients on hand (if you obeyed me and bought the truffle oil, that is). I made this the other day because for some strange reason I was craving popcorn and my four year-old and I ate this for lunch. He scarfed just as much as I did! (I also gave him some diet orange soda to accompany the popcorn and that was a hit as well.)





Truffled Parmesan Popcorn

2 Tb canola oil (or any light-colored oil)

1/4 cup popcorn seeds
2-3 Tb butter

1-2 tsp truffle oil

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Pour the oil in a stock pot over medium heat and drop one popcorn seed in there. Put the lid on and wait for the single seed to pop. Toss in the other popcorn in the pot (it should be just enough to cover the bottom of the pot.) Cover the pot and shake it continuously as the popcorn starts popping. When you aren't hearing any pops anymore dump the popcorn into a bowl. Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave, add in the truffle oil and drizzle over the popcorn. Sprinkle on the parmesan cheese and toss to coat. Yum.

Oven Fried Onion Rings

I saw a similar recipe on the Rachael Ray show where some guy did a segment on lowering fat/calories and these onion rings looked so good and I can NOT find the recipe on the website anywhere so I made up my own and I have to say they turned out really well. So try them, maybe even for Super Bowl tomorrow. Simple, low fat, easy. I served them with BBQ Ranch which is just what it sounds like--half bbq sauce, half ranch dressing equals delicious dipping sauce.



Oven Fried Onion Rings

1 large sweet yellow onion

2 cups buttermilk

1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs*

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp granulated garlic

2 egg whites

2 eggs

3/4 cup flour

Slice the onion into 1/2'' slices and separate into rings. In a shallow dish pour the buttermilk and soak the onions while you're preparing everything else. Preheat the oven to 425. In a separate shallow dish or on a plate combine panko, cayenne pepper, salt, garlic and stir. In a shallow bowl beat eggs together. Put the flour on a plate. Dredge the milk-soaked onions in flour, then egg mixture, then panko mixture. Place on a wire rack on a baking sheet. Spray the tops of the onions with cooking spray. Bake at 425 10 minutes, remove from oven turn each onion over carefully and bake another 10 minutes. Enjoy!

* Panko is japanese breadcrumbs in the same aisle as regular breadcrumbs.

Cranberry BBQ Meatballs

This recipe would be a great Superbowl item. Just toss everything in the crockpot and you're set. SUPER simple. I usually would make my own meatballs, not because I'm gourmet, but because I'm cheap. But, this time I had some leftover from something else so I did this for dinner and everyone scarfed it down. Elise is one year-old and she probably ate 6-8 meatballs.


This is another one of those recipes that's kind-of embarrassing because t's so easy it's not even a real recipe. More of an idea.

Cranberry BBQ Meatballs

1 14 oz can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 cup bbq sauce

1 tsp Tabasco (or more if you like it spicy)

2-3 tsp soy sauce
meatballs, precooked (enough to fill an 8x8 pan--so however many you need)

Mix the first four ingredients together in a bowl. Place meatballs in the pan and pour the sauce over. Bake at 350 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are hot and the sauce has thickened.

Ice Cream Pie with homemade Caramel Sauce

I confess I've been a slacking blogger. Please forgive my delay in postings. I can't really explain what happens. I've been cooking, but we've just been really busy and then at night I sit in front of the TV (on the nights we're home) and gaze off in a trance-like state. So, to make up for my lazyness I will post two recipes for your enjoyment tonight. Might I add that they are both delicious and you should defintiely go to the store to get the ingredients and make them immediately.

Mmmm homemade caramel sauce. Enough said. Feel free to drizzle this amazing stuff over just about anything including frozen waffles or even white bread. Or in your morning coffee. Or dip a spoon in it and eat it straight up as an afternoon snack.


The caramel syrup I found on Pioneer Woman's blog. Her ice cream pie looked good but it had a meringue crust, and I'm not a huge fan of meringue so switched it up (and took a shortcut). I was inspired by the Snickers pie they had at Ritters and we loved it, and then they went out of business. So here's my nod to Ritters and their Snickers Custard Pie that was to die for.

Ice Cream Pie with Caramel Sauce

Sauce:

4 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar, Packed
½ cups Half-and-half
Pinch Of Salt
1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Mix butter, brown sugar, half & half, and salt in a saucepan over medium low heat. Cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until thicker. Add vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off heat and pour sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold. (I doubled this recipe because I LOVE caramel sauce and I didn't want to run out before my pants got too tight.)

Pie:

1 store bought chocolate pie crust (You can absolutely toss a row of Oreos in a food processor and melt a stick of butter and mix it up and press it into a pie pan. But I'm lazy.)

2 pints ice cream (I used 1 pint butter pecan and 1 pint homemade vanilla--whatever you like)

2 Snickers bars

Set the ice cream out on the counter until spreadable. In the meantime use your food chopper or a knife to finely chop the Snickers bars, set aside. Spread your ice cream in the pie crust and sprinkle the Snickers on top. Put the pie back into the freezer at least one hour until it is firm. Drizzle each slice with caramel sauce. MMMM.

Money Saving Monday...on Tuesday: Groceries

Sorry for the delay. Turns out Mondays are ALWAYS really busy, so--better late than never (which is what happened last week!)

I have had a few people question my grocery budget/spending. So I thought this week I would show you what I got. I didn't need a lot of meat because of my constant stockpiling when things are on sale. The only meat I bought was a couple packages of Turkey Store turkey burgers because they were marked way down. I do have to give a small disclaimer though: I have been spending more on groceries since starting this blog. I mean, I can't be posting classless recipes now can I? Although some of you may be questioning the "class" of the baked sloppy joes or the double queso dips, but hey--we like it.

I wold also like to point out that I have only 2 small children that love to eat but do not eat like adults. And also that do not really care for milk. So that cuts out some expenses right there. (AND if you're questioning the amount of produce on my table, I had made a trip to Sprouts last Wed and stocked up so I didn't need a lot of fruit/veggies)

Anyway, all that to say--for the naysayers you CAN spend less on groceries by using coupons and cooking with ingredients that are in your stockpile or are on sale that week.

Yesterday I went to Fry's and used my coupons and menu-plan and spent $63.00 on all of these groceries including:

5 boxes granola bars

1 box fruit snacks

whole wheat english muffins

corn tortillas

all salsa ingredients

tortilla chips

milk

blueberries

guacamole

apples

tomatoes

eggs

crackers (saltines & wheat thins)

5 packages cheese (name brand)

turkey burgers

frozen meatballs (suuuper classy)

apple juice

toilet paper

honey mustard

butter

cream cheese

sour cream

ice cream (lots of creams here people)

whole wheat frozen waffles

4 pkgs spices

1 lb dried red beans

canned tomatoes

2 sticks deoderant

and a partridge in a pear tree.

Baked Sloppy Joes

Mmmmm. This was yummy. We love sloppy joes which pretty much is just another nod to my midwest upbringing. Ground beef was waaay on sale and I decided to try something a little different and it turned out well. All four of us liked this and I served it with peas on the side.

Baked Sloppy Joes

2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

lots of pepper

salt to taste

15 0z can tomato sauce

2 Tb ketchup

2 Tb brown sugar

1 1/2 Tb worcestershire sauce

1 tsp mustard

tabasco to taste

1-2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

1 can Grands! biscuits (I used the reduced-fat biscuits and no one noticed.)

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet with the onions and green pepper. Drain well. Toss in the garlic and cook a minute longer. Add in the salt, pepper, tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, worcestershire, mustard and tobasco. Stir to combine and cook the sauce a few minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Pour the beef mixture in a 9x13 pan, sprinkle on the cheese, and top with the biscuits. Bake at 375 20-25 minutes.

Ham Rolls

I recently had a little birthday party for my son. It really was little, which I didn't think I was capable of but I had three friends and their little boys over for lunch on his actual birthday. I was looking around for recipes and this one looked good so I went for it. These little sammies are so yummy and SUPER easy too. I threw them together in just a couple minutes.

This would be a great recipe to try for Super Bowl. Or for a poker party. Or...obviously a birthday party. Or even a good recipe for dinner. As an appetizer, main course--Whatever.

Ham Rolls

1 package Hawaiian rolls

3/4 lb thinly sliced deli ham

8 slices swiss cheese

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 tsp dried mustard

1 tsp dried onion flakes

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 350. Melt the butter in the microwave and add to it the dried mustard, onion, worcestershire and poppy seeds, set aside. Slice the hawaiian rolls across the middle keeping it all one piece. Layer the ham and swiss cheese on the bottom half of the rolls and top with the top half. Pour the butter mixture over the top of the sandwiches and let sit at least one hour. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Game Day Queso & a Velveeta Cheese Tribute

Sooo...have I ever mentioned I'm from the midwest? Yah, I am from the midwest. I grew up on my mom's homemade food with ingredients picked from her garden (truly) and velveeta cheese. Yep. I love Velveeta cheese. Now, if you're following this blog because you want a culinary genious who is using expensive gourmet ingredients...keep looking. That is not what this blog is or what this blog is for. I just make food that taste good and may or may not have quality ingredients...but usually never expensive ingredients because if I break my budget my husband may ground me and take my van keys away. (YES that's right I eat Velveeta cheese AND drive a van...yikes. What have I come to?)

SO today as I was running down the aisles of Super WalMart to try to get just what I needed to make lasagna for tomorrow night, a sign caught my eye. This sign would change my mood. A sign that changed my day. It was a little white rollback sign....on the Velveeta Cheese. Rolledback to....$1.50 per 2 lb block!! Seriously I looked twice, rubbed my eyes and read it again and quickly grabbed two blocks of 2% milk Velveeta and ran off before someone tried to fight me for it. As I was dashing off I heard a woman say, "Whoah! Velveeta is only $1.50!" That's right lady, and don't even try to touch mine!!

All that to explain...yes, here's another queso recipe. But, why is that bad? I had some leftover chili just on the verge of seeing the inside of the garbage disposal. It turned out great. This entire crockpot full of queso cost $2.50 or less. So add this recipe to your "Leftover List" and make it for the next football/baseball/basketball game. Or really any weekend that you think your jeans are just fitting too well.

I don't have a photo up yet, but use your imagination. Or look here. It looks like that. Only different.

Game Day Queso AKA Chili Cheese Dip

3 cups leftover chili (any chili will do)

1 4 oz can chopped jalapenos, drained well

1 14.5 oz can pintos, drained well

1 32 oz block velveeta, diced

Put the first three ingredients into the crockpot on high until hot. Toss in the velveeta, give it a stir and wait for the melting to begin. Keep on warm up to 3 hours for a party.