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Everything Else Food

Battle of the Quesos

Red Gold versus Rotel. The Queso dip challenge.

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It’s been well documented that I love Mexican food. And that I love dips. A Mexican dip ~ perfection, especially one without meat as so often people throw beef or sausage in Mexican dips {gross}.

So when Red Gold offered to send me the ingredients to the standard queso dip, I said sure! We took advantage of the NFL playoff weekends to make the queso dips. I won’t attempt to say they’re healthy, but the babies enjoy the fattiness as does their Mommy!

In case you’re searching for an easy & delicious dip to bring to your super bowl party Sunday night, or just like us, to enjoy sitting at home on a cold day, here’s my thoughts on this queso made two ways.

First up was the traditional staple queso dip, 16 oz Velveeta cheese & 1 can of Rotel tomatoes. I melted the combined ingredients in the microwave & served with Tostitos scoops. It was good. It was cheesy. There was a bit of a kick which we like & tomatoes which I really like. It was thick & really stuck to the chip. I had some on the side of a Whole Foods bean burrito & it was just as good on its own for a snack later on.

The following weekend, my parents were in town helping take care of RSV sick babies. We broke out the Red Gold tomatoes & Velveeta and made queso dip Saturday evening as warm comfort food appetizer. My parents hadn’t had this type of dip in a while & both really enjoyed it.

REd Gold & Velveeta, all ready to be microwaved into delicious queso dip.
Red Gold & Velveeta, all ready to be microwaved into delicious queso dip.

I made Jason aka the husband be more critical than his normal “it’s good”. He said he actually like the flavor of the Red Gold queso version better. I definitely agreed.

Red Godl & Velveeta Queso Dip
Red Gold & Velveeta Queso Dip

The can of Red Gold & green chilies was larger {16 oz vs 12 oz}. That meant more tomatoes & more green chilies per bite. A definite plus in my book as I love tomatoes & the flavor of the green chillies. It also made the dip a little runnier, less super-think which I liked. I didn’t think it was any ‘hotter’ though for those afraid of too much heat.

As someone who doesn’t really care who wins the game tomorrow night, I just say enjoy the food! Happy Super bowl weekend friends!

While I was sent the ingredients for both dips from Red Gold, I wasn’t otherwise compensated for this post. All thoughts & opinions expressed are completely mine {& the husband’s} own.

Categories
Food

Snack Day Recipes

My work had their annual ‘snack day’ last Thursday. It’s a 60 person pot luck which equates to an all day eating feast!

I brought in cranberry white chocolate cookies that I’ve made for years because they’re delicious & look festive for the holdiays.

There were lots of biscuits, cookies, cupcakes, donuts, sausage balls & meatballs. But what stole the show for me was the two recipes below. I begged for the recipes before 10 am & just had to share {plus posting them helps me remember the recipe}!

Fiesta Dip

8oz cream cheese, softened
16 oz sour cream
11 oz can sweet yellow & white corn, drained
15 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
1 1/2 tbsp taco seasoning
2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

I love the easy directions. Just dump it all together, mix it up & cover for at least 24 hours. It can be served cold or warm with tortilla chips. It had just the right hint of spicy to counter all the sweet dips & cookies I’d eaten that day. Perfect for any event.

Chicken Salsa Wraps

1 can chicken, shredded
1 container garden veggie cream cheese
1/2 c thick & chunky salsa
tortillas

Mix the chicken, cream cheese & salsa together in a small bowl. Spread thin layer on tortilla. Roll up the tortilla & slice in approximately 1 inch pieces. My coworker served them with extra salsa on the side & red & green tortilla chips!

Categories
Food

Baby shower recipes

So a couple yummy food items stood out from Saturday’s shower. The pink/red punch, the garlic hummus, & the fruit dip. 

B used Macaroni & Cheesecake’s punch recipe: one carton of pineapple orange juice to half a bottle of grenadine. They left out the fruit but I think floating frozen pineapple slices would have been fun. I also think rum or champagne could be added for even more fun!

The hummus might be the easiest to share with y’all. Trader Joe’s basic Garlic Hummus. It was so good with pretzels & B’s slightly overdone baked pitas. 🙂

I quizzed Ashley for her toffee fruit dip recipe while the shower was going around us. I found a hidden recipe file Monday & realized I’d already saved this dip for future use. So that I {& y’all} will really remember it, here’s my noted recipe.

Ingredients
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 bag toffee chips

Directions
Mix together. The recipe {& Ashley} said you can add vanilla as well {maybe 1/2 tsp}. Depending on your taste, you can add more or less sugar. My recipe says serve with apples, but at the shower it worked well with strawberries too.

Categories
Everything Else Food

Go Pack!

Yesterday was the start of the college football season for us at NC State. It was a great day. The weather was perfect. The tailgating great with yummy food, drinks & fabulous friends. To make the day complete, NCSU won 48-7!!

We broke out the cornhole boards Pawpaw made this summer. This might be the LEAST flattering photo of us, but sadly, it’s the best.

Speaking of food, I made the Betty Crocker Simply Pasta Salad in Casear. I love that pasta salad ~ it’s easy & doesn’t require mayo.

I said I’d bring a dip for veggies & scoops. I wanted to use the Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic sample I received at the party last weekend. I searched for a Garlic Ranch dip and found this one on Spark Recipes. Based on the comments at the bottom of the recipe, I changed it a little.

Healthy Garlic Ranch Dip
Ingredients
1 packet ranch dip mix
8 oz light sour cream
8 oz plain lowfat yogurt
1/2 tsp Garlic Garlic (equals about a 1/2 tsp of dried minced garlic) It wasn’t very garlicy. I might use more next time.
Directions
Mix all ingredients together. Chill about half an hour before serving with scoops & veggies.

Kelly’s former coworker, Meghan, was up from Atlanta for the game. Beth was able to tell Meghan in person that she’s pregnant! This photo was taken right after! PS~ Kelly & I aren’t THAT tall. Meghan (4’11”) & Beth (5’1″) are just that petite!
Kelly took a few action photos during the game. Not sure which touchdown this was~yes I happily lost count!

We went out at halftime to visit with Jessica & her boyfriend. One of the boys took this photo with Kelly’s camera. I’m blaming beer & camera phone for the blurriness!
Hope everyone else’s teams did well this weekend too!

Categories
Food

Mexican Momma’s Munchies


Its Monday which means Momma’s Munchies day over at Waking Up Williams. This week is a Mexican theme.

I was going to post this Chicken Enchilada Casserole recipe, then remembered I already had. I plan on making it one night this week. Our other favorite Mexican recipes: Creamy Chicken Enchiladas & Crockpot Salsa Chicken.

So instead I’m posting this very simple dip that my coworker brought to work today for snack day.

Cheesy Rotel Dip
Ingredients
Velveeta cheese
Can of Rotel (she used the spicy Mexican variety)
Tortilla chips

Directions
Cut up cheese into cubes. Add to small crockpot. Top with Rotel. Heat on low until melted & combined. Serve with tortilla chips. Watch out~ it’ll disappear quickly!