Super Bowl Sunday - Chipotle Dip

Super bowl Sunday... it's all about the food! So what's on your menu?

Here is a really good and super easy, chip dip recipe, originally posted on lilbitgabby.com.

Creamy Chopotle Dip
ingredients:
24 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 package Ortega chipotle taco seasoning mix (dry)
a dash or two of cayenne pepper (to taste - optional)
directions:
Mix the sour cream and the taco seasoning mix together. Fold in the shredded pepper jack cheese. Now stir in the cayenne to taste. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

This is really good served with sweet potato corn tortilla chips. But you can also serve it with any corn tortilla chip, fresh vegies, or serve it as a coctail sauce for spicy shrimp.

I'm figuring out the last minute details of my Super Bowl game menu and grocery list. I'll be posting a few of my favorite appetizer recipes over the next couple days.

Perfect Weather for Warm Memories

All this snow reminds me of when I was a little girl down on the farm. All of us children would come in out of the snow with red noses and frozen hands. Grandma would fix each one of us a delicious cup of spicy Russian tea to wrap our little hands around. It warmed us right up... the hot drink and all that love.

Russian Tea

Ingredients:
2 cups Tang orange drink mix
2 cups Lipton instant tea mix(sweetened)
1 cup Countrytime lemonade mix (pre-sweetened)
2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:
Dump ingredients into a blender and give it a good whirl. Store in a
tupperware cannister. To serve, use 1 to 2 teaspoons per cup of
nearly boiling water. This recipe is easily adjusted to your own taste.

Russian tea is still one of my favorite drinks during these cold winter days. And there's a bonus when I make a cup... it's better than a Yankee candle for aromatherapy! Mmmm... sweet and spicy with a pick-me-up citrus aroma that takes me right back to Grandma's kitchen.

Italian Bean Soup

With all this snow, I ended up changing out my menu last night. I made up a quick pot of Italian soup. This hearty, thick soup is quick to fix, but it tastes like it's been simmering all day long.

Italian Bean Soup
Ingredients:

• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 4 TBS garlic cloves, minced
• Seasoning salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 large can (6lbs 12oz) dark red kidney beans, drained
• 1 can (28oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 jar (1 lb 10oz aprox) spaghetti sauce
• 3 cups beef stock
• 8oz sliced button mushrooms, drained

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef and chopped onions, drain off the grease and season with seasoned salt.
2. Add the browned beef, onions, garlic, beans, tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, beef stock, and mushrooms to a large soup pot. Season as needed with oregano and basil.
3. Bring to a slow boil, then reduce heat and simmer at least 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep it from scorching.

**my notes**

1. Fresh mushrooms can be substituted..
2. You can use more or less of any of the ingredients... it's a basic recipe, and it's very easy to make substitutions. Example, stewed tomatoes, instead of crushed tomatoes.
3. I like to use a thick spaghetti sauce with peppers and onions in the sauce.

There's something about a hot mug of soup served with crusty bread... it warms me up and makes me feel cozy.