Buffalo Chicken Nachos

We have been craving nachos lately and usually we just do our own individual plates where we toss on some cheese and throw it in the microwave. But we have really been wanting to make a big ol' pan in the oven all piled high and layered with yummy things. We finally made these buffalo chicken nachos and they were super good! In fact, the first pan was gone before I remembered to take a picture, so I had to take one of the second batch, which didn't cook as nicely. (Of course that would happen.) 

Ingredients:

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1/2 cup buffalo sauce (We found a recipe online and made our own, using Frank's Red Hot Sauce.)

Pepper Jack cheese, shredded or sliced

Jalapenos, sliced (We used the deli-sliced kind from the jar.)

Tortilla chips 

Directions:

Line baking pan with foil.

Lightly coat chicken with the buffalo sauce. Spread tortilla chips on pan, sprinkle on cheese, add chicken & cover with more cheese. Top with the jalapeno slices.

Broil in oven until cheese is melted. Watch closely so it doesn't burn. (Our second batch got a little crispy.)

Enjoy!

For a yummy variation try Nacho Cheese Doritos, tortilla chips with a hint of lime, or even Fritos!

Garlic Breadsticks

If you love the Olive Garden's breadsticks as much as I do, you need to make these right now!  They are soooo good!

Do you want to know the very best thing about them?  They are super easy to make!  No need for a mixer, and they're ready in about an hour.

We have made these quite a few times in the last year.  I tried them once without the garlic, just for a change and they were still very good.  However, my family has voted they like the garlic ones best.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 tsp rapid rise yeast
2 TBS sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
4 TBS butter or margarine, melted

Topping:
1/2 cup butter (8 TBS), melted
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
oregano (I just sprinkled some in)

Directions:
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.  Let sit until frothy, about 5 minutes.

Add flour and salt to yeast mixure, stir.  Add melted butter and knead with hands until well combined.  Add a little flour if dough is too sticky.  Do not over-knead.

Oil palms and divide the dough into 16 pieces.  (I just break dough in half, then keep dividing in halves until I have about 16 fairly similar-sized balls.)

Roll dough into long strips.  Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.  Cover and let sit in a warm place until breadsticks rise slightly, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Bake for about 6 minutes. 

Meanwhile, combine topping ingredients in a small bowl.

Remove breadsticks after 6 minutes, brush with topping mixture. Continue to bake an additional 5-6 minutes, or until golden. (Watch closely.)

Remove from oven and brush with more topping mixture.

Enjoy!

Mexican Bean Dip

This bean dip is such a family favorite - it is our go-to recipe for all the family gatherings.  It is great for potlucks, football parties or just with dinner.  It is also very yummy as a leftover. :)

 

This is one of those recipes, that really doesn't have very exact measurements, you can add as much or as little as you like for your family.  (If you can see, only one half of this dip has serrano peppers, I don't think my 2 year-old would like a mouthful of fire!) haha

 

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese

1 can refried beans

salsa (I used about 1/2 cup)

shredded cheese (any kind would be delicious - I used cheddar)

diced jalapeno peppers, optional

chopped green onions, optional

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

 

Spread the cream cheese in the bottom of a casserole dish or pie plate.  (Sometimes we double the batch and make it in a 9x13 pan.)

 

Continue layering, with the beans and salsa.

 

Spread as much cheese as you would like on the top, then sprinkle chopped peppers and green onions on top.

 

Place dish in oven and bake until cheese is bubbly and melted.  You may have to broil it a little at the end.

  

 

Serve with chips as a dip, or as the little ones like it - wrap it in a tortilla.  It makes a yummy bean burrito!

 

Enjoy!

Spicy Chicken Bites

This is another recipe I made with my pre-cooked and shredded chicken.

These are so good!  Chicken, hot sauce, and cream cheese all rolled together with a Corn Flake crust.  Yummo!  They have just enough kick to them, but you could go flamin' hot if you're super adventurous like that. I thought they were perfect.

We had these as our main dish, but I'm thinking I might be making these for our next Super Bowl party.  They would be an amazing appetizer!

I will admit I had some troubles getting the balls to stay formed - and they were a little messy!  I might try this as a casserole someday.  I'll just layer the mixture in a casserole dish, and sprinkle the Corn Flakes on top.  What do ya think?

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1/4 cup Frank's Hot Sauce (add more if you like it way spicy!)
3 1/2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten
3 - 4 cups Corn Flakes cereal, crushed



Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. (I used foil, and then sprayed it with cooking spray.)

In a large bowl, combine chicken, hot sauce, both cheeses and green onions.  Form into large balls and place onto a separate baking sheet.

Place flour, eggs, and Corn Flakes in 3 separate dishes.  Dip each chicken ball into the flour, then the eggs and last the Corn Flakes. 

Place onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Great plain or with ranch dressing - Enjoy!

Best Ever Fruit Dip

Okay, this is seriously the best fruit dip I have ever tried. Ever.  This recipe was given to me by my amazing sister-in-law Jen. (Thank you!)

I think I just really like the thickness of it - most fruit dips are too fluffy and end up a little runny.  This has a nice consistency even after a couple days in the fridge. (I didn't have to stir it or anything.)  It made a ton - so I froze about 2/3 of it - we'll see how it holds up then.

Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
8 oz. Cool Whip
Healthy Options:  Use fat-free cream cheese, and Splenda sugars

Directions:
Blend together first 4 ingredients until creamy and well mixed.  Fold in Cool Whip.


Can serve immediately or store tightly wrapped in refrigerator for up to a week.  (Maybe longer?)  Hopefully, it freezes well also - I don't see why it wouldn't. haha :)

Super Bowl Party Food Ideas

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?  (I know, I know....lame.) haha  Seriously, the only reason I even watch the Super Bowl is for the food, and the commercials.  Do you feel the same?

Well, even though I am completely outnumbered by men in my house, I am a good sport - and we have made a nice tradition of having our own little Super Bowl party.  (I think my boys really just like the fact that they get to eat in front of the tv - which we never do.) haha

Here for your commercial football-watching pleasure is a compilation of our favorite appetizers and snack foods:

 Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

 Baked Pizza Dip

Restaurant-Style Guacamole

 Bacon Cheese Ball

Wingers Sticky Fingers

 Queso Dip

 Texas Caviar

Salsa

 Pepperoni Rolls

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Chocolate Covered Apple Bites

 

 Chocolate-Strawberry Shish Kabobs

Peanut Butter Cheese Ball

 

 Caramel Heavenlies

Cake Cookies

 

Thanks for stopping by - hopefully you'll find at least one good recipe on here! haha :) Well, feel free to look around in case we missed anything.

 

Enjoy!

 

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites

 Oh. my. deliciousness.  These are soooo good!  Seriously, anything wrapped in bacon would be pretty good in my opinion, but I really liked the chicken. Waaay better than lil' smokies. My boys were dipping them in soy sauce.  Whatever.  They always have to change the recipe. :) haha

Ingredients:

1 pkg bacon

3-4 chicken breasts (mine were really small, so I used 4)

1/3 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Cut up chicken into bite-sized chunks.  Cut bacon in half, wrap around chicken pieces and secure with a toothpick.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. (Trust me, you'll want to do this.  Very messy.)

Set bacon wrapped chicken bites on cookie sheet, and sprinkle brown sugar over the top.

Bake at 325 F for 45 min.  I wanted mine crispier, so after 45 min, I turned the oven to broil for about 5-10 minutes.  Perfect!



Baked Pizza Dip

I've been wanting to try this recipe for awhile now, and last night I finally did.  It was really good! 
It was super cheesy, with a nice Italian flavor.  We tried dipping in tortilla chips and breadsticks, and they were both good. 

I made some ravioli to go with it, so we ended up just scooping the dip right on top of the ravioli with a little extra sauce. Yum!

Tomato sauce ingredients:
(I doubled this, and used it with the pasta - it's great by itself.)

2 TBS olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14 oz) can chopped tomatoes (I blended mine, because we don't like tomato chunks)
 3 TBS tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried Italian Herb Seasoning
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 pinch black pepper

Preheat oil in saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook about 1 minute.  Add remaining ingredients and cook about 5 min, stirring frequently.

Dip ingredients:
1 cup tomato sauce recipe (above) or just use pizza sauce
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 tsp dried Italian Herb Seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
mini or regular pepperoni (optional)
dried Basil (for top)

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Grease bottom and sides of pie plate or small casserole dish.

Mix together cream cheese, 1/2 cup Mozzarella, Ricotta, seasoning, salt and garlic powder together in large bowl. 

Spread into prepared dish. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce recipe on top, and sprinkle on remaining Mozzarella cheese. Add pepperoni and sprinkle basil on top.

Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

Restaurant-Style Guacamole

I've had a couple requests lately for my guacamole recipe - so I thought I'd put it on here.

I have only two requirements when it comes to guacamole:  1) It has to have enough salt and lime flavor, and 2) It has to have a nice kick to it. That's it.  I could seriously live off of this guacamole! Sooo good!

I don't usually have specific measurements, I just add stuff until it looks and tastes how I want it, but when I made it today, I wrote down everything I put in - just in case anyone cares. :)  Haha

Ingredients:
4 avocados
1/2 bunch cilantro (about 1/4 cup), chopped
2-3 serrano peppers, finely chopped (yep - the hotter the better!)
1 green onion, diced
1 roma tomato, finely chopped, no seeds
juice from 1 1/2 limes
1/2 tsp salt

Scoop insides of avocados into a large bowl, smash with fork.  Add all other ingredients, stir until combined.  Taste to make sure it's exactly how you like it.  Serve with chips. (or whatever) :D

Hope you like it!

BACON CHEESE BALL

 

I can't believe I've never put this Bacon Cheese Ball recipe on here before! This recipe comes from my husband's family and they make it all. the. time.  Seriously.  But it's really that good - I just totally forgot about it until my son requested it for our New Year's Eve party.

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c cooked, crumbled bacon
1/2 c Miracle Whip dressing
1/3 c parmesan cheese
1/4 c green onions
grated cheddar cheese*

*(I don't really have an amount for this - just add as much as you want until it looks good - it's up to you.) We probably do it different every time. :)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl.

Place mixture on plastic wrap and pull corners up and twist until it makes a ball - refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with lots of yummy crackers!

Chocolate Covered Apple Bites

 #19

 

On the 19th day of Christmas treats I give you Chocolate Covered Apple Bites.  Easy, simple, really cute and so yummy!  I actually made these for a Halloween party, and I used caramel and chocolate.  I loved the taste of the caramel but the juice from the apples turned the caramel runny.  The chocolate stayed crisp and pretty the whole night!  These would make cute neighbor gifts too!

Ingredients:

Granny smith apples (1 apple makes about 8)

1 bag milk chocolate chips

toppings (chopped peanuts, chopped almonds, chopped walnuts, sprinkles, crushed graham crackers, crushed candy canes, crushed Oreos, shredded coconut etc.)

melon baller

toothpicks or sucker sticks

mini paper cup cake liners

Directions:

Start by scooping apples with a melon baller.  Stick toothpicks or sucker sticks in green end of apple.  

Melt chocolate as directed on package, either in the microwave or a double boiler.  

Lightly dip apple bite in topping of your choice.  

Place in mini paper cup cake liners.

PEPPERONI PIZZA PUFFS

I decided to try out a few appetizer recipes last night, so I could decide what I wanted to make for the Super Bowl. These were a definite YES!!! Yummy & spicy! And super easy to make.

Ingredients:
3/4 c flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 c milk
1 egg
1 1/4 c Italian cheese blend, shredded
4 oz mini pepperoni
1 c. marinara
2 TBS fresh basil, chopped (I used my Italian herb seasoning grinder)

Grease a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, milk, egg, cheese and pepperoni, stirring until completely mixed. Spoon batter into muffin pan.
Sprinkle with chopped herbs.

Bake in preheated 400* oven for about 15 min. (just watch it, mine only took about 12 min)

Serve with warm marinara for dipping.

WINGERS STICKY FINGERS

I just thought I'd throw this in here. The boys LOVE Wingers sticky fingers, and so we just made these one night with the $2 noodles - it was goooood! We already had breaded chicken breasts, so we just added the sauce. You could probably make it on skinless breasts, too.

Sauce

3 TBS Franks hot sauce
3/4 c brown sugar
2 TBS water

Cook in pan until sugar is dissolved. Line baking pan/cookie sheet with foil. Cook chicken strips first. (about 350*) Then dunk each strip into sauce completely & lay back on pan. Pour remaining sauce over chicken until well coated. Bake again about 5 more minutes. Just like Wingers - DELISH!

Salsa

Okay, here is my most excellent salsa recipe:

1 can chopped tomatoes (not sure how many fresh ones, maybe 2 or 3?)
1/2 onion
2 serrano peppers
1/4 green pepper
1 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS lime juice (or juice from 1/2 lime)
1 garlic clove
cilantro
oregano (I know, weird. But it's good)
salt

I dump the tomatoes in the blender, chop everything else and then mix in blender. Then I taste it to see what it needs.
I usually just sprinkle a bunch of oregano in, I sometimes put in green onions, too. Just taste it, usually it's either not hot enough (another jalepeno) or it needs more salt. If you take a whiff and you start coughing - it's hot enough!

Anyway, play around with it until it's how you like it. Just like how much cilantro you put in, it's personal taste! :) Ha ha.