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Texas Cheese Fries

January 31, 2013 in appetizer

So I guess the Superbowl is this weekend?

I stopped caring about the NFL when it became apparent that my teams weren’t going all the way. But I do care about Superbowl food! I care a lot about Superbowl food. I did a post last year with some of my favorite football snacks so I decided to skip that post this year. But I couldn’t let the Superbowl go by without sharing at least one snack idea.

I’m pretty obsessed with Texas Cheese Fries lately. I frequently request that we go to Chili’s just so I can get a gigantic plate of them but I’ve never made them at home. Because omg, so much work! Compared to going out, of course! ;) I’m pretty excited that I finally made some though because really, the only work you have to do is cooking the bacon and shredding the cheese. And if you buy already shredded cheese… well, you my friend, are smarter than me.

I loved them. I ate almost the whole plate by myself. No shame.

Nicole made the perfect Superbowl drink: Michelada Marias! They are kicked up Coronas with lime, salt, and hot sauce!

One year ago: Baked Chicken Taquitos
Two years ago: Kaiser Rolls

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Texas Cheese Fries

Ingredients

1 bag frozen seasoned french fries
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 slices applewood smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 green onions, sliced thinly
pickled jalapenos (optional)
ranch, for dipping

Instructions

  1. Cook the fries according to package directions.
  2. Once crispy, turn the broiler on and move an oven rack closer to the top.
  3. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar and bacon on top of the fries. Broil just until cheese in melted, less than 5 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle with green onions and jalapenos if desired.
http://fakeginger.com/2013/01/31/texas-cheese-fries/

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Loaded Baked Potato Dip

November 14, 2012 in appetizer


One of my favorite things to make for parties or just for days I’m hanging out watching football games are dips. Dips are so versatile and it seems like almost everyone likes them. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy dipping a crunchy chip into a deliciously creamy dip?

I came up with this Loaded Baked Potato Dip to go with Kettle Brand Chips, which is one of my all time favorite brand of chips. I survived on their Sea Salt & Vinegar chips during my 2nd pregnancy – I swear I would have starved if it wasn’t for them. But for this dip, I used the Sea Salt which is another favorite of mine. A lot of times plain chips are either too salty or not salty enough for me but these are just right. They are perfect and I could easily eat an entire bag in day. Not that I did that or anything…

Kettle Brand has over 30 flavors of potato chips that you can check out here. You better believe I went searching for the New York Cheddar flavor after I found out about it. That one, by the way, would also go great with this dip.

So about the dip? I was really craving a good loaded baked potato when I made it so it is everything you would typically put into one – sour cream, bacon, cheddar cheese – but without the potato! It is served piping hot so it really does taste just like a loaded baked potato with the Kettle Brand Sea Salt chips. It is absolutely delicious! All the cream cheese and sour cream mixed with the salty bacon and sharp cheddar is just perfection. It is also incredibly easy and fast to whip up if you’re throwing a party or like I said earlier, just hanging out at the house watching some football. The ingredient list is super short and you likely have everything on hand already! If you are a fan of loaded or twice baked potatoes or just a fan of dips, you will definitely love this! Make sure you stock up on Kettle Brand Sea Salt or New York Cheddar chips before you make them.

Giveaway time!

The winner gets a $100 Visa gift card! All you have to do is comment with the answer to this question: If you’ve tried Kettle Brand Chips, what’s your favorite flavor? If you haven’t, which one do you want to try?

Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the
following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 11/13-12/31.
Be sure to visit the Kettle Brand Chips page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

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Loaded Baked Potato Dip

Ingredients

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chives
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded cheddar, divided
2 green onions, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Beat together softened cream cheese and sour cream until no lumps remain. Beat in chives, bacon, and half a cup of cheddar. Spoon into a small baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining half cup of cheddar.
  3. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the dip is bubbly.
  4. Serve with Kettle Brand Sea Salt chips.
http://fakeginger.com/2012/11/14/loaded-baked-potato-dip/

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Layered Pizza Dip

August 31, 2012 in appetizer

This weekend is the best weekend of the year. No, my husband is not coming home. More important y’all.

College football, obviously.

It’s kind of sad since my husband isn’t home and all but lucky for him, his absence has made me more sympathetic to the Alabama cause. See, he is an Alabama fan and I am an LSU fan and since those 2 are typically the best teams, college football discussions get pretty heated. Last year he was in the field during the Alabama/LSU game so I did this to the baby and sent him pictures:

Amazingly, we are still married.

Like I said though, somehow I’m becoming more of an Alabama fan without him here to harass. Last week I impulse bought a houndstooth scarf and didn’t even realize what I’d done until I was out in the parking lot. Something is obviously very wrong with me and I hope to get over whatever sickness this is before he comes home.

But anyway, this is also my favorite time of year because I get to make (and blog!) a ton of fun appetizers! So get excited! Lots of football food coming your way in the coming months!

This is a real simple appetizer that is always a crowd-pleaser. It’s a dip that’s layered with onion and chive cream cheese, pizza sauce, pepperoni, and cheese. You can, of course, add whatever you like – peppers, mushrooms, Parmesan, sausage, pretty much anything goes!

One last thing: y’all remember when I did that leftover makeover? Well BlogHer has a fabulous Pinterest board filled with leftover makeovers (including mine!) that you should definitely check out. Lots of good things happening over there! Go find dinner inspiration!

One year ago: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Two years ago: Parmesan Chicken Nuggets

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Layered Pizza Dip

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) container cream cheese with chives and onions
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/2 cup small pepperoni (or big ones, diced)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. In an ungreased 9-inch pie plate or similar dish, layer all ingredients in order listed.
  3. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and dip is bubbly.
  4. Serve hot with crackers, bagel chips, or tiny toast pieces!
http://fakeginger.com/2012/08/31/layered-pizza-dip/

 

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Baked Sweet Potato Chips + a GIVEAWAY!

April 11, 2012 in sides

Happy Hump Day! How’s about a giveaway to make this Wednesday a little less painful?

I was recently sent a mandoline slicer as part of the OXO Blogger Outreach Program. I was pretty stoked about it because I’ve wanted a mandoline forever but those dang TV chefs had me completely scared of them. I mean seriously, those chefs talk like the sole purpose of a mandoline is to cut off your fingertips. But as it turns out, it’s really no big deal. And this handheld slicer from OXO comes with a nice little food holder that keeps your fingers far from the blade.

I knew immediately that I wanted to make some sort of veggie chip. I love those veggie chip mixes that you can find in bulk bins. LOVE them but how horrible are they for you?! The veggies don’t taste or look like their original form once they come out of the deep fryer.

So I sliced a sweet potato with my sparkly new mandoline and then baked them for what seemed like days. They turned out to be everything I hoped for and more. My oldest, who doesn’t like sweet potatoes, went crazy over them! They do take a verrrrry long time to bake but I promise it’s worth it. And don’t crank the oven up to speed things along – you’ll end up with black sweet potato chips. Not that it happened to me or anything… ahem.

And now for the giveaway!!

I have an OXO mandoline slicer to give to one lucky reader! All you have to do is answer:

What would you make if you won the mandoline?

Rules:

US only, please.
Giveaway will run until Sunday April 15, 2012 at 10 pm Mountain time.
Winner will be randomly chosen. I’ll email the winner and he or she will have 48 hours to respond before I have to choose another person.

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED! The winner is Abbi!

One year ago: Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese

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Baked Sweet Potato Chips + a GIVEAWAY!

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, sliced thinly with mandoline slicer
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt (and/or cinnamon)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 225F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Place sliced sweet potato in a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil over top; sprinkle with salt (or other seasoning). Toss the potatoes with your hands to make sure all are covered.
  3. Lay the sweet potatoes out in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 1½ hours (may be longer), rotating the sheets halfway through. until the sweet potatoes are crispy.
  4. Let cool slightly. Best eaten the day they are made.
http://fakeginger.com/2012/04/11/baked-sweet-potato-chips-a-giveaway/

I was sent a mandoline to test out but was given no further compensation. All opinions are my own. 

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Southwestern Deviled Eggs

April 2, 2012 in appetizer

More eggs, y’all!

I made a bunch of deviled egg recipes one day before my husband left (best day of his life) and this was his favorite. He loves everything spicy so of course I knew he would love it. I did not, however, expect him to kill the whole batch within 30 minutes.

It’s a pretty basic deviled egg recipe but you add a bunch of minced pickled jalapenos and then top it with another jalapeno slice. If you’re looking for a way to spice up your eggs, this is perfect!

So who’s already dyed their eggs? We’re waiting until later this week, I think. Maybe sooner if I run out of ways to entertain the crazies. I had planned on doing the silk-dyed eggs but I never got around to searching for silk ties. Boo! Hopefully next year!

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Southwestern Deviled Eggs

adapted from Southern Living

Ingredients

1 dozen large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 to 4 tablespoons sliced pickled jalapeno peppers, minced
1 tablespoon mustard
½ teaspoon cumin
⅛ teaspoon salt
pickled jalapeno slices, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Cut eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks. Place yolks, mayonnaise, minced jalapeno peppers, mustard, cumin, and salt in a bowl; mash everything together. Spoon or pipe the mixture into the egg whites. Garnish with sliced jalapenos. Refrigerate until serving.
http://fakeginger.com/2012/04/02/southwestern-deviled-eggs/

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