Taco Dip for Chips

0704091703, originally uploaded by predictablyhungry.

First, let me just say that I really am working on getting a better camera!

Also, please excuse the bit of dip that is missing as we couldn't wait to dig in!

Growing up my mother made this dish for family BBQ's and I hogged it. I always sat at the table with the entire dish while I gobbled every last bit.

The recipe was originally taken from pampered chef, however, I have done a few things different (in an attempt to make it slightly healthier and spicier).

Keep in mind that you don't have to use chiles or anything spicy if you don't like spice!

What you'll need:
- 1 (16 oz) can refried beans with Tapatio hot sauce mixed in to taste

- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, room temperature

- 1 envelope taco seasoning mix

- 2 cloves garlic, pressed

- 2 cups Mexican blend cheese (found in grocery store) or cheddar cheese, shredded

- 1 small can sliced ripe olives

- 1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped

- 2 green onions, chopped

- 1 jalapeno or serrano chile sliced

- Fresh cilantro, chopped

- Guacamole

- Tortilla chips (From a Mexican restaurant or carniceria if possible... for best taste)

What to do:
1. Spread the refried beans in a square in a 9-inch square baking dish).

2. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, taco seasoning, and garlic.

3. Mix well with electric mixer.

4. Spread cream cheese mixture on top of refried beans.

5. Sprinkle cheese on top of cream cheese mixture.

6. Sprinkle olives, tomatoes, onions, chile peppers, and cilantro on top.

7. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

8. Serve hot with Tortilla Chips with a dollop of guacamole!

flipped out!

flipped out!, originally uploaded by predictablyhungry.

I ran across an ad on facebook the other day for Ben & Jerry's new "Flipped Out!"

I was intrigued, it looked really good and seemed to be a great idea.

Well, while at the grocery store earlier this week I decided to walk down to the ice cream freezer to see how much these little guys run. Turns out they were on sale and were about $2.99.

So I decided to give the chocolate chip cookie dough one a try.

I didn't like them and neither did my friend. Actually getting it out of the cup was a little bit of work (read: minimal), and it was messy.

The chocolate oozed downed the sides while we ate our chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream on top of cookie crumbs.

What did it taste like?

Well, chocolate really. I never would have thought I was eating anything with vanilla in it had I not known.

If you're a huge fan of chocolate you may very well like this. The actual size of the "sundaes" were a bit big. We both got extraordinarily full off each our cups, and decided that if we ever have anything like that again we'd better share.

I understand what Ben & Jerry's was going for. A quick sundae at home with minimal to no work involved.

Personally, I think the "sundae" would taste better had the fudge come in a little heatable packet where you can warm it up in the microwave and drizzle it on top for a more realistic tasting sundae.

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake, originally uploaded by predictablyhungry.

Okay, it's a terrible photo. The ones I took without flash were worse. Michael broke my tripod the other day so I couldn't come up with a decent picture, and I promise you that this cake tastes good.

I ran across this recipe and thought I'd give it a try. I'm pretty confident that it would taste pretty good with other fruits as well such as blackberries and strawberries. I'd contemplated adding blackberries, but others feared it wouldn't taste good.

What you'll need:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
- 1 cup fresh raspberries/1 basket (6 oz.)

What you'll do:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Then beat in vanilla and zest. Add egg and beat well.

4. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.

5. Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes.

6. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto a plate.

Enjoy! I didn't try it with whipped cream, but I do imagine it'd be tasty!

Macaroni and Four Cheeses with a Kick

100_0036, originally uploaded by predictablyhungry.

I've been wanting to try a new macaroni and cheese recipe... something different than the one my mother taught me to whip up.

So for Easter I did it. You can definitely use other cheeses (as these cheeses can be quite costly). I think perhaps I'd use pepperjack to give it more a spicy kick.

So without further ado:

What you'll need:
- 7 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups half and half
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons Franks Red Hot Sauce (or however much you'd like to taste). I like mine spicy.
- 8 1/2 ounces grated parmesan cheese (about 2 cups)
- 1.5 pound elbow macaroni
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 4 ounces grated cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces grated fontina cheese
- 4 ounces grated gruyere cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs (onion bread is tasty)
- 1/2 teaspoon Creole Seasoning

What you'll do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a heavy, medium saucepan melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over low heat.

3. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes.

4. Increase the heat to medium and whisk in the half and half little by little. Cook until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

5. Remove from the heat, season with the salt, pepper, hot sauce and 4 ounces of the grated parmesan. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Cover and set aside.

6. Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil over high heat, and add the macaroni.

7. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to a low boil and cook for about 5 minutes, or until macaroni is slightly undercooked.

8. Drain in a colander and return the macaroni to the pot.

9. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the garlic and stir to combine.

10. Add the sauce and stir until well combined. Set aside.

11. Using the remaining tablespoon of butter, grease a 3-quart baking dish or casserole and set aside.

12. In a large bowl combine 4 ounces of the remaining parmesan cheese, cheddar, fontina and gruyere cheeses.

13. Toss to combine.

14. Place one-third of the macaroni in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

15. Top with one-third of the mixed cheeses.

16. Top with another third of the macaroni and another third of the cheese mixture.

17. Repeat with the remaining macaroni and cheese mixture.

18. In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, remaining 1/2 ounce of grated parmesan, and the creole seasoning and toss to combine. Sprinkle this over the top of the macaroni and cheese.

19. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the macaroni and cheese is bubbly and hot and the top is golden brown.

20. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Margarita Fruit Salad

Margarita Fruit Salad, originally uploaded by predictablyhungry.

I made a version of this last summer, and it was a big hit. I used different fruits, and a different recipe (no alcohol) then (I'll post that one after this current one).

So this year I decided to make a version of this fruit salad using different fruits (that I had on hand), and alcohol. Though, I'm pretty sure most of the alcohol burns off in the boil, as it's not an overwhelming taste.

It's recommended that you let it sit at least four hours in the refrigerator, I kept it in overnight (which didn't make the fruit mushy).

So, for the recipe (as seen in the picture):
** I used these fruits, you could use whatever you'd like**

What you'll need:
Mixed Fruit
- 1 cup blackberries
- 2 mangoes, peeled and diced
- 1 grapefruit, peeled and wedged
- 1 large orange, peeled and wedged
- 2 cups strawberries, hulled and diced

"Sauce"
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar (depending on your taste)
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 6 tablespoons tequila
- 6 teaspoons triple sec
- 3 teaspoons margarita mix or lime juice

Optional
- 1 cup unsweetened toasted coconut flakes

What to do:
1. To make the sauce heat the sugar and orange juice over medium heat in a small saucepan.

2. Stir for a few minutes until sugar dissolves

3. Stir in tequila, triple sec, and margarita mix. Let cool.

4. Once cooled, combine with fruit in a large bowl, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours.

5. If using coconut, sprinkle on right before serving.

Another idea came up while eating this, a dollop of whipped cream would go wonderfully on this mixture.

It's a great snack for everyday or summertime cool down.

Baconnaise Deviled Eggs

Baconnaise Deviled Eggs, originally uploaded by predictablyhungry.

Easter away from the family is pretty tough so last year I decided to make my own little feasts for myself (with a Quiche Lorraine).

This year I opted for my egg dish to be Deviled Eggs. For those of you curious, the rest of the Easter menu included Orange Icing Cinnamon Rolls, Four Cheese Macaroni and Cheese, and Margarita Fruit Salad (I'll post more recipes as the day progresses).

Anyway, back to my deviled eggs. Having just bought Baconnaise a few weeks ago I decided to give them a try in my eggs.

They turned out pretty damn good, without an overwhelming taste of bacon.

I hard boiled 9 eggs, peeled, split, and set aside the yolks.

Ingredients needed:
1. Baconnaise
2. Mayonnaise
3. Yellow mustard
4. Peppered Bacon Salt
5. Tabasco
6. Green onions
7. Sweet relish
8. Paprika
9. Salt and Pepper

After the yolks are gathered in one bowl stir in Baconnaise and mayonnaise on a 1:1 ratio until you reach consistency desired.

Squirt in a ribbon of mustard (not too much).

Add tabasco to taste.

Add green onions.

Add a generous amount of bacon salt (it isn't too overwhelming).

Add salt and pepper to taste.

I like to make the filling the night before, as I find this allows the taste of tabasco and green onions to full absorb into the yolks. If you are doing the same, keep the yolks and white separate overnight or they may get funky. Be sure to keep the yolks covered or you can even slip them into a ziploc bag for easy dispensing later (by cutting a corner off the bag).

When you're ready to serve the eggs, spoon the mixture in and sprinkle with paprika.

Enjoy!

Burger King Onion Rings Flavored Snacks

Burger King Onion rings, originally uploaded by mt•MT•Mt.

I've had my eye on the Burger King Flavored Snacks line for awhile, but just couldn't bring myself to paying near $3 for them at Walgreens.

Good news! They were at the local $1 store, so for a buck I just had to give them a try (this was the only flavor they had).

I anticipated a chip similar to my beloved Funyuns, but was a little skeptical about their brown color. Which brings to mind... how am I not put off by the Funyun's yellow color?

Anyway, the BK onion ring snack are smaller and thicker than your average Funyun, and well, they don't really taste like them either. Which is probably a good thing, as they're a unique snack.

Upon first bite I was hit with an onion-y with a hint of sour cream flavor. I didn't like it... or so I thought. With the onion flavor lingering in my mouth I found myself getting up just to try one more, and another, and another.

They're addicting, and I believe, way more tastier than a Funyun.

And no, I probably still wouldn't pay $3 a bag.

Anyone ever try their ketchup and fries one? I'll have to keep an eye out for if/when those go on sale!

(Note: Thank you to mt*MT*mt for use of their wonderful photo).