Spinach Artichoke Dip

One of my favorite appetizers to order when dinning out is Spinach and Artichoke Dip. This recipe comes from my mom's kitchen and is always a crowd pleaser...

You will need:

• 8 oz. pkg softened cream cheese
• 1/3 cup finely shredded romano cheese
• 1/3 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 tbsp mayo or miracle whip
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp minced garlic (use more to taste)
• 10 oz pkg chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
• 12 to 14 oz can of artichoke hearts (drained and chopped small)
• Your favorite bread or chips (I used whole wheat bread that I find next to the fresh bread in the local store)

I put everything (except the bread or chips!) in a crock pot on low for at least two hours and stir a few times. This is fantastic!!

Wing Recipes

A friend from Texas once told me that the best wings you'll ever eat are the ones that come off your own grill.  How true John was!  It is in that spirit that we are capping off Tailgate Week with a couple recipes for wing sauce.

I used to frequent a great restaurant, Buffalo Wild Wings.  Being that eating out doesn't tend to frequently make its way into our budget, nor do we like to eat too much fried food, we don't go very often anymore..  That doesn't mean, however, that we don't try to recreate some of our favorite stuff in our own kitchen.  Below are the "as-close-as-we've-gotten-so-far" recipes to a couple of our favorite wing sauces.  They are most appropriate for a party in your home although some quick thinking could easily bring them to the parking lot tailgate event.

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MANGO HABENERO SAUCE - My husband's favorite.  A little too spicy for my liking!

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 habenero pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 cups mango, peel removed and diced
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

• Heat the oil over medium to medium-high heat
• When the oil is hot, add the onions and diced peppers and sauté 3-4 minutes until onions are translucent
• Add the garlic and continue to sauté another 30 seconds
• To the vegetables add the lime juice and vinegar and bring to boil.  Then reduce heat to a simmer
• Once the mix is simmering, add the rest of the ingredients
• Continue to simmer, cooking the sauce until the mangoes are very soft, about 5 minutes
• Remove from heat and let cool 5-10 minutes
• Once cool enough, put the sauce in a blender and puree

When asked (on a scale of 1-10) how similar this sauce was to the original at B-dubs, my husband responded that it was very close...an 8 or 9.  

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SPICY GARLIC SAUCE - My personal favorite!

Ingredients

• 1 cup favorite pepper sauce (I prefer Frank's)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp water
• 2 tsp cornstarch

Directions

• Combine all ingredients except egg yolk, water, and cornstarch in a sauce pan and heat over medium heat until boiling
• Reduce to simmer for 5 minutes
• Remove pan from heat and let cool for 10 minutes
• While sauce cools, vigorously beat yolk and water with whisk for 2 minutes until pale yellow
• Whisk in cornstarch until dissolved
• Slowly drizzle sauce into egg mixture while continuing to whisk

When asked how close this recipe was to its original counterpart, I had two words: SPOT ON!

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For both of these recipes, grill your wings and/or drummies and toss with sauce by putting everything in sealed container and giving it a good ol' fashioned shake.

Finger-lickin' good!

Ranch Veggie dip

Ranch Veggie Dip:

A great dip that is healthy and that taste good is a hard find. However you have come to the right location to find one.

It's simple, put a large container of Cottage Cheese in a blender and blend till smooth. (Please note you will need to take your rubber scrapper to mix a few times so you don't leave any large clumps.

Once smooth and put into a bowl. Add one package of ranch dressing mix (pounder). Stir and enjoy!

This is great for a veggie tray, or chips.

I happened to have about half a a pack of Good Seasons Italian dressing mix with me so I thought I would mix it up and add it and cut back on the Ranch for a bit of an extra kick! I just kinda tasted till I liked. (It can get salty quickly so start with half a pack of ranch and add small amounts till it is yummy in the tummy!)

(The picture makes it look like it has clumps in it was smooth, it's all in the blending!)

Chile con Queso

No party is complete without a good dip!  There are a million and one good dips out there.  After trying this recipe, you'll only have a million to go :)

Ingredients

• Half a large white onion or a small one, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 roma tomato or half a large tomato
• 1/2 cup chopped spicy pepper of your choice (I used green chiles, of course)
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 lb American cheese, cubed

Directions

• Saute the onions and garlic in the butter until soft
• Add the tomato, peppers, oregano and salt and cook over low heat until heated through

• Stir in cheese and cook until it melts

Variation 1: For a heartier dip, add 1/2 lb of browned ground beef to the dip

Variation 2: For a slightly healthier dip, substitute room temperature nonfat cream cheese for half the American cheese

Serve with chips, over fries, or however else think may taste great!

Inside-Out Bacon Cheeseburger

When tailgating you can never go wrong with a good old fashion hamburger. The bacon, cheese, all the fixing can be a lot to pack up. Why not mix everything together! This is a fantastic recipe that you can make up ahead of time and grill when ready!

Ingredients

- 5 slices bacon, chopped

- 4 scallions, cleaned and trimmed

- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

- 1 1/3 pounds ground beef sirloin

- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

- 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend or coarse salt and black pepper

- 1/2 pound extra sharp white cheddar cheese crumbled - I could not find this and used yellow and it was fantastic!

- 1 cup mayonnaise or reduced fat mayonnaise

- 1 teaspoon ground cumin

- Salt and pepper (I did not use salt b/c so much of the steak seasoning has salt in it.)

- 4 crusty Kaiser rolls, split

- 4 leaves crisp romaine lettuce

Directions

Preheat grill

In a medium pan brown bacon over medium high heat and drain on paper towel lined plate. Brush scallions with a little oil and grill on low grill pan 2 or 3 minutes on each side. Remove from heat to cool.

Combine ground beef with Worcestershire and steak seasoning or salt and pepper. Divide meat into 4 equal parts. Combine cheese crumbles and cooked bacon. Take 1/4 of the meat in your hand and make a well in the center of it.

Pile in cheese and bacon, then carefully form the burger around the cheese and bacon filling. (This was not as hard as it sounds!) Make sure the fillings are completely covered with meat. When all 4 patties are formed, drizzle burgers with oil and

place on hot grill. I cooked on medium heat, since they are so thick it took a while to get them cooked all the way, the flatter you can get the hamburgers the better. Do not press down on burgers as they cook. Transfer burgers to a plate and let them rest 5 minutes before serving.

Chop cooled, grilled green onions and add to a food processor. Add mayonnaise and cumin to the food processor and pulse the onions and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper, to your taste.

Pile burgers on crusty buns and top with crisp lettuce leaves and a slather of green onion mayonnaise. As you bite into the burgers, you will find a smoky, cheesy surprise at the center.

Beer Boiled Brats

In eager anticipation of the kickoff of Week 1 of football season (pun definitely intended), Midwest to Southwest: Good Eats is declaring this week to be "Tailgate Week".  Look forward to one recipe each week day for something you might find at a tailgate party or a good ol' fashioned grill out in your home that coincides with the big game.

Without further ado, we submit for your approval, the first recipe for Tailgate Week:

Brats have got to be on the menu.  You cannot, however, just open the package and throw your brats down on the grill.  There are proper steps to prepare your brat for maximum flavor.  Below is a tried and true method:

Ingredients

• Brats of your choice.  Being a Wisconsin girl, I prefer Johnsonville
• 1 can light beer of preference.  
• 1/2 white or yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• Buns
• Condiments of choice

Directions

• Combine beer, onion and garlic in pot and bring to boil
• Add brats to beer.  Allow boil to resume and then simmer for 20 minutes
• Place brats on hot grill and grill until browned on all sides

You know you want one

• While brats are grilling, also lightly toast the buns

Following these directions will give you a strong base for your brat experience.  What will make the difference between a good brat and a great brat will be the condiments you choose.  This will, of course, be different for each individual.  Some suggestions include mustard, ketchup, pickle relish (dill, not sweet), sauerkraut, and sauted onions.

Vegetable Lasagna

There are times that I envy vegetarians, although they are few and far between.  One of those times, however, is when lasagna is served to a large amount of people.  There's often a meatless option.  Sometimes it's the normal red sauce lasagna just with no ground beef.  But when it is the white sauce version with veggies, I can't help myself.  I love it.  You, though you may be an unabashed meat-eater, just might too.

I know it's a lot of ingredients, but it's worth it.

Ingredients

• Lasagna noodles - use traditional ones if you like but I am ALL about the oven-ready ones.  So much less work!
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 head broccoli, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped lengthwise and then sliced
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 cups milk
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 package frozen spinach, thawed
• 8 oz low fat small curd cottage cheese
• 24 oz ricotta cheese
• 2 1/2 cups low fat mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• If using traditional noodles that require boiling, following directions in doing so 
• Heat oil in large skillet or wok.  When hot, add veggies and saute 10 minutes.  Set aside.

• In a sauce pan, whisk together flour and milk and stir very frequently while bringing to boil over medium heat
• Into milk mixture, stir the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Continue cooking 1 minute and remove from heat.
• Add thawed spinach to milk mixture and stir well

• Reserve 1/2 spinach mixture for later use
• In a small bowl, combine cottage and ricotta cheeses
• Spread 1/2 spinach mixture (separate from the reserve!) into the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish
• Layer noodles, cheese mixture, veggies, spinach mixture, and 2 cups shredded cheese, ending with noodles.
• On top of second layer of noodles, spread the reserved spinach mixture and the final 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes or until lightly browned on top and noodles are done (if using the oven-ready ones).  I used the oven-ready ones and it took about 45 minutes.  Remember to remove foil for last 5 minutes to let the cheese on top brown!
• Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

As you can see, there's a lot of prep involved.  The good news is that you can prepare it ahead of time, cover, and bake the next day.  Or, you can at least do the veggie chopping the day before which will save time the day you actually put it together.  Enjoy!