Bloody Mary Shrimp Cocktail From Heather

Ingredients:
• 1 Bottle of Bloody Mary Mix (32 oz)
• 4 lbs Large Shrimp (Boiled)
• 4 Large Avocados
• 1-1/2 c diced white onions
• 1 c Chives
• 1 c diced bell peppers
• 1-1/2 c diced tomatoes
• 1 bunch cilantro finely chopped
• ½ bottle of Louisiana Hot Sauce (Tabasco Sauce)
• Lime Juice from 4 large limes
• 3 - 4 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 5 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
• Tortilla Chips


In Large Bowl combine all except Avocados – Mix & Chill for at least 3-4 hrs. Add Avacados and chill at least 1-2 hrs. more.

Serve with tortilla chips or can put over shredded lettuce also.

Buffalo Chicken Dip from Heather

Ingrediants:
2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce, such as Franks® Red Hot, Hootes, really any wing sauce.
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces (I buy pre-cut)
1 (8 ounce) box chicken flavored crackers (regular saltines, or whatever you want)

Directions:
Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks and crackers.

Melanie's Linguini & Clam Sauce

2-3T Olive Oil
1 onion
2-4 cloves fresh garlic
3 Cans Chopped Clams
1 bottle clam juice
1 Bay leaf
1 tsp oregano
1T lemon juice
1/4 C white wine
1/4 C finely chopped fresh parsely (1T dried parsley can be substituted)
2tsp Red Pepper Flake (optional)

Cook Onions and garlic in olive oil in sauce pan on low/medium heat until onions are translucent and tender. Add juice from canned clams and bottled clam juice. Add Bay leaf, oregano, lemon, hot pepper, and white wine. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add clams and fresh parsley. Cook 5 minutes to heat up clams. Service over Linguini or Angel Hair Pasta.

Crockpot Tortilla Soup - Denise's fave!

1.5 lbs cooked, shredded Chicken
1- 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 - 14 oz can HATCH Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
2 - 4 oz can HATCH Diced Green Chiles (one can also works fine)
1 - 15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 med. onion, chopped
2 Tbs minced garlic
2 cups water
1 - 15 oz can chicken broth
2 tsp each: cumin, chili powder, salt & black pepper (to taste)
1 - 15 oz can corn, drained
2 Tbs cilantro, chopped
Cheddar &/or Mont Jack Cheese, sour cream, & avocado for Garnish

In Crockpot combine all ingredients except Cilantro & Garnish. Cover & cook on low 6-8 hours (or 4-6 on high). This is spicy - sour cream calms it down a bit. Also it makes a LOT so is good for a crowd or to put half in the freezer.

Christiana's Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna
The original recipe is from here, but below I added in my own changes as well.

Makes 16 servings.


Ingredients
--2 pounds ground beef
-- a handful of chopped onion. (I don't like onions, so I only use a little, though the original recipe calls for a whole onion)
--2 teaspoons minced garlic (when I inevitably forget to buy garlic, I use garlic powder)
--1 (2 ounce) can black olives, sliced
--2 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies peppers (I use Rotel Brand) (if you like it spicy like me, use the Hot version. I LOVE it spicy.)
--1 (16 ounce) jar taco sauce
--2 (16 ounce) cans refried beans ( I have substitued black beans too!)
-- flour or corn tortillas (its up to you! I usually use flour, I notice that I can get a better covering w/ the smaller ones, but I have used the medium-sized ones as well)
--9 ounces shredded Colby or Cheddar cheese (I usually just use a Mexican blend)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F .

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the ground
beef for 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, and saute for
5 more minutes. Drain any excess fat, if desired. Mix in
the olives, tomatoes with green chile peppers, taco sauce and refried beans. Stir mixture thoroughly, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Spread a thin layer of the meat mixture in the bottom
of a 4 quart casserole dish. Cover with a layer of
tortillas followed by more meat mixture, then a layer of cheese.
Repeat tortilla, meat, cheese pattern until all the tortillas
are used, topping off with a layer of meat mixture and cheese.

3. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is slightly brown and bubbly.

Nicole's Pasta with Jalapeno Pesto

5 T shelled pumpkin or sunflower seeds

2 green peppers

3 jalapeno peppers

¼ cup chopped cilantro

3 cloves garlic

¼ cup olive oil

2 t fresh lime juice

½ t salt

Fresh ground pepper

1 pound pasta

1 ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes

Roast bell & jalapeno peppers on a baking sheet 15-20 mintues in 450 degree oven. The skin should blister. Let the peppers cool a bit, then remove skin (and seeds) and discard.

In a blender or food processer, combine 4 T of seeds, cilantro, garlic & peppers until coarsely chopped. With the machine running, slowly add the oil & lime juice. Blend in the salt & pepper.

Cook the pasta, then drain and add all the ingredients together, mix well.

Garnish with extra pumpkin/sunflower seeds and lime wedges.

Nicole's Beef Satay with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

(Courtesy of America's Test Kitchen)

Beef:

1 ½ lbs flank steak (I find round steak or sandwich steaks work well too) sliced THINLY and ACROSS the grain

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 T Asian chili sauce (Srihacha), or more to taste

¼ cup packed dark brown sugar

¼ cup minced cilantro

2 cloves garlic

4 scallions

Weave thinly sliced beef onto wooden skewers and place into cake pan (or on baking sheet, I've found cake pans work better)

Mix the rest of the ingredients to make marinade. Pour over meat, cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. (I like overnight, the soy sauce breaks down the meat fibers and tenderizes)

Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce: (halving the recipe will still make plenty!)

½ cup smooth peanut butter

¼ cup hot water

1 T soy sauce

2 T fresh squeezed lime juice

2 T Asian chili sauce (Srihacha)

1 T dark brown sugar

1 clove garlic

1 T chopped cilantro leaves

2 scallions, sliced thinly.

Whisk peanut butter and hot water until well-mixed. Stir in remaining ingredients.

To cook beef:

Using the broiler setting on your oven, lay the skewers on wire rack and broil 6-7 minutes total, flipping them over halfway through.

ALTERNATELY: Use the outdoor grill. A fabulous addition to the recipe is grill-flavor!

Serve with peanut dipping sauce while hot! I've made these and brought them tailgating, cooked on a portable grill. Crowd pleaser!

Nicole's Chicken Vicious

 

Not for the faint of heart.

2 t vegetable oil

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces

1 ½ cups white vinegar

1 cup white sugar

½ cup soy sauce

1 T red pepper flakes, to taste

2 T garlic powder

1 T onion powder

½ t ground ginger

Sliced button mushrooms

Frozen green peas

3 t cornstarch

2 T cold water

Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. Add chicken pieces and cook until browned. Add vinegar, soy, and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Season with pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder and ginger. Reduce to low heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust to taste. If it's too tart, add more sugar, if too sweet add more vinegar.

Once the sauce is to your liking, add the veggies and simmer until they get tender/crisp. Stir together cornstarch & water and stir into sauce. Continue to simmer until it thickens a bit. Serve hot over rice

Nicole's Spicy Cold Sesame Noodles

1 package linguine

6 cloves minced garlic

4 T dark brown sugar

6 T canola oil

6 T rice vinegar

6 T soy sauce

2 T sesame oil

2 t chili sauce (Srihacha)

6 sliced green onions

1 t toasted sesame seeds

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, stir in garlic, sugar, oil, vinegar, soy, sesame oil and chili sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Pour sauce over cooked linguine (al dente, because it'll absorb the sauce a bit) and toss to coat. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.