Crock Pot Queso Dip

I made this incredibly yummy and gluttonous Queso Dip for a Cinco de Mayo dinner we hosted. My husband loves Queso and could have eaten the entire batch. Thank God we had our friends to share this with because it is not healthy! It was so easy to make because all you do is throw everything in the crock pot and in an hour or so it's ready to be gobbled up. 

Crock Pot Queso Dip
From A Gilt Nutmeg
Printable Version
Ingredients 
1 tub of hot sausage 
2 lbs Velveeta, roughly cubed
1 package (8 ounces) of cream cheese
1 can of Rotel or other brand of diced tomatoes and green chiles 
Tortilla chip for serving

Directions 
Fry up the sausage and crumble it, making the pieces as small as possible. Place on paper towels on a plate to absorb some of the drippings. In the pot of your crock pot place the sausage, cubed Velveeta, cream cheese and can of Rotel. Turn the crock pot on high and in about half an hour stir to combine ingredients. Stir again in another half hour and everything should be melted together. Turn crock pot to warm setting until ready to serve. 

Cream Cheese Brownie Batter Dip

This decadent dip is another Pinterest find. I made it for my play group and served it with fresh strawberries, graham crackers, sliced bananas and Ritz crackers. It was a big hit - kids love dipping things don't they? The original name for it was Brownie Batter Dip but I changed it because of the very strong cream cheese flavor. 

Cream Cheese Brownie Batter Dip
From Something Swanky
Printable Version
Ingredients - I doubled this because I was feeding a large crowd
8 oz block of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar (varies by desired consistency)
5 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
5 tablespoons brown sugar
3+ tablespoons milk (varies by desired consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
In a stand mixer whisk together the cream cheese and butter. Add the brown sugar. Add the 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time and 2 tablespoons of milk. Add the flour, cocoa powder, vanilla and 1 more tablespoon of milk if needed. Whisk all until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar and milk alternately if needed until dip reaches your desired consistency.  Serve with fresh fruit, crackers or eat with a spoon! 

Virtual Baby Shower

This might be my most favorite post ever! A month or so ago I asked my favorite  bloggers and food blogging friends if they wanted to participate in a virtual baby shower for me. Since Baby's due date is less than a month away and all I am doing now is waiting for baby to arrive, this is the perfect time for the "shower"! I asked the ladies to contribute their favorite shower/brunch recipe since breakfast foods are my favorite (case in point: tonight's dinner was an English muffin and eggs over easy). 


I hope you will take the time to visit the sites of all of the awesome bloggers that participated in my shower! Give them some love by leaving a comment or pinning one of their drool worthy recipes. Here are dishes that they shared for for my virtual baby shower:


Pina Colada Dip
From Val So Cal

Val says, "This sweet dip is the epitome of what Summer is all about!!  Refreshing and oh so good!  I beg you, Like, pleading with you to make this. Turn on some Jimmy Buffet or maybe Bob Marley and have a little fun." I want to dip my finger into this bowl and have a lick right now, don't you? 


Bacon and Red Pepper Breakfast Casserole
From Greens and Chocolate

Taylor picked a perfect recipe for me because I love egg dishes - especially egg casseroles. Taylor wrote, "When I think of baby showers I tend to think of brunch food, so for her baby shower I made a breakfast casserole.  I ended up making this with ingredients I happened to have on hand including a red pepper, a four-cheese blend, green onions, and bacon and it came out really great."

Peanut Butter Crusted Brownies 
From Vanilla Sugar

Dawn at Vanilla Sugar describes these brownies, "I've always wanted to create a cookie/brownie mix. And for me, peanut butter and brownie go so well together, why not put them together?" I completely agree with Dawn and these brownies look to die for!


The Best Bran Muffins
From Food and Whine

Megan of Food and Whine chose these muffins for the shower because, "...muffins in general have been a popular item in my household since having children. I've baked them for visitors who came to see the new baby, I've baked them for myself when I was too busy nursing babies or chasing toddlers to sit for a proper meal, I've baked them for countless playdates and get-togethers with other moms, and I still bake them all the time for snacks and school lunches. They are the perfect food for moms with busy families."


Homemade Granola
From Beantown Baker

Jen, who is the Beantown Baker, explains why she decided to make this delicious looking granola for my virtual baby shower, "I love recipes like this where it's just a ratio of ingredients. That way you can use whatever you prefer or have on hand. It would be great to serve at a brunch themed baby shower. Especially if you package it in small mason jars with a bit of ribbon tied around the top." Homemade is the BEST way to eat granola. Yum!


Chocolate Eclair Dessert
From Dutch Oven

Elizabeth from Dutch Oven describes this delicious dessert, "It is everything a good dessert should be in my mind, creamy, smooth, and chocolaty but not too rich.  It tastes fancy but best of all is super easy to make.  It is also a great summer dessert because it doesn't

require the oven, and is served cold for a nice hot summer day." I love all the layers in this 

dessert and the combination of chocolate, graham crackers, and creamy filling.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

From Two Friends with Spice

Cheryl, who used to be my next door neighbor and shared many of her delicious creations with me, describes this bread as, "a melt in your mouth party! Amazingly delicious...this is something I will be making again and again!" 

Thanks again to all my blogging friends who were willing to participate in this virtual baby shower! It means so much to me that you ladies took the time to help me celebrate this new life that will soon enter the world! I wish we could all be together to enjoy this amazing looking food!

Homemade French Onion Dip

I had been eyeing this dip from Pinterest for a while because it was touted "the best chip dip ever". When my Mom and brother came to visit a couple of weeks I decided it was time to whip it up. It is a homemade, much much better, and highly addictive version of the French Onion dip that comes in a tub from the grocery store. I loved that it could be made ahead of time and tasted great the next day too. Make sure you have a big bag of Ruffles on hand for this tasty snack.

Homemade French Onion Dip 
From Chow.com
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, minced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 cup sour cream
4 ounces fresh goat cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives (we don't have these in Okinawa so I used green onions)

Directions
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Wait until oil is heated through and add onion and garlic. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until caramelized and brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Combine sour cream, goat cheese, and chives in the bowl of a food processor and add onion mixture. Pulse until combined, about 10 pulses. 

Taste and add salt and pepper as desired, pulsing to mix in seasoning. Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate at least one hour. Serve with potato chips or crudites. 

Olive Tapenade

I had never looked for, nor purchased, nor touched an anchovy before this recipe. In fact, anchovies completely weird me out. Just the thought of them make my stomach a little queasy. But this blog is called Ashley's Cooking Adventures and Alton Brown's Tapenade recipe calls for anchovies, so gosh darn it I had to conquer my fears. 

They are a little hairier and slimier than I expected and for all the build up around these little guys, I only needed one in my recipe. One. So now I have a can of anchovies in my fridge.  Every day, every single time I open the fridge I have to look at them because I can't be wasteful and just throw them out but I also can't think of another use for them (besides pizza, blech!). Do you cook with anchovies and if so, what do you use them for? 

This tapenade is worth the anchovy efforts. It's tangy, salty, and on a piece of bread it will make you think you're in Southern France (even if you're on a small island in the East China Sea). 

Olive Tapenade
From Alton Brown
Makes about 1 cup
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 pound pitted mixed olives (since I don't have access to a variety olives I just used Kalamata)
1 anchovy fillet, rinsed
1 small clove of garlic
2 fresh basil leaves (I used my frozen fresh basil)
1/2 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil


Directions
Throughly rinse the olives in cool water. Place all ingredients together in the bowl of a food processor. 

Pulse to combine, stopping to scrape down the sides. Pulse again until mixture becomes a coarse paste, about 1 minute total. 

Transfer to a bowl and serve with sliced bread or crackers. 

Cowboy Caviar

My dear friend Beth brought this yummy chunky dip to a going away party we had before moving to Okinawa. I loved the fresh flavors and the mix of black eyed peas, avocado, corn, cilantro, and green onions.

About two months after first trying Beth's, I made it for our neighborhood Labor Day picnic because it's a perfect side dish for large gatherings. Even better, it takes less than ten minutes to make!

Cowboy Caviar
From Beth - thanks sweet friend!
Printable Version
2 cans of black-eyed peas, washed and drained
1 can white corn, drained
2/3 cup green onions, chopped
2/3 cup cilantro, chopped
2 avocados, chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste


Directions
Mix black-eyed peas, corn, green onions, cilantro, and avocado in a large bowl. 

Whisk together red wine vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Pour on the olive oil/vinegar combination. Allow to marinate about ten minutes before serving with tortilla chips. 

Jalapeno Popper Dip

This weekend was the first party in our new neighborhood. I wanted to try recipe I'd never made before and bring something for a crowd. Since I'd been wanting to make jalapeno popper dip for a while and I decided this was the perfect occasion. It was a toss up whether the commissary (military grocery store) would have jalapenos because we get limited produce over here in Okinawa. Thankfully there was a bag of fresh jalapenos just waiting for me to use it in this creamy, cheesy, spicy, and intensely flavorful dip. 

If you don't like too much heat I would recommend using only 2 fresh jalapenos instead of 4. Served with lime tortilla chips for scooping this dip was a hit at the party and will be at yours too!

Jalapeno Popper Dip
From Closet Cooking 
Makes a 9X13 casserole dish 
Printable Version
Ingredients
2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated
8 ounces sliced jalapenos (canned)
4 fresh jalapenos peppers, chopped
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano 


Directions
Preheat oven to 374 degrees. Combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano and jalapenos in a large bowl.

Mix until completely combined. Spread into a 9X13 casserole dish.

Mix together the panko bread crumbs and remaining 1/2 cup of parmigiano reggiano and sprinkle over the top of the dip. 

Bake uncovered until bubbling and sides and golden brown on top about 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Edamame Hummus

This is my sixth hummus recipe, so I guess you could say I'm a hummus junkie. Unfortunately, hubby is not a hummus fiend, like me, so when I saw this edamame hummus from Ali Girl Cooks I waited until we had people over to make it.

I didn't get more than a couple of bites of this hummus because everyone gobbled it up. It's super savory with the flavors of cilantro, spice, and of course edamame. Since edamame is a major part of the Japanese diet, I am very excited I'll have access to it once we move and still be able to make this delicious hummus!

Edamame Hummus
From Ali Girl Cooks
Printable Version
Ingredients
2 cups edamame, thawed and shelled
4 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup cilantro
4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions
Place all of the ingredients except for the olive oil in a food processor. Pulse to combine, using a spatula to scrape down the sides before running the food processor and streaming in the olive oil. 

If needed add 2-4 tablespoons of water to loosen up the mixture. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve with pita chips, tortilla chips, or fresh veggies.

Minced Clam Dip

This Clam Dip is a favorite of my hubby and father-in-law. It's a family recipe that is kind of a big deal and that I felt I needed to master to be part of the family. I have learned to love this dip...I say "learned" because at first I was little hesitant about it. Clams? Minced? As a dip? But I've discovered over time that minced clams with cream cheese, garlic, onions scooped up on a big old Ruffle Potato chip is pretty freakin' yummy! It's sorta like a french onion dip with clams. You have to like seafood to like this dip. And it doesn't hurt to be a member of my husband's family either - hubby and dad-in-law like it with lots of garlic and onion. As you can probably imagine, you might want to have some mouth wash handy after this dip!

Minced Clam Dip
*I always double this recipe because it's gobbled up very quickly!*
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 can (8 ounces) minced clams
1 clove garlic, minced
Half of a white or sweet onion, chopped very fine
8 ounces of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper

Directions
Drain clams, reserving half of the liquid. Rub a large bowl with the garlic. Add the cream cheese and beat with a fork until smooth.

Add  in the remaining ingredients, including the reserved liquid from the clams. Stir to combine until nice and smooth.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve with Ruffle Potato Chips, it's really the only way to go!