SRC - Jalapeno Popper Dip

Wow, where does the time go?  Seems like it was just last year I made something for the SRC (Secret Recipe Club), and now here it is February and time to do it again. 

The Secret Recipe Club is really quite fun.  Once a month we are assigned a blog and we have to make something from that blog and share it.   There are four groups and each group is assigned a 'reveal' date.   I'm part of Group B, and this month our reveal date is today.    All the participants in the group reveal their finds and recipes at once.   I have to say that I've found some great recipes, because I usually don't have time to sit and look for new blogs to read. 

I found this recipe over on Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks site.    And since it was Super Bowl Sunday last week, I thought that Jalapeno Popper Dip was a natural to take to a party.   Well, I also brought some of my Chile Verde, but this sounded so good, and since I had all the ingredients, well, I had to make it.  

If you've read this blog at all, you know I love my spicy food, and especially jalapeno's.   In fact I always have some frozen jalapeno's in the freezer, I just take out the seeds, and cut them in half and freeze them.    And this way, I only go through one set of gloves a month, please don't seed and cut up jalapeno's without some kind of protection on your hand.   It hurts otherwise. And seeded frozen jalapeno's are so handy to have on hand.   And it just so happened I had all the ingredients in my fridge and cupboard for this recipe.   Don'tcha just love it when that happens?

Just ignore the tomatoes, pay attention to the blue glove, this is the only way to prepare jalapeno's.

 I just love being able to do that.   Which reminds me, I need to get some more cream cheese.
Sorry, just had to go and make a note.   I'm back now.

Jalapeno Popper Dip
1/2  Cup  cooked chopped bacon  (I used some leftover bacon from breakfast)
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced, (I used 5 halves from my freezer stash)
2 packages of light cream cheese (8 oz. each)
 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded  (I used 1 cup shredded Colby Jack Cheese)
1 - 7-ounce can of green chilies  
1 fresh minced garlic clove, sauteed with the chiles for a minute
1 T. Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

Topping:

¾ c. Panko Bread crumbs
1 cup of shredded Colby Jack Cheese
½ stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon of minced jalapeno's, sauteed
 


1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2.   Toss the diced bacon into a small sauté pan. Cook until it’s almost brown. Add in the diced jalapenos and cook until soft.  Then add the minced garlic clove, stir around to let it cook for about 30 seconds.   Then place aside to cool for a few minutes while you prepare the cream cheese.

3. In the Kitchen Aid mixer, (or in a bowl)  combine the cream cheese, grated cheese, mayonnaise, and mix together.   Add the bacon, green chiles, jalapeno and garlic.  Mix just till combined.   Place in a greased baking dish and smooth out.

4. In the pan you sauteed the jalapeno's in, melt the butter,  and if a few jalapeno pieces didn't make it into the cream cheese mixture, don't worry about it, they work well here, I actually left a few on purpose.  Then add the bread crumbs and mix together.   Add the last cup of grated cheese and toss.    Spread evenly over the dip and bake for about 20 minutes or a little longer if you like.  

Serve warm with some nice corn chips, but don't be surprised if your guests just spoon up some of the dip and spread on other foods as well.

I didn't get to take more than a spoonful home with me.     But that's OK, cause there was a lot of good food there as well.  

Super Bowl Wrap Up

I meant to post about the great food we enjoyed this past Sunday, a little sooner than this.  But
Real Life has a habit of getting in the way and tripping me up, sigh.

Just for fun I thought I would show some of the food we enjoyed this year.    If you read my post last year, you know that it was the "Day of the Meat Ball", four of us had different versions of meatballs.   Really kinda funny if you think about it.  

This year I didn't want a repeat so I made a dip, which you can read about on Monday, the 11th, as well as a pot of Chile Verde.   We love Chile Verde and I have a great SIL who ships me one of the ingredients when I ask, without her, the Verde would not be as good.   So, here's the wrap-up.

 Deviled Eggs, very nice.  Always a hit, they disappear fast every time someone brings them to a party.

 Pulled Pork, and Chicken Wings
so good.  

 Beans, and when Jon makes and brings his beans, well, let me just say, YUM.   He uses artisan bacon, real smoked bacon in it, and well, I could just eat this.

Veggies, and the dip, so nice and garlicky. 

 My dip, which you can read about on Monday.

Chile Verde

And can't forget dessert.    There was a date nut bread, bourbon balls and a plate of cookies.   Such a nice way to round out the meal. 

And there were also bowls of munchies but I neglected to get a picture of them.   All I can say is I love wasabi peas and nuts and well, had trouble keeping my hand out of that bowl as well.


So that's the round up from Super Bowl this year.    At least of the food, I'm sure everyone had a great time watching the commercials as well. 

Chicken Tortilla Casserole (Racetrack Casserole)

I actually tried a new recipe last week for dinner.    Yup I did.    Usually I try new recipes for our Tapas night or Boat Club or a potluck I get invited to.   I rarely try something new for our dinner but I did it last week.     And it was good.   There were some caveats, things I will do a little different.  Like, oh say, wearing my glasses when I'm reading the recipe off of my smart phone, not getting an idea caught in my head, and checking the recipe for accuracy, my accuracy that is, not the the original recipe's accuracy.   Wait a minute, did that make sense?   Oh well.

Crepes and Chicken Picatta for January Tapas Night

  I guess I never grew up all the way, cause I graduated from making mud pies to chicken pies and beyond.  The only difference is that my stuff is pretty much edible these days.    I made some Orange Dream Crepes and also some Chicken Piccata bites for Tapas this month.  (OK, so I know it's now February, this was a busy crazy week)   I was inspired, sorta by a picture I saw in passing of a Crepe and I got that AHA!!!!! moment and then I breathed again.  

I made Crepes, two ways, and let me tell you,  I had adventures in the kitchen, sigh.  It really wasn't my day.  But I persevered and got through it.    

For starters I had spotted a box of Gluten Free pancake mix in the store last week, and decided to use them as a base for some crepes.   I knew I had a couple of people coming who eat gluten free, and thought it would be nice to offer that to them.   The mix I found is by Maple Grove Farms, and they are delicious, but they don't lend themselves to crepes very easily.   They puff up way too much.     As I said before, I had adventures.   I was trying to mix the egg and milk together and decided to get out my little immersion blender and use the whisk attachment on it, well, the bowl was a little shallow and I ended up with a tidal wave of egg and milk all over the counter, the floor, dripping down the cabinets and also on me.  So, I ended up having to add more of both to the mix.    Got that cleaned up and then I discovered that the gluten free pancakes/crepes need to be cooked a little differently than regular pancakes.   A lower heat and longer cooking time, otherwise they just burn and stick and make a heck of a mess.    Oh well, they did taste good.    Oh and did I mention, they puffed up really well?

I also made standard crepes, the recipe is below, and they did turn out well.   I've been making crepes this way for just about forever, and never had a fail yet.   Because I don't put sugar in them, they are suitable for savoury fillings as well.    
Basic Crepes

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter

Whisk it all together and let sit for about ten minutes, then heat your pan and spray with some non stick spray.  Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into pan, and then pick up the pan and spread the batter out by tilting the pan and rotating it in a circular motion, making sure you don't tip it over.

This spreads out the very thin batter.  Let cook for about a minute or so or until the top looks dry, then flip over and cook the other side.   Remove the cooked crepe to a pan and continue until all the batter is used.   I got about a dozen crepes I think out of this.   I didn't want really big ones, cause, gee it is Tapas and it should be finger type food.

Make the crepes, and either  layer them on wax paper or just fold them into quarters right away, either way works.  The reason for the wax paper, it keeps them from sticking to each other when you finally get ready to put them together.    And Saturday, I had adventures in the kitchen. sigh. 

Filling
I first came up with this filling some years ago.   It tastes rich and decadent and wonderful, but really isn't that fattening.  And it's kinda good for you as well.
8 oz. Cream Cheese (low fat works well here
2  small containers of Orange flavoured Yoghurt, the 5 oz size
1 cup confectioners sugar (start with a half cup and then add more to taste)
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (more if you like, to taste)
10 oz. can Mandarin Oranges (drained, reserve the syrup for something else or discard)
 or two fresh mandarin oranges, sectioned and with membrane removed

Whisk it all together and then fold in one can mandarin oranges (or fresh orange sections would be awesome as well).   Reserve a couple of pieces for decorations.   Garnish with fresh mint leaves.
 Serve with a spoon so your guests can just put it together however they wish.   This is yummy.

I also made Chicken Picatta, but made it into small bite size pieces.    And there I had adventures as well.

I was being so careful, I didn't want a mess, just wanted to saute the chicken in pieces, put them aside, make the sauce and serve it.   So, I put the seasoned flour in a ziploc bag, shook the chicken breast pieces to coat them and proceeded to saute them in small batches in some butter and olive oil.   Well, wouldn't you just know it, I put the bag, the plastic bag, full of flour and a couple of chicken pieces right on top of a hot burner, and proceeded to get flour all over my newly cleaned stove, the just washed floor and myself.   Cause my first response was to jerk the bag off of the burner and of course it was TOO LATE!!!  it had melted already.    Luckily for me, I only had a couple pieces of chicken in the bag, but there was more than enough flour.   Did you know that flour seems to expand exponentially when it hits the air and stove top and floor?    By the time I got that mess sorted out, I'd managed to scorch the couple of pieces of chicken in the pan.   Which my dog was very grateful for, cause she got to eat them.   But I got the mess cleaned up, and it all worked out.
It did leave me wondering if maybe someone had set up a Candid Camera somewhere in the kitchen and then proceeded to sabotage stuff.   Oh, well, if you can't have the occasional adventure, life just gets dull.  

So there you have my latest adventures, sigh.  

January Tapas Night

 Another month and another Tapas Night down.   And as usual, a great time was had by most, or so they told me.   And also as usual, tons of great food.   And since I know you're waiting in anticipation, with bated breath, ok, enough hyperbole.    Here's some pictures of the food that was brought last night.    And if I missed getting a picture of yours, I'm sorry but I was having fun.   And it's my party and I can have fun if I want to.  Oh wait, I think I said that last month as well.   But, it bears repeating.
 From Deviled Eggs to....

 A Cannelli bean spread with Rosemary and Garlic.

Chicken Piccata Bites

There was some Sweet Potato Hummus served with veggies and crackers.

Crepes and Gluten free Crepes served with Orange Dream filling.  (Strictly a make your own crepe)

Veggie Plate, always a popular item.   I noticed it had been decimated by the end of the evening. 

Rich, cinnamon, sweet potato goodness.  Really yummy.

Egg Salad spread, and look at the dish it was presented in.  Whimsical and just plain fun.
And the spread was good too.   Behind it to the left were some celery sticks also spread with the egg salad spread.

Bean Dip, and doesn't it look pretty?  Tasted good too.

Cakes and Cookie bars for dessert, way too good.

Bean Chile, totally awesome.

With rice, cheese, cornbread and sour cream accompaniments. 

Cookies and Turkish Delight, one of my faves.

I was told this was yummy, but I didn't get a taste of it.  By the time I got back there with a plate, it was gone.

There are a couple more pictures but for some reason, I'm having trouble loading them, so I will say that there were some other desserts, including a mocha chocolate cake, brownies and fruit.   I also missed getting a shot of a plate of chicken salad, potato balls, and mangoes.  I did manage to sample them however and they were good.