Raspberry Chipotle Bean Dip

A recipe from my mama, posting this for Lauren :)

Ingredients:

1 can black beans (rinsed)

1/2 jar Raspberry Chipotle Salsa

1 brick regular cream cheese, cold (not softened)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Select a medium-sized stoneware or similar baking dish to bake the dip. We usually use an oval stoneware dish measuring 11” across.

Combine 1 can rinsed black beans with 1/2 jar Raspberry Chipotle salsa. Set aside. 

Place the brick of cream cheese between two sheets of wax paper and roll out with a rolling pin to approximately the size of your baking dish. Place this in the freezer for about ten minutes to allow it to set.

Place the bean/salsa mixture in the baking dish. Peel cream cheese from the wax paper and place on top of the mixture.

Bake at 350 for approximately 20 minutes or until bubbly and warm. Enjoy with tortilla chips.

Fast Frozen Delicious

Just in time for summer, Taco Bell and McDonald’s have both introduced new frozen drinks. McDonald’s has launched its frozen strawberry lemonade, which is a tart concoction of lemonade and strawberry syrup, while Taco Bell has expanded its Frutista Freeze line with a new Berry Pomegranate freeze.

(I’m not even going to report on the sugar and calorie counts on these beverages-after all, I’m not drinking them for my health! :)

I’ve tried both-and the Berry Pomegranate Frutista Freeze is the hands-down winner. It’s quite sweet but with a refreshing berry taste. I liked the Strawberry Lemonade, but it was almost too tart. I think the McDonald’s drink might be better if there were more of a balance between sweet and sour, but I’m sure as the weather heats up it will be just what I crave!

Cheesy BBQ Chicken Breast

Tony Roma’s restaurant was one of my favorites when I lived in Las Vegas. They have an amazing selection of barbecue sauces-so good that I could have just eaten their bread rolls dipped in sauce, and called it a day.

This is my interpretation of a recipe that they used to feature in the early 2000s- A barbecued chicken breast topped with french fried onions, cheese, tomato and scallions. 

Ingredients:

Four boneless, skinless chicken breasts

One bottle Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce

1/2 cup French Fried Onions

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 Roma tomato, chopped

4 scallions, chopped

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  

Prepare chicken breasts on a separate plate by sprinkling with salt, pepper and garlic on both sides. Grill chicken breasts (using an indoor or outdoor grill) until cooked almost all the way through. Timing will vary based on the thickness of the chicken breasts and the heat of the grill. 

While the chicken is cooking, chop the tomato and scallions and place together in a small bowl.

Empty the bottle of barbecue sauce into a bowl. Dip each chicken breast in the sauce until thoroughly coated. Place sauce-coated chicken breasts on the foil-lined baking sheet. Top with about 1/8 cup french fried onions per breast, then top each with approximately 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 400 degrees about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Remove chicken from oven and place each breast on a serving plate. Garnish each piece with a small amount of the tomatoes and scallions. Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans.

Ingredient of the Day: Hot Sauce

I like it hot-and I have a hot sauce for every occasion.

One entire shelf on the door of my refrigerator is dedicated to hot sauce. We love spicy food and I add a little bit of heat to almost every dish I make. Here are some of my favorites and how I use them:

Tabasco: I use this on the rare occasion that I eat eggs. I also love Tabasco in brothy soup.

Sriracha: I use this almost every week, and always have it in my fridge. I love the bottle because the writing is all in Korean and it features a creepy looking rooster. I use this in many things, above all Asian food. I usually stir in about a half a teaspoon anytime I use teriyaki sauce. I love it on lettuce wraps (see previous post). I also stir a bit of this into sweet barbecue sauce to create a more tangy flavor. A little bit on sushi also goes a long way. Adding a bit of Sriracha to a few tablespoons of mayo makes an awesome dip for fried seafood or crab cakes.

Tapatio: My go-to Mexican hot sauce. I use this on tacos, burritos, nachos…you name it. It is by far my favorite of any Mexican hot sauce because it adds amazing flavor as well as heat. My favorite (and most frequent use) of Tapatio is on my Mexican Shrimp Cocktail. (also in a previous post :)

Buffalo Wild Wings Sauces: One of my kids only eats hot wings. At least, I have never seen him order anything else in a restaurant. Every Christmas I buy him a 3 pack of wing sauce and we always keep some in the fridge. He tends to like the super hot flavors, but I usually stick to Medium or Asian Zing- but they are all wonderful! I’ll be posting my super-simple Hot Wing recipe this week-we just made them for 12 guests on Wednesday and they were fabulous.

Frank’s Hot Sauce: Another great hot sauce for making Buffalo Wings. I also love Frank’s on pizza as an alternative to jalapenos or crushed red peppers. Frank’s is also great in soup.

My Salsa. I canned 75 pints of salsa last August, and they are all gone as of today. We eat a lot of salsa here. My salsa recipe is also posted in this blog. I make a red roasted jalapeno and anaheim chile salsa, but we are all equal opportunity salsa eaters. I especially love green salsas during the hot summer months and especially on Flank Steak Tacos. Just this week I wrangled a new green salsa recipe from my friend Brandon which I’ll be trying soon. :)

I’m not sure if this is a blog post or a reminder to my future self why I have acid reflux. I guess I’ll just have to wait and find out.