Meat Lover’s Pizza Dip

Kim

So, I heard there’s a big football game coming up pretty soon. And y’all know me, any excuse to make & eat party food. This pizza dip would be great for a Super Bowl party (or any party), for after school snacking, or you can go crazy and eat it for dinner (which is exactly what my husband did one night recently.) It can be a low-carb alternative to traditional pizza, depending on what you eat it with.

You can also add whatever pizza toppings you like. I made this a ‘Meat Lover’s’ version, full of (turkey) pepperoni, seasoned ground beef, and bacon. Sausage and Canadian Bacon would have been good too.

This is a cheesy, creamy dip, that is good with tortilla chips, corn chips, pita chips, toasted French bread, bread sticks, and the list goes on. I wasn’t a big fan of the pretzels used in the above pic however. They turned a little soft & I didn’t like the texture. Of course, the dip is also good eaten with a spoon!

I used:

1 lb ground turkey sausage

1 jar No sugar added Ragu Light Spaghetti Sauce (with lots of added oregano!) – feel free to use your favorite pizza or pasta sauce

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

turkey pepperoni – to taste

1/2 small diced onion

**These cheese quantities are estimates. My crowd likes LOTS of cheese, so you can adjust it to suit your fancy. I mean taste buds. You can also add mushrooms, peppers, whatever your family likes on a pizza. I’ve also made this with eggs mixed in with the meat to form a ‘base’ …more like a traditional pizza. However, since Mr. Three is allergic to eggs, I can’t do that anymore.

DIRECTIONS:

Cook your ground turkey and onion together, drain if needed. Place a little sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish (I used a 9×13), dump your turkey/onion on top, add the rest of your sauce, top with cheese, place pepperoni on top. Bake until golden brown and bubbly.

Recipe adapted from and my Pizza Casserole

As you can see, the amounts and ingredients are very versatile. Anything you like on pizza will probably work well in this dip. Feel free to add more or less meat, cheese, and spices.

Will you be watching the Super Bowl? Thought about what food you will be serving? That is the most important part, right?
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Creamy Hoisin Egg Roll Dipping Sauce

Kim

This post was sponsored by MINH® Mini Chicken Egg Rolls and I was compensated to write it. Regardless, what I have written reflects my own opinion and experience. I hope you find it useful.

The holidays are in full swing, and with that brings social gatherings. And obviously you can’t have a get together without lots of good eats…otherwise it’s just a meeting. (Ok, so I’m sort of paraphrasing Julia Child, but she definitely had a point.) I love party food (aka appetizers, appies, finger foods, or hors d’oeuvres <– hardest word ever to spell)

Sometimes we have hors d’oeuvre night where we just have a bunch of party food for dinner. My kids love that (for obvious reasons.) It’s mainly for “special occasions”. Anyway, as much as I love making everything from scratch, like homemade egg rolls, I often just don’t. have. time. So, I was thrilled to find these at Sam’s Club.

They are affordable, you get a bunch in a box, and most important – they are delish!

They are the perfect size to serve at a party too. They bake in the oven in under 15 minutes, and come with a tasty sweet chili sauce.

I’ve sprinkled this platter with dried cilantro and red pepper flakes (green & red!) but it could be easily omitted, or just added to the sauces. You could also use basil I think, but I would not recommend oregano (personal opinion).

Along with the sweet chili sauce, I wanted a white sauce (I almost made it green with the addition of green dragon sauce, but I wasn’t sure if it would look appetizing.) This is a mild, creamy, slightly sweet sauce that pairs well with the egg rolls and perfect for those who have a low heat tolerance (everyone in my house except me!), but you can easily spice it up by increasing the chili paste or adding red pepper flakes.

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In addition to mini egg rolls, my other “go-to” party foods are sausage balls (these are a must at Christmas and New Year’s!), Creamy Sausage Dip, Chips with restaurant style salsa, chips and dip, cheese and crackers, and at Christmas, there will be fudge on the dessert table, along with these…

Pretzel Treats…my kids LOVE these. Obviously, we don’t usually have fancy parties. We have family, kid-friendly parties! What’s your favorite party food?

Wine Jelly

Kim

This wine jelly is perfect for the holidays. Or any day in my opinion. It can be served at brunch with croissants, etc. or it can be served over cream cheese with crackers for a nice appetizer.

It’s relatively easy to make and you can use red or white wine. Another plus is that you can use cheap wine, no need to use anything expensive. So, cheap and easy. The way I like it. *ahem* I’m talking about recipes of course.

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Recipe Source:

This makes a nice gift for the holidays, and I loved the flavor. I look forward to making it again, experimenting with different wines.

This post was featured at:

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Baked Shrimp Won Ton Cups & other (healthier) Appies! {#Nasoya #Sponsored}

Kim

This post is sponsored by Nasoya. All opinions are 100% my own.

Well, somehow Christmas is OVER. As I say every year, I have no idea how it came and went so fast. It doesn’t matter that I started listening to Christmas music in November and *gasp* had my tree up BEFORE Thanksgiving. Yep, I sure did…doesn’t matter however, because Christmas still came and went too fast.

Oh yeah, and 4 weeks before Christmas…Number One got sick. Three weeks before Christmas, Mr. Three got sick. Two weeks before Christmas, Miss Two got sick. And guess what happened ONE week before Christmas? You guessed it…mama got sick. So, that is why my last blog post was December 16. *insert sad face* I have all this cool Christmas stuff to share too…and who wants to read about that now? It’s New Year’s Eve. Party time! Then it’s ohmigahhh….resolution time. Time to give up everything we indulged in over the past month. *insert crying sad face*.

Luckily, I have something that will make the transition from indulgent eating to healthy eating virtually painless. It’s also party ready, fun, cute, portioned controlled, low fat. low in Weight Watchers points…no, I’m not talking about air. These actually taste great and are portable! Great for New Year’s, football, appetizers, or if you are like me, can make a meal out of them. They are Baked Shrimp WonTon Cups. They are quick and easy to prepare too. You can make the filling with whatever veggies and quantities you like. I’m just going to give what I use, and you can play with the recipe to make them your own.

Baked Shrimp Won Ton Cups

Filling:
1 bag Cole Slaw Mix (or you can shred your own cabbage and carrots)
3-4 green onions, chopped (I usually use whatever onion I have on hand, green/red/yellow)
1/4 – 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped (just depends on how much you like celery!)
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bag frozen small shrimp, thawed and cut in half or thirds (can also use chicken/beef/pork)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce (I prefer tamari)
1/2-1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (Hoisin is strong and sweet. I use it if I have it, but it’s not mandatory)
salt and pepper, (to taste)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place won tons in a mini muffin pan, one won ton per muffin cup. (Just push them down in the cup, there will be some overlapping). Set aside.
In a skillet over medium heat, heat tablespoon of olive oil. Add onions and celery. Heat until onions begin to soften. Add garlic, heat a minute or two until fragrant.
Add bag of cole slaw mix, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and salt and pepper. Carefully stir (my skillet is always very full until cabbage begins to wilt.)
Add thawed shrimp, stir frequently until shrimp is pink. Once shrimp is done and cabbage is softened, remove from heat.
Place a tablespoon of mixture into the won ton cup. Bake won tons approximately 5-7 minutes, until lightly browned and crisp.
Remove cups from oven and place on serving tray. Top with cilantro and drizzle with Ponzu Sauce if desired.

*Feel free to add any veggies and seasonings you like. My only recommendation is watch the amount of liquid produced (some veggies leach a lot of water out). You want as little liquid as possible in your wrappers because it will cause them to fall apart.

This is the same filling I use for egg rolls too. I love baked egg rolls, which is odd, because I do not like fried egg rolls, and we all know everything is usually better fried. To make the baked egg rolls, use the same filling, put a few tablespoons of filling in an (fold them better than I do!), place on a baking sheet, spray both sides with olive oil or cooking spray. Bake about 10 minutes per side. They are healthy and delicious!

My kids love these Baked Mozzarella Sticks. They are so easy, as it is just a mozzarella cheese stick (“string” cheese) wrapped in an egg roll wrapper and baked. Spraying both sides with olive oil or cooking spray just like with the egg rolls. They can be dipped in marinara or pizza sauce too.

Since my kids love Baked Cheese Sticks, I knew they would like Baked Cheese Cups too. I was right! Just add cheese to your won ton cups and bake until the cheese is melted and won tons are brown and crisp. You could serve these along side a sauce as well. So much healthier than frying and I love the little cups for a party or as an appetizer. You could add anything really…any dip can be placed in a won ton cup and suddenly becomes portable! Tonight I am making Buffalo Chicken Dip in won ton cups…it will make it so easy to eat! You can also bake the shells then add things like chicken salad or pimento cheese…the possibilities are endless. It makes me want to put pretty much everything in a won ton cup. What can I say, I love party food.

Happy New Year’s Eve as my little one said first thing this morning! I’d love to hear what’s on your menu for tonight. Or tomorrow…I haven’t fully decided what I’m cooking for New Year’s Day yet…but I’m pretty sure it won’t be black eyed peas!

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3 ingredient Meatballs & other time-saving Holiday Hacks (#sponsored)

Kim

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of . All opinions are 100% mine.

The Christmas countdown is ON in the Mo’Betta house! I have a 6 year old that is literally counting down the days, and his excitement is contagious. (Let’s just hope the cold he had last week is not. ‘Tis the season.) I’m sure we all have some favorite recipes for the holidays, some being more labor intensive than others (can you say old-fashioned fudge?!), but we all need a few quick and easy ones lined up that will feed a crowd, yet be delicious. I thought I would share a few that have served me well over the years. These little ‘holiday hacks’ get me out of the kitchen, and able to spend more time with my friends and family.

These 3-ingredient meatballs have been around for years. They make an appearance around the holidays, as well as baby showers, bridal showers, you name it. I got the recipe from one of my uncles many years ago, and I’m surprised it has not made the blog before now. The ingredient list seems a little odd, but it works! I always have people asking for the recipe…and it’s SO easy!

3-ingredient Meatballs

2 lbs. frozen meatballs
1 bottle (12 ounces) chili sauce
1 bottle (12-15 ounces) grape jelly

*These can be prepared on the stove top, or in a slow cooker. The slow cooker is also great for keeping them warm during a party or get-together. Amounts can also be adjusted based on the number of people you are feeding.

Add meatballs to crock-pot aka slow cooker. Mix together the chili sauce and grape jelly, then pour over meatballs. Heat through on high for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally, then turn heat to low or ‘warm’ setting for serving.

I’ve seen many variations of this recipe so feel free to play with it…you can use barbecue sauce in the place of chili sauce; you can use cranberry sauce in the place of grape jelly; you can use turkey meatballs instead of beef, which I do often. makes original and turkey meatballs that are also gluten free. They look like this:

but you can use the to find them near you. Before heading out, I would go coupon! Another quick and easy meal is to heat up your meatballs, and add them to slider buns with a little pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese. Stick them in the oven to melt the cheese…

In addition to frozen meatballs, you can save yourself a lot of time by stocking the freezer with other snacks that can easily be heated and served like Farm Rich Mozzarella Sticks, Loaded Potato Skins, Pepperoni Pizzeria Bites, Toasted Ravioli, and Breaded Mushrooms. My girls and I LOVE Loaded Potato Skins. Top with a little sour cream (or plain yogurt) and green onion and you are good to go.

Sausage Balls are another family favorite, and to save time, I mix up a batch early in the season, roll into balls, and freeze. Then when company comes or we want sausage balls, I can pop them in the oven straight from the freezer.

What about a breakfast timesaver?

These Oven Baked Pancakes can serve a crowd quickly with all the great comforting taste of pancakes, without all the standing and flipping over a griddle. Or this Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole that can be made up the night before and just baked when ready in the morning.

And of course, if you know me, you know that I will definitely have plenty of sweets…our favorites being a sweet and salty combo…

This Chocolate Lover’s Snack Mix can be whipped up fast and easy, using basically whatever is in your pantry. Also, these little gems…

These easy Turtle treats can be made in minutes.

So, these are a few of my ‘Holiday Hacks’…feel free to share yours!

You can find more recipe ideas by following Farm Rich on . (They are also on , , and )

Restaurant Style Salsa

Kim

I love salsa…but not the thick chunky stuff. I like restaurant style salsa and have found a quick and easy recipe that is SO good and SO easy. Which, for those of you that have been here before, know is my M-O. I don’t do complicated.

I always use my food processor, but I’m sure you could make it in smaller batches in a blender or bullet.

I’ve made this with red and white onion, I’ve also made it with and without fresh jalapeno (not pictured above). I also left the lime juice out of the ingredient pic. When I use the Rotel with Lime Juice and Cilantro I will reduce the amount of lime juice called for in the recipe. It’s easy to tweak the recipe to get it exactly how you like it.

Restaurant Style Salsa

1 can (28 oz) Whole Peeled Tomatoes (with juice)
2 cans (10 oz) Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies *I like to use one can Rotel Original and one can Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Lime Juice and Cilantro
1/2 cup cilantro (or to taste)

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 whole jalapeno, sliced and seeds removed if desired

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
juice of 1/2 fresh lime

Add all of the ingredients into the bowl of a large food processor (or process smaller quantities and add together in large bowl). Pulse until desired consistency is reached. Refrigerate for an hour for best flavor.

I like to chill the salsa and give the flavors time to hang out together, then taste to determine if additional salt or seasoning is needed.

Recipe Source:

Then I like to consume large quantities of salsa with Multigrain Tortilla Chips from Sam’s Club. Totally justified since I’m eating all those veggies. Right? Right. *wink*

If you are lucky enough to have an abundance of fresh veggies right now, you might want to check out this Jalapeno Salsa also. Not as easy to make, but very good and a great way to use your garden bounty.

This recipe was featured at !
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Pimento Cheese “Caviar of the South”

Kim

First, let me clear up a dilemma…the pimento vs pimiento dilemma. Why different spellings? Is it like doughnuts vs donuts?! These are question I ponder. Well, worry no more. You can spell it either way, it means the same thing, the variation in spelling has to do with the country of origin (and, you know, if you really want to know more…Google is your friend). Pimento/pimiento is a cherry pepper that can be mild or spicy depending on the variety. The ones I buy in the jar from the grocery store are pretty mild.

If you are from the South, you probably are very familiar with pimento cheese. It’s kind of a Southern staple found at picnics, potlucks, baby showers…you name it. Little pimento cheese sandwiches on white bread cut into little triangles or shapes…a tradition 🙂 They are also delicious. However, my favorite way to eat pimiento cheese?

On crackers, topped with pickled jalapenos! Yummm! It’s also good, as I’ve mentioned before, on top of a burger…

Or, you can make a grilled cheese with it. Now, there are a couple of different ways to make pimiento/pimento cheese. The easiest method…

Pimiento Cheese

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (or you can mix sharp and mild)
1 jar of pimientos (I use the large jar, but if you are not a huge fan, you may want to use the small jar)
light mayo – enough to bind it all together. I never measure this, and the quantity will vary based on which jar of pimientos you use, if you use the juice of the pimientos (I do) and personal preference.

Add cheese to a medium size mixing bowl. Dump in the entire jar of pimientos (juice and all). Mix well. Add enough mayo to bind it all together. Add salt and pepper to taste. I like lots of pepper!

This is how I have made mine for years…until recently. I recently made Bobby’s version. If you are thinking Bobby who? Well, Bobby DEEN of course! Paula’s beloved son. Regardless of your feelings towards Paula and her ‘I said a bad word 20 years ago that used to be socially acceptable, however ugly it is, and now it’s not for a certain segment of the population but okay for others’ drama; the woman can cook. Albeit not the healthiest of meals, but she has a lot of recipes that are pretty awesome. Her son Bobby has come along and often times will ‘healthify’ some of his mama’s recipes, or make his own. Anyway, this is my version of which I originally found through .

Bobby’s Pimento Cheese

6-ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups grated sharp cheddar
2 cups grated Monterey Jack
1/4 cup light mayonnaise (or too taste)
1 large jar pimentos, undrained
Salt, Cracked black pepper, Onion Powder – too taste

Mix cream cheese with a mixer until smooth and creamy.
Stir in both cheeses, and entire jar of pimentos (juice and all).
Mix well (I do this by hand, but you can use a mixer if you want a smoother/creamier spread).
Stir in enough mayo to reach desired consistency – you may want a little more or less than I use. Cheese mixture will thicken up a little the next day.
Add a little salt, plenty of pepper and a little onion powder to reach desired taste.

Serve with crackers, veggie sticks or as a sandwich filling.

Are you a pimento cheese fan?

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Super Bowl Round-Up

Kim

If some of you are like me and just now digging out from the snow, you may be heading to the grocery store to stock up on supplies for the game tomorrow. I may not know who’s playing, but I have my Super Bowl menu pretty much figured out – priorities.

(Pictured, left to right)

Eastern NC Pork BBQ (Crock Pot)

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Oven Baked Tacos

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Bubble Up Pizza

Italian Meatball Sliders

Sausage Balls

and if you like any of those, you may also like:

Chicken BBQ in the Crockpot

Creamy Sausage Dip

Ghetto Tacos

Baked-not-fried Pickles

Mac n’Cheese Pizza

Bubble Up Taco Casserole

Hot Ham Dip Sliders

Speedy Sausage Muffins

-OR-

Meatball Sub Casserole

Pizza Puffs

Pizza Monkey Bread

Cincinnati Chili

“Cheater” Chili (super quick and easy, 3 ingredients!)

Hot Banana Pepper Poppers

and just a suggestion, but the best chips ever (IMO)

Let’s not forget the dessert!

Quick and easy Bisquick Cookies

Chocolate Lover’s Chex Mix

Chicago Mix (for the sweet and salty lover – just sub out the candy corn for your favorite candy!)

Reese’s ‘Better Than Football’ Cake

Looking for something simple and low fat? The 2-Ingredient Angel Food Cake is the ticket.

Or, need something low carb?

These Cinnamon Crunchies will satisfy the low-carber’s sweet tooth!

You can also turn almost anything you have on hand into a delicious flatbread or pizza…just stock up on some Flatbreads. They are delicious!

{Disclosure} I was sent samples to try, and there will definitely be more of these in my future. Expect some recipe posts soon!

You can also keep things neat and tidy by having Stonefire Pita Bread ready for filling at your Super Bowl gathering. That way, when people jump up and down, the contents won’t go flying everywhere 🙂 Yep, always thinking over here. ha!

Have a great weekend!

Creamy Sausage Dip {with skinny option}

Kim

Sausage is like crack. It rivals the beloved bacon. They each have their own special place in my meat-loving, nitrate infused world. In other words, I love sausage. I don’t eat it often, because let’s face it, it’s not a health food…BUT, let’s make an exception for this dip. It’s a great appie and should make any sausage loving person very happy. Oh, and it has cream cheese in it. And we know cream cheese makes errything a little mo’betta.

This dip goes by many names: sausage dip, cream cheese sausage dip, Rotel Sausage Dip, etc. Since I was out of Rotel when I made this, I’m just calling it Creamy Sausage Dip! I used salsa in the place of the Rotel, and it wasn’t as spicy as I like, but still delicious. I’ve been making this for years, and originally got the recipe from my cousin. There are variations all over the net, but this is my verison.

Creamy Sausage Dip

1 lb. sausage, cooked and crumbled (and drained if needed) *hot or mild

1 can Tomatoes or 1 1/2 cups salsa, drained

2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese (1 also works, will just be thicker, as pictured)

Mix cooked sausage and cream cheese in a pot over medium heat. Stir often until cream cheese has mostly melted. Add Rotel or salsa. Stir to combine and continue to heat until cream cheese is completely melted and mixture is warm throughout. Dip can be placed (or prepared) in a crock pot to keep warm while being served.

Serve with chips, crackers, pita crisps, etc.

Want your Creamy Sausage Dip to be a little more waistline friendly?

Skinny Creamy Sausage Dip

1 lb. turkey sausage, cooked and crumbled (buy it or make it)

1 can Rotel Tomatoes or 1 1/2 cups salsa, drained

1 or 2 (8 oz) package(s) fat free cream cheese

Prepare as above.

Serve with homemade tortilla chips, or store bought baked tortilla chips. It’s still not a health food, but a little more figure friendly! ‘Cuz everyone wants to eat party food…dieting or not!

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Buffalo Chicken Dip

Kim

Are you ready for some football?! Yeah, whatever. Any excuse to make party food is reason enough for me to get excited! I like the Super Bowl for the commercials, half time performances, and as I said…the food. Buffalo Chicken Dip is probably going to make an appearance on many a table on game day. Because it’s AWESOME. It’s creamy, spicy, cheesy and I could (and sometimes do) make a meal of it!

Okay, so it’s not the prettiest thing in the world. Especially with my non-photography skillzzzz. But it’s super yummy all the same. Here, take a bite.

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Recipe source:

If you are a buffalo chicken fan, you might also want to check out:

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

Buffalo Chicken Chili

What will you be eating on Super Bowl Sunday?

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