Cheesy Bloomin' Onion Bread

Here is a quick and scrumptious appetizer sure to please!  I changed things up a bit by using the same (amounts slightly modified) buttery mixture I use for my Ham and Swiss Party Rolls instead of plain melted butter.  Thanks to my dear friend Avril who introduced me to this yumminess!

Cheesy Bloomin' Onion Bread
Recipe adapted from:  Baking and Creating with Avril

• 1 loaf crusty Sourdough bread.  You want something with a good crust on it, otherwise, it will not survive the cutting
• 14 ounces Monterey Jack Cheese, sliced
• 1/2 cup Melted Butter (1 stick)
• 1/4 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/4 tsp Dry Mustard
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Poppy Seeds
• 1/4 cup Green Onions, white and green parts sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the bread length-wise and width-wise without cutting through the bottom crust.
Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Insert cheese slices between cuts. Combine butter, Worcestershire Sauce, Dry Mustard,and Onion Powder.  Drizzle over bread. Sprinkle Poppy Seeds and green onions over the top of the bread, making sure to get into each nook and cranny.  Wrap in foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Unwrap the bread and bake 15 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

This recipe has been linked up at:
Tidy Mom
Simply Sweet Home
The Country Cook
This Chick Cooks
Eat at Home

Spiral Stuffed Rolls

OK, so I guess I am kinda blog-crushing on Holly lately.  It is hard NOT to with all the wonderful, family pleasing yummies she shares.  We made these rolls the other day with a side salad and fresh fruit...everybody LOVED them.  They use the same assembly process as cinnamon rolls, but the use of pre-made pizza dough make them a slap-your-ass-and-call-me-sally EASY process.  My mind is already racing with all the different combinations I could do, but for now, I thought I would share the one that got me all twitter-patted in the first place ♥

Spiral Stuffed Rolls
Recipe Source:  Life as a Lofthouse

• Pizza Dough (enough for one pizza)  I used Trader Joe's pizza dough balls, Holly uses the Pillsbury scare-the-crap-out-of-me POP tube. 
• 6 oz Cream Cheese, softened
• 2 TBSP butter, softened
• 1 cup chopped ham (deli ham works great) 
• 3/4 cup finely chopped Broccoli
• 1 cup shredded cheese, I used a combo of Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Monterey Jack.
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped Green Onion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray.
In a small bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese.
Roll the pizza dough to a large rectangle.
Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the dough.
Top with chopped ham, broccoli, cheese, Parmesan cheese and green onion.
Roll the dough up, pinching the seam to seal. Slice the roll into one inch pieces. You should get about 12 rolls.
Place the rolls onto the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbly.

This recipe has been linked at:
This Chick Cooks
Tidy Mom
Simply Sweet Home
Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

Chicken Lettuce Wrap Rice Bowl

I ADORE the lettuce wraps you get at P.F. Chang's and Pei Wei.  Seriously adore.  I love the textures and the warm filling on the cold lettuce.  There are about a billion "copy cat" recipes on-line, but so many of them take about a 37 ingredients and are just more time consuming than going to Pei Wei for some curbside.  But this little masterpiece-o-mine is simple, simple, simple.  Seriously, the most time consuming part is chopping up the ingredients into teeny tiny pieces.  I also served it with both lettuce AND rice, though it would be good with just one or the other, but again, I love the textural and hot/cold party in my mouth.   So, time for your mouth and belly to do the happy dance!

Chicken Lettuce Wrap Rice Bowls

Recipe inspired by Dinners For a Year and Beyond

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 large red pepper, diced small
• 10 ounces mushrooms, white or baby Portobello, diced into pea sized pieces
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 boneless (2 pounds), skinless chicken breasts, diced small into pea sized pieces
• 1 can (8 ounce) water chestnuts, drained, diced small into  pea sized pieces
• 1/4 cup Teriyaki sauce
• 1/2 cup Hoisin sauce
• 1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce, this is mild-medium heat.  Add more if you dare!

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add red pepper, mushrooms, and green onions, saute for
until tender, about 4-5 minutes.   Add garlic and saute just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chicken to pan and cook until cooked through. This should only take 5-10 minutes.  Stir chicken and red pepper mixture occasionally while it cooks. Add water chestnuts. In a separate bowl, combine the Teriyaki sauce, Hoisin sauce, and Sriracha sauce. Pour sauce in skillet and stir to coat the chicken and vegetables. Continue cooking until heated through.
To serve, make a bed of lettuce on plate, top with steamed white rice and chicken wrap mixture. You can sprinkle with additional green onions.

This recipe has been linked up at:
Crazy Domestic
Tidy Mom
Simply Sweet Home
Mommy's Kitchen
Eat at Home

Monterey Ranch Bread

I am keeping this post short and simple, like this recipe! 
Remember the bread I made with the BBQ Chicken Soup?  That's right, the intriguing Monterey Ranch Bread.  This bread is so simple to make and a nice change to garlic bread.  At first I was a little skeeved-out at the thought of adding Ranch Dressing to cheese, but guess what, it totally worked!  There is a nice tang and medley of spices that you can't quite put your finger on.  Give it a whirl and ENJOY!

Monterey Ranch Bread

• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, or Cheddar Jack Cheese.  Shred the cheese, don't use the stuff in a bag, it just doesn't melt the same way.
• 3/4 cup Ranch Salad Dressing
• 4 Bolillo or Hoagie Rolls, split in half lengthwise to make 8 slices
• 4 TBSP butter, melted

In a bowl, combine the cheese and salad dressing; set aside.
Brush slices of bread with butter. Place on baking sheet. Broil in oven 4 inches from the heat until golden brown. Spread with cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Recipe slightly adapted from:  Cassie Craves

This recipe has been linked up at:
Simply Sweet Home
Frou Frou Decor
Tidy Mom
Mommy's Kitchen
Nikkis Nifty Knacks

Thanksgiving Appetizer Extravaganza!

WELCOME to our 1st Annual Siggy Spice and Friends Thanksgiving Dinner! 

Today we start with Appetizers. 
Before we get going, I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to all those that contributed recipes!  I have had such fun going through them and I have added many-a-dishes to my Thanksgiving menu.  I hope you all find as much inspiration and joy reading them as I did! 
I am also including a "linky" at the end of this post in case there are some people who wish to share some appetizers!
We didn't have too much as far as appetizers, but WATCH OUT, we have some A-MAZING recipes coming up in the main dish, side dish, and dessert category!
I will start the sharing with an appetizer that makes it's way onto every holiday table we have.  I love, love, LOVE it! 

Baked Brie

• 1 round loaf of bread.  Sourdough, Rye, Tuscan, Shepherds Bread...your choice
• 1 wheel of Brie cheese that fits your bread bowl
• 1/4 cup or more Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Garlic Powder to taste
• Fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a serrated bread knife, remove the top of the bread bowl making sure to allow just enough height for the Brie wheel.  Using your Brie as a guide, carefully cut out the middle of the bread bowl so your cheese can fit in snugly.  Make sure you reserve the top of the bread bowl and the filling you removed.
Using a pasty brush, brush Extra Virgin Olive Oil all over the inside of the hole and sprinkle with garlic powder.  Remove Brie from wrapping, keeping the rind on, and set in bread bowl.  Set bread bowl on a cookie sheet and bake in oven for 20-30 minutes or until it is starting to puff up in the middle and is getting nice and melty.
Meanwhile, cube up your reserved bread from the middle and top of bread bowl into bite sized cubes. 
Remove baking sheet from oven and place bread cubes all around the bowl.  Lightly brush the cubes of bread with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and sprinkle with garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper.  Return the baking sheet with the bread bowl and bread cubes back to oven for an additional 15 minutes or until the bread cubes are nice and toasted.
Once you plate your appetizer, cut off the top of the rind to expose all that melty goodness!

Also, from me:

Cranberry Mandarin Brie Phyllo Bites

• 1 small wedge of Brie cheese
• 1/2 cup Cranberry Mandarin Sauce , click HERE for recipe
• 30 frozen pre-cooked miniature phyllo shells, defrosted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place phyllo tarts on a baking dish and put 1 tsp of Brie cheese in each tart.  Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melty. Once plated, top Brie with 1/2 tsp of Cranberry Mandarin Sauce.  Beware, these are completely addictive!!!

Next up, the ever-amazing Laura from Real Mom Kitchen sends us some appetizer love with this gem!



photo courtesy of Laura at Real Mom Kitchen

Cranberry Cream Cheese Spread
Please click HERE to go to Real Mom Kitchen to get the recipe!


This last one amazes me!  I was not sure if I should put it under appetizers, side dishes, or table settings.  However, I figured that since so many of us do a veggie try as an appetizer, I would put it here.   Keri made this beautiful presentation and I am SO glad I now know how to do it!  Take a look, isn't it INCREDIBLE?!?!

photo courtesy of Keri

Cornucopia - submitted by Keri

I actually got this from Allrecipes.com (submitted by Becky), if you want to check user comments for
additional ideas. The trick to making this recipe a success is really perseverance because the aluminum
foil form has to be slick in order not to stick to the bread, but that makes it very slippery too! The bread
kind of wants to slide off the form. I just worked with it until it looked “okay” on the form and it all filled
in and looked much better after baking.

Ingredients:

• 3 (11 oz) containers refrigerated soft bread stick dough
• 1 egg
• 1 TBSP water
• Fill with whatever you want.  I chose fresh veggies.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
Tear off a 30X18 inch sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Fold it in half to 18X15 inches. Roll diagonally
to form a hollow cone, about 18 inches long with a diameter of 5 inches at the widest end (this will be
the cornucopia opening). Stuff cone with crumpled regular foil until form is rigid. Bend tail of cone up,
then down at the end. Spray outside of cone with non-stick cooking spray. Place on cookie sheet.
Beat the egg with water to make a glaze. Open and unroll the first can of breadstick dough on your
work surface. Separate breadsticks. Begin by wrapping one breadstick around the tip of the cone.
Brush the end of the next breadstick with glaze and press to attach it to the end of the first breadstick.
Continue spiral wrapping cone, slightly overlapping dough until there are 3 breadsticks left.
Pinch one end of the 3 breadsticks together, then braid. Brush bread around the opening of the
cornucopia with the glaze. Gently press on braid. Brush entire cornucopia with glaze.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until bread is a rich brown. If parts darken too much, cover with pieces
of foil.
Remove from oven and let cool completely on cookie sheet on a wire rack. Carefully remove foil
when cool. If freezing, leave foil in bread for support and remove when thawed.

Remember on Tuesday we start the Main Dish recipes, tips, and techniques!  If you have anything you would like to contribute, you can still e-mail me for the upcoming categories.  Click HERE to see the categories and publish dates.
Now, if you have some appetizers you would like to share, please feel free to link-up below!  Make sure you link back to this post somewhere in yours so we can all share the linky-o-lovvee!

This post has been linked up at: Mommy's Kitchen, Cookbook Sunday, Nikki's Nifty Knacks, Frou Frou Decor, Simply Sweet Home, Tidy Mom, Make Ahead Meals for Busy Mom's, Eat at Home



Cheesy Garlic Bread

Last Friday night I completely and totally tweaked my neck.  Of course stuff like this always happens on the weekend when your choice is the E.R. or sucking it up and dealing as best you can.  So after a weekend full of heating pads, Epsom Salt baths, ice packs, ibuprofen, and maybe a little tequila, I was SO happy to meet my new bestie....Dr. Redd the chiropractor.
After a few sessions and some rice krispys later....you know, snap crackle pop, I am somewhat more mobile. 
Absolutely none of this has anything to do with my other new bestie, this cheesy garlic bread, but I felt I owed a little explanation as to my absence this week. 
Now, this bread is AWESOME....a total new favorite!  Forget buying the frozen garlic bread, or the stuff in the foil-y packets...this is just as easy and tastes UMPTEEN TIMES better!  Umpteen, that is a professional term for quite a lot...not to be confused with butt-load which has a negative connotation, especially in a blog about food.  For example, when your hubby comes home from a football night and admits he ate a butt-load of Taco Bell Bean Burritos, that is bad.  Very bad.  For your safety, make him sleep on the couch, or on the roof.   However, if he has gone with you to see your favorite 80's cover band UMPTEEN times...that is good.  Very good.  See the difference?  Class dismissed.  Amen.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf French or Italian bread 18-20 inches sliced in half horizontally.  Don't use the skinny baguette's....not that I have anything against skinny, just you will need a "bigger" platform to hold the goods.
• 5 garlic cloves, VERY FINELY minced.  I used the Trader Joe's frozen garlic cubes and it worked beautifully
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, divided and softened
• 1/2 teaspoon water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese.  I used the blend in the packet that has Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina, etc. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a small saucepan or skillet over low heat, melt 1TBSP of butter, garlic, and water together.  Stir occasionally until the mixture is straw colored, about 5-7 minutes, being careful to lightly brown but NOT BURN the garlic.  Browned garlic=yummy, burned garlic=hurl.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining 7 TBSP butter with the salt and pepper.  Add in the melted butter/garlic mixture and stir to combine.  Using a rubber spatula, spread butter mixture on both cut sides of the bread.
Sandwich the two sides back together and cover completely with foil.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove baking sheet from oven and unwrap bread from foil.  Place the 2 sides, cut side up, back on the baking sheet.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese and set your broiler to high.  Put bread under the broiler and watch very carefully for the cheese to melt and get bubbly and brown.  It will go very fast....anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and only about 10 seconds to burn.  ENJOY!!!

I would like to thank the lovely Melanie from My Kitchen Cafe for introducing me to this extraordinary bread!

This recipe has been linked up at:
Frou Frou Decor
Simply Sweet Home
Tidy Mom
Mommy's Kitchen

Homemade Breadsticks

I have a confession to make.  I am completely and utterly addicted to these breadsticks.  Case in point, 100+ degree day that I have dinner going in the crock pot so I won't have to turn on the oven or work on the stove.  Then at about 3:00 in the afternoon, as I am starting to smell my crock pot Chicken Parmesan, I start to think how crazy good these breadsticks would be with dinner.  At about 3:30, all I can think about is this chewy, doughy, garlicky, buttery goodness dipping into the sauce of my Chicken Parmesan.  At 4:00, I am mixing the dough, and at 4:15, I set them outside on the patio table to rise...covered in saran wrap of course...but it is the perfect humid, warm oasis since my AC is continually cranking cold air.  I have already justified that since they only have to bake for 15 minutes, it won't heat up the house too much.  At 4:45, they go in the oven and come out at 5:00, just in time for the table to be set.  I look at my windows and there are the faces of all the neighborhood girlies begging for the leftovers.  This has happened FAR more times than I am willing to admit.  SERIOUSLY addicted.  Try them!  Try them and join me singing chorus of adoration for these luscious sticks-o-heaven.  What?!  Like you don't make up songs about yummy food!

Ingredients:

• 1-½ cups warm water
• 1 TBSP instant (rapid rise) yeast from a jar.  Sorry, the packets don't hold a full TBSP
• 2 TBSP sugar
• 3-½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2-4 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 TBSP garlic salt
• 1-2 tsp herbs/seasoning of your choice.  I am using an herb blend that is for mixing with olive oil and dipping bread, but any herb or combo of herbs that you like would work well.
• 4 TBSP melted butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 
Mix together water, yeast, sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl or electric mixer and knead for three minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread 1-2 TBSP olive oil (just enough to coat) onto the bottom of a 16"x14" cookie sheet.  Roll out the breadstick dough about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick and large enough to fit onto baking sheet.  Place whole sheet of dough on baking sheet, then brush 1-2 TBSP olive oil over top of dough making sure it is all lightly covered.  Sprinkle garlic salt and herbs of choice over top of olive oil.  Using a pizza cutter, cut breadsticks into desired length and width.   Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
Remove plastic wrap and place in preheated oven and allow to bake for 15-17 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven and brush melted butter all over top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Serve, eat, and break out into a little diddy about breadstick lovveeee!

This recipe has been linked up at:
Mommy's Kitchen Sunday Potluck

recipe adapted from My Kitchen Cafe

Ham and Swiss Party Rolls

I hope you all had a great weekend! 
Today's recipe is one of those scrumptious, why-haven't-I-tried-you-before foods that is perfectly versatile!You can make it as an appetizer, snack,. lunch, or dinner.   I have had people tell me they take it to Bunco parties, people who make it as a change of pace to normal ham and cheese sandwiches, people that make it to sit and much on while they drink an adult beverage watching True Blood getting lost in all the vampire hotness....or maybe that one was just me, haha!  Whatever the reason for making them, you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

• ½ pounds Sliced Ham
• 5 slices Swiss Cheese
• 1 package King's Hawaiian Rolls
• ½ cups Melted Butter
• ½ teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
• ½ teaspoons Dry Mustard
• 1-½ teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Poppy Seeds

The rolls will look like a large solid piece of bread. Leave the rolls intact and slice the loaf in half with a long knife to form a top layer and a bottom layer.
Place ham and cheese on bottom layer of rolls, then place top layer of rolls over ham and cheese and place in a 9×13 pan. Mix together melted butter, Worcestershire, dry mustard, and onion powder. Pour mixture over top of rolls and sprinkle poppy seeds over top.
Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes.


Recipe Source:  Tasty Kitchen member Tidy Mom

This recipe has been linked up at:
Mommy's Kitchen Sunday Potluck

A-MAZING Salsa

For being quite the salsa connoisseur, I have only made salsa 3 times in my life. The first time, I made a chunky Pico de Gallo that was quite yummy. The second time, was MUSHROOM SALSA...and that was spectacular. The third time, I made the recipe I am going to share with you today. It has such crazy-good flavor and is so silly simple to make, I cannot imagine why you would ever buy the stuff in the jar again! It is a hybrid between the Pioneer Woman version and a Copy-Cat version of Chili's salsa. ENJOY!


Ingredients:

• 1 can whole tomatoes WITH juice, 28 ounces
• 2 cans Rotel WITH juice(diced tomatoes with green chilies), 10 ounces each
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 whole jalapeno chopped. Depending on your heat preference is how much seeds and ribs to remove. If you like it hotter, leave in more seeds/ribs. I removed all seeds and ribs and it was plenty spicy for my family.
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Using a food processor or blender (if you do use a blender, you may have to make it in batches then combine one in bowl) place onion, garlic and jalapeno and pulse until minced. Add tomatoes, Rotel, garlic salt, sugar, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro and pulse until ingredients are well blended, but not pureed. Place in bowl and set in fridge allowing all ingredients to meld together and make friends for at least an hour. You know the drill, the longer it sets, the better it will be!

Beer Battered Onion Rings

Tonight for dinner, my Hubby Love grilled his signature burgers and famous BBQ beans. They are a story for another day because, well, I still have some bribing, begging, and nagging to do before he will divulge his secret recipe. (((sigh)))

ANYWAY, in an attempt to get in the kitchen so I could do some super spy work, I had to come up with a side that wasn't throwing french fries on a cookie sheet and baking in the oven. Oh no, I needed something different. Enter Beer Battered Onion Rings! Unfortunately for me, I think he was onto me because he mixed together his good eats while my eyes were burning and tearing from slicing onions. He is a clever one I tell you!

Now, I don't know why I thought onion rings would be a huge hassle to make, but they weren't! They were super simple to prepare and tasted better than anything I have tried in restaurants. The batter was light and crispy and it actually stayed on the onion ring instead of falling off like thicker batters tend to do.

Do yourself a favor and whip up a batch of these bad boys!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups canola oil
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 medium to large sweet yellow onions
• 2 cups flour, divided
• 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 12 ounces medium bodied beer
• couple dashes hot sauce, optional
• 3 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese

Peel onions and slice 1/4-1/2 inch thick and separate into rings and soak in buttermilk for 1 hour.

In a dutch oven or electric skillet, heat oil to 350 degrees.

In a shallow baking dish, whisk together 1 cup of flour, salt, pepper, and garlic. In a separate bowl, combine remaining cup of flour, beer, and optional hot sauce, whisking until no lumps are present.

Remove onion rings from buttermilk, shake off excess then dredge in dry flour mixture. Shake off excess dry mixture, then dip in beer batter. Add a few onion rings to oil, being careful to not overcrowd them or they will stick together. When they are golden brown remove to a paper towel lined plate. Repeat process until all onion rings are battered and fried. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

ENJOY!

Recipe adapted from Guy Fieri

This recipe was brought to Sunday Potluck at Mommy's Kitchen

Mexican Beer Cheddar Fondue

If you are looking for a yummy, easy, last minute add on to your Super Bowl table, look no further! Mexican Beer Fondue is it! In fact you probably already have all of the ingredients at your party or in your fridge.

Hold on tight cause here we goooo!


Ingredients:

• 2 cups of shredded Mexican cheese. You can buy the pre-shredded bag from the grocery store or make your own. If you are feeling especially sassy, add a little pepper-jack to your mix.


• TBSP flour


• Bottle of Mexican Beer. Corona works great.


• 2-3 TBSP salsa or pico de gillo, as hot as you would like it.


• 1/2-1 TBSP chopped jalapenos (optional, if you like some extra oompf)

Take your shredded cheese and add a heaping TBSP of flour, get all your cheese coated. In a double boiler (or in my case, a glass or metal bowl over a pot of simmering water) start by pouring 1/2 bottle of beer. Once that comes to a simmer, add your cheese and stir constantly. Watch your heat so you don't get that funky cheese separation thing, don't allow your cheese to simmer. Add in a couple TBSP of salsa or pico, optional jalapenos, and viola! You may need to play with the cheese/beer/salsa ratio to get the right consistency. I usually start with 1/2 the bag of cheese and keep adding until it is thick enough to stay on a chip, but thin enough to not break the chip.
And here is the cast of characters who like to take a little dip in the hot tub of gooey cheese deliciousness:

Tortilla chips, Granny Smith apple chunks, carrot bites, celery bites, cauliflower bites, and a variety of cubed bread.

Creamy Sausage Rotel Cheese Dip

Here is an easy, yummy dip just in time for the big game on Sunday! How can you go wrong with sausage, Rotel, and cheese? You can control the level of spice by the type of Rotel and/or sausage you use. This recipe was too big for my little dipper crockpot and too small for my gigantic family sized crockpot, so I made it on the stove in a skillet, set it on the table in the skillet, and then reheated it on the stove again as needed. Sometimes you just have to do a little improv :)

Creamy Sausage Rotel Dip

8 oz cream cheese

1 can Rotel, drained

1 lb breakfast sausage, I used Jimmy Dean original

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• Brown the sausage on the stove and drain.
• Combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and can of drained Rotel in a crockpot.
• Add sausage to top and cook on low for 90 minutes or high for 45 minutes. Stir the sausage into cheese/Rotel mixture until well combined.
• Serve with tortilla chips.

Enjoy! Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Siggy Spice Up Your Life Mushroom Salsa

This is NOT your typical salsa. It is like sunshine in a bowl, completely bright and happy! 'Nuff said. It will make you do the happy dance with each bite...not just the happy dance, but the happy dance on a white sand beach.
****Teaser alert***** This goes great with a certain Honey Lime Enchilada that a certain newbie blogger will be sharing VERY soon! OOOhhhhh, that got your attention too didn't it?! So, let's get to it shall we?

Siggy Spice Up Your Life Mushroom Salsa

Ingredients:
8 ounces white button mushrooms
12 baby carrots
1/2 medium red onion
2 jalapenos
40 sprigs of cilantro
3 limes

Sea Salt

1. Get your chopping arm ready.
2. Wash and de-stem 8 oz of white button mushrooms. Dice into about pea sized pieces and place in a medium sized bowl which we will now deem the "salsa bowl".
3. Quarter each baby carrot length wise and dice finely. Add to the salsa bowl.
4. Finely dice 1/2 medium red onion and say it with me, add to the salsa bowl.
5. Cut each jalapeno in half, remove seeds and ribs to your liking. A hint that I am sure all you smarties know is that the more seeds and ribs you leave in, the spicier it will be. Dice jalapeno finely, add to salsa bowl.
6. Chop up the 40 sprigs of cilantro. Yes, I said 40 sprigs. I counted. What can I say, when you homeschool your kiddos, you take all opportunity to count things. Chop up stems and all from the point where the leaves start and up. Add to the cereal bowl. Just kidding, just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.
7. Mix all the ingredients together and squeeze 2-3 limes worth of juice over top. The limes I was using were not all that juicy, not to mention that I was squeezing the limes, no reaming or juicing. So, start with 2 but go to 3 if you do not get a good coating of lime with a little bit of lime juice at the bottom of the bowl.
8. Add about 2 grinds worth of sea salt to the top (or a pinch or 2) and stir all the ingredients together. Take a taste and add more salt or lime as needed, but remember, the longer the flavors set together, the longer they have to make friends and have a little party on your tongue. That being said, unlike most salsas, this does not taste better the next day. If you let the flavors meld too long, they become like that annoying person who can't take the hint that the party is over. Make up a batch that can be eaten that day. Leave a comment and let me know how you like it!

This will yield about 2 cups of salsa.