Loaded Baked Potato Bread

While seeking menu inspiration for my Superbowl Party I ran across a recipe for a spicy, cheesy pull-apart bread which eventually lead me to concoct this recipe a couple months later. I took one of the loaves of rustic potato bread I baked last week and packed it with all my favorite baked potato toppings!

Ingredients (makes 1 loaf)

• 1 loaf potato bread
• 4 bacon slices (cooked and crumbled)
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 cups cheddar and jack cheese (shredded)
• 1/4 cup green onions (chopped)

Start by melting the butter in a small mixing bowl.

Next add the cheese, chives and bacon to the melted butter.

Mix well.

Next, slice the potato bread loaf both horizontally and vertically 3/4 of the way through.

Be sure not to slice all the way through, but enough to reach in there and stuff the loaf with your mixture of baked potato toppings!

Now use your fingers to stuff the topping mixture into the bread load.

Now wrap foil tightly around the bottom and sides of the loaf, leaving the top exposed.

Add another piece of foil over the top and place in a 350° oven for 15 minutes.

Remove the top piece of foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

After the cheese is melted completely remove the bread from the oven and discard the foil. Place the loaf on a serving plate.

You all know what’s coming next, my favorite, the zoom shot!!

Yum, cheesy! I served this with my Baked Buffalo BBQ Chicken and a nice twist on a traditional southern meal was born!

♣ Vegetarian Option: Simply remove the bacon to make this recipe vegetarian.

♥ All pottery seen on the littleleopardbook can be purchased by visiting www.longaberger.com/muffetbond or e-mailing keepsakebl@sbcglobal.net.

Mexican Casserole

When it comes time to decide on and prepare a dish to take to a party, I really feel the pressure!  It must be something that I can make ahead of time, transport to the party (which in LA can take 20 minutes or 2 hours!) and still be super-delicious when I arrive!  This particular occasion called for another “Gameday Grub” recipe, as I now like to call any dish I make that corresponds with football and beer.

This dish originated at my aunts annual Christmas Eve dinner. Since we (my brother and I) were the only children in the family my parents insisted on having Christmas at our house every year after we were born, so a few years later my aunt started the tradition of having Christmas Eve dinner at her house.  She would make a lot of small bites like sausage balls, pigs in a blanket and queso dip and chips (an Oklahoma standard), but one year she started making this Mexican Casserole. It’s almost like a chili con queso with tortilla strips and cheese on top baked into the form of a casserole.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 4 oz velveeta cheese
• 1 can rotel
• 1 can ranch style beans
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups shredded mexican style cheese
• 10 small corn tortillas

Taco Ring with a Twist

Yes, yes, yes!  I’ve never been so excited to not be doing homework, but instead to be doing my new favorite thing, blogging!!! I have 5 words of advice for all of you in the blogging world… NEVER TAKE AN ONLINE CLASS!!!!! I’m serious, you’re basically saying, I would like to teach myself the entire subject of ___________(fill in the blank) and then do the readings and homework as well! So just don’t do it to yourselves, I beg of you, you will regret it!  Ok, I’ve warned you, I feel like I’ve done my civic duties for the day, and if that wasn’t enough now I’m also going to share with you my yummy dinner recipe from tonight! Aren’t I just the best??!!

So today’s recipe comes from a childhood favorite of mine. When I was probably 11 or 12 years old my Mom took me to a Pampered Chef party (and people wonder why I love cooking so much!) and we made a taco ring, it instantly became a fav at the Bond household of picky eaters.

Yes, growing up I took after my Mom and her horrible pickiness in food. There is no greater person in the world than my Mom, but there’s gotta be something a little weird about you if you don’t like food Luckily after moving across the country to the West Coast and into the land of fresh veggies, fruits and fish I broadened my horizons and now love every aspect of food, from shopping for it, to cooking it, to eating it (that part is probably my favorite!) Although most of my recipes I post are somewhat new or innovative, I like to throw in an old classic here and there as well, ie. the taco ring of today! I added some peppers and onions to the ground beef to give it a little more flavor and texture (that’s the twist part!)

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion (chopped)
• 1 bell pepper (chopped)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 (8 oz) cans of refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp homemade taco seasoning
• 1 tbsp water

Optional Toppings

• sour cream
• diced jalapeños
• salsa

Begin by heating the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Next, add the bell peppers and onions.

Sauté for 5 minutes then add the ground beef and brown. In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 375°.

Drain the grease from the ground beef, then add the taco seasoning, water and cheese.

Now it’s time to form a ring with the crescent rolls!

Start by placing a small glass on the center of a baking stone to get that perfect circle in the middle! Next, stagger the crescent rolls around with the wide ends overlapping in the center. Once they’re all on there it should look something like this ↓

Next, pile the meaty, cheesy mixture of yummyness onto the crescent roll ring!

Now it’s time to get a little messy, you basically need a system of how to roll the dough up around that mound of meat after removing the glass without it all dumping into the middle.

My recommendation: slow and steady! Look at that perfect little middle circle!

Once it’s all rolled up it should look something like this ↓

Now it’s time to pop this baby in the oven. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and beautiful.

Place a ramekin filled with your favorite optional toppings in the middle such as sour cream topped with tomatoes and jalapeños, salsa or guacamole.

I love seeing that cheesy, ooey, gooeyness surrounded by all that meatiness and wrapped in flakey, delicious crescent rolls.

Ok already, I’m hungry!  Time to slice into this baby and go to town!

I’m now ready to sit down and devour this while watching tonight’s episode of “The Great Food Truck Race”!  What a great Sunday night Til next time bloggies!!

♣ Vegetarian Option:  Substitute meatless crumbles for the ground beef to make this recipe vegetarian.

♦ Gluten Free Option: Gluten Free Mom has a recipe for gluten-free crescent rolls that could be used in place of the traditional Crescent rolls to make this recipe gluten-free.

♥ All pottery seen on the littleleopardbook can be purchased by visiting www.longaberger.com/muffetbond or e-mailing keepsakebl@sbcglobal.net.