Taco Dip

Oh man, is this recipe amazing!  I threw this together the night of the National Championship because some of my classmates were coming over to watch the game.   It was so easy to assemble, and the flavors were dynamite together.  Make this soon!  It would be great for a Super Bowl party.

1/2 lb. extra-lean ground beef
1 can fat-free refried beans
1 packet taco seasoning
8 oz. light sour cream
1.5-2 cups sharp cheddar
Fritos, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown ground beef in a skillet and drain.  Mix in beans and taco seasoning.  Spread into the bottom of a pie plate or appropriately-sized dish, and top with sour cream.  Then top with cheddar.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.  Serve immediately with Fritos.

Slightly modified from:  Plain Chicken

Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade

Leave it to me to make lemonade in the middle of winter.  I had some lemons my grandpa grew, and I needed to use them up before they went bad.  So I found this recipe online for homemade lemonade, and I gave it a try.  It was great!  

1 1/2 cups lemon juice (for me, this was about 5 lemons)
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar (plus more to taste)

My tips for juicing a lemon:  Roll lemon firmly between your palm and countertop before slicing.  Use a citrus reamer to squeeze out all juice and pulp from the lemon.  Then use a fine-mesh strainer to strain the lemon juice, catching the seeds and pulp in the strainer.

In a small saucepan, make a simple syrup by combining sugar and 1 cup water.  Bring to a boil to melt sugar.  Allow to cool to room temperature, then cool in refrigerator until chilled.  In the pitcher, stir together the simple syrup, and 7 other cups of water.  Adjust water/sugar to taste.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Cups

Happy New Year!  Our small group had a New Years' Eve party, and I was asked to bring an appetizer.  I always use parties as excuses to try new recipes, so I made these little beauties.  Everyone loved them, and they were pretty easy to make.

24 wonton wrappers
10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach (thawed and all excess moisture squeezed out)
1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
4 oz. light cream cheese
3 Tbsp. light mayo
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
1/2 cup Italian blend cheese
1/2 tsp. black pepper
A couple dashes salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray mini-muffin pan with Pam and then place 1 wonton in each muffin cup, pressing the wonton firmly against the sides to prevent it collapsing into the middle.  Bake for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine spinach, artichoke hearts, sour cream, cream cheese, light mayo, garlic, parmesan,  cheese, pepper, and salt in a bowl.  Distribute mixture into wontons, pressing firmly down into the wonton.  Bake an additional 10 minutes or until wontons are nicely browned and crisp.  Remove from muffin tin and serve immediately.

Adapted from:  Gimme Some Oven