Queso Blanco Dip (White Cheese Dip)

Queso Blanco Dip (White Cheese Dip) Is one of our favorite football appetizers. A slightly spicy, very creamy cheese dip you'll want to slather all over everything! This recipe is so easy to make, it's ready for dipping in under 10 minutes and disappears almost as quickly! Definitely a fan favorite!

Parmesan Crisps Recipe #SundaySupper

Parmesan Crisps are a delightful accompaniment to soup, and they also make a fun back-to-school treat for the lunch box. These tasty, slightly crispy rounds of fresh Parmesan cheese make an impressive presentation, yet the recipe is surprisingly simple!

Red White and Blueberry Salsa

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HuntsFreshTwists #CollectiveBias

Red, White, and Blueberry Salsa is a unique blend of sweet & spicy that is perfect with your favorite chips, but also delicious as a topping for fish, chicken, and even pork for an easy dinner any night of the week!

Cheesy Kale and Bacon Dip

Cheesy Kale and Bacon Dip is a tasty mix of cheeses, kale, bacon, and a splash of wine for that little extra somethin' somthin' <wink>. This appetizer dip is delicious served hot or cold and goes great with vegetables, chips, crackers, you name it! It is a real winner with the added bonus of having good-for-you kale mixed in.

Hot Corn Dip Recipe

Sweet crunchy corn, tangy cream cheese, and spicy tomatoes brought together in a tasty appetizer recipe that is ready in about 10 minutes! This delicious Hot Corn Dip is made in a skillet to quickly heat all of the ingredients so you can have this on the table in no time!

Buffalo Ranch Chicken Dip

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BigGameSnacks #CollectiveBias

We are HUGE football fans! In our younger years we would don our team jerseys and go to all the games. We still wear our jerseys, but our tailgating tradition has evolved to a homegating party with lots of tasty treats. One of our favorite appetizers is a tangy, creamy dip that tastes like Buffalo Chicken Wings and ranch dressing all mixed into one delicious dip! This dip is super easy to make and a must for the Big Game!

Creamy Caramelized Onion Dip with Hot Sauce

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc and its advertiser. All opinions are mine from my experience with the product. #CollectiveBias

Creamy Caramelized Onion Dip with Hot Sauce is homemade, creamy deliciousness that gets a little kick from hot sauce! I betcha won't stop at just one taste! 

Homemade Tomato Salsa Recipe

Homemade Tomato Salsa is about as simple to make as it gets and uses all fresh ingredients for maximum flavor.

Cookie Butter Bars

posted by Marion@Life Tastes Good on 2013-07-21

 Move over peanut butter! I've found cookie butter (aka Biscoff Spread) and I'm SOLD!! Whoever thought to crush up cookies and make a spread is a GENIUS! The sweet taste with a subtle caramel flavor has won me over! I love it and I'm not ashamed of that! Don likes it too, but I told him I am NOT buying it again. I could eat that stuff right out of the jar! I DID eat that stuff right out of the jar - oh my gosh! it is so addicting!! In an attempt to get it out of the house, I decided to make something with it. I used it all up and now it's gone!

I miss my cookie butter :(

The crust is made of graham crackers, butter, and Biscoff Spread. This combo comes together nicely with the chocolate topping to create a wonderful flavor described best by one of Don's co-workers, 

"...it's like an angel descended from heaven and kissed a Twix bar!"

He nailed it!!

Ingredients

• 1 package crushed graham crackers (about 1.5 cups)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup Biscoff Spread
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons Biscoff Spread

Directions

1. Mix 1.5 cups crushed graham crackers, 1/2 cup melted butter, and 1/2 cup Biscoff spread and press into the bottom of a square pan (9x9). I recommend lining the pan with parchment paper and allowing the ends to hangover for ease in removing.
2. Melt 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons Biscoff spread in a double boiler or the microwave. If microwaving do so slowly and stir every 30 seconds until smooth. Pour over crushed graham cracker mixture and spread evenly.  
3. Refrigerate several hours. Preferably overnight. Remove parchment from pan and cut into even squares. ENJOY!!  

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Photo by Madison Myers

allrecipes.com Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

This was my first attempt at making Biscotti, and it wasn't as scary as I expected! It was pretty easy to make and it turned out great! This is not the same as the biscotti you buy at the grocery store. This biscotti won't break your teeth! I love it! The cranberries and pistachios work very well together, and I took it a step further by dipping some of them in white chocolate because, let's face it, white chocolate makes everything BETTER!

It's true!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups pistachio nuts

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.
• Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.
• Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
• Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Use a large, sharp knife and push down on knife to cut. Sawing the knife will break the biscotti, so be careful. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.
• To dip in white chocolate, melt 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips with a tablespoon of oil and melt slowly, stirring constantly, in saucepan on stove top or in the microwave. For the microwave, melt on medium power in 30 second intervals stirring well in between until melted. Add more oil if too thick. It is always important to melt slowly and stir often so the chocolate doesn't seize up. Dip biscotti as soon as chocolate is melted.

Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue

The girls in this house LOVE the Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue from the Melting Pot.  A night out can be a bit of a splurge, so we decided to try it at home.

Grandma gave Madison a portable Induction Cook-top for use at college, and we decided to make sure it works before she hauls it all the way to Savannah (we just really wanted to have some fondue, but making sure it works sounded like a good excuse).  Seeing as my stove has an induction cook-top we are very familiar with the technology and thought it would be perfect for a fondue night. Because it's portable, we could do the cooking right at the table just like being at the Melting Pot!

Here is the recipe that inspired us and the following is how we ended up making it...

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1/2 to 1 cup fresh baby spinach, chopped

1/4 cup artichoke hearts, chopped (we bought the ones in the jar, because getting to the heart of an artichoke is quite a task)

1 tablespoon chopped garlic (it was more like 1.5 tablespoons, but it was a bit too much - even for me)

4 oz Butterkase Cheese (Publix did not have this, so I found it at Petty's, and yes, it was worth it)

4 oz Fontina Cheese

1/4 cup grated Paremsan

flour

dash of Rooster Sauce

Dippers

Tortilla Chips

Various breads cut into bite sized cubes

Apples cut into bite sized cubes (coat with a little lemon juice so the don't turn brown)

Various veges cut into bite sized pieces

Directions

We used one of my regular sauce pans because we needed a magnetic bottomed pan to work on the induction top (love that technology!).  We heated the vege broth in the sauce pan and mixed in the spinach, artichoke hearts, and the garlic.  Turn down the heat before adding in the cheeese

I grated the Butterkase and the Fontina and lightly floured it.  I added it to the vege broth mixture a little bit at a time. Being sure to melt it as I go.  

Tips for working with cheese:  It is important to treat the cheese kindly during cooking.  Too high a temperature or too much heating time can make the proteins tighten up resulting in rubbery globs of cheese in a pool of grease - yuck!  If this happens you can't fix it and your fondue is ruined.  To lessen the chance your cheese will succumb to this sad fate be sure to grate your cheese to increase the surface area that is in contact with the heat source - this will ensure a quicker melting time. Always be sure your cheese is at room temperature before you heat it - again this will reduce the time and heat needed to melt it.  Melt cheese at a lower heat to prevent it seizing up.  Bottom line - Be kind to your cheese and your cheese will be kind to you

With induction technology you really can use a paper towel between the pot and the heat source! Don't try this at home with an electric or gas stove though!

 We had trouble getting the cheese and the vege broth to combine to a good consistency, so I added a tablespoon of flour and mixed it all really well. That worked great.  If I were to make this again, I would probably add in a tablespoon of flour with the vege broth at the beginning to thicken it - I think that might work better, but I haven't tried it. 

This was a fun family night! 

The fondue was really delish (although a bit too garlicky - even for me!)