Category Archives: snacks

Queso fiesta dip

snacks 5 Comments

It’s another LuLu Buffett recipe! This was every so slightly modified from LuLu’s Crazy Cheesy Queso Dip. I love it especially right now because the red and green peppers look all Christmasey. Aww!

Here’s what I used:

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 sweet yellow onion
  • 1/2 red bell pepper
  • 1/2 green bell pepper
  • 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
  • 1 pound Velveeta or other melty cheese
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper (white pepper if you have it)
  • Salt to taste

To make the cheesy goodness:

  1. Slice cheese into 1″ chunks and put it and milk in top of double boiler, or in a large glass or metal bowl put over a pan of boiling water to start melting
  2. Finely dice onion and peppers in the food processor
  3. Melt butter in heavy saucepan and add diced veggies; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until veggies are soft
  4. When cheese/milk mixture is melted, stir in cooked veggies and add cumin, pepper and salt
  5. Serve immediately with chips, or keep warm in a crockpot for your fiesta

Sugar spice Craisin nuts

baking, snacks 15 Comments

Let’s just run into the mall real quick. It’ll take five minutes. I need black pumps, a white shirt for your dad and…. um… a white…. um… nope, now I’m hungry. Are you hungry? What smells so good?

A hint: it’s these.

You know how it works. They pipe the smell of this stuff through the mall at the height of Christmas shopping season. And they offer free samples. You know, the first one’s free. Mm hmm. Well now you can just say no. Well, you don’t have to. You could actually buy some to eat while you’re shopping until you can come home and make more, which will have Craisins, making them even better.

I found this recipe at Buns in my Oven and went to the grocery store about an hour later. I had no idea these were so easy! Crazy good, crazy easy. Speakin’ my language.

So gather this (I roughly halved her recipe and added Craisins)

  • 1 pound nuts, any kind – I used the 1.4 lb jar of mixed nuts
  • 1 egg white, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (this will not light you up. I promise)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 – 1 cup Craisins, depending on your level of love for them

Now do this:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 F
  2. Pour nuts (not Craisins) into a large bowl — bigger than you think you need so you have room to stir
  3. In a small bowl whisk together egg white and water until frothy, then pour over nuts, stirring to coat
  4. In another small bowl mix together sugars, salt, cayenne pepper and cinnamon, then sprinkle over nuts, stirring to coat
  5. Spread nuts onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet; we’re going to bake for a total of 30 minutes
  6. Bake for ten minutes and stir, then bake another ten minutes
  7. Fold/stir in Craisins and bake another ten minutes
  8. Move the sheet of parchment to a cooling rack, breaking up any giant clumps (little clumps are yummy) and allow nuts to cool completely before storing in an airtight container
  9. Eat for breakfast, lunch, and supper. And snack
  10. Put in Mason jars and give as tasty Christmas gifts. Try not to eat them in the car on the way to deliver them

Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa (Salsa de Molcajete)

sides, snacks 9 Comments

The salsa roja recipe is popular. Ridiculously popular. But we had some company in town and I needed salsa fast — nigh onto immediately. Rick Bayless recipe to the rescue! This is quick and easy, and simple to tweak:

You’ll need:

  • 1 to 2 fresh jalapeño chiles (my late-season ones from the garden weren’t that hot so I used 5)
  • 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, preferably fire roasted
  • 1/4 cup (loosely packed) chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • Salt

Easy steps to yum:

  1. Heat an ungreased skillet over medium heat and roast the chiles and garlic, turning often until they’re splotchy and brown and soft — this takes about 10 minutes for the chiles, and 15 minutes for the garlic
  2. Cool until you can handle them, then roughly chop the chiles, discarding caps, and drop into food processor
  3. Peel the garlic and scoop the softened cloves into a food processor; pulse until very finely chopped
  4. Add the tomatoes with their juice to the food processor then pulse until puree is coarse
  5. Pour into serving dish and stir in cilantro and lime juice, and salt to taste — about 1/2-3/4 teaspoon
  6. Serve and enjoy!

Pizza Rolls

kids, lunch, snacks, supper 22 Comments

I was trying to get the kiddo to bed one day this week, and I was thinking about cinnamon rolls. Look, I’m not proud, but that’s what it was. Then I was thinking that it would behoove me to actually think about what to make for supper the next day instead. And then I was thinking that I had dough in the fridge that I should use.

And then I was thinking about pizza rolls.

So the next day, here’s what I took out:

  • My icebox dough (you can also buy dough in the deli at Publix, which I love)
  • Pizza sauce (pick your favorite)
  • Pepperoni, chopped (or whatever toppings float your boat – but chopped so it’s easier to slice through)
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Dental floss (but not for what you think)

From there it was easy!

  1. Preheat the oven to 350
  2. Roll out the dough into a rectangle
  3. Top with a thin layer of sauce — you don’t want things getting soggy
  4. Sprinkle with chopped pepperoni (etc.) and cheese
  5. Roll it up! I rolled from the short end because I didn’t need to end up with that many rolls — just the Yankee and I were eating
  6. Break out the dental floss and use it to cut the rolls: slide the floss under the roll, cross the ends over the top like you’re going to tie a knot, then pull them all the way through the dough so the floss is straight again; this slices it clean and keeps your rolls from getting flattened as you slice
  7. Place the rolls in an oiled casserole dish with the pretty sides showing (if you’re making these for a party and want them easier to handle individually bake them in a muffin tray instead)
  8. Sprinkle the top with more cheese
  9. Bake at 350F till the cheese on top is melty and bubbly

Enjoy!

Cheesy chili dip

snacks 5 Comments

Hi, it’s ridiculously simple week on One Particular Kitchen. Care to join me?

This dip calls for exactly four ingredients:

  1. A block of cream cheese
  2. A can of chili
  3. An 8 oz bag of shredded cheese
  4. A bag of chips

When my alma mater is losing playing, I don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen! This is so quick and easy to throw together that I can serve a crowd (recipe is easily doubled) and keep everyone full without missing a Crompton interception play.

So here’s what you do:

  1. Using the foil from the package, press the cream cheese into the bottom of a pie plate or baking dish
  2. Pour over the chili (I use Vietti, or leftover homemade chili)
  3. Sprinkle on the cheese (I used colby jack; cheddar is also great)
  4. Bake at 350F till everything is melty and bubbly. Serve with chips!

Whatever you do, please do not use reduced fat sprinkling cheese — it just doesn’t melt right, and meltiness (uh, it’s a word) is a key trait of this dish.

Now. How easy is that?