Author: Anna

Caliente Chili Dip

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I made salsa one day and it was a bit spicy.  So, thinking that I could speak a little Spanish to my Hispanic friend, I told her that the salsa was muy caliente. 
 
“Is it hot or spicy?” she asked. 
 
“Spi-cy.” I said, slowly. 
 
 “Then it is muy picosa,” she said. 
 
 Ahhh….there is a difference.  So that is why the name of my recipe is Caliente Chili Dip–because it is a heated dip; no picosa.  Decades ago I attended a women’s conference and this item was one of the many finger foods served to us that day.  Everyone loves it and it was requested for our recent Super Bowl Bash–well, if you call me, my husband, my daughter, and my two grandsons who are 4 and almost 2 a BASH.  Yeah.  But it was still fun.
 
Ingredients:
1 15-oz. can Chili with Beans
1 15-oz. can Chili, No Beans
8 oz. cream cheese
1 small can diced green chilies
1.  Put all the ingredients in a non-stick skillet or pan.  Cook over medium to medium-high heat until the cream cheese is completely melted.  Stir to mix well.
2.  Serve with Fritos Scoops, to get more dip in your chip.
TIPS:  For a healthier version, use Turkey Chili and neufchatel cheese (low fat cream cheese).  When serving, I like to use a chafing dish, so that the dip stays hot (caliente).

Each One of Us

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I just read the most beautiful experience shared by a fellow Power of Moms board member via Segullah.  Catherine is an amazing writer and this is no exception.  I could never do justice to describing how amazing the  Sacrament ordinance is.  Please take a moment to read her words from an experience she and her family had while attending another congregation’s Sacrament Meeting.  Here is the link  The Last Sacrament Cup.
 
I am waiting until you read it…..
 
 
Now, how deeply did this just touch you?
 

Image from LDS.org.

Savory Ham & Cheese Sliders

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Another Super Bowl indoor tail-gating favorite at our house are these tasty morsels.  I had something like this at a friend’s house for dinner once.  This recipe was the closest I could find via the all-knowing Pinterest.  The grandsons didn’t even take this one apart, like they did the Reuben Pigs in a Blanket.

Ingredients:
2 12-roll packages of sweet Hawaiian dinner rolls
1 1/2 lbs. smoked ham (not honey)
12 slices Swiss cheese
1 stick of butter–NOT margarine.  Seriously.
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon poppy seeds

1.  Slice rolls in half, horizontally.  Place the bottoms of the rolls in two 9 x 13 pans or a large jelly roll pan works really well.

2.  Place about 2 shaved slices of ham on each bottom.  Cut the cheese slices into 4 parts and place 2 pieces on each sandwich.  Place the tops on each sandwich.

3.  In a small saucepan, mix butter, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder and poppy seeds. Heat until butter is completely melted.  Stir to incorporate ingredients.

4.  Brush the melted mixture over the ham sandwiches.  Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.  These can also be baked right away.

5.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

Source:  Heather Pettit, via Pinterest.

Reuben Pigs in a Blanket

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I needed to make Super Bowl food like I needed another hole in the head.  This wreaks havoc on trying to lose weight, but man, this stuff is yummy.  I got this recipe from Our Best Bites and it was a favorite at my house.  My husband said I hit a home run with the pairings this year.  Well, it wasn’t in football terminology, but it was appreciated.  My grandsons even liked it–of course, they had to pull the pig out of the blanket.  Purists…
 
Do you see that square-ish little part of a sandwich in the bottom right corner?  Yeah, that one.  Future post.  Stay tuned!

Ingredients:
8 all-beef hot dogs (Oscar Mayer has some great choices here)
2 cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup sauerkraut, well-drained (about a 15-oz. can–I used the Bavarian style with the caraway seeds)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
 
2.  Cut the hot dogs in half, cross-wise. 
3.  Divide the crescent rolls at the perforations.
4.  On the wide end (opposite of the pointy end) of the crescent roll dough, place 1 tablespoon drained sauerkraut, 1 tablespoon of the Swiss cheese, and a hot dog half.  Roll it up, being careful to tuck in the edges to hold things in.  Place on lined baking sheet; repeat with the rest of the dough.
5.  Brush the beaten egg over the tops of each “pig” and bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
6.  Makes 16 wrapped up piggies.
7.  I served these with Thousand Island Dressing and Spicy Brown mustard for dipping. OBB also suggests Creole mustard.

Source:  www.ourbestbites.com

Here’s the Scoop!

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Decades ago I attended a Tupperware Party.  You know, I kind of miss the cool little giveaway items they would have for their party games.  One time I got this long, skinny, cute little spoon thingy.  It was great for getting the last little bit of something out of food jars.  I lost that.  I miss that.  And then, one day I was in Walmart–any given day of the week, actually–and found these lovely smoothie straws and KA-CHING, I no longer missed my Tupperware tool.  I bought a pack of  3.  Thank goodness.  Because yesterday, while making one of several Super Bowl munchies, I had to use up the last of the mayonnaise and I just did not relish the idea of sticking my fist down in that jar to “bring out the rest” (did you get that play on a Hellman’s commercial?).  It’s a universal frustration. So I just wanted to share this great find with you because, well,  sharing is caring.

He Is the Christ

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I am late posting for today, but wanted to get something up here that just really spoke to me today in one of our lessons. It was a quote from Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith, former president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He had such a sweet and powerful testimony of our Savior. You can read more about it HERE, but this he shared to the world about how we, as Mormons, feel about our Savior:
 
“May I say, as plainly and as forcefully as I can, that we believe in Christ. We accept him without reservation as the Son of God and the Savior of the world.”

Amen, Pres. Smith.  Amen.

Image from LDS.org.

Gratitude In Action

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I saw this quote somewhere and made this simple “sign.”  I think that it says so much, and in this day of entitlement and “gimme, gimme”  I thought it would be a good reminder of what we all should be doing to show gratitude to our Heavenly Father for what He continues to bless us with.  Sometimes we forget how blessed we already are just to be here on this beautiful earth and that we need to serve others every chance we get.  And we need to take care of our own stewardships and stop trying to get others to do it all for us.

Chef Todd’s White Chili

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My post is a tad late today, but it will be worth the wait.  I promise!  I saw this recipe being demonstrated on the website for Thrive.  Check it out if you are interested in a good food storage product.  Anyway, this recipe looked really yummy and it uses quite a few items from my food storage pantry.  I hope you enjoy the end results as much as I just did.  That’s right.  I dared to post a recipe that I only just made this morning!  Livin’ on the edge!

Ingredients (I am noting the brand name if I actually used THRIVE products):
1 cup small white Navy beans, uncooked
4 T. butter
5 T. white flour
1 T. butter
1 T. garlic
1 cup THRIVE Green Chili Peppers
1/2 cup THRIVE Red Bell Peppers
1/2 cup THRIVE Sweet Corn
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup THRIVE Celery
1 cup THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices
3 cups water
1 T. THRIVE Chicken Bouillon
2 cups THRIVE Instant Milk, reconstituted
2 cups heavy cream
1 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1 t. season salt
1 T. Cholula Hot Sauce
1 T. fresh lime juice
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Here is what the freeze-dried foods look like before…


1.  Place the beans in a small saucepan with 4 cups of water and 1 tablespoon salt and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until just tender.  In a a small glass bowl, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in the microwave.  Add the flour and mix well.  Reserve this roux mixture for later.

2.  In a 3-quart sauce or stock pot, melt the 1 tablespoon butter and add the garlic.  Sweat for a few minutes on low heat.  Add all the vegetables and the chicken to the pot; stir a few times and add the water and bouillon.  Bring to a simmer and add the milk and the cream.  Add all seasonings except cilantro and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the roux to thicken the soup and cook at low simmer for another 5 minutes.  Drain the beans and add them to the soup.  Add the cilantro and stir well before serving. (You don’t see the cilantro in the picture because girlfriend thought she had some in the freezer and did not.  I will get some on the way home from work and have with my chili later.)

Source:  Chef Todd, ThriveLife.com.

Creamy Cauliflower Sauce

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A Pinterest find, of course.  And a healthier version of any creamy white sauce you can imagine!  Add a little Parmesan cheese and you will swear you are eating Alfredo sauce.  Check out my source  and you will see that she has created a whole ebook of recipes for this little gem.  Stay tuned here for a yummy tortellini recipe that I used this sauce in last week.  The picture is the teaser!

Ingredients:

8 large cloves garlic, minced
2 T. butter
5-6 cups cauliflower florets (one good-sized head)
6-7 cups vegetable broth or water (I used chicken broth because that is what I had on hand)
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 cup milk

1.  Saute the minced garlic with the butter in a large nonstick skillet over low heat.  Cook for several minutes or until the garlic is soft and fragrant, but not browned (tip from Source is that browned or burnt would taste bitter).  Remove from heat and set aside.

2.  Bring the water or broth to a boil in a large pot.  Add the cauliflower and cook, covered, for 7-10 minutes or until fork tender.  DO NOT DRAIN.

3.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer cauliflower pieces to a blender.  Add 1 cup broth or cooking liquid, sauted garlic, salt, pepper, and milk.  Blend or puree for several minutes until the sauce is very smooth, adding more broth or milk to desired thickness.

4.  Serve hot.  If the sauce starts to look dry, add a few drops of water, milk or olive oil.

5.  I added some Parmesan cheese and cooked until incorporated.  Yummy.

Source: Pinch of Yum.