Chiles in Queso Blanco

I just made this dip and it’s delicious.  It went perfect with the guacamole .  You should give it a try this weekend.  Thanks Ceire for another wonderful recipe.

4 fresh Fresno chilies or other fresh green chilies
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
5 cups Queso fresco or Monterey jack (crumbled or grated) – can use pepper jack
2 tablespoons crème fraiche
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 firm plum tomatoes, peeled
1 tablespoon tequila

Begin by cross-cutting the bottom of your plum tomatoes and cover with boiling water.  Immediately plunge into cold water and the skin will peel off easily.

Next place chilies in dry pan over medium heat, turning them often until the skin blisters and darkens.  Place the chilies in a strong plastic bag and tie a knot to keep steam in – set aside for 20 min, then carefully peel off the skins. Half the chilies and scrape out seeds, then but the flesh into thin strips, then cut them in half lengthwise.

Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion over medium heat for 5 minutes, until softened.  Add the cheese, crème fraiche and heavy cream. Stir over low heat until the cheese melts and the mixture becomes a rich, creamy sauce.  Next stir in the chili strips.  Cut the tomatoes in half and scrape out the seeds, put the flesh into 1/2 inch pieces and stir into cheese sauce.

Just before serving, stir in tequila. Pour the cheese into a serving dish and serve warm, with tortilla chips.

Guacamole with Queso Fresco

My dear friend, Céire Smythe Martinez, shared her version of Guacamole with Queso Fresch sprinkled on top.  This is the perfect time of the year for guacamole.  I made this to go with our lunch today.

2 or 3 ripe avocados, halved, pitted and peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped approximately 1/2 cup
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped approximately 1/3 cup
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons queso fresco, for sprinkling

Using the back of a fork, gently mash the avocados into small chunks. Gently stir in remaining ingredients, sprinkling Queso Fresco over top.  Don’t you just love QUESO FRESCO?

Crab Salad Sandwich with Avocados – great summer sandwich!

When the summer heat is unbearable and it’s too hot to cook, you can make this delicious crab salad sandwich with avocados.

I love avocados!!!!  I asked a dear friend, Céire, if she had a favorite recipe using avocados.  She shared this simple and amazing recipe and I have to share it with you – it was that good.  She said she got the recipe from Martha Stewart Living a few years ago.  It only takes a few minutes to prepare, 30 minutes to chill, and one second to devourer!

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or juice of 1 lemon

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon crème fraîche

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot

1 tablespoon minced chives

Freshly ground pepper

8 ounces lump crabmeat

4 leaves red-leaf lettuce

1 avocado, thinly sliced – I really love avocado so I used 2

8 slices brioche, toasted  (I used french bread.)

Mix lemon juice, salt, crème fraîche, shallot and chives. Season with pepper. Fold in crab. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Divide lettuce, avocado and crab among 4 bread slices and top with remaining bread slices.   I didn’t have any brioche, so we used fresh french bread sliced and toasted and ate the sandwiches open-faced.  So delicious!!!

German Chocolate Cake

German chocolate cake is my all time favorite.  I can remember when my mother would make the icing, the delicious smell would lure me to the kitchen in hopes of licking the spoon.  This cake is good any time of the year with an ice-cold glass of milk.

Did you know that the first published recipe for German’s Chocolate Cake showed up in a Dallas newspaper in 1957.  It came from a Texas homemaker and quickly gained popularity.

• 2  1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1  1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1  1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 large eggs
• 4 ounces sweet baking chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grease and flour two 8-inch square baking pans.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, butter, sour cream, eggs, chocolate, milk, and vanilla. Beat with mixer at low-speed until blended. Increase mixer to high and beat 2 minutes longer. Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes.  Cool completely.

Icing

• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 can (3 1/2 ounces) flaked coconut, or about 1 1/3 cups
• 1 cup chopped pecans

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring evaporated milk, brown sugar, and butter to a full boil; remove from heat. Stir in coconut and pecans. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

When cake is cool, place one layer on cake platter; spoon half of the coconut mixture onto the layer. Top with remaining cake layer and top with remaining topping – putting icing on the sides is optional, but my goodness the icing is so delicious, how can you resist!   Sometime I make this cake in 3 layers.

Chip-N-Bits Cookies – Contest Winner

My friend Sue from Dallas, TX shared this recipe and they are so delicious. 

She works in a building with a bank on the ground floor. The bank has 4,000 of these cookies made each month to give to their customers. She shared that the bank held a contest for employees to submit cookie recipes and this recipe is the CONTEST WINNER!

2-1/4 cups self rising flour
2 sticks butter melted
2 eggs
3/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1-1/4 cups white chocolate chips
3/4 cups toffee bits or bits ‘o brickle

Mix butter, vanilla, and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and beat. Mix in flour then stir in chips. Drop onto a cookie sheet. Bake 325 for 15-18 min. When the cookie edges are slightly brown, they are done!

Wedding Cookies – who doesn’t love these delicious little nuggets?

I have a weakness for cookies with powdered sugar on them.  A handful of nuggets and a cold glass of milk – mmmmmmm good!  These delicious little nuggets are a close relative to the Sand Tart cookies that my Mother picked up at the bakery every year for my birthday celebration at school. 

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, for the dough
• 1 cup softened butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup almonds or pecans, finely chopped, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla.
3. Beat until light and fluffy.
4. Add flour, almonds and salt. Mix until dough forms.
5. Bake for 10-13 min. until set but not brown.
6. Immediately remove from cookie sheets and place on wire racks to cool for 10 mins.
7. Roll cookies in 3/4 cup powdered sugar and serve.

Makes about 4 1/2 dozen.

Holiday Bacon Appetizer – Oldie but goodie!

This recipe is from one of my favorite sites – The Pioneer Woman.  If you haven’t checked out her site, you really should – she is a delight in the kitchen and on the ranch.  Also, she has step-by-step pictures of the cooking process.  Do you remember these appetizers from 1981?  They pack a punch in the calorie and fat department, but it’s the holiday – go for it!   Can be frozen and reheated for 10 minutes.

 

Ingredients

• 1 package Club Crackers
• 1 pound Thin Sliced Bacon (or More Depending On Number Of Crackers)
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Optional Alternative: Brown Sugar Instead Of Parmesan Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Lay crackers (as many as you want) face up on a cookie sheet.

Scoop about 1 teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese onto each cracker. Cut your package of bacon in half (or cut pieces individually) and carefully, so the cheese doesn’t fall off, wrap each cheese covered cracker in one half piece of bacon, completely covering the cracker. It should fit snugly around the cracker.

Place the bacon wrapped crackers onto a baking sheet that has a rack on it.

Place in a 250-degree oven for about 2 hours.

Patti’s Baked Beans

Nothing says July 4th, picnic, or family gathering like delicious baked beans.  I usually add pulled pork or chopped brisket – I think it adds a good smokey flavor – yummy!

3-6 slices Bacon, fried crisp

1 onion, chopped 

1 green or red pepper, chopped 

1/4 cup Cane syrup or molasses 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1 heaping tablespoon Mustard 

1/2 teaspoon Cavendar’s seasoning 

2 cans Bush’s Baked Beans 

3/4 cup chopped, pulled pork or brisket (optional) 

1/4 cup water or BBQ sauce 

Sautee onion and chopped pepper in hot bacon grease.  Mix in cane syrup/molasses and brown sugar.  Add mustard, Cavendar’s seasoning, beans, and pulled porkor brisket.  Add a little water or BBQ sauce. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.  Crumble bacon on top.