Texas Cavier

 I had this appetizer at my friend's house also - and I wanted to stay and eat it all.  I had to step 10 feet away so I wouldn't continue to eat it all gone!  Haha

INGREDIENTS:

1 can black beans, drained

1 can black eyed peas, drained

1 can shoe peg corn, drained

4 oz jar pimentos

6 oz jar jalapenos or banana peppers

1 cup celery, chopped

1 med onion, chopped

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

1 cup oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Drain all canned foods and mix.  Add pimentos and jalapenos (or banana peppers).  Mix in celery and onion.
2. Heat in sauce pan - apple cider vinegar, sugar and oil.  Heat until sugar dissolves.
3. Pour over bean mix and toss to coast.
4. Marinate over night in refrigerator.
5. Drain before serving.
6. Dip with scoops or tortillas

Festive Dip

I tried this at my friend's house - it was addicting!!! I had to have the recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

1 red pepper, diced
1 banana pepper, diced or 2 jalapenos chopped

1 can corn

1/2 can olives, drained and diced

2 - 8 oz cream cheese

1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix

DIRECTIONS:

Fold into softened 16 oz cream cheese.  Mix in 1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix.  Chill.  Serve with crackers

Easy Microwave Caramel

 This is super simple and turns out amazing!!

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup unsalted butter
1- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.    In a large bowl melt the butter.  Add other ingredients, stir.  

2.    Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave for 8 minutes.

3.    Stir and then cook for another 6 minutes in microwave WITHOUT the plastic wrap on this time.

4.    Whisk in vanilla extract and stir until not boiling anymore. 

5.    Pour into 9x 13 pan that is sprayed.  Let cool and cut and wrap.

We make these at Christmas time and cut and wrap in wax paper to give as neighbor gifts (sometimes).

Leftover Thanksgiving Dinner Casserole Recipe

 

This is from Six Sister's Stuff.  I tweaked the recipe to make it as SIMPLE as possible - I didn't want to make stuffing just for this if I didn't have leftovers.

Ingredients

• 2 boxes Stove Top stuffing prepared (if don't have leftovers)
• 4 cups turkey cooked and diced
• 2 10.75 ounce cream of chicken soup
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 4 cups mashed potatoes prepared (I used Instant Potatoes)
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

• Put stuffing in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, spread around in the pan.
• In another large bowl, combine the turkey, soup, garlic powder and 1/4 cup sour cream; spoon over stuffing mixture. Spread mashed potatoes over turkey mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake uncovered at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

One Pan Chicken Burrito Bowl

 

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces

• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup yellow onion diced
• 1 cup extra-long grain rice uncooked
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes drained
• 1 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup colby jack cheese monterey jack or cheddar cheese
• kosher salt and pepper
• freshly diced tomatoes
• diced green onions
• sour cream
• guacamole

Instructions

1. Start by sautéing onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until they start to soften.

2. Season diced chicken with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
3. Add chicken to pan and cook over medium high heat until chicken has started to brown.

4. Move chicken to one side of pan. On the other side of the pan, add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and sauté uncooked rice for about 2 minutes, or just until some grains start to turn golden brown.

5. Stir in drained black beans, drained canned tomatoes, chicken broth, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, smoked paprika and cumin.

6. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low.

7. Cook about 20 minutes, or until rice is tender.

8. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed.

9. Sprinkle with cheese, recover and let set for 2-3 minutes off heat to melt cheese.

10. Garnish with fresh tomatoes, green onions, sour cream and guacamole.

One Pan Mushroom Asiago Chicken

 I found this on www.bakeatmidnite.com...looks delicious.  I haven't tried it but its on my list to try!

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast about 2 large
• 2 cups mushrooms cut in half
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 1/2 cup seasoned flour
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup shredded asiago cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste

Seasoned Flour:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

• Pound chicken breast with a meat mallet between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap until meat is uniform thickness; about 1/4-inch. Cut into serving-sized pieces (2 or 3 pieces per breast)
• Heat the butter with *1* tbs of olive oil in deep, heavy skillet or saute pan over medium heat.
• Dredge chicken in seasoned flour. Add to hot oil/butter in skillet. Saute until golden on each side, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from pan.
• Add remaining olive oil to hot skillet. Saute mushrooms and garlic until mushrooms begin to brown.
• Add white wine to skillet, scraping up all the browned bits that are at the bottom of the pan (this is called “deglazing”). Bruise the fresh thyme by twisting it between your fingers or hitting it with the dull side of a knife in a few places. Add thyme to mushroom/wine mixture in pan.
• Add the chicken back to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
• Remove chicken from pan. Add the cream and heat through. Add the asiago cheese (if you like it strongly flavored, use 1/2 cup; not as strongly flavored, use the 1/4 cup–asiago is a powerful cheese and you can even use less for just a whisper of flavor. I like it strong so I used 1/2 cup).
• Cook, stirring constantly over low heat until cheese melts. Continue cooking until sauce is reduced by about 1/2. If you wish to skip the reduction step, you may thicken the sauce slightly with about 1 tbs instant flour or 1 tbs cornstarch mixed with 2 tbs water…however, the reduction will taste better.
• Add chicken back to pan and heat through.
• Garnish with sprigs of fresh thyme. May be served over any pasta.

Crockpot Tortellini and Sausage Soup

Ingredients

• 1 lb Italian sausage (browned & drained)
• 2 (15oz) cans Italian diced tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth (32oz container)
• 8 ounces cream cheese (cubed)
• 1 (20oz) bag of frozen cheese tortellini
• 3-4 cups fresh spinach

Instructions

1. Add the browned, chopped and drained sausage, broth, both cans of diced tomatoes and cubed cream cheese to your slow cooker. Give it a good stir and cook on LOW for about 4 hours or until the cream cheese has completely disolved.

2. Stir in the spinach and frozen tortellini and cook for an additional 30 minutes or until the pasta is done to your liking.

3. Serve immediately and store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Recipe Notes

• The tortellini will continue to cook if it's left in the crockpot to warm, so it's best served right away with any remaining stored in the fridge for later.
• You can also use the refrigerated tortellini, just keep in mind that it may cook a little bit faster.
• Feel free to add anything else to the soup that you'd like. You can add a little minced garlic to the sausage while it's browning if you have it on hand. You can also add cayenne or red pepper if you like it spicy.

Pesto Chicken Sandwich

 

Ingredients

Pesto Aioli

• ½ cup mayonnaise with olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons prepared pesto
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• salt and pepper, to taste

Sandwiches

• 8 slices ciabatta bread (or any other kind of bread)
• carved rotisserie chicken or turkey
• ½ cup sun dried tomatoes
• 4 slices mozzarella cheese

Instructions

• In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, pesto, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.
• On a foil-lined baking sheet, place the 8 slices of bread.
• Spread an even amount of pesto aioli on each slice. Top 4 of the slices of bread with chicken and sun dried tomatoes, and the other 4 slices with mozzarella cheese.
• Broil for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted and the chicken is warm.
• Assemble sandwiches by placing one slice of bread with cheese one top of a slice of bread with chicken and serve warm.

Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich

 This is one I need to try from Six Sisters Stuff!

Ingredients

• 8 Italian bread slices (or bread of choice)
• 28 pepperoni slices
• ½ cup marinara sauce
• 8 slices Fresh Mozzarella cheese
• 2 tomatoes sliced
• ½ cup fresh shredded parmesan
• 3 Tablespoons garlic butter (or plain butter works as well)

Instructions

• Lay out 2 slices of bread.
• Place 7 pepperonis on one slice of bread.
• Top pepperoni with 2 Tablespoons marinara sauce.
• Lay 2 fresh mozzarella slices over sauce, then place 2 tomato slices on mozzarella.
• Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese over everything, then top with other slice of bread.
• Spread garlic butter (or if you don't have garlic butter, regular unsalted butter will work great) on one side of the sandwich and place that side down on the preheated griddle.
• Then butter the slice on top so it will brown when you flip it over.
• Grill until golden brown on both sides and the cheese is melted (about 2-4 minutes per side).
• Repeat all the steps for the other 3 sandwiches.
• Serve with a side of marinara sauce for dipping.