BONUS RECIPES

I am posting a new recipe for an actual dish tomorrow but in the meantime I wanted to give my readers a couple of quick bonus recipes.  Both are for restaurant copycats.
The first is for Popeye's Cajun Sparkle.  I fell in love with spice over the summer and whenever I go to Popeyes I try to get a few extra packets.  It's great on chicken, rice, potatoes... Really anything you want to kick up a bit.

A Knock-Off Of Popeye's Cajun Sparkle
1 tbs salt
1 tbs pepper
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
Combine all ingredients.  Sprinkle as desired!

I love the ranch dressing at Outback!  I have never found another ranch like it.  It's rich and creamy and has a bit of zip and kick to it that I just adore.  I didn't find an exact replica, but I did find a recipe that gives your normal ranch a nice spicy kick.  It's delish!

A Spin-Off Of Outback's Ranch
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 cup mayo (I use Hellmann's-ALWAYS!)
3/4 cup buttermilk (if you don't have butter milk try adding 1 tbs white vinegar to regular milk, or now Hidden Valley has buttermilk ranch packets, use that)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Combine spices, add ranch packet mix well.  Stir in mayo, combine well.  Slowly add in buttermilk until fully incorporated.  Refrigerate for at least 30 mins and stir well before serving.  Serve on salads, with chicken, with crudite, whatever you enjoy ranch on/with!

We Made Room For Dessert 7 - Magic Bars

I know why this dessert that I'm about to give you the recipe for is titled "magic" bars... Because they are absolutely delicious and will satisfy your sweet craving!  While the title of this blog is No Room For Dessert, I do occasionally post dessert recipes, and this snack bar is precisely the reason why.  The great thing about these bars is that you could add, substitute, or remove ingredients to suit them to your taste.  I am going to give you the recipe for what I made, and then give you some suggestions for what you could add/substitute.

Magic Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2cups graham cracker crumbs (or about 6 graham crackers crushed up)
• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup flaked coconut -this ingredient makes these bars but if you don't like coconut leave it out-
• 1 cup chocolate chips (you can use milk, semi-sweer, dark, etc - or sub in something else)
• 1 cup white chocolate chips (this can also be left out - or use vanilla chips)

***suggestions (a cup or so)

peanut butter chips

butterscotch chips

peanuts, walnuts - whatever your fav nut is

1 10oz jar maraschino cherries
dried cherries/cranberries

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 9x13 pan.
Mix melted butter with graham cracker crumbs and press into bottom of greased pan.  Next pour sweetened condensed milk over graham cracker crumbs, spreading into an even layer.  Sprinkle on your coconut, then your chocolate and white chocolate chips, pressing them down slightly.
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Cool, then cut into bars.
Enjoy!

Super Bowl Sunday Special

Annnnnddd football season has ended! This past Sunday we watched Super Bowl 47, where the Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers. I'm sure there are a lot of people in this country who are sad that the football season ended, but I am not one of those people. For I am a football widdow, and now I get my Sunday's back. At least briefly until NASCAR starts. I'm more of a baseball gal, and while I really would watch any sport live, I have to say, I am glad my Sunday TV programming won't consist of a 100 football games. That being said, I went to a great Super Bowl party this year! The food was AWESOME, and there were so many things to choose from. The hostess had 38lbs of live crawfish flown in from Lousiana, and one of our friends boiled them up in thise delicious seasoning along with lemon, garlic, onions, potatoes, and mushrooms. I tore them up, they were so good! On the spicy side, but we've talked about my branching out in to the spicier side of life lately. There were also other goodies like Buffalo Chicken Dip, a melted cheese dip with sausage and salsa, 2 types of macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, burgers, pasta salad, deviled eggs, little meatballs in a BBQ type sauce, and gumbo. Pretty good spread! My contribution was a chili cheese dip, and that's the recipe I'll be giving in this post. This recipe is SUPER simple, SUPER delicious, and SUPER quick to make. You only need three ingredients (plus a bag of tortilla chips for serving). Make it for your next party, I guarantee it to be a crowd pleaser!

Chili Cheese Dip 

Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream cheese (left come to room temp, about 1-2 hours on your counter)
• 15 oz can chili (pick your fav, w/beans, w/out beans, vegetarian, chicken, etc - it's also delicious with homemade chili, I've tried it before with much success, use 2 cups)
• 8-16 oz shredded cheddar (use as much or as little as you like, you can also use those Mexican blends) 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spread cream cheese over the bottom of an oven proof dish. (I use foil pans for parties, either 8in square pans or 9in pie pans, and at home use the same size in your normal bakeware). Top cream cheese with chili. Sprinkle cheddar over top (I like to make sure my top is fully covered in cheddar). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!