Sweet & Savory ~~ Refried Bean Dip

With all of those football playoff games and the Super Bowl right around the corner, here's a great suggestion for your fans!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 - 16 oz. can refried beans
• 1 cup medium Picante sauce
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 - 4 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened to room temp.
• 1 tsp. cumin
• Tortilla chips, scoop variety; crackers; or artisan bread of your choice.

DIRECTIONS:

• Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl.
• Transfer to a medium sized slow cooker (crock pot).
• Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or until mixture is heated completely through, stirring occasionally. 
• Once the mixture is hot and melted together, turn to warm or low setting on your crock pot.
• Serve with chips, crackers, or bread.

Enjoy & may your favorite team win!

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Sweet & Savory Friday ~~ Luscious Enchiladas

Enchiladas are a great entree any night of the week!  Suffice it to say, there are umpteen recipes with variations of fillings. Since I prefer one with more of a creamy or moist filling, here's my latest creation that I would like to share with you. So, here goes ~~

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups diced cooked chicken
• 1 - 4 oz. can diced mild green chilies
• 1 - 4 oz. can sliced black olives
• 1 - tsp. cumin
• 1 - 10.5 oz. can Fat Free Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
• 2 - 15.5 oz. cans mild, medium, or hot enchilada sauce, whichever you prefer
• Corn tortillas (I prefer the Don Pancho Golden Blend Brand)

DIRECTIONS:

• In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix the chicken, chilies, olives, cumin, soup, and 1 cup of the Cheddar cheese.
• In a medium sized frying or saute pan, warm one can of the Enchilada sauce.
• Thoroughly coat each of the tortillas with the Enchilada sauce.
• Fill each tortilla with filling, roll up, and place seam side down in a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan.
• Combine one can of Enchilada sauce with the remaining sauce in the frying pan and pour over enchiladas placed inside 9 x 13 pan.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes or thoroughly heated.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese.
• Return dish to oven until cheese has melted.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

• Serve with salsa, diced green onions, sour cream, guacamole, additional Cheddar cheese or variety of cheeses of your choice.

Please give this recipe a try and let me know how you like it. Also, please feel free to share variations of your enchilada recipes.  I am beyond confident blog readers all around the globe will benefit.

Happy cooking & dining!

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Sweet & Savory Thursday ~~ Italian Chicken Tenderloins

If you enjoy easy meal preparation and a scrumptious finished product, then this is the recipe for you!  It's been around for years and whoever dreamed up the idea deserves a medal or something.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 - 16 oz. bottle Fat Free Italian Dressing (I used the Kraft brand, but you can use the variety of your choice)
• 1 - 2 lb. bag frozen chicken tenderloins

DIRECTIONS:

• Dump the entire bottle of salad dressing inside the plastic bag with chicken tenderloins inside.
• Marinate for 6 hours, turning the bag every hour or so.
• Cook on gas grill or cooking method of your choice until tenderloins are thoroughly cooked.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

• In the plated display above, I used:
• Baby leaf spinach
• Steamed & lightly buttered yellow crookneck squash dusted with garlic pepper
• Petite Jimmy Lee Bob cukes
• Red seedless grapes
• Smoked Gouda cheese

You can use your leftover tenderloins in other recipes if you have any left over!

Happy Dining & Enjoy!

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Sweet & Savory Thursday ~~ Breakfast Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 slices of bread, cubed with crusts removed
• 1 pound of sausage, browned and well drained
• 9 beaten eggs
• 3 cups milk (or 1 1/2 cups each of milk and half & half)
• 1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
• 3 Tbsp. dehydrated onion
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. salt, optional
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 Tbsp. Cajun Sunshine or hot sauce of your choice
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• Paprika

DIRECTIONS:

• Place bread cubes in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish
• Sprinkle browned sausage evenly over the bread cubes
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs well.  Add the milk (or milk and half & half) and all other ingredients.  Mix well.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Sprinkle paprika over the top.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean
• Serves 12.

This is a great recipe to prepare for the holidays or when you are having out of town company pay you a visit.

Serve with fresh fruit and breakfast rolls.

Happy Breakfasting or Brunching!

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Sweet & Savory Friday - Canadian Bacon Pinwheels

DIRECTIONS:

• Slice loaf of Sourdough Baguette into 1/2 inch slices
• Spread with Creamy Horseradish or sandwich spread of your choice
• Spread with Applewood Smoked Bacon Mustard or mustard of your choice
• Include slice of Colby Jack Cheese or cheese of your choice
• Include slice of Canadian Bacon
• Include thin slice of green olive or garnish of your choice

These are so tasty you will be able to polish off a plate of them before you can say, "Bob's your uncle!"  After that, you may ask yourself, "What's the difference between American Bacon and Canadian Bacon?"  Our bacon comes from the belly portion of the pig whereas Canadian Bacon is usually cut from the loin area.  

Happy Dining!

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