Bacon Wrapped Lil' Smokies

Lil' Smokies are a weakness of mine.  I love 'em!  They were on sale over Christmas and I bought 18 packages of them.   They are in the freezer right now just waiting for me to eat them.  There are so many things you can do with them.  My kids' favorite way to eat them is in Piggy in a Blanket form.  (Those will also be on my Superbowl Menu.)  But they can be slow cooked in a pineapple BBQ sauce or my favorite, wrapped in bacon and smothered in BBQ sauce.

Bacon Wrapped Lil' Smokies
About 64 smokies
2 (14 oz) packages of Lil' Smokies

1 package bacon

1/4 cup bbq sauce

2 tablespoons water

3/4 cup brown sugar

Mix together the bbq sauce, water and brown sugar and coat all the Lil' Smokies in the sauce. Cut each bacon slice into fourths and wrap around the little smokies. Bake on a foil lined baking sheet at 375 for 45 minutes or until bacon is fully cooked. Serve with more bbq sauce. 

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Fiesta Bean Dip

This is one of those dips that everyone has a recipe for.  I've seen and tried several different versions, but I always come back to this one.  It's always a hit and I always come home with an empty dish.  Now I have to confess, I'm not a huge sour cream fan.  I cook with it a lot, but I really don't like when its a dominant flavor in any dish.  I solved that problem by mixing taco seasoning into the sour cream to disguise it a bit. 

I like spicy Mexican food, and this dip is no exception.  You can easily spice it up by using jalapeno refried beans and spicy taco seasoning.  This dip is a Superbowl tradition at our house.

Fiesta Bean Dip

Serves 15-20

2 (15 oz.) cans refried beans

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 1/2 cups guacamole

Shredded cheddar or Monterrey jack cheese

Sliced black olives

Diced tomatoes

Spread the refried beans in the bottom of a 9 x 13 in pan.  In a bowl, combine the sour cream and taco seasoning and mix well.  Spread over the beans.  Spread the guacamole over the sour cream.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese, olives and tomatoes.  Chill for 2 hours before serving.  Serve with tortilla chips or Frito's.



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Cheesy Bacon Ranch Dip

Since the Superbowl is only a week and a half away, I thought I'd share some ideas for party food.  I love to have an excuse to have friends and family over for some good food, good company and of course a little football thrown in.  I usually try to keep the menu simple and do as much ahead of time as I can.  The menu includes both finger foods and something hearty like my Secret Ingredient Chili (I'll share that recipe soon).  Today we'll start with my favorite dip.

A local grocery store makes a version of this dip that I absolutely love!  But it is super expensive so I never buy it.  I just put my blinders on as I walk through the deli section, but I can still hear it calling my name.  Since I obviously can't live without it, I just had to recreate it.  I happened to find a container that was marked down for quick sale so I snatched it up, took it home and created my own version.  Which for the record is better than the store's.  It would be great to serve on New Year's Eve, Super Bowl Sunday or on Tuesday!  So give it a try!

Cheesy Bacon Ranch Dip
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 Tbs. dry ranch dressing mix
5 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 green onions with tops, sliced
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

In a bowl, mix the sour cream and ranch dressing mix.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  For best results, refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight to let the flavors blend.  Serve with crackers or veggies.

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Piggys in a Blanket

These little beauties are better than your average pigs.  Most of the time these are made with crescent roll dough and hot dogs.  I love that this version is made with breadstick dough and lil' smokies.  The flavor of the smoked sausages just cant be beat.  My kids love making these, and we all love eating them.  Try using the cheddar cheese flavored lil' smokies for a new twist.  We love these dipped in BBQ sauce or honey mustard.

Piggys in a Blanket
Makes 36 appetizers

1 pkg. lil' smokies smoked sausages
1 pkg. Pillsbury bread stick dough
1 egg white
1 Tbs. water
Poppy seeds (optional)

Unroll the bread stick dough and cut into thirds.  Roll each sausage in a piece of dough.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Mix together the egg white and water and gently brush over the top of the bread dough.  Sprinkle with poppy seeds.  Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

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Baked Cinnamon Chips

My friend asked me why in the world I'd start another food blog when I already have one that I post on everyday.  There are 2 answers to that question.  First, in January I'll only be posting on my dutch oven blog once or twice a week.  The second answer requires a picture.

This is the contents of what I call my recipe drawer.  It is a 6" high, colossal, unorganized mess!  As I sit here thinking, I have another stack in one of my kitchen cupboards that is almost as big.  And that doesn't include the 100+ pages of recipes I have on CD or the dozens of files I have saved on my computer.  I've never even tried most of these recipes!   See why I need another food blog.  I really need a way to organize all of this.  Whew!  That's going to be a big job.

But for today, I'll share one of my kids favorite treats.  I've been making these forever and my kids love them.  They make great after school snacks and are yummy additions to school lunches.  During the summer I make a fruit salsa to dip them in or a Strawberry Marshmallow Fluff dip.  This is also a great way to get your kids involved in the kitchen.  My 5 year old daughter, Brylie, helped make these.  She doesn't normally have a beard, but it happened to be Pirate Day in kindergarten and she didn't want to wash it off.  She is so funny!

Baked Cinnamon Chips

Flour tortillas (I like the 6" tortillas, but any size will work)

Melted butter

Cinnamon sugar mix

With a pastry brush, spread melted butter on one side of each tortilla.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.  Be generous with both the butter and the cinnamon, this is one case where more is better!  Cut into wedges or strips and transfer to a baking sheet.  Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.  The tortillas should be crispy and curl on the edges, but not browned.  Cool on a wire rack.

Marshmallow Fluff Dip

Strawberry flavored cream cheese

Marshmallow cream

Mix until it is uniform in texture and color and serve with these chips or fresh fruit.

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