Monday Night Football: Sweetgrass Recipes For You and Your Man

Cream Cheese Jalapeño Poppers

Aren't jalapenos just the best?? I know so many people that hear the word 'jalapeno' and immediately think 'hot', 'teary eyes', 'mouth on fire', etc. Yes, I know that jalapenos have some heat, but they're really not as bad as you would expect. Especially when paired with cream cheese. It cools off the spiciness perfectly, which was just the case with these little babies! I have made them before and they are delicious! You and your man and will definitely love these. 

Ingredients:

•                1 (8oz.) block of cream cheese, softened

•                1/4 cup minced jalapenos (or 1/2 can, drained, if that's easier for ya)

•                1 tube of regular crescent rolls

Directions:

1.              Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a cookie sheet.

2.              In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and jalapenos - mix well and set aside.

3.              Open your crescent rolls (do not separate them) and lay them on the counter. (After you've sanitized it of course.)

4.              Separate long ways on the perforation, so you have two long sheets of crescent rolls with 4 rolls each in them.

5.              Pinch the remaining perforations together on each of the two sheets (use a rolling pin if necessary) to make two continuous crescent roll sheets.

6.              Divide the cream cheese mixture and spread evenly over both crescent sheets.

7.              Roll them up hot dog style (or from the short end), to make a long cream cheese/crescent roll - do this for both crescents

8.              Cut each cream cheese/crescent roll into 12-16 pieces, depending on how big you want your resulting poppers to be.

9.              Place each one, standing up, on your cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 11-13 minutes.

10.           Enjoy the creamy goodness.

Cheesy Bacon Oven Chips with Chipotle Ranch Dipping Sauce

Cheesy Bacon Oven Chips 

•                1 large, uniformly-shaped russet potato, scrubbed well and sliced into 1/8" rounds*

•                cooking spray

•                3/4 C. shredded colby jack or cheddar cheese

•                salt & pepper to taste

•                2 T. crumbled bacon (about 2 slices) - I used real bacon bits

•                chopped parsley or chives, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bring sliced potatoes to a boil in cold, salted water to cover for 5 minutes.  Carefully drain, and transfer slices to a paper-towel lined countertop or cutting board.  Pat to dry.

Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray, and lay out potato slices so they are overlapping on it.  Spray lightly with additional cooking spray, then sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste.  Sprinkle evenly with shredded cheese & bacon.  Bake 12-14 minutes in preheated oven until cheese is melted & bubbly.  Serve with chipotle ranch sauce (recipe below).  Serves 2.

*You can use 2 medium-sized potatoes rather than 1 large.  Also, I like to leave the skin on but you can peel the potatoes if you prefer.

Chipotle Ranch Dipping Sauce

1.              1 T. ranch dressing

2.              3 T. sour cream

3.              1/4 t. chipotle chili powder

4.              1/8 t. cayenne (adjust more or less depending on how spicy you want).

5.              1/8 t. salt

6.       1/8 t. garlic powder

Place all ingredients in a small bowl, and stir to combine.  Refrigerate any leftovers.