Gruyere-Bacon Dip

For my birthday again this year I asked everyone to bring their favorite appetizer. I'm a big fan of appetizers and so this is a chance to have appetizers for dinner. It's a win-win.

In an attempt to keep things somewhat healthy, I chose this recipe from the Cooking Light Dinner's Ready cookbook. So far I have yet to try a recipe in here that I haven't liked.

This recipe is a slow cooker recipe. I almost didn't do it in a slow cooker but at the last minute decided, "why not?" I'm glad I did. It worked perfectly and ended up being absolutely delicious.

Gruyere-Bacon Dip

Photo from MyRecipe.com

Recipe from Cooking Light Dinner's Ready
Yield 16 servings, 102 calories per serving. Serving size 2T.

1/2 c chopped onion
cooking spray
4 oz shredded Gruyere cheese (about 1 cup)
1/2 c canola mayonnaise
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dry mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
1 8 oz block fat free cream cheese, softened
2 T chopped green onions
4 center cut bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauce 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat.

Place onion in a 2 1/2 quart electric slow cooker coated in cooking spray. Add cheese, mayo, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, cream cheese and salt and pepper. Stir until blended. Cover and cook on LOW for 1 1/2 hours or until cheese melts, stirring after 45 minutes. Top with green onions and bacon.

Hunter's Stew

I can't believe one of my all time favorite family recipes isn't on my food blog. What the heck? I'm fixing that mistake now.

Hunter's Stew is a recipe dad taught me. It's basically a camping/hunting recipe that he's cooked when out with the Buckhorn guys hunting. It's one of the most simple and delicious recipes ever. And comfort food for this girl.

The whole idea here is it's all canned goods. You simply open them and dump it in.

Hunter's Stew

Recipe by Dad Wraspir
Serves 6 ish

1 lb ground beef
1 can Veg-all (Usually on the bottom shelf of the canned veggies)
1 can red kidney beans
1 can canned corn
1 can canned cut green beans
1 jar Pace Picante sauce

Brown the ground beef. When it's done, dump everything in. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes - uncovered.

Bisquik dumplings - read the recipe on the side of the box, but I think it's 2 c bisquik mix and 1/3 c or a bit more milk. Make the dumplings.

Spoon them onto the top of the stew. Cook with the lid off for 10 minutes. Then with the lid on for 10 minutes.

Eat immediately. But be careful to not burn your tongue.

Crab Rangoon Dip

Yesterday was the cookie exchange Sunday dinner...more on those recipes later.  For the appetizer I had seen this on FB and wanted to give it a try.

A couple of things I changed. First, I used shrimp instead of crab. Seattle SIL is allergic to oysters, and crabs eat oysters. So instead of worrying if the crab was eating oysters, I opted for shrimp, whom I know don't eat oysters.

ahem...

Anyhow, the other thing I changed is I didn't bake it. I had too many things in the oven and didn't really want to bother.

All in all, this is a keeper. It was tasty...I'd add a smidgen of salt and pepper next time, but it was pretty good all the same.


Crab Rangoon Dip

Photo from Pinterest

2 c crab meat (I used two cans of shrimp)
16 oz. cream cheese (2 blocks)
1/2 c sour cream
4 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 T powdered sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp lemon juice


First, soften the cream cheese in the microwave for about a minute. [Jenn Note: Yah, since I didn't bake this, I just let the cream cheese come to room temperature and then mixed in the rest of the ingredients.]

Chop your green onions. Add them and your two cups of crab meat . 

Add the sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, powdered sugar, garlic powder and lemon juice. Mix all the ingredients and bake for 30 mins at 350 degrees. Serve hot with chips or fried wantons or pork rinds. [Jenn Note: I served it with sliced baguette and carrot sticks.]

Red Curry Beef, Napa Cabbage and Noodle Salad

I like red curry in things. I have several recipes that have it and I have found it to not be as hot (spicy) as some people thing. The flavor to me is rich and yummy.

I'm not, however, a good cook when it comes to rice stick noodles. I cannot, for the life of me, cook them and have them not be crunchy. So I usually don't bother and just use spaghetti. I know, not rice noodles, but good all the same.

This recipe is designed to be a salad, so cold. But for dinner, I had it warm.  Tomorrow for lunch I'll have it cold and see if it's worth having as a salad.

Red Curry Beef, Napa Cabbage and Noodle Salad
Recipe from WW What to Cook Now?

Makes 4
2 cups = 294 calories. I'm assuming it's more when I use spaghetti.

4 oz rice stick noodles
3 T lime juice
2 T reduced sodium soy sauce
 1 T packed light brown sugar
2 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp Asian fish sauce
1/2 tsp Thai red curry paste
3/4 lb sirloin steak, cut on the diagonal into 1/4 in strips
2 tsp canola oil
4 c thinly sliced napa cabbage
1/2 seedless (English) cucumber, cut into matchstick thin strips
1/2 c shredded carrots
1/2 c fresh cilantro

Place noodles in large bowl and add enough hot water to cover. Let  noodles stand until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain in colander, then rinse under cold running water; drain again. Transfer noodles to large bowl.

To make dressing, whisk together lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, fish sauce and curry paste in small bowl.  Put beef in medium bowl. Add 2 T of dressing and toss to coat. Reserve remaining dressing.

Heat large skillet or wok over high heat until a drop of water sizzles on it. Pour in oil and swirl to coat pan. Add beef and stir fry until lightly browned, abut 3 minutes.

Add cabbage, cucumber, carrots, cilantro and reserved dressing to noodles and toss to coat; divide evenly among 4 plates. Top noodles evenly with beef.