Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus

I got this recipe on the Food Network here. I am reposting because this recipe site is for me and my daughter and it's easy to go to and find recipes that we love rather than hunting on the internet. Loved this... but keep in mind with the jalapeño and the chipotle pepper it's rather spicy... you can use less if desired. Try putting in half the required jalapeño and chipotle then adjust to your taste. You can always add more but once added you can't take it out. This is a great healthy snack served with pita chips or I served it with sliced red and green bell peppers. Enjoy!

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus

Ingredients:

16 ounces can chickpeas, drained

6 ounces jar roasted red bell peppers, drained

1 jalapeno, seeded, diced

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves(or use the already chopped in a tube)

1teaspoon paprika 

3 Tablespoons chopped onion

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 tablespoon chipotle pepper in adobo (I used 1 pepper)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Toasted pita bread, for serving

Directions:
Mix all ingredients, except olive oil and pita bread, in food processor until pureed, then slowly add in olive oil.
Let set up for 1 hour prior to serving.Serve with toasted pita bread.

Hot Corn Dip with Poblano Peppers

I saw a few versions of this recipe on the internet and had been wanting to try it out for quite a while. On my treat-the-office day I thought I would give it a try. But I tweaked it a bit, I used the Pioneer woman's recipe for a guide line to start with but I tweaked it bit to what I was dreaming about. I LOVE roasted poblano peppers, they are spicy but not as spicy as jalapenos and I LOVE smokey paprika and smokey cheese. I thought all of those flavors would be so awesome in a corn dip. So this is what I came up with. Also rather than cooking in the oven in a dish that would cool off later, I made mine in the crock pot and kept it warm all day. This dip was the first thing to go at my office party. This would be a yummy dip for a New Year's Eve party or even a super bowl party. Enjoy!!

Hot Corn Dip with Poblano Peppers
Recipe adapted from  Ree DrummondIngredients:
3 poblano peppers, roasted and diced (see directions below for roasting)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced (you can either roast this with the Poblano's or buy already roasted in a jar)
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 heaping teaspoon minced  garlic
1-- 2-lb.  bag frozen corn, thawed
1/2 teaspoon smokey paprika
Salt and pepper

8 ounces cream cheese, softened.
1/2 cup mayonnaise, I did a heaping half cup
1/2 cup sour cream, I did a heaping half cup of this too!
1  cup grated Monterrey jack cheese
1/2 cup smokey cheddar

Tortilla chips or pita crisps, for serving

Directions
To roast the Poblano peppers and the red bell pepper, heat the broiler in your oven for a few minutes with the rack about 5 or 6 inches away from the broiler. Place peppers in the oven and let broil about 3 to 5 minutes or until they start to bubble and blacken, turn, and let broil until that side starts to bubble and blacken. When all sides are roasted, remove peppers from the oven and place in a glass bowl and cover tightly with saran wrap--this helps the peppers steam so you can remove the skins easily. In about 10 to 15 minutes when the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the skins, the seeds and stem. Then cut into strips and dice. Set aside.

Melt one tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for a few minutes, until they start to turn translucent, add the garlic and saute for another minute. Remove from the skillet into a bowl and set aside.
Melt the rest of the butter in the skillet and add the thawed corn, the paprika, and a dash or two of salt and pepper; saute and stir until the corn gets browned a little.

In a crock pot bowl, combine  the cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream and stir until combined. Add the Monterey jack cheese, the smokey cheddar, the corn mixture, and the roasted peppers and stir to combine thoroughly. Taste at this point and add more salt and pepper or a little ground chipotle pepper if you desire more heat. Heat in the crock pot over medium or high heat (depending on your crock -pot) until the dip is hot and bubbly. Turn down to warm and serve with tortilla chips or pita crisps for dipping.
Enjoy!

**You can adjust the heat of this dip by adding ground chipotle pepper, or using a few jalapeno peppers as desired.

my new favorite Granola recipe

I have experimented on granola recipes lately. My hubby likes to take it to work for a snack and I like it for a quick pick me up after work or for breakfast. Some recipes I haven't really liked, so I always fall back on my granola recipe that I have already posted. But my hubby ran across this one and I tried it and LOVED it. It does have a lot of ingredients, but it's so worth it. Makes a rather large batch, but keeps in Ziploc bags, rather well and for quite a while. I tweaked the recipe just a bit, mine seemed dry so I added more honey. I'm posting the way I made it. And just a note... I had a hard time finding Oat bran... so I bought cracklin' Oat bran cereal and crushed up in a baggie with my rolling pin...worked great and I think added flavor LOL! (the things you try when you can't find an ingredient!)Enjoy!!

Yummo Granola
Ingredients:
8 cups Old Fashioned oats, (UNCOOKED)
1-1/2 cups wheat germ
1-1/2 cups oat bran (or use crushed cracklin' Oat bran like I did)
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped almonds (I bought the slivered ones and chopped those
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped walnuts
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil (I used grape seed oil... I just think it's better for you)
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried cranberries (Craisins)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, and walnuts. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat the oats well. Spread the mixture out onto the baking sheets evenly.
Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes. Stir after the first 10 minutes. Keep an eye on on this after about 15 minutes cooking time, it will brown really quick when it gets going (as you can see by my pic, mine got a little toasty but still good).
Cool, then stir in the raisins and cranberries before storing in an airtight container. I store mine in 2 gallon size ziploc baggies.
This is great as a snack, or eaten like cereal with milk. But my favorite thing to do is make a parfait with berries, then yogurt then a spoonful or two of granola layered in a glass... YUMMO!

Home made "Cracker Jack" Popcorn

I LOVE caramel corn, buttered popcorn, my recipe for pumpkin spice popcorn, I just love popcorn. I found this recipe here and thought I would give it a shot. Wow!! It's way easy! I have another recipe for Fiddle Faddle popcorn but that one you have to use a candy thermometer and if you don't watch it close, the toffee coating can be too sticky or too hard, But this recipe doesn't have you do that! It's super easy and after you coat the popcorn and nuts you bake it in the oven. I tweaked it a bit and lowered the oven temp because I thought mine tasted a bit too done, but it's great. You know what I thought of doing for my neighbors this year for Christmas? Remember getting Cracker Jack caramel corn in the box? That's what this recipe reminds me of, but remember they had prizes in the box? I was thinking of getting cute little gift boxes for treats, putting in my Home Made Cracker Jack popcorn, and then going to those gumball / candy machines that are usually in the lobbies of stores, and getting silly little prizes and sticking in the box along with the popcorn, wouldn't that be fun for families with little kids???

Home made "Cracker Jack" Popcorn

*Note: you want about 18 cups of popped corn. I've found that about 1/4 cup of unpopped kernels yields about 5 1/2 to 6 cups popped corn. While the recipe calls for 3/4 cup unpopped kernels, be sure to only add it a bit at a time in shifts according to your popcorn popper so the kernels don't burn.
*Makes about 18 cups of toffee popcorn (that seems like a lot, but trust me, it goes fast!)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup unpopped popcorn kernels, white or yellow
2 sticks butter
2 1/4 cups light brown sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup (I didn't have dark Corn Syrup, so I used 1/4 cup molasses and 1/2 cup light corn syrup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups dry roasted, salted peanuts
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Grease two large rimmed baking sheets and set aside.
Pop the popcorn kernels, in shifts if needed to ensure your popcorn popper doesn't burn the popcorn, and place the popcorn in a large bowl, sifting through to remove the unpopped kernels.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. When melted add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil while stirring. Once the mixture starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, for 3 minutes. The mixture will be slightly thickened. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. The mixture will bubble so be careful-it foams and rises a bit so use a deep saucepan!!!

Pour the caramel over the popcorn and mix slightly. Add the peanuts and mix well but gently (so you don't break apart the popcorn) until the popcorn is evenly coated and the peanuts are distributed through the mixture.

Turn the popcorn out onto the baking sheets, spreading into an even layer. Bake the popcorn for one hour, stirring and tossing every 20 minutes. Move the bottom tray to the upper rack and vice versa each time you stir. The popcorn will deepen in color and harden a bit as the caramel bakes and sets. Cool the popcorn to room temperature. Store in an airtight container. I've found the popcorn will keep, stored tightly, for 1-2 weeks.

I am going to warn you... this is highly addicting, you can't eat just a little bit!

Cinnamon-spice Nut Mix

Don't you love the Holidays and going to the mall? I especially love it when the malls have vendors set up in the middle of the mall that make Cinnamon spice nuts.... LOVE the way they make the mall smell! I ran across this recipe on the internet and it was sooo easy and yummy, and made my house smelll SO good as they were baking,  I thought I would share. I took these to my "Treat the office" Day and they were a hit. I think I'm going to make some tonight, it seems I"m all out of snacks.... Enjoy!
Cinnamon-spice Nut Mix
 4 cups assorted whole nuts (Use a mixture of your favorite like walnuts, pecans, almonds, and macadamias)
2 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 225. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil that has been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl combine sugar, cinnamon, salt , ginger, allspice, cloves and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Set aside.
In another large bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy and frothy. Add nuts, tossing to coat well.
Pour the sugar mixture over the nuts, tossing until all the nuts are evenly coated with the sugar mixture.

Spread nuts in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, separating with a fork as necessary. Bake until coating is dry and crunchy, about 2 hours. Let cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Enjoy!

Cheddar Straws

I saw a similar recipe of Cheese straws on Trisha Yearwood's Food Network show a while back and had wanted to give it a try for a long time. The night I was making my treats for my 'Treat the Office' day I happened to run across this recipe on the internet. It looked easy enough to me so I thought I'd give it a try. I LOVE it! These cheese straws remind me of Goldfish crackers (which my daughter LOVES) only they have a little kick to them with the Cayenne pepper. They were a good savory snack to go with my fruit dips and cinnamon nuts. These would also be good with a soup or a dinner salad for some crunch. Enjoy!

Cheddar Straws
3 cups flour
1/4  heaping teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 heaping teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 cups cheddar cheese, grated, let sit till room temperature
2 sticks butter, softened

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Whisk to combine the flour, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Combine the cheese and butter in a food processor/ or mixer until smooth.
Add flour mixture and mix until well combined.

Make straws by using a cookie press or you can roll a heaping teaspoon between your hands into about a 1/4 inch thick by 4 or 5 inch 'straw'. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Continue until your baking sheet is full. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes until lightly browned. (I turned mine over after about 8 or nine minutes) they might take a little longer baking, you want them golden brown on the bottom and oven temperatures vary.

Coconut Cream Fruit Dip

This is another fruit dip I took for my "Treat the office" day. I LOVE coconut and toasted coconut! This recipe was delicious if I do say so myself. I had apples, grapes and vanilla wafers for dipping.. would be great with strawberries and cut up pineapple too! Enjoy!

Coconut Cream Fruit Dip
1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15-oz) can Cream of Coconut (NOT Coconut Milk!!! you find cream of Coconut in the aisle with the margarita mix and other mixes)
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract (or a little more for stronger flavor)
1 (8-oz) tub Cool Whip
1/2 cup toasted coconut (I got mine at the Prepared Pantry, it's the toasted coconut that Bakers use to top donuts with, if you can't find it, you can toast your own coconut by following the directions on the back of regular coconut.)

In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese with the cream of coconut and the coconut extract until all the lumps are gone.
Add the whipped cream and toasted coconut, gently fold until everything is incorporated. Spoon into a serving dish and serve with sliced fruit, vanilla wafers, graham crackers or whatever you choose for dipping. Enjoy!

Key Lime Fruit Dip

I LOVE Key lime anything..... it was my day to "treat the office" today. I was planning on making home made Twinkies to take in since "Hostess" went out of business, but the recipe I had didn't turn out. So I had to come up with something quick to take instead. In the middle of the night, I woke up with this idea... don't all good ideas seem to hit you at 4 am?? Anyway, I had this basic dip recipe but added the lime juice, flavorings and whipped cream and it turned out great! I had sliced apples, grapes and vanilla wafers for dipping, but it would also be good with graham crackers and any other kind of fruit. Enjoy!

Key Lime Fruit Dip
1 (8-oz.) package Cream Cheese, softened
1 (7-oz.) jar Marshmallow Creme
2 teaspoons lime extract (I found mine at the prepared pantry, if you can't find it, should be okay with just juice)
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 drops green food coloring
1/4 teaspoon citric acid (you can get this at the pharmacy, it's great for lemonade)
1 (8-oz) tub Cool Whip
Lime Zest for garnishing

 Add the citric acid to the lime juice and stir to dissolve. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, marshmallow cream, lime extract, lime juice/citric acid mixture and food coloring together until smooth and there are no lumps. Add the cool whip to the bowl and gently fold into the cream cheese mixture.
Spoon into a serving bowl, and add some lime zest to the top for garnish. Serve with cut up fruit, vanilla wafer, graham crackers or whatever else you like for dipping. Enjoy!

Toffee Apple Dip

One of my favorite things in the fall is caramel apples, apple pie, caramel apple bars.... any thing with caramel or cinnamon or apples. YUM! A friend that I work with brought this apple dip to an office party, (yes, any reason we get to have an office party we do!) and it was yummy! I needed to make something for a treat the other night and I remembered this recipe. I looked it up on the Internet and there are LOTS of different ones out there, but I don't like using too much sugar, it's kind of grainy, so this is what I did. Slice up some of your favorite kind of apples and dip away!
Toffee Apple Dip
2- 8-oz packages Cream Cheese, softened (or brought to room temperature)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla (yes, that's 1 Tablespoon vanilla, love it!)
3/4 cup Toffee bits (found by the chocolate chips in most grocery stores)

In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla together until it's combined smooth with no lumps. Stir in the toffee bits.
Serve with sliced apples. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Caramel-Corn

I am re-posting this  recipe in case you missed it when I posted it before! I LOVE this stuff... and it's the perfect time of the year to make it!
This is the best carmel corn and it's really easy to make!! We devoured half of it while still warm!!! I have re-vamped this recipe to how I like it, twice as much sauce to about 12 cups  popcorn. I love the stuff and it's a perfect snack for this time of year! Thanks for the recipe Jill!!

Pumpkin Pie Spice Caramel-Corn
12 cups popped popcorn (approximately, or 1 big bowl full)
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon  pumpkin pie spice (see recipe below for pumpkin pie spice or you can use store bought)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt


Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Pop popcorn in an air popper or you can use microwave popcorn also. In a sauce pan melt butter and add sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour over popcorn and stir to coat well. Dump popcorn into a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Then eat. Yummo!!

TIP: Do not make popcorn and then leave to do an errand. When you get back, kids will have eaten the entire bowl and you will have to make another batch if you want some :)


PUMPKIN PIE SPICE:
2  teaspoons cinnamon
1  teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix all together in a small bowl.This is equivalent to 4 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.

Chex Mix

I LOVE this stuff... but it is addicting! I got this recipe from a friend I work with, who brought it for her "Treat the office day". I made it to give to neighbors for a Christmas treat this year and I thought I would post it now since the Super Bowl is coming up and this would make a great super bowl snack. It makes alot so be sure you have lots of people to share it with!! YUM! And for variation try adding Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal to it instead of the Honey Grahams for a twist. Enjoy!!

Chex Mix
2 cups light Corn syrup
2 cups granulated sugar
3 sticks butter (1-1/2 cups)
1 box Corn Chex
1 box Rice Chex
1 box Golden Graham Cereal
1 package Baker's Sweetened Coconut
1 package Slivered Almonds

Combine your cereals, coconut, and almonds in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a large sauce pan, combine the corn syrup, sugar and butter; cook and stir over medium/high heat until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Let this come to a boil, make sure it's a good rolling boil, then remove from heat.
Pour the sugar mixture over the cereal mixture and toss to coat. When everything is coated, spread chex mix out on a piece of aluminum foil to cool. (I put mine on 2 cookie sheets covered with foil.)
Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Popcorn

The other day, Sunday to be exact.... I was canning beans (so I could go to the Eastern Idaho State Fair on the Holiday, instead of staying at home and canning beans) anyway.... while I was in the kitchen watching the pressure cooker I was craving something.... I wanted popcorn but still wanted something sweet. Then I remembered one time for a Young Women's get together, my friend Katy brought Peanut butter popcorn, and when I asked her for the recipe it was the exact same peanut butter stuff I put on my rice crispie treats. So I thought 'why not give it a try!' So I did. This was YUMMO!! but filling as my husband said, so I recommend eating it while warm with lots of friends helping you. It's better while warm and gooey! YUMMO!

Peanut Butter Popcorn

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup creamy peanut butter
Dash of salt

1 big bowl popped popcorn, (maybe about 16 cups) unpopped kernels removed.

In a large saucepan combine the sugar and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a good boil. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and Dash of salt(I don't add  salt to my rice crispie treats but I figured with popcorn you needed a dash of salt) stir until peanut butter is all melted and mixture is smooth.  Pour over the popped popcorn and toss until all the popcorn is coated with the peanut butter mixture. Eat while still warm and gooey....Enjoy!!

Fiddle-Faddle or Candy coated Popcorn!

This is a recipe I got off the internet for Fiddle Faddle, Poppycock, Screaming Yellow Zonkers, or you could call it plain old candy coated Pop-corn! It's more of a toffee flavor not a caramel corn. But I love it!! Once I make it I about eat the whole batch... so I double it! This recipe is for  a single batch...but it doubles easily, when I double it though, I just use 3 cups of nuts instead of 4. Here's a hint, be sure to get the candy up to hard crack stage, if not, it's kind of gooey and sticks to your teeth really bad.

Enjoy!!


Candy Coated Popcorn

3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 cups plain popped  popcorn
2 cups nuts (pecans and almonds are what I use, but you can add cashews if you prefer, a mix is good tho'_

Combine corn syrup, sugars, butter, maple syrup, water and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Simmer the mixture and monitor it with a candy thermometer. You want the candy coating to reach 290 degrees or just before hard crack stage. The temperature continues to rise a bit after you turn off the heat, so this is a good place to stop cooking.
While the candy cooks, pop the popcorn in the microwave or popper and measure out 8 cups after it's popped. Make sure to remove any unpopped kernels. Pour popcorn into a large microwave safe bowl. Measure the nuts into a smaller microwave save bowl. Prepare  a large cookie sheet by spraying with Pam or rub lightly with butter.
Just before the candy reaches 290 degrees, microwave the nuts in the small bowl for 1 minute to warm them up.
When your candy reaches 290 degrees, turn off the heat (but leave on the burner) add the vanilla and stir in the warm nuts. Immediatly microwave the popcorn for 1 minute on high., then pour the candy and nuts mixture over the popcorn while stirring. Microwave the bowl for 1 more minute on high, then stir well to coat all of the popcorn and nuts with candy. Then quickly pour the popcorn out onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, or rubbed lightly with butter.
When popcorn is cool, break up and put into a tightly sealed container to keep fresh. This stuff gets sticky when it's humid outside.
Makes 10 cups

My favorite Crunchy Granola recipe

I've been making this Granola recipe since I was a teenager I think. But now that I"m older I've cut back on the butter and have added more honey than the original recipe. I've also added wheat germ for more health benefits and craisins and almonds for flavor. I love to munch on this by itself for a morning pick-me-up at work or for a snack. I also sprinkle some on my blackberries and yogurt for breakfast... Yum!

Honey Nut Granola

3 cups old-fashioned Quaker Oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup almonds ( I use whole almonds, but you can chop them if you want)
1/2 cup craisins

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix all of the ingredients except the craisins together in a mixing bowl with a spoon. Spray a 15 x 10" cookie sheet with Pam spray. Pour and spread granola out evenly on the cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring after the first 10 minutes. When golden brown, remove from oven and pour onto a sheet of aluminum foil (I fold the sides of the foil up about an inch) Spread out a little on the foil and let cool completely. I cool on the aluminum foil because when the granola cools it tends to stick on the cookie sheet. Remove from the cookie sheet best while still warm. After the granola is cool add the craisins and stir to combine.
Pour into a ziploc bag and enjoy!! Yum!