::Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips & Dip::

Forgot about the potluck at work and need something quick to fix up? Need a snack for your kids? For yourself? Having a party and you want a 'different' kind of dip that will get people interested? Well this is it. Three ingredients for everthing; 1) Bag of cinnamon sugar pita chips, 2) Marshmallow Creme 3) Cream cheese. The dip is also wonderful for fruit too, so you could bring fruit and chips along with the dip. There are a couple different flavors of these brand of pita chips and sometimes places don't have the cinnamon sugar ones, but I usually see them at Wal-Mart. The chips are alot thicker than 'normal' chips and are very crunchy with the right amount of cinnamon and sugar! So, if you don't want to make the dip, at least try the chips! Hope you try this easy recipe! Enjoy!

::Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips & Dip::

Stacy's Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese

1 (15oz) jar Marshmallow Creme

Beat cream cheese and marshmallow creme until smooth. Refrigerate to cool before serving. Serve with chips and/or fruit!

Simple ingredients!
Ready to beat together!

Smooth and creamy!

So good!

Perfect flavor and crunch!

Perfect combo!

::Tortilla Roll Ups::

Made tacos and have tortillas left over that you don't know what to do with (besides put cheese on them and melt them in the microwave)? Still not sure of what to bring to your 4th of July get-together? Just want to make a finger food to have on a hand for a little snack? Well, this is it!

I looked at a bunch of different recipes and then put some of the ingredients together and came up with my own. This recipe is super easy, simple, and doesn't take long to make; not to mention super good! Enjoy!

::Tortilla Roll Ups::

Tortillas

1 (80z) pkg cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup cheese of your choice (mexican would be good for this, but I just had cheddar on hand)

Taco seasoning

Ranch seasoning

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

1 sm can green chiles

1/2 sm can jalapeno peppers (add the whole can if want more spicy)

1 sm can chopped olives

1/2 cup finely chopped purple onion

Beat cream cheese until smooth and then beat in sour cream until smooth. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and spread a large spoonfil onto a tortilla. Roll up and slice. Place on plate or serving tray, cover, and refrigerate. Then, serve, devour, and enjoy!

This recipe is easy and can be also very versatile. If there is another ingredient you want to add, go ahead and try it! Also, if you want more spice, add more jalapenos or spices..just enjoy!

Ready for a beatin'...

Sour cream.

Cream cheese all blended.


Cream cheese & sour cream blended and ready for the rest...

Green chiles.

Add the ingredients and then sprinkle with a generous of the taco seasoning, ranch seasoning, and then a couple sprinkles of the garlic and onion powder.

Purple onion...pretty!

All mixed up and ready for the tortilla.

The tortilla ready for the action.

Spread on the tortilla.

All rolled up!

Sliced and lookin' so yummy!

Pretty to serve too!

Platefull!

More of the action!

::Corn Dogs::

"Everybody loves them but no one ever thinks to make them. That's reason enough right there." -Alton Brown

Since my family knows my love for cooking, I got this Food Network recipe book for my birthday a couple of years ago from my Dad & Stepmom. This recipe is from Alton Brown (from the Food Network show Good Eats), as you can obviously see from the quote above. Anyways, when I saw the picture of these in the cookbook and then saw the ingredients, I knew immediately that I had to make these. Since then, this is my second time making them and they have been a hit. Most of you know how much my husband can eat, and if not, it's A.L.O.T. So, I had made these for supper and he ate three of them and then since it was just the two of us I had batter left over. I was going to be making dinner for the guys (5 of them) the next day so I asked Jamyson if everybody would like them; what he would say next shows that they are good. "Do we have enough hot dogs? Cause we will probably need about 4 for each of them...so thats 20 of them?" Needless to say, they didn't eat 4 each, because I served other stuff. Most importantly, they all liked them!

For all the Mothers & Fathers out there; I would venture to guess that this would be fun for the kids to help with (and I don't mean the hot oil). Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

PS: You will see when you read the recipe, but, there are ingredients like cayenne pepper and jalapenos in this recipe...the kids will still like them, they aren't spicy.

Corn Dogs

1 gallon peanut oil (I just used vegetable oil & I usually set the burner to the middle (medium) setting to heat up the oil and then to test when it is ready I hold a toothpick in the oil and if it bubbles right away that means it's ready)

1 cup yellow corn meal

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced (about 2 tablespoons)

(I have done it both ways, fresh and from the jar, both ways is fine)

1 8.5-ounce can cream-style corn

1/3 cup grated onion

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

4 tablesppons cornstarch, for dredging

8 beef hot dogs

Wooden chopsticks from your local Chinese restaurant, not separated

(I used skewer sticks and broke them in half)

1. Pour oil into a deep-fryer or large heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cayenne pepper. In a separate bowl, combine the jalapeno, corn, onion, and buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once and stir ONLY enough times to bring the batter together; there SHOULD be LUMPS. Set batter aside and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

3. Scatter the cornstarch in a dry pie pan. Roll each hot dog in the corn starch and tap well to remove any excess.

4. Transfer enough batter to almost fill a large drinking glass. Refill the glass as needed. Skewer each hot dog on a pair of chopsticks and quickly dip in and out of the batter in the drinking glass. Immediately and carefully place each hot dog into the oil and cook until coating is golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. With tongs, remove to cooling rack and allow to drain for 3 to 5 minutes.

Tip: Use as little cornstarch as possible, but coat each dog thinly to help the breading stay where you want it.
Tip #2: Don't cook more than a few dogs at once; crowding the pan lowers the temperature of the oil, which makes for greasy dogs.

The recipe book where I retrieved the Corn Dog recipe by Alton Brown who has the cooking show Good Eats.

If there wouldn't have been a picture to accompany this recipe, not sure I would have made them (sad!). I am such a picture person when it comes to recipes!

Some ingredients.

Dry ingredients of the batter.

Wet ingredients.

Are you looking at these wondering why they are so pink? These are my favorite hot dogs. They are Cloverdale, ALL BEEF hot dogs. Try them sometime, you can get a huge pack at Sam's Club for $9.99 (at least when I got them that is how much they were).

Hot dogs #2.

On the skewers.

Dredged in cornstarch.

This isn't a good picture but shows the batter in the glass and ready for dipping.

All ready to eat! Note: the corn dog way in the back. The breading is very thin. Each time I have made this recipe I have added more cornmeal then it calls for; about 1/2 cup. Anyways, if you make these make it exactly as the recipe says, using the 1 cup. When you make the first one dip it in the batter and then fry it and see what you think. Maybe you don't want alot of batter anyways, but if you want it to be thick (like my husband likes the breading to be) then just add a little more until you think it's okay. I hope I didn't scare you off from making these by saying that; by adding more it does not alter the taste at all. And if you add more or less then the 1/2 cup that I said, thats totally fine, it varies!

Fun Fact: The corn dog was invented for the Texas State Fair in 1942 and became an immediate favorite at state fairs, amusement parks, and pretty much anywhere people wanted their food served breaded, fried, and on a stick.

::Oven-Fried Onion Rings::

I don't even know where to start. I'm a basketcase of emotion...of ExCiTeMeNt; for this recipe! I love checking out other cooking blogs and this is where I found this recipe; from The Brown Eyed Baker at http://www.browneyedbaker.com/. Do you like onion rings? I don't go out to eat thinking "Oh, i'm going to order the onion rings tonight," but if someone orders them as an appetizer I may have just one. These are officially my favorite onion rings...ever! They are made in the oven but I can't get over how "deep-fried-like" they are. Personally, I like when fried foods are really crunchy. These fit that bill for me, these have the exact crunch as I would envision a perfectly made deep fried onion ring made just for me. Does that make me crazy? That I just envisioned a perfectly made deep fried onion ring just for me (oh crap!). What makes them so crunchy? The secret ingredient of crunched up kettle cooked potato chips. I was a little leary as I was making these because I didn't feel like enough was sticking to the onions. But I was wrong and they came out just fine. Also, I don't like when you eat an onion ring and when you take a bite you pull the onion out of the "casing;" these don't do that at all! I hope that you all make this recipe because I promise you that you won't be disappointed! Actually, I hope that when you make them and after people have eaten them you say "I don't mean to toot my own horn, but, TOOT TOOT, those were good!" Enjoy!

Oven-Fried Onion Rings

2 medium (or 1 large) sweet onions, sliced ½-inch thick
¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ cup buttermilk

1 egg

¼ cup + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1½ cups crushed potato chips (kettle-cooked chips, if available)
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Combine ¼ cup flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne in a bowl.
3. In another bowl combine the buttermilk, egg and additional flour, whisking until a smooth batter is formed.
4. In a third bowl, place the crushed potato chips.
5. Prepare the onion rings by first dipping a ring into the seasoned flour, then into the batter (let the excess batter drip off), and then coat with the crushed potato chips. As you finish the rings, place them on a large plate. Repeat with all rings.
6. Cover a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Drizzle the vegetable oil on the parchment-lined sheet and place in the oven for 8 minutes. Carefully remove the sheet from the oven and tilt to evenly coat with oil.
7. Working quickly, place your onion rings on the baking sheet and return to oven. Bake for 8 minutes, then flip onion rings and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes, or until golden brown.
8. While baking, prepare your dipping sauce!

(Brown Eyed Baker adapted this from http://www.notwithoutsalt.com/)

These make them have that perfect crunchy texture.

Making the coating for the "dry" part.

Sliced onions; I thought they were going to be too thick and wouldn't get soft in the oven, but they weren't at all!

The order of dipping; onions, dry dip, buttermilk mixture, and the chips!

Ready for the oven.

Another shot; ready for the oven.

All done! The picture DOES NOT do them justice; I repeat DOES NOT do them justice!

Find out for yourself!

Ready to eat.

Dipping Sauce

½ cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons ketchup

2 Tablespoons horseradish

¼ teaspoon paprika¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

Dash ground black pepper

Dash cayenne pepper
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate.

(Brown Eyed Baker adapted this from http://www.copykat.com/)

Mixing in the spices. I made this ahead of time and put it in the fridge while I was making the onion rings. I like to dip in things that are cold, i'm weird like that.

Ready to be dipped in!