Miguel's Jalapeno Cream Sauce

This is a copycat recipe of a white queso dip from a yummy little restaurant called Miguel's on Coronado Island in CA.  It's pretty much the best thing ever created to dip tortilla chips in or pour over any Mexican dish. 

2 c. whipping cream
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. chicken boullion
2 TB clarified butter (I just used regular butter and it was fine.)
1 TB flour
1 jalapeno, minced (seeds and ribs removed)
1 TB jarred jalapeno juice
1 ounce Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 ounce sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Heat whipping cream over high heat.  Stir in sour cream when it's ready to boil.  After sour cream dissolves, reduce the heat to medium.

Stir in boullion and jalapeno juice, and simmer.

Meanwhile, make a roux by adding the flour to melted butter in a small sauce pan.  Whisk until the mixture turns a pale gold.

Increase the heat on the cream mixture until almost boiling and add the roux.  Whisk briskly and constantly until the roux is incorporated. 

Remove from heat and stir in minced jalapeno and the cheeses.

Notes:  I added about double the jalapeno juice than the recipe calls for (depending on how hot your juice is) and some chopped up jarred jalapenos too.  Just play with it until it's as spicy as you like. 

So Simple Instant Pot Saucy Meatballs

Ingredients:

Frozen Italian Meatballs (I've heard the ones from Costco are great, but I just grabbed a bag from the grocery store)
1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce
water

Dump meatballs in the instant pot.  (I filled my 6 qt. pot about 1/2 full.)  Pour 1 cup of water over the meatballs and then dump 1 to 1.5  cups of the BBQ sauce over the top of the meatballs.  Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.  When it beeps and is done, turn off the Instant Pot and let the pressure naturally release for 10 mins.  Quick release the rest of the pressure and open the pot.  Stir the meatballs and serve over rice or mashed potatoes with a green salad and/or veggies.  You could also serve these as an appetizer without the rice.

If you were doing more meatballs you would want to add a little more water and more BBQ sauce.

Pork Lettuce Wraps

Sauce:
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon red chili paste

Filling:
3 Tablespoons sesame oil, or olive oil (This was a lot, especially using ground pork.  I would use 1 TB sesame oil and 1 TB of olive oil in the future.  I ended up draining a lot of fat off the pork before adding the onions, etc.)
1 lb. fresh ground pork, finely ground
1/4 cup shallot or onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup canned water chestnuts, diced  (I didn't have water chestnuts so I used matchstick carrots, roughly chopped)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

12-16 Butter lettuce leaves or Boston Bib (may use Iceberg)

Instructions:
Rinse the lettuce leaves. Drain well. Pat dry with paper towels. Place in a plastic bag and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

In a small bowl stir together 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1/4 cup warm water until dissolved. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, lime juice, sesame oil and chili paste. Mix well. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium/high heat. Stir-fry the pork quickly in the oil breaking the meat up as much as possible. Add the onions, garlic, and water chestnuts and continue to stir-fry until the pork is cooked through and the onions are soft. Add the brown sugar, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Cook until the liquid has evaporated. Should only take a couple of minutes. Serve warm.

Serves 8 as a side dish or 4 as a main dish.

** You can buy the chili paste at most grocery stores...Sambal Oelek Ground Fresh Chili Paste, Huy Fong Foods, Inc.

7 Layer Dip

1 (15 oz.) can refried beans
1 (4oz.) can diced green chilies
1 pt. sour cream
2-3 tsp. taco seasoning
3-4 avocados
3/4 cup salsa
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
3-4 tomatoes, diced
2-3 green onions, sliced
1 large can black olives, sliced

Beat beans  with mixer until smooth and add taco seasoning, and green chilies.  Spread over a platter.  Spread sour cream over beans.  Mash avocados with lemon juice, garlic powder and salsa.  Spread over sour cream.  Sprinkle with cheese, tomatoes, onions and olives.  Serve with tortilla chips.  

Hot Corn Dip (or Casserole Main Dish)

1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 4 oz. can diced green chiles
1/2 c. diced red pepper
1 T. minced jalapeño
2 T. sliced olives
1 c. mayonaise
1 c. grated Monterey or Pepperjack cheese
1/2 c. grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Mix corn, chilies, jalapeño, olives and  red pepper in a medium bowl.  Add  mayo and stir well.  Add cheeses and stir.  Pour/spoon mixture into small casserole dish and bake at 350 until hot.  Serve with corn chips.

You can add cooked, shredded chicken to this to make it a main dish.

Cheddar Ranch Cheese Ball

Cheddar Ranch Cheese Ball

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups slivered almonds or chopped pecans

Mix all ingredients, except nuts, thoroughly.  Form into one ball or two smaller balls.  Roll in nuts and refrigerate.  Serve with crackers.  This definitely tastes best when refrigerated overnight before serving.

Shelly's note:  Triple this recipe to make 9 one cup balls, although I didn't measure the nuts, just bought a huge bag and used what I needed.     

Bean Dip...

1 can of black beans, drained

1 can of white beans, drained

1 can of shoepeg corn, drained

1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

2-3 cups of grated cheese--I prefer mozzarella or montery jack

1 can (8 oz) salsa verde

1 can (8 oz) of favorite salsa--we like medium to hot, but any salsa will work

Mix well and season generously with salt.  Bake for 20 minutes at 375 until cheese bubbles.  Serve with tortilla chips.  

Stuffed Mushrooms

Mushrooms

1 lb. Sausage

8 oz. Cream Cheese

Wash mushrooms and remove stems. Brown sausage and mix with softened cream cheese. Stuff mushrooms with cream cheese mixture and put in baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Rotel Dip

Natalee's Version:

2 cans rotel
4 blocks cream cheese
1 lb. sausage-not links

Brown sausage. Cut cream cheese into small pieces and put in crockpot with rotel and browned sausage. Heat until cream cheese is soft and mix all together. Serve with chips.

Veggie Dip

1 cup mayo

1 cup sour cream

2 tsp. dill weed

2 tsp. dried onion

2 tsp. bon appetite

Mix well and serve with favorite veggies.

Cranberry Salsa

3 c. fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained (pick out any that are bruised or mushy)
1/4 cup green onions
2 small jalapeño peppers, seeds and ribs removed
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. fresh cilantro leaves
1 T. finely grated fresh ginger
the juice of 1/2 a lemon

8 oz cream cheese
Ritz crackers

Place all ingredients except the lemon juice into a food processor and mix until well blended. Stir the lemon juice into the salsa. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Serve by placing the softened cream cheese on a serving bowl then pour 1/2 the salsa over the top. Have plenty of Ritz crackers on hand for dipping!

Tips:
This looks so beautiful when served on a white or cream colored dish.
You want to blend it very well. Not exactly a puree, but definitely not too chunky!

Feta Dip

olive oil
1 block (8 oz) of feta cheese  (if you can buy the block, not the precrumbled -its sort of dry)
tomatoes (any kind)…I use about 3-4 Roma’s
1 bunch of green onions (I used 4 stalks)
1 baguette
Greek Seasoning (see pic below)
1 large platter


1. Wet the platter generously with olive oil. 2. Dice the green onions and tomatoes. 3. Throw them on the olive oil. 4. Crumble the feta cheese and throw that on the platter.  4. Sprinkle the Greek Seasoning on top.  (I use about 2-3 tsp.)  (I got at Albertsons) 4. Mix it gently all together…  5.  Until it looks like this.  5.  Slice the baguette.  A special word about the bread…it MAKES the dip.  I have found that the best bread is FRESH, bakery kind….the kind that comes in the long skinny paper bag.   You want it bite-sized and you want to cut it thin… 6.  …because this is how people will “dip”.  Or you can include a spoon if the people you hang around with are super polite and dainty.  I have never found that to be necessary.



 Pictures and recipe from: Clover Lane

Apple Dip...

8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat ingredients with hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Cut apples into slices and dip and eat.

Black Bean Salsa...

2 cans drained black beans
1 1/2 jars of roasted red peppers
1/2 red onion diced
6-8 Roma tomatoes diced
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can drained corn
1 cup avocado diced
1/4 cup orange juice
2 TBS. cilantro
1 tsp. garlic powder

Combine together, chill, and serve with tortilla chips

White Corn Guacamole (copied from CPK)

I had an appetizer at California Pizza Kitchen that was pretty similar to this. We all loved it & I thought it would be really easy to make at home.

2 cups frozen sweet white corn

3/4 can black beans (drained & rinsed)

1 ripe avocado, diced small

1/3 onion, diced small

2 tomatos--I cut off the end, squeezed out the juice & seeds, then diced it small

Juice from 1 lime

Small palmful fresh cilantro

Salt to taste

Cook corn & let cool a bit. Combine all ingredients & serve with chips!

Hot Southwest Bean Dip

{sisters cafe AZ Republic Newspaper Recipe}

Doesn't this look tasty. I'm going to have to try this recipe soon.

1 lb. sausage

1 medium onion

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 (7 oz.) can green chili salsa (salsa verde)

2 TBS. sliced black olives

1 cup monterey jack cheese

1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce

1 (30 oz.) can refried beans

1 small can chopped green chilies

1 cup sour cream

1-2 green onions-sliced

1 cup cheddar cheese

1-2 avocados-chunked

Brown sausage, onion and garlic salt. Drain fat. Stir in hot sauce. In a 13-15" platter, layer beans, meat mixture, green chilies, sour cream, green salsa, green onion, both cheeses and olives. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until hot and cheese is melted. Top with avocado chunks and serve with tortilla chips.

Natalee's Hot Wing Dip

Spread cream cheese on bottom of 8x8 baking dish

2 chicken breasts-cooked and shredded

Mix together:

2 TBS. butter

1/2 cup Frank's Hot Wing Sauce

1/2 cup bleu cheese dressing (less if you don't want the bleu cheese to be overwhelming)

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Mix in chicken and spread over the top of the cream cheese.

Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Bacon-Wrapped Cocktail Sausages

Recipe from Our Best Bites

1 14-oz. package Lit'l Smokies

1 12-oz. package lean bacon

3/4 c. brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 325 and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut the slab of bacon into thirds.

Repeat with remaining sausages and bacon. When I was making these, the stars somehow aligned and this package of Lit'l Smokies and Hormel Black Label bacon matched up completely--no leftover bacon, no leftover sausage. Sprinkle brown sugar over sausages and bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes or until bacon has cooked and is starting to brown.If you're serving these at a party, they taste even better after a little time in the slow cooker on low heat.

Cowboy Caviar

Mix together:

1 package dry Italian Salad Dressing

1 Tbsp oil

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp water

Add:

1 can white Shoepeg corn (you can find this with the canned corn)

1 can drained black beans

2 tomatoes, chopped

Red or green onions

1/2 of a red or green bell pepper

Juice of 2 limes

Then just before serving add 1-2 ripe avocados, chopped.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Candace's Version:

1 can black eyed peas-drained

1 can shopeg corn

2 tomatoes chopped

3 avocados chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro chopped

3-4 green onions chopped

Zesty Italian dressing just to moisten

Hot Cheesy Artichoke Dip

12 oz. artichokes-drained and chopped

8 oz. cream cheese-softened

1 cup mayo

1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese

1/2 cup freshely grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. garlic salt or one clove fresh garlic, minced finely

Combine all ingredients in an oven-proof dish and microwave on high 1-2 minutes until everything is well mixed. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.