Spicy Spinach and Artichoke Dip
It was shortly after the beginning of the year that we had a “dip off” at work. I made this spicy spinach and artichoke dip; Justin quickly deemed it the recipe of the year. The dip almost did not make it to work..
You may find that 10 full ounces of fresh spinach is too much, or perhaps too little. Adjust accordingly. We only use half cans of the chiles and the jalapenos to tame the spice, more/less can be added to taste.
Ingredients
16 oz Softened Cream Cheese
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10 oz chopped fresh spinach
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1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the softened cream cheese, mayo, and sour cream together until smooth.
3. Chop the spinach and the artichoke hearts; use a blender or a food processor to chop them finely.
4. Stir in the artichoke hearts, jalapenos, green chiles, parmesan cheese, garlic, garlic salt, cayenne, and salt. Slowly stir in the chopped spinach until evenly distributed throughout the dip.
5. Scoop into baking dish; bake for approximately 25 minutes or until the middle is hot and the top has lightly browned.
6. Serve immediately with crackers, sliced baguette, or tortilla chips.
Sweet and Spicy Marinade
Perfect for game or red meat
Starters
6 Tablespoons Honey
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2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
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Whisk all ingredients together and pour over 1-2lbs of meat; marinade for at least 30 minutes. For game meat, recommended to salt brine the meat and then marinade overnight.
New York Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
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Filling ctd:
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1. Heat Oven to 325 degrees °F
2. In blender or food processor, blend all crust ingredients until they start to stick together.
3. Press the crust into the bottom of the desired pan (10 inch springform, cupcake pans, mini cupcake pans, pie pans etc.)
4. Bake crust for approximately 10 minutes; cool for 3-5 minutes
5. While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat together both kinds of cream cheese (32 oz total) and 1 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tsps vanilla, and 2 TBSP lemon juice with a mixer on medium speed until smooth (no chunks). On low speed, add eggs 1-2 at a time and continue beating until well blended. Lastly, add the flour and beat until smooth.
6. Pour filling into the cooled crust. Bake for 55 minutes at 325 degrees °F. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
7. Serve with toppings of choice; may swirl in fruit syrup, caramel, or fudge but may require additional baking.
Note: if baking in cupcake pan or mini cupcake pan, baking time will be significantly less. Bake until edges are lightly browned.
Broccoli Beef
Ingredients
1-2lbs of steak strips
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Sauce:
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1. Cut meat into ¼ inch strips.
**Game meat: soak meat in a mixture of salt, lemon juice, and water. Approximately 2 Tbsp of salt to every 2 cups of water and ½ cup of Lemon Juice. Soak for approximately 4 hours. Drain before marinating.
2. In a bowl or Tupperware container, combine marinade ingredients. Add more beef broth if necessary to cover all of the meat. Marinade for 2-4 hours.
3. In a non-stick skillet, heat a drizzle of sesame oil. When the oil is hot, add beef and cook until browned. Pieces should remain somewhat “squishy” or *medium."
4. In saucepan, drizzle with sesame oil and add minced garlic; once the garlic is aromatic, add cornstarch and mix until garlic begins to clump. Slowly add the soy sauce, beef broth, and siracha. Continue stirring until thickened.
5. Add sauce to the steak and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add steamed broccoli.
6. Serve hot and over rice or ramen.
Soufflé tcho chocolate soufflè, tahini cookie 10
Cheesecake watsonville grown strawberries, graham cracker crust 11
Ice Cream homemade - black sesame, salted caramel, tcho chocolate, balsamic strawberry 7
Warm Apple Crumb Pie ikedas homemade crust, vanilla bean ice cream 9
Magic Bars
Vegan and Paleo-friendly recipe
Ingredients
Shortbread
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Toppings
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Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350; line 8x8 pan with parchment paper. Set aside
2. Make the crust: in medium bowl, combine almond and coconut flour, cocnut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Mix well until completely moistened and evenly combined. Press evenly into the bottom of the lined pan. Bake for 15-17 minutes until the edges are golden.
3. Make sweetened condensed milk: while the crust bakes, combine coconut milk, honey, and salt in a saucepan. Set over medium heat and whisk until boiling. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened (24-45 minutes). Use approximately 1 ¼ cup of the milk for the topping.
4. Make the topping: Mix the shredded coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips in a bowl.
5. Remove the crust from oven.
6. Top the crust with the topping mixture; pour the sweetened condensed milk slowly over the top and ensure all toppings are covered.
7. Bake for an additional 25 minutes; remove and let cool before serving.
Churro Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
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Cinnamon/Sugar Dusting
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Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder.
4. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix just until all combined (mixture may be a little crumbly).
5. For the dusting: combine the sugars and the cinnamon in a separate bowl.
6. Roll the dough into 2 ½ inch balls. (I use my large cookie scoop) and roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture until well coated.
7. Place cookie dough balls onto cookie sheet or stoneware approximately 3 inches apart.
8. Bake 10 minutes. Cookies should be puffy and not browned; allow cookies to rest on baking sheets for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Cool before frosting.
9. For the frosting: beat the butter and shortening together. Add the vanilla and salt. Mix together.
10. Slowly add the powdered sugar and water. Hold back a Tbsp of the water to make sure it is the right consistency. Add the remaining water if the frosting is too thick.
11. Beat until the frosting is smooth.
12. Add brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix until incorporated into the frosting. Will make the frosting grainy to resemble a churro.
13. Frost the cookies and allow to sit before serving.
Orange Chicken
Ingredients
3-4 Chicken Breasts OR 2lb porkloin/chops
1 cup sweet baby rays bbq sauce
1 cup sweet orange marmalade
2 TBSP of soysauce
1 cup of cornstarch
2 eggs
Frying oil
Directions
1. Cut meat into 1 inch chunks.
2. Whisk 2 eggs in medium size bowl.
3. Start heating oil on medium heat; may take a while. Be sure to have enough oil to fully submerge your meat. I use a wok for this.
4. Start heating BBQ sauce, marmalade, and soy sauce on low heat in separate sauce pan; stir occasionally.
5. Stir meat into egg; move to separate bowl or plate and sprinkle with cornstarch.
6. Drop meat into oil piece by piece, cook until golden brown. (4ish minutes.) Make sure meat is cooked all the way through. This may take a few batches; dry off excess oil by draining on paper towels.
7. Pour sauce over cooked meat, toss thoroughly, serve with rice.
Meaty Lasagna
**Uses Cottage Cheese instead of the traditional Ricotta
Great for game meat
Ingredients
2lbs ground red meat
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Filling (can be doubled for extra goodness)
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Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; prepare 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. Boil water; add lasagna noodles and cook until nearly done. Drain and allow to cool flat.
3. While the noodles boil, begin the meat sauce. Brown the meat with onions over medium heat, breaking the meat apart. Drain any excess fat off the pan; add in the garlic, pasta sauce, oregano, pepper flakes, and any salt or pepper. Bring to slight boil; lower heat and allow to simmer.
4. Prepare the filling; combine cottage cheese, egg, parmesan cheese, and seasonings in a bowl.
5. Construct the lasagna; in the bottom of the prepared baking dish, spread a thin layer of the meat sauce. Top with a layer of 4 noodles. Spread half of the remaining sauce on top of the noodles and spread half of the cottage cheese mixture on top of that. Add another layer of noodles, repeat the meat and cottage cheese layer. Add the final layer of noodles and top with mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cheese is melted and browning.
Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Dough
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2 teaspoons cream of tartar
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