Championship Bean Dip

Three things I really love:

1. Beans (especially refried)

2. Dip (especially when it includes beans)

3. My crock pot

So what happens when I can bring all three things together for a common cause....MAGIC!  I love this dip, it is the ultimate dip in my world, and it is just so easy!  I served this when I had friends over to watch the ASU football game, and everyone was raving about it, it really is the best bean dip ever!  I found the original recipe in an old Fix It and Forget It cookbook that was my grandmas, and modified it a bit for my tastes.  It is the perfect party dip because you throw it all in the crock pot and 2 hours later you have a delicious dip!  Serve with tortilla chips, Fritos or corn chips and you have yourself a winner!  With football Bowl Games and the Superbowl just around the corner this is just the dip to cheer on your favorite team to victory!

Beans are not one of the most photogenic foods....so please no judgements on the photo!

Championship Bean Dip

2 (15 oz. each) cans refried beans (I use Rosarita Spicy Jalapeno)

2 c. picante sauce (I use Medium heat Pace)

2 c. Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

1 1/2 c. sour cream

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Chips for serving

Combine all the ingredients, except chips, in the crock pot; stir well to combine.  Cover and cook on High for 2 hours, or until heated through, stirring once or twice during cooking.  When ready to serve, turn crock pot to warm and serve with chips!

Note: This makes a really, really big batch, feel free to cut all the ingredients in half, but I like to have leftovers to make burritos!

Black Bean and Mandarin Orange Salsa

I was running a bit behind in planning my tailgate menu for the ASU vs. Oregon State football game a couple of weeks ago. I like to theme my menus based on the team that we are playing, but I couldn't seem to draw any inspiration from Corvallis, Oregon or the Beaver mascot....is beaver even edible? Well, with it being October, it suddenly hit me, I would go with the team colors....ORANGE and BLACK! After my epiphany, I was able to quickly plan a color themed, or close enough, color themed menu!

ASU vs. Oregon State - October 3, 2009

• Grilled Sliders with Cheddar Cheese (I am not that good at grilling, so I figured the meat was the black part!)
• Black Bean and Mandarin Orange Salsa with Tortilla Chips
• Carrots with Ranch (I put black food coloring in the ranch...didn't go over so well!)
• Pumpkin Pie Dip with Ginger Snaps & Chocolate Teddy Grahams (Recipe Coming Soon!)

This wasn't one of my most elaborate menus, but it went over really well with my guests, especially this salsa. It was such a nice refreshing change from the normal black bean salsas that usually have corn in them, the sweetness of the oranges paired really well with the salty black beans. I usually end up with leftovers of most of the things I bring, but not with this one, the bowl was licked clean!

Black Bean and Mandarin Orange Salsa
adapted from Coastal Living - January 1998

1 (11 oz.) can mandarin orange sections, undrained
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. roasted red pepper (from a jar), diced
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar (or you can use balsamic)
1/4 tsp. salt

Drain orange sections, reserving 1/3 cup of the juice.

Combine orange sections, beans, red pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl; set aside.

Whisk together the reserved orange juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt; pour over orange mixture, tossing well. Chill until serving and serve with tortilla chips.

Black and White Bean Dip

I am sure by now you are all aware of my love of beans, and I think I have mentioned once or twice my affinity for dips and how I even consider dip to be a meal in itself on certain occasions; so when you put the two together.....heaven! I have tried many different versions of bean dips, and I have a few favorites, but I am always willing to try out a new one.

I was going over to a family friend's house on 4th of July for a BBQ and some pool time and was in charge of bringing over an appetizer. I had seen this on a blog a few month's ago, and had been wanting to give it a try, so this was the perfect opportunity! This was very different from most beans dips I have made in the past because the beans are kept whole, but it was a delicious change of pace. My friend Karen especially liked it, but in the future, I think I need to add a bit more heat! I am thinking of omitting the fresh tomato and substituting with a can of drained Rotel tomatoes.

Black and White Bean Dip

From The Sister's Cafe

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 (15 oz.) can white beans, drained
1 (10 oz.) can shoepeg corn, drained
1 (7 oz.) can Herdez salsa verde
2 c. shredded Colby Jack cheese (I used Mexican blend)
4-6 chopped Roma tomatoes (squeeze liquid out of tomatoes before chopping)
garlic salt to taste

Combine the beans and corn. Chop the tomatoes into chunks, squeezing out the liquid first. Mix in the tomatoes and remaining ingredients (save a little bit of cheese) to the bean and corn mixture. Spray a shallow baking dish (I used a glass 2 Qt. baking dish) with nonstick spray before spooning in the bean mixture. Sprinkle a little cheese on top and pop into the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and it is all warm and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips.

Green Chile Beef and Homemade Refried Beans

As you may know from my previous post, I was successful at completing my Mexican Food Challenge! In honor of yesterday being the last day, rather than go out for dinner, I thought I would try out a new recipe for green chile beef and take another stab at getting the beans to my liking. It worked out really well because both of these recipes were made in the crockpot, so they were simple to throw together. I think the best part was when my friends Karen & Kyle called to see if they could come cool off in my pool after a long day of moving, I was also able to offer them a nice home-cooked meal!

This was my third attempt at making homemade beans....and I think I finally got it right!! The first two batches just had something missing....and that something was bacon grease! Now I know I am sounding a bit like Paula Deen here, but it really just does add a layer of flavor that you can't achieve any other way. Saturday morning I decided to cook up some bacon for breakfast so that I would have the grease available to make beans the next day. Well, I usually cook it in the microwave, but this time I needed the grease saved, so I cooked it on the stove top. Let's just say it got a little bit out of hand and ended up setting of my smoke detector!! I couldn't figure out how to turn the damn thing off, I called my dad who told me to go flip the breakers and turn the power off to the whole house....that didn't work....thanks a lot dad! Eventually, I figured out that it was connected to my alarm system and I just had to "unset" my alarm. With that crisis averted, I was able to cook the rest of the bacon, but this time I turned on the vent! The beans were so creamy and delicious that I didn't end up with any leftovers, but I guess it just means that I need to cook up some more bacon!

I was really excited to try out this recipe for Green Chile Beef that I found on the Internet, especially since it is one of my favorite things to get at Mexican restaurants. Last week I had been craving the Boracho Burrito from Someburros, but since I don't really have one in the area I never made it there, so I was on a mission to recreate it at home. The preparation was simple, and the house smelled delicious when I came home from running some errands. But ultimately, it just fell a bit short of my expectations....there just wasn't enough heat! I am going to tinker with this recipe a bit more and try to had some more heat, but if you are not into fiery food, you might just like this version. If I come up with a spicier version I will update you all!

Green Chile Beef

1 (3 lb.) boneless top sirloin

4 (4 oz. each) cans diced green chilies

1 medium onion, chopped

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced

3 garlic cloves, sliced

3 tsp. chili powder

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. seasoned salt

1 c. beef broth

Cut beef into large chunks and place in crockpot. Top with chilies, onion, jalapenos, garlic and spices. Pour the beef broth on top. Cover and cook on low for 7 - 8 hours or until meat is tender. Serve with tortillas and toppings of choice.

Homemade Refried Beans
adapted from The Sister's Dish

1 (1 lb.) bag dried pinto beans
3 Tbsp. bacon grease

Water

5 - 10 pickled jalapeno rings (depending on your heat preference)

1/2 Tbsp. seasoned salt

1 Tbsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. chili powder

Rinse beans, picking through and discarding any black or broken beans. Cover with water and soak for at least 1 hour. After the 1 hour, rinse again and place in the crockpot. Add the bacon grease; then cover the beans with water so that it reaches about 3 inches above the beans.

Cover and cook on high for 5 - 6 hours, or until beans are able to mash easily. With about 1/2 hour left in cooking time, add remaining ingredients.

Remove beans with a slotted spoon and add to food processor, add as much bean liquid to get desired consistency. (I also added in some Monterrey Jack cheese at this point for even more creaminess!)

Now go and have yourself a Fiesta!

Recipes from Cinco de Mayo Week

This past week, I seemed to do a lot of cooking, and not a lot of blogging. I am not sure what my deal was, but I was at a barbecue yesterday and my friend Jess told me that I needed to put up some new recipes. So I figured I would share what I made during the week of Cinco de Mayo...and as you may have already guessed....the overall theme is Mexican!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Last Sunday I was in the mood for something sweet, and realized that I had all the ingredients on hand to make sopapilla cheesecake bars! I just love when no last minute store runs for one missing item are necessary. I had found this recipe a little over a year ago on Recipezaar, and I had been dying to try it out. I LOVE cheesecake....my birthday also happens to be National Cheesecake Day...so it was meant to be that I try these out! I couldn't wait for these to finish baking, the cinnamon aroma had filled my house, and had me drooling. Once I was finally able to dig in, I couldn't understand what took me so long to try these out!! They were so easy to make, but were a 10 on the tasty scale. These will definitely be making a repeat appearance, and I won't be waiting until Cinco de Mayo next year!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
2 (8 oz)) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar

Using a 9 x 13 baking pan, unroll one package of refrigerated crescent rolls and line the bottom of the pan. Pinch together seams and flatten.

Mix together the cream cheese, sugar and extract with an electric mixer, then spread over the crescent rolls.

Unroll the other can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture.
Pour melted butter over the top and sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Store leftovers in the refrigerator, best served at room temperature.


Crockpot Refried Beans

As I am sure you can tell, I LOVE BEANS!!! I had been wanting to try making my own for some time now, so I figured it was a good time to try them, especially the recipe called for no pre-soaking! I found a few different recipes that I altered to my tastes, and while these were good, I still have some tinkering to do. Also, they are missing the one major element that makes them really good...which is lard....but at least these are healthy!

Crockpot Refried Beans
adapted from Coleen's Recipes

1 yellow onion (cut in half, but not chopped)
3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed and sorted
2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 oz. diced jalapenos (or you can use 2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chilies)
9 cups water
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream

Put everything except the jalapenos and half & half in the crockpot. Cook on high for 8 hours until beans are tender. Drain. Put beans and jalapenos into a food processor and puree. Stream in a half & half until desired consistency.



Pollo Fundido Dip

Pollo Fundido is one of my all time favorite items at Mexican restaurants, so when I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it. I made this the same night that I made the beans, and turned into a very festive meal! It didn't have as much heat as I would have liked, which is probably because I used green chilies instead of jalapenos, next time I think I will kick it up a notch! If I was to serve this for a party, I would prepare as directed and then put into a crock pot to keep warm.


Pollo Fundido Dip
adapted from Taste of Home Community Pages


2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 medium chopped onions
2 (7 oz.) cans chopped green chilies or 1 (4oz.) can chopped jalapenos
1 tsp. salt
5 oz. can evaporated milk
1 cup grated white sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Monterrey jack cheese (or pepperjack!)
8 oz. cooked chicken, chopped or shredded

Saute' the onion in the vegetable oil until soft. Add the green chilies and salt and cook until the liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes. Add the evaporated milk and simmer for 4 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Add the cheeses and chicken and continue cooking until heated through and the cheese has completely melted.

Serve with chips or veggies for dipping.



Fluffy Guacamole

I was asked to bring something to a barbecue that I was attending on Saturday. I was having a very lazy day, and didn't get into the shower until 3, and the barbecue started at 4. With no time to go to the store, I had to make do with what I had on hand. I had just received my new Healthy Cooking from Taste of Home Magazine, and found the perfect snack to bring. I used to hate anything that had to do with avocados up until about 2 years ago, it was so weird, one day I just felt that I need some guacamole, and I became hooked! My dad makes the best guacamole in the world, and while he has shown me how to do it, his always seems to taste better. I thought that this recipe sounded tasty for a barbecue and I was right, one of my friends couldn't stop eating it and asked me if I had put crack in it!! No, no crack....just some yummy goodness that will definitely make my regular rotation! (Sorry for the bad picture, we had polished off half of it before I remembered to take a picture!)

Fluffy Guacamole
Adapted from Healthy Cooking by Taste of Home (June/July 09)

2 medium ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
1 (8 oz.) pkg. light cream cheese
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies
1/2 medium onion
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/4 tsp. salt
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Place onion and garlic in the food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the tomatoes, and process until blended. Stir in the tomatoes by hand. Serve with chips.