Queso

Here's a recipe for queso that we tried last fall and I never got around to posting about it. This was delicious with chips, ground beef with taco seasoning, cilantro, and avocados. I think it would also be quite tasty with BBQ nachos!

Queso dip

1 cup of shreddred monterey jack cheese
1 cup of American cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 roasted poblano peppers (finely chopped)
8 oz tomatoes ( finely chopped)
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tbsp of ground garlic
salt to taste

Directions:
Combine all of ingredients in crockpot. Cover and cook on low for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, or until cheese is melted. Thin with more milk or cream if necessary. Taste and adjust seasoning. For additional flavor, add finely chopped onion, ground cumin, chopped roasted red pepper, etc..
Serve hot from crock with tortilla chips.

Pita Bread and Hummus

I'm finally posting something healthy. YEAH!

This hummus is so good. When I'm eating it, I can hardly believe that it's basically just garbanzo beans, lemon juice, and sesame paste. If I'm not careful, I can down this whole recipe all by myself.

I used to buy pita bread, but then I started making my own flat bread. It's just so easy and saves me a trip to the grocery store in town that carries the decent pita bread.
Tuscan Flat Bread
adapted from Epicurious.com

1 cup lukewarm water (90°F to 100°F)
2 1/4-ounce package dry yeast or two 0.6-ounce packages fresh yeast, crumbled
2 1/2 cups (about) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt (you may want to adjust this a bit. The original recipe says tells you to sprinkle 1 Tbs salt on top and not mix it in with the dough. I reduced that to 1/2 Tbs and mixed it in but it's still a bit salty.)
(I also add a tsp or more of dried rosemary)

Pour 1 cup lukewarm water into small bowl; sprinkle with yeast and add 1 tsp sugar. Let stand until yeast mixture becomes spongy.

Add yeast mixture to 2 cups flour, salt and 2 Tbs oil in the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix. Add more flour as needed. Remove dough from mixer and knead by hand for a bit. Coat bowl with oil. Add dough; turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let stand in warm draft-free area until doubled, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Brush baking sheet with 1 tablespoon oil. Punch down dough. Turn out onto floured work surface and shape into 11-inch round. Transfer dough to prepared tart pan or baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic. Let rise until dough is almost doubled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Press fingertips into dough, creating indentations. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with salt. Bake until golden, about 28 minutes. Cool bread in pan on rack 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan; cool completely.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Press fingertips into dough, creating indentations. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with salt (if desired). Bake until golden, about 28 minutes. Cool bread in pan on rack 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan; cool completely.

Hummus

barefoot contessa cookbook

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 cups canned chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)- for my local peeps, you can find this at Hyvee. A little pricey, but you'll get 5 or so batches of hummus out of it
  
• 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  
• 2 tablespoons water or liquid from the chickpeas
• 8 dashes hot sauce

Directions

Turn on the food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop the garlic down the feed tube; process until it's minced. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Taste, for seasoning, and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Pretty crudite platter, right? I think Ina would be proud.



Hummus

2 cups canned chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
6 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbs water or liquid from the chickpease
8 dashes Tabasco sauce

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Taste for seasoning and serve chilled or at room temperature.


Tzatziki

4 c plain yogurt, whole milk or low-fat
2 hothouse cucumbers, unpeeled and seeded
2 T + 1 tsp kosher salt
1 c sour cream
2 T champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/4 c freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 T good olive oil
1 T minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 T fresh dill

Place the yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined sieve and set it over a bowl. Grate the cucumber and toss it with 2 Tbs salt; place it in a nother sieve and set it over another bowl. Place both bowls in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours so the yogurt and cucmber can drain. Transfer the thickened yogurt to a large bowl. Squeeze as much liquid from the cucumbers as you can add the cucumbers to the yogurt. Mix in the sour cream, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dill, 1 tsp salt, and pepper. You can serve it immediately, but I prefer to allow the tzatziki to sit in the refigerator for a few hours for the flavors to blend.

(Tastes great as a sauce for gyros or as a dip for pita bread.)

Family Reunion BBQ

I love big family potlucks in the summertime. Bobby's dad has a big barn filled with a lot of old cool junk he acquires from local estate and garage sales. There is so much to look at in that barn! It is the venue which hosts the annual Fields family reunion- which seems to somehow always fall on the hottest day of the year. Here's a picture of everyone in line for their food. The picture on the right is my brother-in-law Craig, one of Pittsburg's finest, grilling up some burgers, hot dogs, and brats. Once I took Franny to Pittsburg by myself for my niece Riley's baby blessing, and I was pulling into town driving WAY too fast and I got pulled over. I was devastated to be getting ANOTHER ticket as I had been caught speeding somewhere in Iowa only months before when I looked up to see Craig step out of the police car. I ran and gave him a hug since I knew he wouldn't ticket me. Phew!! I think I was going 50 in a 20.

Here are my contributions:

Fresh Pico de Gallo and Guacamole,

and snickerdoodles and Natalie's delicious chocolate caramel brownies.

Pico de Gallo
(These are all approximations since I don't really follow a recipe.)

4/5 large tomatoes, small-diced
1 small yellow onion, small-diced
1 small bunch of cilantro, minced
1/2 tsp minced fresh jalapeno
salt and pepper to taste
the juice of one large lime

Guacamole

4 large avocados
2 garlic cloves, minced
the juice of one or two lemons
8 dashes tabasco sauce
red onion, small-diced to taste
1 small tomato, small-diced
1 tsp kosher salt
pepper to taste