Corn Salad

As promised, here is your side dish to go with the enchiladas from yesterday! This really is the perfect side to almost any Mexican inspired meal, and it would be really great for summer cookouts as a cold side dish. Let's face it, any of Paula Deen's recipes are going to be good.

I have a general rule that I'm allowed to drool over Paula's recipes, but under no circumstances am I allowed to try any of her recipes that contain butter. Luckily this one doesn't, but it does contain an obscene amount of mayonnaise. (I used light to help redeem myself.) Hey, its Paula Deen, what do you want? The only thing I tweaked with the recipe was leaving out the pepper and onion. I didn't have any on hand so I used a can of Rotel and it was fabulous. Next time I think I'll do the same thing, it really gave it more of a Mexican flare!

Corn Salad

• 2 cans whole kernel corn, drained 
• 2 c. grated cheddar cheese
• 1 c. mayonnaise
• 1 c. green pepper chopped
• 1/2 c. red onion, chopped (I substituted a can of Rotel in place of the onion/pepper)
• 1 10 1/2 oz. bag coarsely crushed Chili Cheese Frito's (I just used regular)

Directions:
Combine first 5 ingredients and chill.
Right before serving add the crushed Frito's.

Cheese Enchiladas

Anything that contains large amounts of cheese is pretty much guaranteed to be a winner in my book. And just to warn you, this recipe has LOTS of cheese. Way more than your daily (weekly?) quota. So it probably shouldn't become a weekly regular on your menu, but its oh so worth all those calories as a once-in-a-while meal!

Now sure, these might sound a little boring once you see the ingredient list. If you want to add chicken, beans, corn, rice...feel free. It certainly wouldn't hurt! However, when I made these I was in the mood for some straight up cheese enchiladas, and these really hit the spot for such an easily prepared dinner. This is one of those meals that I've shyed away from trying because I thought it would be difficult. Seriously, it couldn't have been easier, and I swear you'll give your favorite Mexican restaurant a run for their money with these! Tomorrow I'll be posting the perfect side dish to serve with your enchiladas, stay tuned!

Cheese Enchiladas
8 small tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce
5 cups mexican blend shredded cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Spoon a little of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
Add 1/2C cheese to each tortilla and roll up, placing seam side down in the pan.
Top with remaining enchilada sauce, spread it around to evenly coat all enchiladas.
Then top with remaining cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes until all cheese is melted.

Pizza Chicken

Do you ever look around your kitchen, wondering what's for dinner and then decide to just start throwing things together and see how it turns out? That's how today's recipe was born! I love it when I take random things I have on hand and combine them to make what ends up to be a really delicious meal. It totally validates the domestic goddess in me. Like...I got this, I don't even need a recipe. Who needs recipes?

Well, I guess you guys do actually so you can recreate this dinner! Just an FYI, if you are watching your carbs this would be the perfect recipe for you. I actually whipped this together the week before my wedding when I was trying (and failing miserably) to cut carbs out of my diet for the week. One last ditch effort to be skinny and stunning on my wedding day. Not like I didn't have a year to work on that, nah, I'll just put all my faith into that last week and see if I can drop ten pounds! (By the way, that doesn't work.) This would be excellent topped with mushrooms, sausage, or any other pizza toppings you might have laying around!

Pizza Chicken

chicken breasts
mozzarella cheese, shredded
pepperoni (I used the mini ones, because they're cute.)
garlic salt

Directions:
Season chicken with garlic salt and cook. (I used my Foreman grill but you can do it in the oven, skillet, outdoor grill, whatever you prefer!)
Top with 2-3T shredded cheese and top with pepperoni.
Microwave for 30-45 seconds until cheese is melted.

Best of...Appetizers!

I've shared several new snack recipes with you this week, but today I wanted to compile a list of some of my Pie Hole favorites, all of which would be great for your Super Bowl party!

Pizza Rolls

   Ham and Swiss Party Rolls

   Cheddar Beer Dip

   Sausage Cocktail Squares

                     Mozzarella Sticks

Artichoke Dip Egg Rolls

I promised more egg rolls this week, and more egg rolls you shall have! Today's recipe is really exciting because you're going to basically be able to get two appetizers out of one. I know, I know, I'm awesome and this is your favorite food blog and you're going to tell all your friends and family about it. If you insist.

For this recipe you'll first need to make a batch of Artichoke Dip. I know, you're sitting there saying...well if I must. Trust me, its completely easy and its absolutely delicious. On the recipe I indicate that you can make it in the oven or in a crock pot. To use this dip in conjunction with today's recipe, and especially if these two snacks will be for your Super Bowl party, I'd highly recommend going the crock pot route.

For me, egg rolls require dipping. They just do. I chose to dip these in sour cream and it was actually quite tasty. If you come up with another inventive dip for these babies, please let me know, I love suggestions. Come back for more Super Bowl snacks tomorrow!


Artichoke Dip Egg Rolls

• artichoke dip
• egg rolls
• shredded monterey jack cheese (provolone or mozzarella would work too)
• sour cream for dipping

Directions:
You guessed it.
Scoop some dip into the egg roll wrapper, top with a couple tablespoons of cheese, and roll up.
Spray them with cooking spray and bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, turning once to brown both sides.

Jalapeno Bacon Bites

This is the easiest appetizer recipe I'll post all week, so if you're aiming for super easy, today is for you! I can't take credit for this one. Its genius, and delicious, and I wish I could claim it as my own. But alas, you can thank the friendly old lady at my grocery store who was sampling this snack the other day. I don't normally eat samples at the grocery store (unless its Costco, we can make a meal out of the samples at that place), but this one called to me.

It couldn't be easier to throw together and its such a perfect little snack to pick up and pop in your mouth while rooting for the Packers. Okay, okay, no hate mail please if you're a Steelers fan!  We aren't really fans of either in our house, but out of the two choices...Go Packers!

Moving on, you only need three ingredients for this snack. One of them is a cheese spread called "Mrs Bonnie's Gourmet."

I'd never heard of it or purchased it before the snack pusher lady at Kroger got a hold of me. I'm such a sucker, people like that see me coming from a mile away. I'm so glad I found this product though, because its delicious! They have lots of different flavors, the Jalapeno is the only one I've tried. If you can't find this in your store I'm sure there is something comparable you could use. Its called a "spread" but its not really smooth. Its more chunky, like pimento cheese, very cheesy. Not like fake, processed spreads. Also just a note about the jalapeno spread, it says its "medium hot" on the front of the container, but its very mild. My almost two-year old ate tons of these. Enjoy!

Jalapeno Bacon Bites

• Mrs. Bonnie's Gourmet Jalapeno Spread (or similar)
• bacon bits
• tortilla scoop chips

Directions:
Spoon cheese into chips and top with bacon bits. That's it!

Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

This is more of a hearty appetizer, but a finger food nonetheless! Besides, you really should try to incorporate some semblance of nutrition on your Super Bowl table, right? These quesadillas are so crazy good that you won't even know you're being healthy!

Black beans and corn are one of those combinations I like to talk about that just go together. Peas and corn, wine and cheese, all that. This is also a great option to serve to the vegetarians in your life. We have these for dinner about once a month or so and everyone gobbles them up. If you use the large, burrito style tortillas, one can of each black beans and corn will make approximately three to four quesadillas, so feel free to increase the amounts based on your needs. They're super easy to assemble so you can just make a whole bunch, slice them into wedges and arrange them on a platter for your football guests!

Black Bean & Corn Quesadillas

• 1 can of black beans (drained)
• 1 can of corn (drained)
• mexican blend shredded cheese
• tortillas
• salsa and sour cream for dipping

Directions:
Arrange black beans, corn and shredded cheese on one half of the tortilla.
Be sure not to over stuff or everything will fall out.
Fold the tortilla in half and microwave for about one minute so the cheese can melt and hold everything together. You can serve these just warmed in the microwave. If you want them crispy on the outside, spray a medium heat pan with cooking spray and toast them on each side for 3-5 minutes.
Serve with salsa or sour cream.