The Thanksgiving Dip

From the kitchen of Jeremy Edward Javers

1 part Helmans real mayonaise
1 part cottage cheese
1 part sour cream
ranch dip powder (season to taste)--I did 1 packet / 3 cups of dip

Yoder's sausage dip

• 1 lb. ground sausage, mild
• 1 pkg. cream cheese
• 1 can Rotel, partially drained

Brown sausage; drain. Mix all together. Serve with chips, veggies, etc.

Amber, any chance you could post Javers' veggie dip? It was really yummy.

curry chicken salad

• boneless, skinless chicken breast
• curry powder
• cardamom
• salt
• mayonnaise
• green onion
• additions...see suggestions at end of recipe
• pita

Dice chicken. Heat enough oil to cover bottom of pan. Liberally sprinkle curry and cardamom in oil; also add some salt. Add chicken and let it sit without stirring for 10-15 minutes so it actually fries/browns/crisps the chicken. Sprinkle more curry, cardamom and salt on un-fried side of chicken; turn the chicken and let fry for another 10-ish minutes. Check that it's done all the way through. Place chicken in bowl and let cool in refrigerator. After cooled, add some mayonnaise. I do not like my chicken salad super creamy, so I do not add very much; add to your own taste. Add more curry, cardamom and salt to taste; I like A LOT. Oh! I think I also sprinkled in a bit of chili powder this last time. Chop up a bunch of green onions. Add all to chicken. This is the base, but you can add a number of other things. My favs are craisins and shredded coconut. I've also added banana and peanuts. A lot of different flavors would be good in this dish. I think of it sort of like that meal that Paul made us a couple of times and Luke made it too – lots of different topping options. My favorite way to eat it is to toast a pita, let it sit in the toaster for a bit after it's done so it get crispier, and fill with salad for a sandwich. Mmm.
recipe by erin

It has chicken and tortillas and stuff

• Mexican dip; could use chopped white onion instead of green onions as an option
• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• cream of chicken soup
• sour cream
• 8"-10" tortillas

Dice chicken; brown in oil. Mix in however much dip looks like a good ratio with the chicken and warm (if you used white onion, you may or may not want to cook it long enough for onions to turn translucent). Mix in a bit of soup and sour cream (however creamy you want it...for me, it doesn't take much). Remove mixture from pan. Put enough oil in the pan to cover bottom; heat. Place 1/4-1/2 c. filling in the middle of a tortilla. Fold opposing ends in about 1.5", then fold the long ends over this so they meet. Use a small amount of water to make the tortilla stick to itself, sealing up the entire tortilla. Place in hot oil and fry both sides. I think you could also lightly butter the outside of the tortillas and bake, if you'd rather not fry.
recipe by erin

Portobello pita

• pita bread
• portobello mushrooms, sliced and sauteed in olive oil
• feta cheese, lowfat if you so wish
• sundried tomato paste (I guess you can make your own, but I buy it in a jar near the jarred minced garlic at Dillon's)

Combine all inside a pita half. Toast. Mmm.
recipe by erin

not a recipe

This is not a recipe at all...but is in fact a pantry staple of mine.

The Talin Market in Albuquerque has about 20 different varieties of this little Indian-in-a-box meal. Most are vegetarian or vegan...all are simply heat and serve. Honestly, 1 minute in the microwave and voila. You have some pretty good din-din. A native of Agra probably wouldn't dig this as much as I do, but I'm a white chick from Kansas. What do I know about Indian food, right?

Cook up some rice, you got yourself a complete meal. Plus, it's a perfect size to serve two people comfortably (three people if you make a dessert, or one person if you are hormonal or want leftovers).

Another plus...average price:$1.75. Yep. ONE dollar and 75 cents. Can't beat that. If you want to have company over, just cook up four or five different ones and pretend you are back at the Passage buffet...

Bonus #3 - as of yet, this has not proven to have the same "green curry haze" effect as the Passage buffet.

Most of them are pretty hot. I think a lot of mislabeling goes on. I purchased a sweet and sour pineapple curry labeled "mild" that took the skin off the roof of my mouth. I also purchased a lentil blend labeled with two chili's (international symbol for "medium spicy") that was as mellow as a split-pea soup. I would not recommend these for anyone who is not tolerant of zingy spices (i.e. Ber), because although some are very mild and mellow, others are sweat-inducing, and apparently you can't trust the chili pepper scale. To be safe, I usually put a blob of cottage cheese on my plate, so I can cut the spiciness down between bites if I need to. And I always keep tortillas handy for the same reason. It's the closest I can get to naan down here in NM.

If you don't see these dinners in your local grocery store, I would suggest trying a local Asian or international market. If you can't find them anywhere in your town, try ishopindian.com.
Disclaimer: I haven't actually tried this website, but it does carry a lot of the meals that I have purchased. I can't speak for the site, but the food is delish.

--shorthill

Three (or Four) Cheese Manicotti

This will be a bit difficult to relate because I have never measured anything for this recipe...but it always turns out ok.

Ingredients:
whatever pasta sauce you like
8 Manicotti shells (or you can use the giant sea-shell pasta)
one small tub Ricotta cheese
one 2 c. bag shredded parmesan
one 2c. bag shredded mozzarella
(optional: one 2c. bag shredded asiago....this one smells a bit like old socks, so some folks don't like it...but it's the 4th cheese if you want to go whole hog)
2 eggs
Minced Garlic - however much you like (I put in a LOT!!!, but one clove would probably do it)
Basil, Oregano, Parsley...whatever you have on hand, about a good tsp. of each, or none, whatever floats your boat.
Sometimes I add some crushed chile pequins...for a southwest zing

The secret ingredient here is...anything else you want to add. This is an easy recipe to modify. Want sausage? Ok, brown up some bulk sausage and add it to your cheese mix. Want a veggie dish? Toss in a little chopped spinach. Mushrooms are good too. I recommend trying the plain cheese first and then figuring out what else you'd like to add.

To start with....preheat oven to 425.

get a large pot of water boiling. When it's rolling, gently GENTLY put your shells in. They tend to break if you bounce 'em around too much.

While the shells are cooking, mix in a large bowl:
All the ricotta
most of the parm, mozz, and asiago. Save about a handful of each of the "dry" cheeses for topping.
Lightly beat the eggs and thoroughly stir them into the cheese mix. (You don't want eggy deposits in the finished product.)
Add your spices

Find your baking pan. I recommend the old standby, a 9X13 pyrex...
Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce on the bottom.

When the pasta is just barely al dente, pull it out of the pot and let it cool. In my experience, the best cooling place is a foil-lined cookie sheet that has been lightly sprayed with oil. When it's cool enough to handle, fill the pasta. There are myriad ways to do this. The gourmet way: use a pastry bag (or a gallon-size ziplock bag...cut a hole in a bottom corner) and squeeze the cheese mix into the shells. Or, (this is freakishly easy) slit the manicotti tubes all the way up one side so they lay out in a flat sheet. Then spoon some filling into the middle, roll it up burrito-style, and lay it seam-side down in your pan.

When the shells are filled, line them up in the pan. Top them with more sauce, then all that cheese you reserved earlier. Pop into the oven until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is golden-brown on top. This takes my oven somewhere around 30 minutes. Yours might be different. Just keep an eye on it. There's no real way to ruin this dish...except burning the bejeepers out of it.

enjoy - Sarah