A Different Kind of Queso

This will be gone in a snap!

Brown two pounds of breakfast sausage...I always use regular Jimmy Dean. Drain and put in a crock pot.

Top with four (8oz) blocks of room temperature cream cheese

2 cans of Rotel with all the juice

Put the crock pot on low and stir as it cooks and mixes together. Serve with tortilla chips or I really like it with Big Scoop Fritos!

You can also add extra cans of green chiles if you want it a little spicier!

Gingersnaps with Pumpkin Dip

These are super easy and will make your house smell like FALL!!!!

3/4 cup of Crisco

1 cup of brown sugar

1/4 cup of molasses

1 egg

2 1/2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves

Cream the Crisco and the sugar. Add the egg and the molasses. Add all the dry ingredients. Scoop on to a cookie sheet lined with parchment and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes for a chewy cookie and 10-12 minutes for a crisper cookie.

Pumpkin Dip...allow time (a couple of hours) for it to set up before serving...I hollowed out a little pumpkin and filled it with the dip!

Cream an 8 ounce block of room temperature cream cheese...add the following:

2 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger

When mixed, add a can of pumpkin pie filling (it's a big can...not solid pumpkin!) Stir all together and let chill for a couple of hours.

Southwest Taco Soup

The ranch dressing adds a little zip!

1 pound of ground beef

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon of pepper

2 cans of diced tomatoes

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can of golden hominy, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons of ranch dressing mix

1/4 cup of taco seasoning

2 cups of water

Brown the beef, onion, and garlic in a large dutch oven and drain. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour.

Garnish like a tortilla soup with jalapenos, cheese, sour cream, and green onions!

Santa Fe Soup

This is super easy, and really good!

Brown one and half pounds of ground beef. Drain and add to a large stock pot...

1 pound of cubed velveeta cheese (I always use light...surely it helps a little!)

1 can of undrained corn

1 can of rotel

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 packet of taco seasoning

You can either place it in a crock pot for three hours on high or you can cook it over a medium heat until the cheese is melted and the ingredients combined!

Game Day Chili

This is super easy, and super good!

2 pounds of ground beef

1 large yellow onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 (15 ounce) cans of drained and rinsed pinto beans

3 (8 ounce) cand of tomato sauce

1 (12 ounce) dark beer

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can of beef broth

1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste

2 (4.5 ounce) cans of green chiles

2 tablespoons of chili powder

2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons of cumin

1-2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons of Tobasco

Cook the first three ingredients in a large dutch oven over medium heat....stir until the meat crumbles. Drain well. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for three to four hours. Garnish with jalapenos, cheddar, and sour cream...I like to serve it with four tortillas as well!

The Original Crack...Sweet Party Mix

Sweet Party Mix (this is my favorite!)

Rice Chex, Corn Chex, and Sliced almonds.

Divide each onto sheet pans, and toss together. For each sheet pan I fill...I make one recipe of coating. The big boxes of cereal usually do one pan, so the two boxes combined will make two full sheet pans.

Coating...

3/4 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of light corn syrup

In a heavy sauce pan combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter...cook over medium heat until it boils...continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate for five minutes...remove from heat and stir in 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. Pour evenly over cereal mixture and toss as well as you can.

Bake at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes...stirring every five minutes. Remove from the oven and pour onto wax or parchment paper..let dry/cool. Break into a large zip-lock and toss with the following...

dried blueberries

dried cranberries

dried cherries

(Sam's carries a bag of dried mixed berries and I add the Craisins)

Halloween Bark

To be honest...you could use any candy, but this was a big hit!!

Place a piece of parchment paper on a large cookie sheet.

Chop the following coarsely...

6 mini Butterfinger bars

10 mini Reese's peanut butter cups

6 mini Heath/Skor bars

Over very low heat melt one pound of bittersweet chocolate (either chips of bars)...the better the quality of the chocolate...the better this will be.

Pour the melted chocolate on the parchment paper, and spread out. Sprinkle with the Heath, Butterfinger, and Reese's peanut butter cups. Also, sprinkle with a couple of handfuls of honey roasted peanuts, halloween M&M's, and Reese's pieces. Gently push the candy down into the melted chocolate.

Melt three ounces of white chocolate over low heat. Drizzle over the entire bark.

Place in the fridge for a few hours and then break into pieces.