Suzee's Buffalo Chicken Dip

On Thanksgiving this year, we joined the folks at Indian Lake a pot luck holiday. We brought this dip, and people really seemed to like it!

1 lb chicken breast, poached and shredded (I use 2 forks)
1/2 of a 12 oz bottle of Frank's Hot Sauce (don't use tobasco)
1 8 oz brick of light cream cheese
1 8 oz bottle of light ranch dressing
1 package of celery (1/2 C chopped and the rest cut horizontally to scoop the dip)

Mix the shredded chicken with the hot sauce, and spread in the bottom of a 8x8 dish.

Melt the cream cheese into the ranch dressing, and pour over the chicken mixture. Top with chopped celery.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly and hot. Serve with celery scoops.

Vacation South Padre 2009

Vacation - some sun, some sleep, and some fun :)

Not enough fish tacos, though....

Suzee and Papa's black bean soup

2T olive oil
2 sweet onions, diced small
1/2 small diced green pepper
1 small diced red pepper
1 small diced orange pepper
3 jalapenos, cleaned of seeds and ribs, small diced
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
12 - 16 oz bacon, chopped, then fried crisp, and drained
2 cans chicken broth
4 cans black beans rinsed and drained
3 T Fiesta brand pinto bean seasoning ( or 2 T cumin, 1/2 T smoked chipotle, and 1/2 T chile poweder)
1t ( a full t) of cayenne pepper
1t garlic powder

Sautee the onions until soft in olive oil. Add all the peppers and garlic, and sautee further. Add the beans and the chicken broth. Add spices. Heat through, and mash about a third of the beans with a potato masher.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and enjoy!!

Live Bait - Cute Joint!

Yesterday I was caught without an umbrella - the weather dude indicated the rain was over, but he was wrong. I was getting pretty drenched, so I decided to stop in at Live Bait for lunch and hope that when I was done, the rain would be too.

I sat at the bar and looked around at the "Southern Hospitality" decor reminiscent of BBQ joints across the city. I ordered a miller lite, and checked out the menu. On the specials (which were laminated like the regular menu) there were fish and chips. Yum! It has been forever

I enjoyed my beer while I read "Greywalker" (nice paranormal novel - I'd recommend it if you like fun reads), and when my lunch came, I was surprised to find fish pieces rather than a filet. I took a bite with the nice roumelade sauce provided, and was pleasantly surprised. The coating was crunchy and spicy, but not overwhelmingly so, and the fish was fresh and tasty! As a lowbrow joint kind of place, I was pretty pleased with lunch and staying dry. Thumbs up for Live Bait!

Cupcake Stop Dot Com - Keep Going.

I was out and about getting last minute goodies for our trip to South Padre (woo! Leaving tomorrow!!!), and I walked by a cupcake truck. Seriously.

They were offering 5 different varieties of cupcakes - double chocolate, red velvet, vanilla, peanut butter and jelly and some kind of hazelnut flavor (I've forgotten the actual name). Regular size cupcakes are $2.50 (not the mongo, cupcakes as big as your head size. regular size like your mom made when you were a kid), and mini cupcakes are 12 for $12. I wanted to try all the flavors (except the peanut butter and jelly), so I got the variety pack of minis. I had dreams of deliciousness like Melissa's Cupcakes. I was so mistaken.

The statement on the side of the truck claims these cupcakes were baked fresh daily. These cupcakes were not from today. The red velvet was nice, but not nearly as nice as others. The vanilla was nice too, if you like vanilla (I wouldn't have chosen this one if I was going to select one). The chocolate was reminiscent of an old hostess cupcake from the 100 calorie pack (minus the cream filling). I was so disappointed.

In a town with so many cupcake outlets, skip this one...

Mexican Chicken and Rice Bake

I was going to make a plain chicken and rice bake today for Rick - it's his favorite. And as I was looking through the spices, looking for the Thyme, I came upon the Smoked Chipotle and thought - oh yes, Rick will love that!!

Here is how I made it:

1 Can Campbell's Cream of Chix soup (healthy choice)
1 can water (use the campbell's can)
1 C rice or orzo
1 10 oz can of Rotel
1 small can of chiles
1.5 lbs of chicken breast
1/2 t ground chipotle
1/2 t garlic powder

Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the soup, water, rice, rotel and chiles in a 3 qt covered casserole. Lay the chicken breast over the rice mixture, cover and bake for 45 minutes. After the timer buzzes, let it all sit covered for 15 minutes.

Then serve and enjoy!

Sicky Sick Weekend

This past weekend was filled with coughing, sneezing, stuffy noses and sore throats. Good I say. Great! Get it all out so when we leave in 5 days for vacation, we will be all better :)

I've been trolling the internet for appetizers to make while we are there. Usually we laze around in the morning, go out for a late lunch, and watch TV or read in the evenings. I figure if we have big lunches, no need for "dinner". Snacks will work just fine :)

I'm not sure if we will have internet access or not, so I'll have to look into that. If we don't, I'll be sure to write my entries as we go along, and then post them all at the end :)

Sunshine is coming my way!