HOLIDAY Cranberry Jalapeno & Cream Cheese Dip

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  I had this at a church activity and have been hooked since!  I love the bright color and hey, I'm a sucker for a great cheese and cracker dip.  I've used a blender and a food processor for this.  The food processor is probably prettier, but the blender works great too.  You can garnish with a little extra cilantro if desired.
  Picture from "Plant Perks."
• INGREDIENTS
12 ounces fresh cranberries
•  4-5 green onions, chopped
•  1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
•  1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
•  1/2 cup sugar (more to taste)
•  1/2 teaspoon cumin
•  2 tablespoons fresh lemon (or orange) juice (from about 1 large lemon)
•  2 (8 ounces each) packages cream cheese, light or regular, softened
•  Crackers, for serving

1. Pulse all ingredients in blender or food processor. Transfer the mixture to a container and refrigerate for 4 hours (or up to overnight) so the flavors have time to develop and the cranberries lose a bit of their tartness.  *I also often freeze containers and then just pull them out as needed.
2. When ready to serve, spread the cream cheese in an even layer on a serving plate or 9-inch pie dish. Top with the cranberry-jalapeno mixture, spreading evenly over the top of the cream cheese.
3. Serve with crackers.

Avocado Cranberry (Craisin) Salsa

I remember having this over 10 years ago at a friend get together---I love when I come across old recipes that immediately take me back 

in time and bring back great memories!!

Picture and Recipe from SoupAddict

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
• zest from one orange
• juice from 1/2 of a lime
• 2 tablespoons honey or agave
• 1 minced jalapeno seeds and ribs removed
• 2 tablespoons red onion finely chopped
• 2-4 ripe avocados peeled and sliced into 1/4"-inch dice
• 3/4 cup cranberries
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Instructions

• Optional: blanch the cranberries for 30 seconds in boiling water, then plunge them into ice cold water. This softens the cranberries slightly and takes off their raw edge.
• Chop the cranberries roughly (do not put through a food processor - they'll get mushy), and pat them dry to remove their pink liquids.
• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the lime and orange juices, orange zest, honey, jalapenos and red onion.
• Gently fold in the avocados, cranberries, and cilantro. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Serve with pita or tortilla chips.

Cranberry Pistachio Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup whole fat plain Greek yogurt
• 2 cup cooked chicken, shredded
• 1/4 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• Bread
• mixed baby greens

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise and Greek yogurt.
2. In a large bowl, mix chicken, pistachios, cranberries and parsley.
3. Add mayonnaise mixture and stir to coat.
4. Add poppy seeds, and fresh lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Spoon onto bread, top with baby greens.

Fall Cooking Class Recipes

Here are the recipes from my most recent cooking class.  I took pictures of everything and then they all got deleted somehow...so I'll just post them anyway so you have something to go from for now!

Latacha’s CHILI

Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef 1 medium/large onion, diced 1 29 oz can tomato sauce 1 29 oz can kidney beans, drain liquid 1 29 oz can pinto beans, drain liquid 1 4 oz can mild green chilies 2 stalks celery, diced 3 fresh medium tomatoes, chopped 1 TBS chili powder 2 tsp cumin powder 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 teaspoons salt 4 cups water Directions: 1. Brown the ground beef with onion in a skillet over medium heat;  drain off the fat. 2. Using a fork, crumble the cooked beef into pea-size pieces. 3. In a large pot, combine the beef plus all the remaining ingredients, simmer over low heat. 4. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 to 3 hours.  (Or use crockpot: low for 3 hours) 5. For spicier chili, add ½ teaspoon more black pepper. For extra spicy chili, add 1 tsp black pepper and a tsp cayenne pepper. For super hot spicy, add 5 sliced jalapeño peppers to the pot. Laura’s Veggie Chili 1 medium onion, diced 1 can corn, drained 1 zucchini, chopped 2-3 bell peppers (any color), chopped 1 29 ounce can tomato sauce 1 29 ounce can kidney beans, drain fluid 1 29 ounce can pinto beans, drain fluid 1 4 oz. can mild green chilies 2-3 stalks celery, diced 3 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped 1 TBS chili powder 2 teaspoons cumin powder 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 teaspoons salt 4 cups water Directions: 1.     Caramelize onion for 7 minutes (optional) 2.    Combine ALL ingredients in large soup pot (or crockpot).  Stir to combine.  3.    Simmer over low for 2 hours (or cook on low for 2-3 hours in crockpot) Crockpot Pork Chops with Apple Chutney (Betty Crocker) Ingredients 4-8 center-cut bone-in pork loin chops, 1 inch thick (about 2 lb), trimmed of fat ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 6 tablespoons packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ cup sweetened dried cranberries 2 medium baking apples, peeled, chopped (2 cups) Directions 1 Spray 3- to 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper; place in cooker. 2 In small bowl, mix brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, cinnamon, red pepper and cranberries. Spoon over pork in cooker; top with apples. 3 Cover; cook on Low heat setting 4 hours to 4 hours 30 minutes. Fresh Blender Cranberry Sauce  4 c. cranberries 1 whole orange (peel and all!) 1 c. sugar -Cut off ends of orange, then put cranberries, orange  and sugar in blender.   -Blend until smooth. Stir in 1 c. pomegranate seeds (optional).   -This keeps in fridge for a VERY long time!  It also freezes well, so well that you cannot tell the difference between a fresh  or frozen batch! Mini-Gingerbread Muffins ¼ c. butter, softened 2 1/3 c. flour (can use wheat) 2 tsp baking pwdr. 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp ginger ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp allspice ¼ tsp cloves ½ tsp salt ¾ c. sugar 1 c. pumpkin ½ c. unsulfured molasses 2 eggs ½ c. buttermilk 1 c. confectioners’ sugar and 2 TBS water (for frosting) -Combine all ingredients (except conf. sugar/water) in bowl  and mix until well combined. Spoon into prepared mini cake or muffin pans. -Bake 350 for 20 minutes. Let sit in pan 5 minutes on cooling rack. Then shake out of pan. Cool completely. Then dip muffin tops in  Confectioners’ sugar glaze if desired. -Yield 36-40 mini muffins. -For LARGE muffins bake 25 minutes. Cheesy Southern Biscuits 1 tsp olive oil 2 c flour 1 TBS baking powder 1 TBS dried parsley 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp salt 1 tsp white sugar 1 c shredded cheddar cheese 5 TBS butter 1 c milk (a little bit more if dough too dry) -Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. -With a fork, mix together the flour, baking powder, parsley, thyme, salt, sugar,  and cheese in a bowl. Cut the butter (or grate) into the flour mixture in  coarse chunks, then use the fork to further]cut the butter into the flour-cheese  mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Lightly stir in the milk  just until the dough holds together. Don’t over stir! -Drop the batter by spoonfuls (or cookie scoop) onto 11x17 the baking sheet,  and bake in the preheated oven until risen and golden brown, 20-25 min.  -Makes 12 large (bake 25 minutes) or 18 medium biscuits (bake 20 minutes).  For mini biscuits (bake 12-15 minutes). *Pumpkin* or Cream Biscuits 2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour 2 TBS sugar 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 1 1/ 2 c. heavy cream -Preheat oven to 425. 1. Mix together all dry ingredients.   Add cream (and pumpkin for pumpkin version) and stir until just combined (add extra cream if too dry). 2. Using hands, shape dough into a circle or rectangle.  Cut into wedges  or circles. 3. Place biscuits on parchment lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown,  about 15 minutes.  Serve immediately. ***For PUMPKIN version, add ½ c. pumpkin at the same time as the cream.  Sprinkle top of biscuits with cinnamon and sugar before baking.