Bacon wrapped, bleu cheese filled, pitted dates

Ingredients:
1 lb bacon
40 pitted dates
2/3 c crumbled blue cheese

Instructions.

Preheat oven to  400°

1. Cut bacon strips into halves (you may need more than a pound if its think cut - you need twenty full length bacon strips total.) In a large skillet, cook bacon in batches over medium heat until partially cooked but not crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain; keep warm.

2. Carefully cut a slit in the center of each date; fill with blue cheese. Wrap a bacon piece around each stuffed date; secure with wooden toothpicks.

3. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bacon is crisp. 

Yield: 40 pieces

I had these first at a local restaurant, the Federal Taphouse. They call them, "Devil on Horseback". I call them better than sex.

Cranberry barbeque chicken dip

Ingredients:
1 can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 bottle chili sauce
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T coarse brown mustard
1 t red pepper flakes
1 T cider vinegar
4 c cooked chicken, shredded
2 pkg Neufchatel cheese, softened
1 lb Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Small bunch of green onions cut up for garnish.

2 - 8" diameter oven safe serving bowls or a single 9x13 glass casserole dish

Instructions.

Preheat oven to 350° F

Lightly oil dishes with olive oil. Evenly divide Neufchatel cheese between the dishes and press out evenly on the bottom (put some oil on your fingers to make this easy.) Cover with a light layer of shredded Monterey jack. Set aside.

Put cranberry sauce, chili sauce, worschesher sauce, mustard, red pepper, and vinegar in a food processor. Pulse to combine. You want the cranberries to still have some texture, so don't puree.

Put chicken in a large bowl. Spoon about 1/2 cup of barbeque sauce over it and stir well. Keep adding a few spoonfuls until all of the chicken is coated and the mixture holds together. Add a bit more sauce along with about 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack and mix just until combined.

Spoon an even layer of chicken mixture into the casserole dishes. Level with the back of a spoon.

Coat with the remaining shredded Monterey jack cheese.

Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove and top with green onions.

Serve immediately with snack crackers.

Baked Chicken Enchilada Dip

1 pound shredded, cooked chicken

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (8 ounce) jar mayonnaise

1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers

1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl.

2. Place mixture in a medium baking dish.

3. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until edges are brown.

Roast chicken with vegetables

Roast chicken with vegetables

Serves 4 | Preparation: 20 min | Preparation: 1 h 15 | Easy |

2 tbsp fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano) + for garnish
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tbsp olive oil
1 chicken, in its entirety,
1/3 lb new potatoes
2 red peppers, deseeded
pepper
salt

1. Mix the spices with the garlic and
olive oil and rub it into the chicken.
Bake for 30 min in a pre-heated
oven at 375° and baste the
chicken regularly with the juices.

2. Rinse the potatoes. Wash
peppers and cut them into quarters.
Remove the chicken from the oven.
Cut up into pieces.

3. Put the chicken pieces back into the
baking dish and add the vegetables. 
Season with salt and pepper and
bake 45 min at 350°. Finish with
fresh herbs and serve.

http://simplyyou.carrefour.eu/

Empanadas Mendocinas with Argentinean Chimichurri

Ingredients
Dough for Empanadas Mendocinas 

3 c flour
1 egg yolk
½ c of grasa - lard or butter or mix of both
¾ c to 1 cup of warm milk
½ t salt

Beef picadillo filling
1 lb ground beef
2 white onions, diced, about 3 cups

1/2 c butter

2 T smoked paprika
2 T chili powder or any ground hot pepper
1 T finely chopped fresh oregano
½ T ground cumin
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
3 hard boiled eggs, sliced
¼ c sliced green olives
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, white and yolk separated and lightly whisked

Chimichurri Sauce
1 1/2 c fresh parsley (or cilantro) leaves
6 basil leaves
3 leaves from oregano sprigs
4 garlic cloves, crushed/minced
3 T wine vinegar
6 T olive oil
2 T chili powder
1 chili pepper
2 T lemon juice (I added this to brighten the flavor)
salt & pepper to taste


Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F

Makes about 20 medium or 30 small empanadas

Empanada dough

1. Mix the flour and salt in a food processor, pulse until well combined.
2. Add the lard or butter, blend well.
3. Add the egg yolk and the milk in small amounts, pulse until small dough clumps start to form.
4. Make a couple of balls, flatten into disks and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
5. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas (use round molds or a small plate).
6. Use the empanada discs immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.

Beef picadillo filling and empanada assembly

1. Combine the ground beef, paprika, red pepper, cumin, salt and pepper in a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together and chill until ready to use.
2. Melt the lard in a large frying pan or sauté pan, add the onions and salt, cook until the onions are soft, about 8 minutes.
3. Add the meat mixture to the onions and cook on medium heat until the meat is done, stir frequently.
4. Let the meat mixture or picadillo cool down, and then mix in the chopped green onions and chopped oregano.
5. To assemble the empanadas add a spoonful of the meat mixture on the center of each empanada disc, add a slice of egg and sliced olive.
6. Brush the edges of the empanada discs with the egg whites, you can also use water but the egg white is a good natural “glue” that helps seal the empanada.
7. Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges gently with your fingers, twist and fold the edges of the empanadas with your fingers, as a final step use a fork to press down and finish sealing the empanadas.
8. Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give them a nice golden glow when they bake.
9. Let the empanadas rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until ready to bake.
10. Bake on parchment or silicone baking mat on a cookie sheet for about 25 minutes.
11. Serve warm with chimichurri sauce or other dipping sauces.

Chimichurri Sauce

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor
2. Blend until smooth
3. Add salt, pepper, or more chili powder to taste

As seen at http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/06/11/empanadas-mendocinas/

Cheddar Bacon Dip

24 oz (2 bottles) dark beer
8 oz neufchatel cheese diced in 1/2" cubes
24 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese shredded
1 bunch green onions
12 oz bacon cooked and diced
6 T cornstarch

Clean onions, dice white parts and keep separate. Dice firm part of greens and keep separate.  Saute white parts until translucent.

Put a few tablespoons of chopped bacon aside with diced green onion for garnish. 

Put remaining bacon, sauteed onion and grated cheese in a large bowl and mix thoroughly with cornstarch. Add diced Neufchatel and coat completely.

In a large saucepan heat beer just below boiling. Slowly add cheese mixture, whisking to melt and blend thoroughly before adding the next batch of cheese. Whisk constantly. When all cheese us added heat and whisk creamy.  Serve with crackers and/or bread in a warmed dish with garnish on top.

Zuppa Toscana

2 pounds bulk mild Italian sausage
1 pound bulk hot Italian sausage

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 large sweet onions (softball sized), diced

8 qt chicken broth

20 potatoes, thinly sliced (about 5 lbs, medium sized)

1 qt heavy cream

1 bunch kale, torn with stems removed

Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a skillet oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 25 - 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cook the bacon in the same skillet oven over medium heat until crisp, about 20 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the pan. Chop bacon into ½” pieces.

Stir in the onions; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 15 minutes.

In a large stock pot, pour the chicken broth along with the bacon and onions; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 40 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the kale into the soup just before serving.

Yields about 2 ½ gallons of soup

Brandon's Chili

This is impossible to mess up so don't worry about measurements or having it all. You can add other stuff to if you want.  I have never had it go wrong. -- Brandon

Meat and Veggies
1 lb to 2 lb Ground Venison
1/2 lb to 1 lb Ground Beef (80/20 or 70/30)
Olive Oil
Minced Garlic
Parsley
Italian Seasoning
Black Pepper
Chili powder
2 Green Bell Peppers - diced
2 large Sweet Onions - diced

Liquid ingredients
1- Large (28 oz ) cans Crushed Tomato 
2-  Large Can 28 oz Diced Tomato. (Can use Italian style if desired). 
1- Large can Tomato Sauce. (May not need all 28 oz.   
1- 12 oz bottle of hot sauce.   

In a large pan or large Pot (use largest pot  if possible saves dishes) on the stove add olive oil and some fresh garlic minced  you can be generous with both. 

Take all the Venision and add 1/2 lbs to 1 lbs of 80/20 or 70/30 ground beef.    Make sure its defrosted and add to the pot on the stove and cook meat till all the pink is out on Med heat.   Add spices to taste - Parsley, Italian Seasoning, pepper.

Mix Green pepper and Onion in with Meat as its cooking 

After meat & veggies are cooked make sure your pot will have room for the next step.    If not move a bunch of the meat and veggies to crock pot.  

Add crushed and diced tomatoes into the pot.  Bring to a boil then back off the heat to low. Add the hot sauce to taste (I always put the whole bottle in -- Its not that hot).

Add pepper and Chili Powder to taste.  

Move the Tomato mixture into the crock pot with the meat and Veggies.   Stir and taste.   If it needs to he thinned you can add the can of tomato sauce as needed.   

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream & pepper croutons.

(NOTE: You can put the crock pot in the fridge overnight and heat day of.   It does take several hours on high to heat if it was in the fridge the whole night.)

Recipe courtesy of Brandon Bower