Barbecue Chicken Nachos

I just noticed that I last posted in September. That was four months ago. It's now 2016. I'm not even going to ask you where my life is going because I know you don't have an answer either.

So. What's happened in the last 4 months. Matthew and I stayed awake ALL THE WAY TO MIDNIGHT on New Year's Eve!!! This is news, people. We haven't rang in a new year since we had children.

Exciting item #2. We acquired a new family member. It is a baby kitten! Ugh. Kittens one of God's cutest creations. We named him Tubby. He's clearly a smart cat since he chose our house to come howl in front of. And I'm a total sucker for animals. And my dad is a vet! Told you Tubs is smart.

It was a dark and stormy evening (for real), my dad dropped Matthew off from their afternoon of hunting and we heard a kitten crying in the bushes. My dad and I hunted around in the bushes, using our flashlights because it was dark as night and raining and calling "here, kitty" about a thousand times. We caught him and the rest is history. Tubby is adorable and sweet and positively adores our children. Well, he adores the two older girls. The two littles are a bit rough with him. He's sweet and tolerant anyway.

It goes with the territory. I just remind Tubby that he picked us. He loves our dogs, he loves our other cat, Harry, and I'm sure he will love the bunny we're getting this spring when Mary Beth turns 8. (We're on our way to a petting zoo. Just how I planned it. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Christmas break was wonderful...I love all of my kids home with me. I considered not sending them back to school this semester. Learning is overrated, no? (Matthew does not share these thoughts. Hence the reason children need mothers AND fathers. That is not a political statement. It's just a factual statement.)

Christmas break...where was I...oh, yes, these nachos. Um, yum is all I can say about these. My sister-in-law makes these and my brother loves them and she told me all about them and I said yes I'll be making those soon and so I made them in December. Matthew and I LOVED them!!!

Quantities are approximate because it simply doesn't matter. (Plus, I don't have time to measure anymore. I just empty out the refrigerator and dump stuff in. Things turn out okay. Usually, anyway.) A pile of chips, a pile of cheese, chicken, bake. Top with green onions, sour cream, BBQ sauce & pickled jalapeno slices. Devour.

So easy. Please make these. And by all means, use Neely's BBQ sauce recipe (I tweaked it a bit and blogged it here). Bottled BBQ sauce is just too...gloppy. Neely's is perfect. You'll lick your plate, despite your New Year's resolutions!

Barbecue Chicken Nachos

Tortilla Chips
Shredded Cheese (I used a combo of Pepper Jack & Cheddar)
Cooked chicken, chopped (I used grilled but sauteed or even rotisserie would work!)
Black beans (I just used canned, drained & rinsed)
BBQ Sauce

Toppings:
Sliced green onions
Sour Cream
Pickled jalapeno peppers

On a large baking sheet, spread a layer of tortilla chips and top with cheese & chicken. Spread another layer of chips on top with cheese & chicken. Bake in a 375 degree oven until cheese is melty & bubbly. Remove from oven and generously top with BBQ sauce. (If you put the BBQ sauce on the chips before you put it in the oven, the chips get soggy. Just FYI.) Sprinkle green onions on top. Top each serving with sour cream and jalapenos.

My mouth is watering. Can't wait to make these again.

Hot Corn Dip

This is Pioneer Woman's invention.  I just made it and added my own little twists to it to make it a little spicier.

People can't stop eating this dip.  Myself included.  It's creamy, spicy, sweet from the onions and peppers and cheesy.

And you eat it with chips. Maybe you should make it for the Super Bowl.

If you're into that kind of thing.

Hot Corn Dip
Adapted from Pioneer Woman

2 T butter
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 4 oz. cans chopped green chiles
16 oz. frozen corn
8 oz. jalapeño cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
8 oz. Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

In a medium skillet over high heat (I like to use an iron skillet for this), melt the butter and saute the onion and both peppers.  You want the veggies to get nice and caramelized with flavor - it really makes a difference in the dip.  Add the garlic and green chiles and cook for another minute.  Add the corn and stir until thawed.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream and Monterey jack cheese.  Pour into a greased 8x8 casserole dish and top with the Pepper Jack.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes until bubbly.  Serve with tortilla chips or Fritos scoops.

Avocado-Mango Salsa

In an effort to make up for my complete lack of culinary creativity that has lasted...well, my entire pregnancy, I made avocado-mango salsa tonight.

Oh my word! I think I made up some serious ground.  It was amazingly flavorful.  I served it on blackened salmon, but seared salmon would be great.  And jerk chicken would be fabulous.  This would be great on chips as an alternative to pico.

People, this salsa was so good.  My husband and I were eating it with a spoon while the salmon cooked.

And I have virtually no pictures because things were a little wild around my house.

We had just gotten home from the girls' swimming lessons, this boy:

was bent on following me around the kitchen, sticking his head up my dress (his new favorite game) (it's apparently hilarious), and the girls were really hungry.  Plus, the girls were cold and trying to change from their bathing suits into their pajamas and my husband had just gotten home from work!  And did I mention that Teddy was WILD.

This one.

Have I mentioned that my puppy is almost one?!?  How does a year go so fast?

So anyway, all that to say...I didn't get many salsa pictures.  But you know how to make salsa.  Just do it.  So delicious.  So simple.  So healthy.

I'm so proud.

For aesthetic reasons, I thought the salsa needed something red - like a finely diced red pepper or a tomato.  But I was in a hurry, so here's what I came up with.  Feel free to add something red.  The flavor was totally awesome without anything else, but I just thought I'd share my red thoughts with you.

Avocado-Mango Salsa

2 mangoes, peeled and diced
2 avocados, peeled and diced
1 onion, finely diced
Juice of 2 limes
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, minced (about 1/2 cup minced leaves)

Toss ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Serve immediately.

Cheeseburger Pie

Hey.  Have you had this before?  It's certainly not my original recipe, but it is a good one.

My husband and I had this as an appetizer at a Christmas party.  I was all, "What is this stuff?  Where has this been all my life?"  It was during a reprieve from my nausea and I'm pretty sure I could have polished off at least half of the casserole dish.  By myself.  But I didn't, because that would have been embarrassing!

And I try not to embarrass myself more than necessary.

So I asked for the recipe and came home and made it.  It's a great appetizer.  It also makes a great dinner.  I probably don't even need to tell you that this was a huge hit with my husband and kids.

That's a no-brainer.

So it's just a layer of crescent rolls (don't you like where this is going), a layer of ground beef mixed with onion soup mix (I love that stuff), American cheese, pickles (hang with me here) and a top crust of crescent rolls.

Bake it and voila!  Cheeseburger pie. Portable.  Delicious.

And here's the kicker: it's generally called White Castle Casserole.  But I just can't do it.  I. Just Can't.  So I renamed it.  Some people apparently serve it with yellow mustard.  The mustard adds a nice tang but isn't required.  It's your call.

Aren't you glad to know that.

Cheeseburger Pie

2 8 oz. cans crescent roll sheets
1 1/3 lbs ground beef (I used 80/20)
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
Dill pickle slices (enough to cover the surface of a 9x13 baking dish)
10-12 slices American cheese
Yellow mustard, for serving

Grease a 9x13 baking dish and fit one sheet (from one can) of crescent rolls in the bottom.

Meanwhile, brown the meat in a skillet and drain any excess fat.  Stir in the onion soup mix and combine well.  Sprinkle meat mixture on top of the crescent roll crust.

Evenly spread the pickles on top of the meat mixture.  Layer the cheese on top.  Use the second roll of crescent roll dough to form a crust on top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until golden.  Serve with yellow mustard.

Pineapple Salsa

Okay, so I already showed you my jerk chicken.

Now I need to show you the pineapple salsa I made to go with it.

I love salsa!  All kinds of salsa. I actually have so many salsa recipes that I created a new category in my recipe box just for salsas.  You're welcome.

This pineapple salsa was all that I wanted it to be.  It's a basic fresh pico recipe, just using fresh pineapple instead of tomatoes.

And if you use canned pineapple instead of fresh, I will hurt you.

I also added red bell pepper.  It adds a great color, texture and flavor.  Plus, red peppers are super cheap right now.  And they're full of vitamin C!  Is that enough reasons to convince you to add the red pepper?

Okay.  Chop chop.

Stir stir.

Yum yum.

Oh and by the way, I have no idea why my pictures are such an unlovely color.  The food was lovely, it was delicious, and my pictures are just not doing it justice.

All that to say: please don't judge my food by my mediocre camera skills.

Pineapple Salsa

3 cups finely diced pineapple (about 3/4 of a fresh pineapple)
1 red bell pepper, minced
1 jalapeno, minced (I left this out for my family but I would have liked the heat)
1 bunch cilantro leaves, minced
1 red onion, minced
2 limes, juiced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar

Stir together all of the ingredients.  Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.

Turkey & Swiss Hawaiian Rolls

I'd like to know who thought this was a good idea.

This, where you take Hawaiian rolls (like these.  Could eat the whole package.  By myself.)...

cut the whole package of rolls in half...

and smother the bottom half with a yummy mixture of butter, mustard, Worcestershire, poppy seeds and onion...

and then pile on turkey slices...

and Swiss cheese, of course...

put the top back on and pour the rest of the butter mixture on top!

Whew.

So I was saying, who thought this was a good idea.

Because it totally was.  I can't wait to make these again.

Turkey & Swiss Hawaiian Rolls

1 package of 12 Hawaiian rolls
8 oz. thinly sliced (or shaved) deli turkey
6 oz. thinly sliced (or grated) Swiss cheese
1 stick butter
2 T Dijon mustard
1 T brown sugar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 T poppy seeds
1 onion, minced

Cut the rolls in half across, leaving the individual rolls attached to each other.  Lay the bottom half in a greased 7x11 baking dish.

In a skillet over medium heat, combine the butter, Dijon, brown sugar, Worcestershire, poppy seeds and onion.  Cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until combined and onion begins to soften.

Spoon about 1/3 of the butter mixture on the bottom half of the rolls.  Layer the turkey and Swiss on top.  Place the top of the rolls on the sandwiches and pour the remaining butter mixture on top of the rolls.  Cover the entire dish with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Chicken-Turkey Bacon Bites

It's Thursday and I haven't blogged all week.

I'm not really sure what I did this week.  Or where this week went.

Oh!  I got new wires today on my braces.  My teeth are sore now.  Aren't you glad you know that.

And I did seven loads of laundry yesterday.

It's been a super exciting week around here.

And now I'm choosing this random recipe to blog.  I made it for a Christmas party, which means I made it last month.

Sometime.

I can't even remember what I did three days ago, much last month.

But I did make this recipe!  And it's really good.  Chicken, turkey bacon, rolled in brown sugar and chili powder.  Sweet, spicy, bacon-y chicken.

In a little bite size.

You'll probably want to make these for your Super Bowl party.

Just sayin'.

Chicken Bacon Bites
Slightly Adapted from Paula Deen

4 chicken breasts, cut into large bite-sized cubes
1 lb. turkey bacon, cut into thirds
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 T chili powder

Wrap each turkey bacon piece around a piece of chicken and secure it with a toothpick.  Combine the brown sugar and the chili powder in a bowl.  Roll the chicken bites in the brown sugar mixture, coating them well, and line them in a 9x13 casserole dish or baking sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes until chicken is done and bacon is crispy.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Artichoke Dip

Oh, people.

I haven't been blogging... and it's not because I joined Facebook (I didn't), or got a smart phone (my phone is still dumb), and it's not because I'm on Twitter (I have never Tweeted)...

...nor is it because I'm potty-training my 2-year-old (she's training me more than I'm training her) or sleeping (that doesn't happen much in this house).

So, where have you been, Pithy?

Sweet of you to ask.

I joined Pinterest.

I'm hoping that therein lies the secret to potty-training.

That's the bottom line.

So, in the meantime, do you like artichokes?

Me too!

This is about the only food my husband doesn't eat.

Yet he eats this dip.

That's a pretty good endorsement.

This is my mom's dip and we love it when she makes it.

I suppose we're perfectly capable of making it, but it's just more special when she makes it.

I'm off to pin some more crafts that I'll never do, pictures of a kitchen I will never have, and recipes that I'll probably never make.

See ya later.  Probably on Pinterest.

Artichoke Dip

2 15 oz. cans artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
8 oz. shredded Italian blend cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
Pita chips and crackers, for serving

Combine all ingredients and spread in a greased 8x8 baking dish.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes, until bubbly.  Serve hot with pita chips and crackers.

Swiss Cheese Dip

I made this dip for one of the many wonderful family Christmas gatherings we attended and it was gone in a flash.

Apparently people like Swiss cheese?

I don't have a picture of the baked dip because it was gone about three seconds after I took it out of the oven.

That, and my camera broke.  Oh, well.

Happy New Year, internet friends.

This recipe is linked on The Country Cook.

Swiss Cheese Dip

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Swiss cheese
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 bunch scallions, chopped
Ritz crackers, for serving

Mix all ingredients together and spread in a greased 8x8 baking dish.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, until bubbly.  Serve with crackers.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I love buffalo wings.  Who doesn't.

But they're messy.  And fried.

So here's the solution: mix together blue cheese dressing, hot wing sauce and chicken.  And bake it in the form of a dip.  And eat with crackers and celery.

This is crazy easy and so good.

And I ate it during Christmas, because it's on my "dips, cookies and candy" diet.  The diet that begins the weekend before Christmas and continues through New Year's.

Perfect.

Until I remember that I have a gym membership and have to start making actual meals again for my family.  Instead of dips, cookies and candy.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup Frank's hot sauce (I liked the original hot sauce better; my husband liked the buffalo sauce better)
3 cups finely chopped cooked chicken
1 cup shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
1 cups blue cheese crumbles, divided
Pita chips, celery sticks, and Townhouse crackers, for dipping

Blend together the ingredients and top with 1/2 cup of the blue cheese crumbles.  Spread in an 8x8 baking dish and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes, until bubbly.  Serve with Townhouse crackers, pita chips and celery sticks.