Cranberry Jalapeno Dip

I'm not a huge peppermint person. However, during the holidays, I LOVE cranberries. The fresh stuff, not the sugary dehydrated craisins you see in stores year round. My go-to is usually Upside Down Cranberry Cake but this year I wanted to do something different. We love eating dip on the weekends and this was a great way to incorporate that with one of my favorite holiday ingredients.

One thing that I loved about this recipe was how easy it was to throw together. I thought I would have to cook the cranberries, but you don't. Although, you do want to make this the night before since it needs time to allow the flavors to meld together. One thing I do recommend is right before you go to put the cranberry mix on the cream cheese, slice up a little more green onion and mix it in. The green onion loses its vibrant color as it sits overnight and I really wanted a red and green color to the dip when I served it. I served this dip with Triscuits, but sliced bread or even water crackers would work with this. I just always have Triscuits on hand. One thing I changed from the original recipe was I added plain yogurt to the cream cheese. I always add fat-free plain yogurt to my cream cheese when I use it as a dip. It not only adds more volume without altering the taste, but it also adds a creaminess to the cream cheese and makes it smoother and less dense.

recipe adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 4-5 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
• 2 (8 ounces) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt

1. Chop cranberries until it's in small chunks and set aside in a bowl. You can also put the cranberries in a food processor or blender until coarsely chopped if you don't want to chop by hand. Add the green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, sugar, cumin, and lemon juice to the cranberries and mix until the ingredients are well combined. Transfer the mixture to a covered bowl or tupperware and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (I let mine sit overnight).
2. When ready to serve, mix the yogurt and cream cheese together (I used my handheld mixture for this) and spread it in an even layer on a serving plate or 9-inch pie dish. Top with the cranberry-jalapeno mixture, spreading evenly over the top of the cream cheese.
3. Refrigerate for up to an hour before serving. Serve with crackers or sliced bread.

Healthier Spinach Artichoke Dip

Every weekend the Mister and I make a dip to enjoy while we watch movies, catch up on our favorite shows, or play games. I usually make your typical cream cheese salsa dip, but I've found myself wanting to try other dips. I'm one of those people that can't have the same thing too often, otherwise I get bored with it. So, I decided to look around online to see what interesting dips there were out there. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Kristin, spinach artichoke dip isn't anything new." While you would be correct, the dip is sort of new for me. You see, way back when, like eleven and a half years ago, I was a new bride trying to figure out how to cook. I had seen a recipe for spinach artichoke dip, probably on the Food Network channel and decided to make it. BIG mistake. HUGE! I remember that the dip consisted of a lot of mayonnaise, not something I usually ate because I was a Miracle Whip kinda girl. Come to think of it, considering the jar of mayo I put in the dip... it was probably a Paula Dean recipe. Anyway, while I was slightly grossed out by the mayo ratio in the dip, I had high hopes that I was going to impress my husband with the most fabulous, luxurious appetizer I've ever made. Fast forward an hour or two and The Mister came home from work to find all the window open, the oven turned off with the dip still inside, and me locked into our bedroom, nauseated from the smell. Needless to say, the dip went right into the trash and I spent the night curled up in the fetal position chomping on Tums. Ever since then, I've steered clear of anything resembling this dish... until now.

Now one thing that sets this one apart from that disastrous dip many moons ago is that this one doesn't have any mayo. None. Zero. Zilch. In fact, the creamy white base is yogurt and cream cheese... two things that I love. Two things that when they are heated up, do not make me nauseous. Now, as you see in the pictures, this recipe make a LOT of dip. It's insanely delicious and you will have no problem eating it all. However, if you made a New Years resolution that doesn't jive with eating a whole thing of dip, maybe invite some friends over. I served my dip with sliced bread but you could make this even healthier by slicing one of those huge carrots you see at the grocery into thick strips, and also eating it with celery.

• 8 oz reduced fat cream cheese
• 16 oz (2 cups) plain, non-fat yogurt
• 2 Tbsp margarine (or butter)
• 1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese*
• 14 oz artichoke hearts (not the marinated ones) , drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 japapeno, diced (remove the insides and seeds of jalapeno if you don't like spice)
• 10 oz frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1. In a medium pot over medium heat, melt together cream cheese, yogurt, margarine and parmesan cheese, uncovered, stirring frequently until melted and an even consistency. It should start to bubble lightly.
2. Stir in coarsely chopped artichoke hearts, jalapeños, and drained spinach. Finally, stir garlic cloves. Let it bubble for a few minutes and it's done.

*if you are a vegetarian, look for a vegetarian parmesan cheese. 

Cannoli Cheese Ball

:GASP: I know. I know. This is the first cannoli related recipe on my site. While I like cannoli, I don't necessarily want to make them. It's just a lot of work and I'd honestly just rather buy one from a bakery. However, when I came across this super easy cannoli cheese ball I knew I had to give it a shot.

When I say super easy, I mean it. You pretty much just mix everything together, create a ball using plastic wrap, let it chill in the refrigerator while you clean up your mess, and then roll the ball in chocolate chips. That's it! Easy peasy, and it's so good. It's obviously on the sweet side but would be oh so perfect for a party. ;)

recipe adapted from Taste & Tell

• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• ½ cup ricotta cheese
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1¾ cups mini chocolate chips, divided
• Vanilla Wafers or graham crackers, for serving

1. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the ricotta, powdered sugar and cinnamon and beat until combined. Stir in 1 cup of the chocolate chips.
2. Dump the mixture out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Gather the plastic wrap around the top, squishing the mixture into a ball shape. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Place the remaining ¾ cup of chocolate chips on a plate or in a shallow dish. Open the plastic wrap and turn the cheeseball filling onto the chocolate chips. Use your hands to roll the ball to coat in the chocolate chips.
4. Serve with vanilla wafers and graham crackers.

Green Pea and Garbanzo Bean Dip

I don't know about you, but The Mister and I love chips and dip. We eat it just about every weekend. I use to only make it when we'd go to a party. I'd always make a different dip every time and it sort of turned into a, "What will she make next" game with our friends. I saw a post from Thug Kitchen a while back about their green pea and garbanzo dip and I knew I had to try it. It was weird and wacky enough that it would be unlike anything we'd ever had before but it still had components that we love to eat. We also had everything on hand which is always a huge plus in my book. I don't know about you but I hate running to the store for last minute things.

Let me just say that this dip is delicious. I'm not going to fool you and say that it was love at first bite because it wasn't. I mean c'mon, it's green, lumpy, and made with peas. This is not your typical heavy, cheese laden dip. In fact, it's vegan! There's no dairy in this what-so-ever. So, instead of your typical party dip, this is light and refreshing. It took us a few minutes to figure out which chips worked with the dip. Tortillas were out of the question. There was just something about them that didn't work. They were too thin and didn't have enough bite to them. So, I rummaged around in the pantry and found a bag of bagel chips that were sitting unopened in the back. I mean, it's kind of hard to find things that go with bagel chips. Lo and behold bagel chips are perfect for this dip. Once we figured out the missing piece, the dip was gone in a couple of hours. My family had a field day with our late night snack. We were playing Scattergories via Skype with them and they not only questioned the bowl of green goop but made fun of how loud our crunching was because of the bagel chips. In all honestly, I think they were just jealous. ;)

recipe adapted from Thug Kitchen

• 2 cups frozen green peas; thawed
• 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans 
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil 
• ¼ cup chopped green onions 
•  2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice 
• 3 Tbsp olive oil 
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar 
• ¼ tsp salt 

1. Throw everything in a food processor or blender blend until smooth. Taste the dip and add more seasonings or lemon juice if needed. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

*This is best served at room temperature.

Black Beans & Chorizo

One of the perks about being in the military is not only the fact that you get to see other places of the world that you might not have ever dreamed of ever going but the awesome people that you meet along the way. This recipe comes from one of my dear friends whom I met about five years ago. I am not really sure where she got the recipe from but I remember her making it one night when I was over her house passing the time while our husbands were deployed. I also remember pretty much polishing off the leftovers as the night wore on.

Jalapeño Popper Dip

I am never one to do the old school chips and dip when it comes to parties. I love to make new recipes and share it with my family and friends. Sometimes they love it and sometimes I am the only one at the table eating it. However, this recipe had everyone coming back for seconds. Last weekend I hosted my very first Tupperware party and needed to come up with food ideas. I initially was going to go with chicken buffalo wing dip and I even bought everything for it but at the last minute I came across a recipe online at Those Funny Little Girls blog that I just couldn't resist. I goofed up on the recipe and only added one package of cream cheese but I honestly cannot imagine it with two packages. It would definitely die down the heat factor of the dip and that is what a jalapeno popper is all about, it is supposed to be spicy.



To me this recipe was spot on with what my favorite jalapeno poppers taste like minus all the frying and breading. I mixed the dip the morning of the party and 30 minutes before the guests showed up I put it in the oven. I also used fresh jalapenos, I thought that the canned jalapenos would be too soft and soggy. I like the jalapeno pepper to have a little bite left to it, like when you get it from a restaurant. I could sit here all day talking about this. If you are jalapeno popper fan like I am then you have got to try this recipe. I served them with Multigrain Tostitos which in my opinion taste a lot better. I made this for a party of seven and ended up with a sliver left over by the end of the night.

• 1 (8 oz) 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 (4 oz) can of mild green chilis, drained
• 2 jalapenos, diced
• 1 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, chilies and jalapeno and mix until smooth.
3. Spread dip into small- medium sized oven safe dish.
4. Spread Parmesan cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbling.

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Just Something I Whipped Up
Made By You Monday

Garza's Guacamole

I hope that everyone had a fun Cinco de Mayo yesterday. I would have posted this sooner but I had a very busy day yesterday. I went antique shopping with some friends up in northern Virginia yesterday and found the cutest cake stand.



It is extremely heavy and the design in the glass is exactly like my Waterford crystal wine glasses I got from my in-laws as a wedding gift.


The lady at the shop couldn't tell me if it was crystal or not since it was found at an estate sale. However, from the encouragement from my friends and no call back from my husband saying that I couldn't buy it, $30 later I finally had a cake stand. Now all I need to do is make a cake (◕‿◕)


Ok enough babble back to the guacamole...



Yup, it was that good that it got two pictures today. It was spicy, garlicky and creamy all rolled into a very flavorful guacamole. I love love LOVE guacamole but it is an epic fail when I try to make it at home. I don't know what I do to it but it goes straight from the mixing bowl to the garbage every time. My friend Garza (yup, I named it after her) told me about a guacamole that she makes and told me that she would show me how it's done. I sat back and watched her make it and wrote down everything she put in it. I "taste tested" it for her while she was making it, just to be sure it was not poisonous... you can never be to careful. In the end I was extremely happy with the results, I had to walk away from the table or else I would have eaten it all. It makes enough for a party. One tip she gave me was to make sure you keep the avocado pit in the guacamole it helps to keep it from oxidizing as fast as it normally would.

• 2 avocados
• 1 plum tomato, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 1 tsp. onion, finely chopped
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 lime, juice
• salt to taste

1. In a medium size bowl mash avocados but leave it a little bit chunky. Mix in the rest of the ingredients.
2. Place avocado pit back into the guacamole. Serve immediately or store in an air tight container.

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Show Off Your Stuff