Mar 6

Mar 6 Don't Be Scared of the Kitchen - More Recipes

I’ve had some requests for additional recipes for game night, so here are a couple of new ideas for you and the rest of your group. They are meant to be quick, easy, and able to be made by most everyone. If you need appetizers, whip up the guacamole or buffalo dip. Looking for a heavy snack or light meal? Try the Twice Baked Potatoes or Meatloaf Muffins. Whatever you need to eat, one of these items should have you covered.

All the recipes are for 4-6 people. I always increase the ingredients a little, since we have a couple of guys at our table who I don’t think to eat for two days before coming over, which is fine with me since there’s never any room in my refrigerator for leftovers. Also, remember that recipes are like making a campaign. There’s not any new ideas left in the world, so take an idea and make it yours; adjust ingredients as you see fit to accommodate your vegetarians and vegan friends.

Homemade Guacamole (Green Slime)

4-5 Large Avocados
1/4 Red Onion, diced
Juice from 1/2 Lemon
1 tbsp Jane’s Crazy Salt*
Dash of Hot Sauce

Directions

Cut avocados in half, remove pit and scoop into a large mixing bowl.
Add red onion and lemon juice. Mash with a fork until the mixture is more smooth than chunky.
Add crazy salt and hot sauce and mix well.
Serve with tortilla chips.

As with most recipes like this, it will taste better if you let it sit for 30 minutes or so. this allows the flavors to smooth out after being mixed. If you are making this 4-6 hours ahead of time, make sure to add additional lemon juice, seal well, and place it in the refrigerator. This will slow down the oxidation process and you won’t end up with a bowl full of brown goo.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 cups shredded cooked chicken*
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Frank’s RedHot
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour everything into a shallow quart baking dish.
Bake for 20 minutes. (or until mixture is heated through). Stir and put back in the oven for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and serve with tortilla chips and/or veggies.

For the love of god make this easy on yourself. Most rotisserie chickens will yield a little over two cups of chicken. The price isn’t that different and you have plenty to do before the gang descends upon your house. If people do not like blue cheese, you can always remove it from the ingredients. if you do, up the cheddar cheese to 3/4 cup.

It’s going to be hot so be careful when you make a mad rush for the bowl. You don’t have to put it back in the oven for a 2nd time if you do not want to (Step 3), but I usually do just to make sure there aren’t any cold spots.

Twice Baked Potatoes

6 russet potatoes
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon sliced chive
6 pieces of bacon cooked, chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F. Wash and pierce potatoes several times with a fork to allow steam to escape while potatoes bake.
Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced in center with a fork.
When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut lengthwise in half; scoop out inside, leaving a thin shell. In a medium bowl, mash potatoes with potato masher or electric mixer on low speed until no lumps remain.
Add milk in small amounts, mixing after each addition with a potato masher or electric mixer on low speed. Add butter, salt, and pepper and continue mixing. Stir in remaining ingredients and whip until smooth. Fill potato shells with mashed potato mixture.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Increase oven temperature to 400°F. Bake about 20 minutes or until hot.

Now the great thing about this recipe is that if you want to cut the time down, you can Skip the oven and cook your potatoes in the microwave. Most microwaves even have a potato button, so you can throw them in there 3 at a time. Even doing them in two batches should take a lot less time than in the oven. You can add or delete any of the ingredients you see fit.

Fried Rice

5 cups of steamed rice, chilled
2 Eggs
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup small-diced carrots
1/2 cup small-diced onions
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup Soy sauce

Directions

Over medium heat, scrambled the eggs. Remove from pan when done.
Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large pan (as big as you got).
Add veggies and garlic to pan and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until browned.
Add remaining butter and chilled rice. Make sure to break up larger chunks of rice.
Pour in Soy sauce and mix well with rice.
Add scrambled eggs back to the pan and stir for 2 more minutes.
Serve!

Making this recipe can be quite messy if you don’t have a very large sauté pan or wok. You may want to think about doing this in 2 or 3 batches if you don’t. A great thing about fried rice is you can add other veggies and/or leftover meat you may have in your refrigerator.

Meatloaf Muffins

2 lbs. ground beef
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 eggs
1 cup ketchup, split
1 tsp. Garlic salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup diced onions

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, using 1/2 cup ketchup. Reserve the remaining 1/2 cup.
Press the meat into the muffin cups. Your yield should be 18-20 muffins.
Using remaining ketchup, top each muffin with a small spoonful.
Cook for 30-35 minutes.

These little guys can be the protein on a plate with veggies and a starch, put on a slider bun and eaten like a sandwich or munched on as a handheld little snack. Feel free to add any additional veggies into the meatloaf mixture. I with dice 1/2 a jalapeño and add it in for little kick. Also, substitute the ketchup topping with BBQ Sauce for a different twist on this snack.