Loaded Baked Potato Salad

I am a huge fan of baked potatoes but now that spring has finally arrived (or so it seems) they just aren’t something I cook. I hate heating up the oven and the house once the warm weather hits and I avoid it at all cost. So what do I do when the craving strikes? Make up this loaded baked potato salad! It provides all the delicious taste of a loaded baked potato without having to heat up the oven. Plus, it’s chilled and refreshing which helps beat the heat.

There really isn’t anything not to like about this potato salad. Cheese, bacon and ranch are always a winning combination! This would be a great side dish to bring to a summer bbq or just to whip up on a weeknight with a yummy grilled steak.

Loaded Baked Potato Salad
recipe slightly adapted from Key Ingredient

4 large russet or Yukon gold potatoes
1/4 cup light mayo
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp. dry ranch seasoning
8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 tsp. black pepper
salt to taste

1. In a small bowl, mix together the mayo and sour cream. After thoroughly combined, stir in cheese, ranch seasoning, salt and pepper.

2. Chop potatoes into bite size chunks (you can peel them if you want, I was lazy and didn’t). Boil potatoes for 10-20 minutes, until tender but not falling apart. Drain potatoes and allow to cool a bit.

3. Mix potatoes and 3/4 of the bacon into sour cream mixture. Top with remaining bacon and chill until ready to serve.

Twice Baked Cauliflower

Ok, I have to admit this isn’t the most appetizing looking dish but it tastes absolutely amazing. It’s seriously one of the best things I have made in a long time. When I told Joel I was making it for dinner he was quite skeptical and wondered why I didn’t just make it with potatoes. I told him to buck up and deal with it and that he would like it. And I was totally right. It was creamy, cheesy and tangy, a bit salty and crispy. It was deliciousness.

I’m excited to make and share this at Thanksgiving this year. Although when we have Thanksgiving at Joel’s family, corn casserole is usually the top request from my recipes. I guess I kind of have a thing for cheesy vegatables.

Twice Baked Cauliflower
recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen

1 large head cauliflower
4 oz. low fat cream cheese
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1/4 cup minced green onions
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (If you only have finely grated Parmesan, use a bit less)
6 slices reduced fat bacon, cooked until very crisp, fat blotted with paper towel and then crumbled
1 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut out stem and core from cauliflower, and cut into small pieces. Cook in large pot of boiling salted water until cauliflower is tender, but not overly soft. Drain well and mash with potato masher, leaving some chunks. Mix in light cream cheese, light sour cream, green onion, Parmesan, and 3/4 of the crumbled bacon.

2. Spread evenly in a medium-sized glass casserole dish. Sprinkle with low-fat cheddar cheese and reserved bacon. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Loaded Potato Skins

This is a pretty basic, straightforward recipe for potato skins but they are crispy, cheesy and delicious. Not to mention they are perfect for football season. Around my house, this is a very important requirement this time of year. I spend way too much time considering the menu for football games. These would be wonderful served with sloppy joes or shredded french dips!

Potato Skins

3 large russet potatoes, baked
4-6 strips bacon, cooked and finely crumbled (or a few tablespoons of bacon bits)
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
Green onions, thinly sliced
Sour cream or ranch for dipping
Vegetable or peanut oil for frying

1. Preheat oil to 350 degrees F. Once the potatoes have cooled, slice them in half then slice each half into fourths. Scoop out pulp of potato leaving about 1/4-inch with the potato skin. Turn your oven on to broil.

2. Fry the skins in batches until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with kosher salt.

3. Place skins on a baking sheet then top each one with 1 tablespoon of cheese then sprinkle with bacon. Place under broiler for 1-2 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

4. Remove from oven and sprinkle with green onions. Serve with sour cream.

Baked Spinach Dip

Besides cucumber dip, this is my absolute favorite dip/appetizer EVER. And it’s obviously healthy since cream cheese, bacon, mayo, cheddar cheese, spinach is such a prominent ingredient. Duh. How could you go wrong with that list of ingredients? It’s really one of those things you indulge in rarely, but when you do it’s totally worth every.single.calorie.

You can bake this dip in a bread bowl or baking dish or you can throw it in the crock pot on low a few hours before serving. I have made it all three ways and I have to say my favorite is when it’s just in a baking dish. It seems to get more melty and gooey that way which is always a good thing in my opinion. If I am making this for a party where people will be eating over the course of a few hours, I either put it in the crock pot after all the ingredients have been mixed up (like stated above) or bake it in a dish then put it in the crock pot on warm.

This dip almost always graces our football gatherings…it’s kind of become a requirement and expectation.

Spinach Dip
recipe from Taste of Home The New Appetizer Cookbook

2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened (I use 1/3 less fat)
1 cup mayonnaise (I use the reduced fat olive oil kind)
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry*
1 cup (4 0z.) shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. dill weed
1 to 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 round loaf (1 lb.) unsliced sourdough bread
Assorted fresh vegetables
Tortilla chips

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and may until blended (I sometimes use my food processor for this to make quicker work of it). Stir in spinach, cheese, bacon, onion, dill and garlic; set aside. This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until it’s time to bake.

2. Cut a 1 1/2-in. slice off top of bread; set aside. Carefully hollow out bottom, leaving a 1/2-in. shell. Cube removed bread and place on a baking sheet. Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown; set aside.

3. Fill bread shell with spinach dip; replace top. Place any dip that doesn’t fit in the shell in a greased baking dish. Wrap bread in a large piece of foil. Place on a baking sheet.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until dip is heated through. Cover and bake additional dip for 40-50 minutes or until heated through. Open foil carefully. Serve dip warm with veggies, reserved bread cubes and tortilla chips.

*Make sure it is really dry! After it is thawed, I put it in a kitchen towel and squeeze the heck out of it until no more liquid drips through the towel (sometimes I go through two towels). I didn’t dry it enough once and a weird green liquid collected on the top of the dip. It tasted fine but looked quite unappetizing.

Turkey Avocado Wraps

These turkey avocado wraps, also known as my new favorite lunch, are the best! Noah is so incredibly busy so I am always looking for quick and easy lunches to throw together that are still relatively healthy. The salt and crunchiness of the bacon is soo good with the creamy guacamole. And who doesn’t love turkey and cheese? These are just perfect in my book!

Turkey Avocado Wraps

1 whole wheat tortilla
3 slices deli turkey
1 slice of bacon, cooked crisp
1 slice cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp. guacamole

Spread guacamole over tortilla then layer with turkey, bacon and cheese. Roll up and slice in half.

Creamy Macaroni Salad

I just love picnic food so it should be no surprise that I just love when Memorial Day rolls around because it means that picnic food is here and not going anywhere for a few glorious months! What could be better than cold fried chicken, lemonade and macaroni salad? Not a whole lot in my book.

This macaroni salad recipe happens to be my favorite so I wanted to be sure to share it with you before the holiday weekend hits. It’s super creamy and has some of my favorite indgredients – pasta, bacon, vinegar and pickles (I know vinegar is a weird thing to love but I do). I like to use Barilla Plus pasta for this because it tastes just as good as regular pasta but is much better for you. Also, the box is a little less than a pound so there is an increased saucy-ness to the salad which is always a good thing to me.

Creamy Macaroni Salad
recipe adapted from Food.com

1 lb. large elbow macaroni, cooked to desired tenderness
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup finely diced sweet onion
1 small red sweet bell pepper, finely diced
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup pickle relish (I chop up Claussen pickles because they are my favorite)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon celery seed
1/2 lb bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled

1. Mix cooled macaroni, celery, onions and bell pepper together in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, pickle relish, sugar, salt, pepper and celery seed, stirring well.

3. Stir dressing into the macaroni mixture.

4. Stir in the crumbled bacon.

5. Serve chilled. Best if made the night before.

Recipe linked to Totally Tasty Tuesday, Cast Party Wednesday and Full Plate Thursday.

Steakhouse Panini

We got a panini press a little over a year ago and love using it whenever we get the chance. Joel requested panini’s a few days ago and I decided to do something different from our usual Ultimate Grilled Cheese or Honey Mustard Chicken. We don’t eat a whole lot of red meat but I have been craving it so I decided a steak panini would do the trick.

Instead of scouring the internet for a recipe I wanted to come up with something on my own. Since we were using steak I figured I could turn a classic all the elements of a steak dinner into a sandwich. Steak, carmelized onions, steak sauce, melty cheese and some bacon (for good measure of course) between two slices of bread sounded just perfect to me! And it was.

I asked Joel to describe the panini so he thought about it then stated that it was “man-licious.” I think that might be the perfect description. This woman enjoyed it too!

Steakhouse Panini

1 large sirloin steak
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 Tbsp. onion powder
1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp. oregano
1/2 Tbsp. paprika
1/2 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 Ciabatta rolls (I used onion poppy seed ones)
6 strips bacon, cooked until crispy
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 slices provolone (or replace with blue cheese or gorgonola)
4 Tbsp. steak sauce

1. Preheat panini grill. Heat grill pan or outdoor grill over medium high heat. Mix onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, paprika and kosher salt together then rub liberally on steak (I didn’t use it all – store remainder in airtight container).

2. Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat then add onions and cook until carmelized.

3. Sear steak for on grill for about 2 minutes per side or until desired doneness has been reached. Let rest for about 5 minutes then slice thinly against the grain.

4. Spread 1 Tbsp. of steak sauce on each side of the ciabatta rolls. Top each halve with a slice of provolone then pile on the sliced steak, bacon and carmelized onions. Put the sandwich halves together then place on the panini grill. Grill for about 5 minutes or until the cheesy is melted and bubbling.

Recipe linked to Mangia Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Cast Party Wednesday, What I Whipped Up Wednesday and Full Plate Thursday.

Honey Mustard Chicken and Bacon Panini

When I was a child, my mom packed my lunch every single day. Occasionally, I would open my lunch box to see a note written on my napkin. “Hope you are having a good day,” “good luck on the test,” “I love you.” It always brightened my day and was usually exactly the encouragement, reminder or pick me up that I needed. She still does the same thing for my dad. How awesome is that?

So today in honor of the lunch note napkin, I am going to bring you a great lunch idea…the Honey Mustard Chicken and Bacon Panini. Making a sandwich into a panini just makes it seem so much fancier. We love panini’s around our house and make several different varieties. They are a great lunch or quick dinner on a busy night. Serve with a fresh green salad to get your veggies!

Honey Mustard Chicken and Bacon Panini
recipe from Homemade by Holman

4 slices bread of choice (we used French bread)
2 slices smoked mozzarella cheese
4 slices bacon
2 pieces of Dijon chicken (See below)
2 tsp. Dijon mustard or Honey mustard

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until crispy. Drain on a paper towel. Remove bacon grease and wipe out pan with a paper towel, return pan to stove and reduce heat to medium. Thinly slice chicken breasts against the grain. Lightly butter one side of bread slices, spread mustard on non-buttered side of one piece of bread. Add one slice of cheese, 2 slices of bacon, cut in half, and half the chicken to each. Top with remaining slice of bread and place buttered side down in the skillet. Cook 3-4 minutes until golden brown and flip. Cook about another 3 minutes until cheese is melted and sandwich is golden brown.

Dijon Chicken Marinade

1/3 cup Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine mustard, vinegar, and honey in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Add spices and stir. Prepare chicken breasts and place in a large plastic storage bag. Pour marinade over the chicken, close bag and shake bag gently and squeeze to evenly coat chicken. Refrigerate one hour. Preheat grill, oil lightly and add chicken over medium heat. Cook 5-6 minutes and turn (if chicken sticks, give it another minute or so), cook about 5 minutes more until cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil for about 10 minutes to allow juices to redistribute.

Baked Loaded Jalepeno Poppers

These.Are.Unbelievable. Seriously, I don’t like jalepeno’s and I can’t stop dreaming about them. Joel doesn’t like anything spicy and he devoured them. I came across this recipe a few months ago and made them for a family get together. They disappeared at an alarming rate and I only got to sample half of one. Since then, they have been at pretty much every gathering that we have attended. These would be a huge hit at any football game or tailgate party! They will definitely be gracing a many a Husker game!

Loaded Baked Jalepeno Poppers
recipe from Piece, Love & Cooking

For the Filling:
1 Block Cream Cheese, Softened
½C Rotel Tomatoes, Drained
½C Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded
½C Spicy Ground Sausage, Cooked

For the Poppers:
6-10 Jalapenos, Sliced in Half & Seeded*
12 Slices Bacon, Partly Cooked
¼C Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded
1C Jalapeno Popper Filling

1. In a mixing bowl, mix together the cream cheese, rotel tomatoes, mozzarella, and ground sausage. Set this mixture aside.
2. Preheat an oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with Pam. Lay the slices of bacon on the baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, so they are about half way done. This is an important step because this will make sure the bacon is fully cooked when the poppers are done. Once the bacon is slightly cooked, set these aside to cool, so you won’t burn your fingers.
3. Next, start to load your jalapeno halves with the filling. Spoon about 2 spoonfuls of the filling into the hollowed out halves until they are full and rounded. Sprinkle on some mozzarella cheese and press in a little to make sure it adheres. Then, wrap the partially cooked bacon around the filled jalapenos. Some of the bacon will adhere naturally, but for those that don’t, you can use a toothpick while they bake.
4. Place the jalapeno poppers back on the same baking sheet. Bake these for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and brown and the bacon is crisp.
5. Serve immediately.

*It’s super important to wear gloves when handling the peppers. You don’t want to rub your eyes and feel the burn for days.

Recipe linked to Cast Party Wednesday, This Chick Cooks, Tasty Tuesday, Full Plate Thursday, Friday Food, Fat Camp Friday, Mangia Monday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Recipe Sharing Monday and Fusion Friday.

Summer Corn Fettucine

I love fresh, summer corn and when I came across this unique recipe I thought it would be a winner for sure! I’ve seen it all over the blog world and it received glowing reviews. Well, I thought it was great and very different but I wasn’t totally in love with it.

Peppers aren’t my thing and I think this was the problem. They didn’t take over the flavor by any means but I could taste them and it bothered me. It had a great flavor, sweet from the corn and smoky from the bacon. I will definitely be giving this another try just without the red pepper.

I apologize for the quality of pictures. We were starving and I just snapped a few quick pictures!

Summer Corn fettucine
recipe from Rachael Ray

Salt
1 pound fettucine
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
6 slices smoky bacon, chopped
6 ears corn on the cob, shucked
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 small red pepper, seeded and chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup half-and-half or cream
1/2 cup chicken stock or dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
A few dashes hot sauce or 1 or 2 pinches cayenne pepper
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano
1/2 cup torn sweet basil leaves or 1/4 cup chopped tarragon leaves

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium heat. Salt the water, add the pasta and cook to al dente.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook a few minutes until rendered and crisp. Put a small bowl inverted into a large bowl, steady the corn cobs on the smaller bowl and scrape the ears. Add 3/4 of the scraped corn and any corn liquid to the pan with the bacon. Add the shallots and red pepper and liberally season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the vegetables are tender, 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Add the remaining corn and half-and-half to a food processor and puree until smooth.
4. Pour the stock or wine into the corn and vegetables, and simmer over low heat for a minute to reduce. Stir in the thyme and corn-cream mixture and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, to thicken. Add the hot sauce or cayenne and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Drain the pasta and add it to a large serving bowl. Pour in the sauce, add a couple of handfuls of cheese, about 1/2 cup and toss. Top with torn basil or chopped tarragon and pass the remaining cheese at the table.

Recipe linked to Mangia Monday’s, Nap Time Creations, Full Plate Thursday and Sharing Sundays.