Non traditional Thanksgiving

We did have a traditional Thanksgiving with my side of the family and I did not cook anything. My wonderful soul cooking Aunt Faye did and it was amazing!! On Friday night we got together with Casey's side of the family to watch the Arkansas vs. LSU game, family tradition. So since we had all eaten traditional food we decided to go casual and go more with tailgate kind of food. I made a pot of soup, chili cheese dip, chocolate cobbler and pumpkin dump cake. See, non-traditional. I wanted to share the recipes for the chili cheese dip and the pumpkin dump cake. I have previously shared the Bacon, Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup before, but I will post it on the bottom of this post as well.  Both of these recipes were Pinterest inspired!!

Chili Cheese Queso Dip

Here's what you'll need....
1 can of Hormel chili- No beans
16-ounce box Velveeta Cheese 
1 C. milk 
2 teaspoons paprika 
½ tsp. ground cayenne pepper 
4 tsp. chili powder 
1 tablespoon lime juice 
½ tsp. ground cumin

It's so simple. You can just dump it all in a crockpot and cook for about 4-6 hours OR if you are in a rush like me, just dump it all in large pot and melt on the stove top. It was a quick and easy hit.

                          For Dessert....Pumpkin Dump Cake

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz can Pumpkin Puree
• 1 10 oz can Evaporated Milk
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter melted
• 1 cup coarsely crushed graham crackers or pecans
• 1/2 cup toffee bits (optional)

How to Make

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray a 9×13 baking pan lightly with cooking/baking spray
3. In a large bowl combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs and pumpkin pie spice. Stir to combine.
4. Pour into your prepared pan.
5. Sprinkle your entire box of cake mix on top, followed by your nuts or graham crackers and toffee chips.
6. Pour your melted butter evenly on top.
7. Bake for 45-50 minutes until center is set and edges are lightly browned.

For an extra richness eat it with vanilla ice cream!! :)))

Bacon, mushroom and wild rice soup: This recipe is from my friend Lori :)

1 lb. bacon fried and crumbled

1 lg. onion sautéed in bacon drippings (optional)

2 c. wild rice, cooked

2 cans cream of potato soup

2 cans (lg.) mushrooms & juice

8 oz. american deli slices

1 pt. ½ & ½

1 pt. water

Mix all ingredients except cheese; heat thoroughly & slowly. Add cheese last.

Big Jim's Shrimp

Not the shrimp I made, but VERY similar. I hope to update soon with a picture that I took.

OH MY GOODNESS!!! This stuff is AMAZING! A hit anywhere I take them. I call them "Big Jim's" because I got the recipe from Big Jim!! About 5 years ago my sister-in-law, Tisha, and I went on a golf trip with Tisha's cousin, Ken. Ken had a house in Destin and every year he would take a beach trip with about 8-9 guys for a long weekend. They would play golf all day. After playing gold all day they did not want to go out to a restaurant to eat, that is where Tisha and I came in. He asked us to come along for a free beach trip, the only catch was make them dinner every night, DONE! It was So much fun! Big Jim was a friend of Ken's that came along. This was his "thing", making amazing shrimp. So of course it was requested every time for Jim to bring these shrimp. When I asked him what they were called, he didn't have a name, so we named them for him. The are de-lish. I did see a recipe not long a go, kind of similar to this and they called them pickled shrimp. I like Big Jim better :) You will not be disappointed. 

Large pot ¾ full of water

2lbs shrimp (with shells or all ready peeled and de-veined)

½ cup of salt

5 tbsp of shrimp/crab boil (Zataran's liquid is best)

Bring water a hard boil

Add shrimp cook for 5-7 minutes or until done (they will start to float to the top)

Drain, let cool, peel, de-vein, set aside

1 large red onion thinly sliced

8 bay leaves

1 cup veg. oil

1 cup white vinegar

2 tbsp capers un-drained

1 2/3 tsp celery seeds

1 tsp salt

1 1/3 tsp hot sauce

Place the shrimp in a 9x13 flat dish. Top with onion slices and bay leaves. Stir together oil and the next 5 ingredients. Pour over the shrimp. Cover and chill 4-8 hours. Stir occasionally. Remove bay leaves before serving.

If you don’t cook the shrimp in shrimp/crab boil they won’t be as flavorful.

Caramel Dip

It has been a while since I have posted, but we are coming up on fall and I wanted to pass this so good, so simple caramel dip recipe along. I think it is great with granny smith apples and vanilla ice cream, or just licking off a spoon!! No, really it is so good. I am sure you could think of lots of things to put it on :)

CARAMEL DIP/SAUCE:

1/2 cup butter 
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup Karo® Light Corn Syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon Spice Islands® 100% Pure Bourbon Vanilla Extract

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in sugar, corn syrup and water.
2. Bring to a full boil over medium-high heat. Add condensed milk, 
stirring constantly. Bring to a full boil for 3 minutes.

 3. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 
slow cooker or fondue pot.

**Recipe tip: Prepare ahead and reheat in microwave. If sauce seems too 
thick, stir in 1 tablespoon water or milk.

No Bake Banana Pudding

So my husband prefers the one you cook on the stove. I seem to mess that one up! :) I got this recipe from Mr. Tom at church about 7 years ago. I do not even like bananas but I love wafers and pudding, so I can pick around the banana chunks. If I ever make this for an occasion, it is always gone. Quick and Easy! Just how I do things.
4-6 Bananas, sliced (drizzle with lemon juice so they will not brown)
3 cups milk
1 box Nilla Wafers or Chessman Cookies (someone recommend this-haven't tried yet, but I am sure it's de-lish)
2 small boxed of instant vanilla pudding
8 oz. cream cheese
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz) container of Cool Whip ( I use the extra creamy when I can find it! )

Take both packets of instant pudding and mix with the milk.
In a separate bowl mix together cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Do this separately so your cream cheese doesn't lump together. Then fold in the Cool Whip. Add cream cheese mixture to the pudding and mix until well blended.

Mmmm...the final product

Layer your pan with wafers,bananas, and cream cheese pudding mixture. Add remaining wafers on top! I also like to crush them for the top layer.
Mmmmm... you will want to lick the bowl clean.
Enjoy!!!

1st layer the wafers

Layer the bananas over the wafers

Fruit Dip!! Mmmmm...

I love summer fruit. I had never been a fan of fruit dip until I had some of Mrs. Cindy's fruit dip. Mmm... it is SO good and so simple of course too!! So I had to share :) There are a lot of different fruit dips out there, but this is my favorite. I LOVE it with grapes the best, but I am also a weirdo who doesn't like strawberries, but I have not had a disappointed friend who eats it.
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 container of Cool Whip

Mix all together and serve!

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Squares

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large mashed banana
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Mix together the quick cooking oats, light brown sugar, baking powder, kosher salt and ground cinnamon.

Add in the vanilla extract, milk and egg. Mix the ingredients together.

Then add in the mashed banana and peanut butter. Combine all of the ingredients.

Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 8 by 8 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. You may want to use a 9x13 pan for thinner bars. I actually prefer them that way.

Cut into squares and enjoy! Great for breakfast!

THE BEST CHOCOLATE SHEET CAKE. EVER.

Mmmm....yummy! Cole gave his approval!

This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman. I found it from creative Nancy though (her link is below) and had to try it. Ok, so I know my title is "Its really easy I promise" and if you are totally new to cooking this may sound a little hard, but I promise it is not. If you just follow the recipe, which does not ask anything hard or crazy you will not be disappointed. It is not box and can frosting, but it is not much harder and SOOO good. Seriously, did you see the picture? Ohh Ahhh

Hope you enjoy!!!

CAKE:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 heaping Tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup boiling water
• ½ cup buttermilk (Or use this tip to make a buttermilk substitute: Place 1/2 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Add enough regular milk to bring the liquid up to the 1/2 cup line. Let stand for 5 minutes, then use in the recipe.)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

FROSTING:

• 1 3/4 sticks butter
• 4 heaping Tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pound (minus 1/2 cup) powdered sugar (about 3 to 3 1/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts, optional (I did not use them).
  

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

Melt butter in a saucepan and add cocoa. Stir together. Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into 13 x 18″ sheet cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (if using a 10 x 15″ jelly roll pan, you may need to bake 22 to 23 minutes). NOTE: I greased my pan, but the Pioneer Woman’s recipe doesn’t say to do that, so I guess that’s optional.

While cake is baking, make the icing. If using nuts, chop them finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the nuts, stir together, and pour over warm cake. (NOTE: if you follow these directions, you’ll notice your frosting is still a little lumpy. To make her frosting really nice and smooth, Jane simply cooked the frosting several minutes longer over low heat, stirring until the mixture was smooth; she also omitted the nuts. You could also leave the nuts out of the frosting mixture and sprinkle them on top of the icing instead). If you made your cake in a 13 x 18″ pan, pour on all the frosting–you may need to spread it a little so it covers the entire cake; if your cake is in a 10 x 15″ pan, just pour enough frosting on to cover the surface of the cake without going over the edges of the pan. You’ll probably have about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of frosting left over.

which I just warmed and had on the side for whoever wanted extra icing. :)

You can let the frosting cool and set before cutting into squares if you want, or cut into squares while it’s still warm and dig in! The frosting will start setting in about a half hour, but it needs between 1 and 2 hours to set more firmly; at 2 hours, it should be nice and firm.

http://nancycreative.com/2011/03/02/the-best-texas-chocolate-sheet-cake/

Fish and Veggies Baked in Foil Packets

Not a very fun name, but that is what it was called on the recipe I had gotten. I am not even sure where I got it from? I printed it off and it didn't have any type of web address on it. Anyways, I was looking for some fish recipes. Casey and I have a food delivery system called Blue Ribbon that delivers organic food to our house. In return I have new foods that I have never cooked before. So I was looking for some fish ideas and ran across this one. It seemed easy enough. Fish is something new I am experimenting with these days. I think a lot of people are like that with fish, but so far I have had great success and it has been very easy. The recipe called for Tilapia, which I had, but I also had orange roughy so I used some of that too! Casey said he preferred the orange rough, but they were both really good.
Tilapia Fillets ( 1 per packet)
Mrs. Dash seasoning (or any seasoning you prefer)
Tomatoes, sliced
Green Onions, Chopped
Green Peppers, sliced
Basil, chopped
Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Aluminum Foil to wrap fish

I just cut off a few pieces of aluminum foil and shook some olive oil on it so the fish will not stick. Place a fillet in the middle of the foil. Shake your seasoning salt and basil on the fish. Next layer your veggies on top of the fish. Give each piece of fish a few shakes of lemon juice. Wrap the foil around the fish loosely to make a packet. Bake at 450 for 20 mins

Tada!! It was very good and definitely something I will try again. I may even add some more or different veggies to it like squash, zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli, etc...

I served it with Wild Rice (Uncle Ben's quick cooking-5 min rice) and Green Beans.
I forgot to take a picture, but I will next time and add it to the blog. I know for me I want to see it! Very visual :) I want to see the yummy-ness.

White Chicken Chili

This is a goody that I ran across. It is starting to get cold here in TN and this sounds like the perfect thing to make for dinner this week. I am not sure if I have altered the recipe or not, but the first time I had this was at Bunko with my good friend, Bethany. Hope you enjoy it as well.
However, if you want to make this dish as easy and as fast as possible, I find that rotisserie chicken is extra juicy and is the perfect texture for this recipe. Plus, it pulls apart into great shreds for this delicious white chicken chili recipe.

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cups cooked chicken (I usually use an oven-baked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to save on time), shredded
• 2 cans Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can (4 ounces) green chilies (optional-sometimes I leave these out)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 box (32 ounces) chicken broth
•  salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• 1 lime, juice

Directions:

1. In a large pot, saute the onion and cook until it starts to become translucent.
2. Once the onion is done, add shreds of chicken, Great Northern Beans, corn, green chilies (with juice from can), cumin and oregano to the large pot. Stir to combine all of the ingredients and then add the chicken broth.
3. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes to allow the broth to reduce. Add salt and pepper (to taste) and juice from one whole lime. 
4. Leave simmering on stove until ready to serve.
5. Serve with sour cream, shredded Jack cheese, or tortilla chips.

Slutty Brownies or Knock your socks off Brownie bars

With that title I know I have your attention now and then after the picture...

 ... I know you are ready to find out how to make this delicious-ness :) If you have looked through my recipe and or seen my blog you know that I am a fan of Oreo's. They are just SO good. I had this idea to wrap chocolate chip cookie dough around an Oreo and cook. I have to admit it was pretty good. Definitely the best when it was warm. Then I saw a recipe for Oreo brownies. Yes, you saw that right...Oreo brownies. You take a 9x9 baking dish and put Oreos all on the bottom of the pan covering the pan, then pour your brownie mixture over it and bake. Well, now I ran across a combination of all 3!!!

What you need:

• Your favorite box of brownies (make according to package)
• A package of Oreo cookies
• Your favorite choc. chip cookie dough

Assembly:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan with tin foil and then spray the tin foil with a layer of baking spray.
3. Press the cookie dough on the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan, pressing down to form the bottom of the slutty brownies. 
4. Layer as many oreos that will fit on top of the cookie dough. No need to overlap. One single layer will do.
5. Pour the brownie batter on top of the oreo layer and make sure it's evenly layers on top.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Test with a knife to see if the center is done. If the knife comes out clean, let the brownies rest before serving. If the knife comes out with batter still on it, allow the brownies to bake about 5 more minutes.

Are you serious? I do not think your taste buds are even ready for this-WOW!! If you think you need something to help with the richness you may need to add a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream with it. Enjoy and prepare to be a big hit anywhere you share this recipe.


On a side note...I saw on pinterest where someone posted a very similar recipe. They made everything homeade. That is a way to go to I guess :) but really I wanted to share their name in case you needed to share this where "slutty brownies" may not be appropriate :) hahahaha....She called them "Chocolate Chip Cookie n’ Oreo Knock your socks off Brownie bars." I was thinking maybe just call them "Knock your socks off brownie bars". Depending on your mood you can call them whatever!! Just enjoy!


http://betchacanteatjustone.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/chocolate-chip-cookie-n-oreo-knock-your-socks-off-brownie-bars/#comment-706

Poor Mans Toffee-Saltines never tasted this good

I have actually heard this called many things, but I got this recipe from my mother-in-law and her recipe called it this.
Poor Mans Toffee 
1 cup unsalted butter (must use butter!)
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
40 saltine crackers

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Lay a flat layer of crackers out on the foil. Melt the sugar and butter until a boil is reached. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved. Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread to coat evenly. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the toffee becomes bubbly. After removing the pan from the oven, let it sit for 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle on the chocolate chips, let them soften and melt, and then spread them into an even layer. Let cool and refrigerate until hardened. Break into pieces the size of your choice.

Chicken Tortilla

I have had this lots of places, but my recipe is from my sister-in-law, Tisha. I think I got it about 3 years ago after a new years day get together.
1 pound chicken (I always use rotisserie chicken pulled apart)
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can of cream corn
2 cans of rotel
2 cups of chicken broth
2 cans of black beans, drained well
1 jalapeno (optional)
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tbl cilantro
Salt to taste
3 tbl butter
1 cup of Jack Cheese
2 cups of half and half

This is a big ole dump. Dump everything in to a large pot but the last two ingredients (cheese and half and half). Let everything cook and simmer for about 25-30 mins. Add cheese and half and half 5-10 mins before serving.
Garnish with tortilla chips and sour cream if you want.

Potato Cheese Soup

Now this one is a little tricky but maybe you can get the idea. I really do not measure with this one. I start with about half a cup of diced onions (I have also used dried onion flakes-about 1 tbl when I didn't have an onion-omit butter if you use them) and a tbl spoon of butter. Saute. Then I add a can of cream of chicken soup, 2 cups of half and half ( I use all milk if I do not have this), and about a cup to cup and a half of Velveeta cheese torn into pieces (depends on how cheesy you like it. I let that all cook together and melt. Depending on consistency sometimes I add a cup or two of milk to thin it out, then a bag of Oreida  frozen potatos (Southern Style Hash Browns) to the soup mixture. Turn on low and let cook for about 20 mins. Ta-dah!! So easy and so yummy!

Chicken Penne

 I made this one up after eating the soup at J Alexanders. It was one of those dinners where we were like this is really good, what do you think is in it? and this is what we came up with...

3 tbl butter

4 oz of mushrooms, diced very little

1 cup of celery

1 cup of shredded carrots

1 medium onion, diced

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

6 cups of chicken broth

1 1/2 cups of half and half

2 tbl parsley

1 chicken shredded ( I buy pre-cooked rotisserie)

1 cup of whipping cream

2 tbl Herbs de Provence

1 tbl lemon juice (optional)

Saute in butter, mushrooms, onion, carrots and celery. After softened mix in chicken broth and parsley. Bring to a simmer. Then add in all ingredients except the creams. Add the creams last and before serving. Make sure soup is heated through.