Kidney Bean Relish

I was at my sister's house for Thanksgiving last year. On the appetizer table, I was surprised to see Kidney Bean Relish from Century House in Peabody, MA. I love that stuff! We get it every time we go there. Which is pretty often. I love the Mussels Margueray... the Steak Tips are great too... as is the Lobster Pie! Actually... I noticed online they are pretty well known for their breakfasts. I'll have to give that a try next time I'm in town! Anyway... they used to serve the Kidney Bean Relish with Crackers free, at every table. It's not free anymore, actually it's not even on the menu. But you can still order (and pay for) it, which we always do. But you can also buy it in their Epicurean Shoppe, which boasts, "delightful selection of our most delicious dishes, oven-ready to take home, lets you have a healthy home-style meal in less than a half hour!" If you've picked up the Kidney Bean Relish, it won't even take that long. You just have to remove the lid and enjoy. But since I no longer live anywhere near Peabody, I had to try to recreate it. And I think I have it pretty close!



Kidney Bean Relish
1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 C sour cream
2 TBLS red onion, finely chopped
2 TBLS thousand island dressing
1 TBLS +1 tsp prepared horseradish
1 small clove garlic, grated
2 shakes of Tabasco sauce
1 or 2 shakes worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients, gently so you don't crush the beans. Refrigerate several hours, overnight is best. Enjoy on buttery crackers.








That's it! So easy & tasty!

Knorr Spinach Dip

This is another one of my very favorite dips!! I remember first making Knorr Spinach Dip more than 10 years ago. I was staying with my friend Debbie and I think we made it for a party. We liked it so much, we made some more and just kept it in the fridge to snack on at will! Which really isn't such a great idea, because it's completely irresistible! It's really easy to eat an entire bowl!

Whenever I make this dip I think of Debbie.



Knorr Spinach Dip
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 container (16 oz) sour cream
1 C mayonnaise
1 pkg Knorr® Vegetable recipe mix
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 green onions, chopped

Combine all ingredients and chill for at least 2 hours. I usually serve this in a hollowed out loaf of round bread, with slices of baguette.

This is what you need.


Stir the mayo and sour cream together.


Add the Knorr Vegetable Soup mix, spinach, water chestnuts and green onions.


Stir that all together & chill at least two hours.


Serve in a hollowed out bread bowl.


I couldn't find a round one, so I used a football shaped Olive Oil Bread.

I like to serve this with sliced baguettes, but you can serve it with crisp veggies or whatever you like!


This is definitely a favorite in my house. Ok... I KNOW Tawny & I love it. I'm not entirely sure about everyone else. But I haven't had any complaints. Honestly, I like to make little sandwiches out out it.

If you're having a tea party, you could totally use this to make little creamy tea sandwiches.

Or, it would be perfect for your Super Bowl Party!

Go Steelers!!!

Onion Dip

At first I thought it would be stupid to blog about this. I mean who hasn't made onion dip with sour cream and onion soup mix?

But then I decided to just put it up here anyway.

Onion Dip reminds me of my dad. He passed away when I was 19. I never really got to cook for my dad. I did make Potato Salad that he enjoyed. Actually, potato salad and my dad reminds of a story about him. One day when I was in high school, I was skipping school with my cousin Sue. I know. I know. You're stunned that Spryte ever skipped school! Shhhh... don't tell my mom... or my kids... thankfully, my kids don't read this! Anyway... my mom dropped me off at school. I met my cousin Sue at the front door and we walked back to my house. I decided I wanted some Potato Salad and whipped up a batch. We just finished making it and getting everything cleaned up when we noticed my dad's car pull up! Uh oh! Dad worked for the town and often came home for break or lunch. So Sue and I rushed to my room and intended to quietly wait him out. He had no reason to suspect anyone was home, so we figured it would be cool. We heard him come in and open up the fridge. Then he said, "Oh! Potato Salad! Hmm... it's still warm..." Then he says, "Peg??" The potato salad was still warm and he guessed that I was there! SHIT! Knowing I was busted, I just said, "yeah dad?" He asked if I'd just made potato salad, so I told him I did and encouraged him to have some. Then he asked why I wasn't at school. I mumbled something about teacher conferences, trying to play it off like I was supposed to be home. He just said, "oh" and had some potato salad. Yes! He bought it! Home free! He finished up his potato salad and was leaving to go back to work. He was half way down the walk. I was standing in the door waving goodbye and he turned back to look at me and said, "Peg. You can't snow the snowman." BUSTED! He knew all along. But that's all he ever said!

Anyway... lots of times when I'm making something, I'll think to myself that my dad would have really liked it, like he enjoyed the potato salad that day.

So why does onion dip remind me of him?

Back in the olden days, when I was a kid we only had one TV. When there's only one TV... guess who decides what you watch? Yep... Dad. (except when M.A.S.H. was on... Mum's favorite) We'd watch old TV shows like The Untouchables, Baretta, Dragnet or those old John Wayne war movies or westerns. The movies I could totally do without... but all the old gangster movies and The Untouchables... I LOVED that! I still do!

Anyway... you're still wondering what this has to do with onion dip. It's simple.

Dad's favorite TV snack. I can't picture him watching TV without a bowl of onion dip in front of him.

When he would settle down on the couch to watch TV, Mum would whip up a bowl of Onion Dip and grab a bag of Ruffles.

So... incase for some reason, you've never tried it, here's the recipe!

I'm not usually a slave to brand names, actually just the opposite. But for this, it's Lipton Onion Soup Mix and Ruffles Potato Chips. ALWAYS

Onion Dip
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix
16 oz sour cream

Mix until well combined. Serve with Ruffles Potato Chips.







So that's it! I make it often. My kids love it. I love it. It always reminds me of Dad.



Oh... and if you're gonna skip school... and you make potato salad... and someone comes home... take it with you! Don't leave it in the fridge... the warmth will give you away!

Baked Rachel Dip

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking for something different and easy to make for a football snack.

I found Cathy's recipe from Noble Pig for Reuben Dip. But I was looking for something with no red meat.

So I decided to make it into Baked Rachel Dip, using Butterball Turkey Pastrami!



Baked Rachel Dip
1/2 pound diced turkey pastrami
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup sauerkraut, drained well
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
cocktail rye bread

In a medium bowl, combine turkey pastrami, cream cheese, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, sour cream, ketchup and mustard. Transfer to a greased, 1-quart baking dish.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, until heated through and bubbly. Serve warm with cocktail rye bread.

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Drain sauerkraut.


I really liked that this recipe only calls for a cup of sauerkraut. I bought one 8 oz can and had no leftovers to deal with!

Cut turkey pastrami.




Mix it all up up (except the rye bread)


Then into the oven for 30 minutes until it's heated through and bubbly!


How easy is that??!!!



Ok... dip isn't so pretty to look at... but it tastes sooo good!!

I've tried Reubens a couple of times and never really cared for them. I like all of the ingredients on their own, but together, it just doesn't do it for me.

Maybe I'd like a Rachel? I don't know. But in dip form, this totally rocks!!

It's wicked fast and easy and everyone LOVED it!

Need a quick easy appetizer? Definitely try this!

Guacamole ~ Revisited

I put guacamole up on Spryte's Place way back when I first started.

I'm reposting it to add pics. The recipe hasn't changed.



My favorite guacamole has only four ingredients.

~Avocado

~Red Onion

~Lime Juice

~Salt

That's it!



Guacamole
2 or 3 ripe avocados, peeled and lightly mashed with fork
1 small red onion, diced
lime juice (2 or 3 TBLS) preferably fresh, but bottled is ok
a big pinch of kosher salt

Slice the avocados in half, around the pit.


Scoop them into a bowl.


A perfectly ripe avocado should just give when you apply a little pressure. I said a little pressure, because when I was trying to show Jon how to pick a ripe avocado, he was applying so much pressure that his fingertips were turning white. He was lucky that our grocery store rarely has ripe avocados, or he could have had quite a mess on his hands!

Mash the avocados gently with a fork. I like there to still be nice chunks in it.


Add some diced red onion.


Squeeze in some fresh lime juice.


Some salt.


Mix gently.


Now enjoy!!


You can add lots of other stuff to guacamole.

Some people stir in sour cream or salsa, diced tomatoes, diced jalapenos, cilantro. Lots of different things.

But this is my FAVORITE!


I put it on everything! Nachos, burritos, enchiladas, tacos, burgers, sandwiches, everything!

It was AWESOME on this turkey sandwich!



I'm also submitting this to girlichef for Two for Tuesdays!

Black Bean Salad

This is a super tasty dip kinda salad. It makes a tasty side, or you can serve it kinda salsa style with tortilla chips.

I definitely prefer with tortilla chips.

The first time I saw this recipe, I was looking for something vegan to add to my menu.

This recipe comes from the side of the Bush's Black Beans can.

A long time ago I heard that recipes on packages are supposed to be really good. I guess the companies hope that if you enjoy the recipe, you'll keep buying their products.

There's also a cool blog dedicated to those recipes.

Cooking on the Side

Every time I see a recipe on a package, her blog pops into my head. She also writes Panini Happy. A whole blog about panini! *drool* Both are very cool and you should definitely take a few minutes (hours) to check them out!

Anyway!



Black Bean Salad
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 can (15.25 ounces)corn, drained
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
4-5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lime juice
Freshly ground pepper
Salt
1 can (15 ounces) BUSH's BEST Black Beans, drained

Cut all the bell peppers and red onion into 1/4 inch dice. In a salad bowl, combine bell peppers, onion, corn kernels, garlic and cilantro and toss to mix. Add olive oil, vinegar, lime juice and salt and pepper to taste and toss again. Add BUSH'S BEST Black Beans mixing well. Serve over a bed of lettuce with tortilla chips.

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I whisk the vinegar, lime juice, olive oil and salt & pepper in a small bowl and set it aside.


I LOVE how colorful this is!




Toss it all together!


That's it!

People who claim not to like the individual ingredients kept coming back for more that last time I served this!

It makes a huge batch.

I've been trying to think of ways to cut it down. But since you use cans of things, you end up with leftovers and half peppers.

Maybe cut the recipe in half and toss all of the leftover ingredients into Tortilla Soup for girlichef's Tortilla Soup Challenge?

Or maybe cook up the leftovers and fold them into a cheesy quesadilla? Or wrap them with some cilantro lime brown rice for a tasty veggie burrito?

Or just have LOTS of people over to enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Have you tried this stuff??? OMG!! It's so good!

The first time I had it, a co-worker brought in some his daughter made for the Super Bowl (YAY Steelers!). It was awesome, just cold out of the fridge.

The next time I had it was at the first official BakeSpace Cookover. Karen picked recipes from BakeSpacers who couldn't attend and we made them to share. One of the recipes she picked was Joy's Buffalo Chicken Dip. Yum!! This time I got to have it warm. *drool*

We often have friends over to watch the Steelers play on Sunday afternoons. Last week it was a 1pm game. I prefer the 4pm games, because then I have more prep time. Anyway... 1pm game means things I can make ahead... or things that don't take much time. Buffalo Chicken Dip definitely doesn't take much time (hey... you could easily make it ahead too!)

Buffalo Chicken Dip
2 C cooked, shredded chicken
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 C blue cheese dressing
3/4 C pepper sauce, such as Franks Red Hot®
1 C shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla chips or celery sticks(for you low carbers!)

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and blue cheese dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm.

Mix in the shredded cheese and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Cover, and cook on low until hot and bubbly.

Serve with tortilla chips and/or celery sticks.

This is good hot, warm, room temperature or cold!

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Yup... my friend the Rotisserie Chicken.


(I always eat the wings while I pull all the meat off of these!)

Heat the shredded chicken and hot sauce in a skillet.


Add cream cheese and blue cheese dressing.


Stir in cheddar.


Into the mini crock pot... and it's game time!!
(or at least snack time!)


Even though everyone was totally groovin' on this, there was a lot leftover.
(Tawny even filled a hotdog bun with dip and some chips and had a Buffalo Chicken Dip Chip Dog)
It makes a really big batch.

What to do with the leftovers? Hmmmm.... Buffalo Chicken Dip Pizza? That might work, right?

I grabbed a couple of Boboli Pizza crusts on my way home the next day.


Spread the dip over them


Bake in a 450F oven until heated through and golden.


Not too bad...


Not bad at all...


How about with some pepperoni?


Careful... it just looks like a regular pepperoni pizza...


But Buffalo Chicken Cheesy and pretty darned good!


While Jon really liked the dip... he was not a big fan of the pizza. But in general, he's really not a pizza fan anyway.

Tawny and Lilly however, really loved it!

Although, Tawny had plans for another Buffalo Chicken Dip Chip Dog, so she would have been happy if the leftovers had remained left over a little longer.

This is definitely a keeper and is super insanely fast and easy!