Posted on Leave a comment

Yummy Cheese Dip for Chips

I LOVE nacho cheese! And I love it when I can still dip in it after it’s refrigerated. Like a jar of Tostitos Queso – I can sneak into the fridge with one chip in hand, and satisfy that craving!

There are LOTS of recipes on the internet that start with a Bechamel type-base and add a variety of seasonings like chili powder and cumin… but none of them were quite what I was looking for. If I liked the flavor, it was usually just because it was made of a roux plus milk and cheese. But it missed the acid, and the texture was always off. If I tried to eat any of it while cold, my chips would break off… ugh.

Then one day while working, I actually ran out of Podcasts to listen to for the day. So I started to search for something new to listen to. I saw a Bon Appetit episode available on QUESO. I listened, and learned, and then my daughter and I went to the kitchen, inspired. We came up with this. It’s just a little different then the BA recipe, we adjusted for our tastes. But, I can’t say enough thanks to Bon Appetit for getting me this close!

As with all of my recipes here on my online journal… it’s a work in progress, and I will update it as we learn more tweaks that we like!


Chop 1/4 small onion.

Mince 1 clove garlic.

Mince 1/3 cup jarred Jalapenos, include that juice!

Chop 8 oz. American cheese (You NEED this for texture, trust me. Go with 8 – 1 oz. slices, or grab a block and cut 8 oz. into smaller cubes)

Grate 8oz. Cheddar Cheese (or other cheese of your choice, maybe Monterey Jack)

Melt 1 Tablespoon of Butter (I always have salted on hand) in sauce pan over medium heat until foamy

Cook the garlic and onion until translucent.

Add 1/2 tsp. Cumin and 1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper, and cook until aromatic.

Get 1 cup milk. Pour 3/4 cups of that milk into the saucepan and simmer.

Use the remaining 1/4 cup of cold milk to make a thickener, by adding 1/2 Tablespoon of Cornstarch and stirring. Mixing the cornstarch into a small amount of cool liquid helps to prevent lumps.

Add cornstarch mixture to the pan and simmer over medium heat. Simmer for at least 1 full minute. BA says this is necessary to keep it from getting “grainy” in texture.

Reduce heat to medium low and begin to melt in your grated/cubed cheeses. Add small portions of cheese and stir it in to the pan to melt. Then, add more cheese. Do this until all the cheese is added and melted in.

Remember that 1/3 cup of jalapenos that you minced up? And kept some juices from that jar too? Add it into the cheese sauce now and stir. You are ready to go!

If you can’t eat it all, feel free to pop it in the fridge to snack on later! It’ll harden a little when it gets cold… but you can still easily get a nice thin tortilla chip in there and get a scoop! Yay!

Posted on 2 Comments

Old Mother Hubbard’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from “the Mother Goose Cookie-Candy Book”

by: Anne Rockwell


We give these cookies to the neighbors every year around Christmas time.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream together 1 cup softened butter and 1 cup of white granulated sugar.

Add 1 cup Brown sugar and combine until light and fluffy.

Add 2 eggs and beat with a wooden spoon.

Beat in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Mix together: 2.5 cups of AP flour, 0.5 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda.

Stir the flour mixture into the butter and egg mixture.

Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup of chopped pecan meats.

Spoon the cookie batter onto greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Remove from pans and move to racks to cool.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Posted on Leave a comment

Banana Bread for the Baker’s Edge pan

4 oz. butter, softened

1 cup sugar

vanilla

4 bananas, mashed

1 egg

1.5 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt


Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together.

Add your bananas. If they are frozen, cut them up into small pieces so they mash up easier. You don’t have to get ALL of the lumps out.

Mix your dry ingredients together (flour, baking soda, and salt). Then add them to the wet ingredients and combine. The batter will be nice and thick.

Grease the Baker’s Edge pan. Add batter evenly. I use a medium scoop and start at all the corners, then fill in the middles to get it evenly distributed. Then you can use a spatula or spoon to spread it all out.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes @ 350 degrees. If you used fresh bananas, your baking time may be shorter! I am always using up my frozen bananas and it makes my batter cold. And I do NOT have the patience to let it all come to room temp.