Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound Velveeta cheese
1/2 pound cheddar cheese, shredded (Shred it yourself, don’t buy it shredded.)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
16 ounces salsa, medium preferred (I like to use salsa fresco, but stuff from a jar is fine too.)

Instructions
1. Heat large skillet over medium heat and brown ground beef.  Drain well. 

2. Add remaining ingredients and cook over low heat until cheeses are melted, stirring occasionally. 

3. Serve with chips. 

Note: You can also make this in a slow cooker.  If you have a 3-in-1 slow cooker, you can even sear the meat in the slow cooker! 

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Comments
This is a recipe that Art brought into the family and it’s a tradition in his family for gatherings.  I don’t make it that often, but it’s a nice addition to our New Year’s Day spread. 

Ingredients
1 pound Italian bread loaf
1 stick butter, melted
1/8 cup olive oil
3 teaspoon onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
3 teaspoon parsley, chopped
12 ounces cheese, shredded, such as cheddar, mozzarella, and monterey jack

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Mix melted butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, mustard, poppy seeds, and parsley in a medium bowl. 

3. Deeply score bread into cubes, being careful not to cut all the way through the bottom crust. 

4. Pour butter mixture carefully into criss cross scoring, using a spoon and making sure to get mixture into all the slices.  Work cheeses into cracks. 

5. Wrap loaf with foil, sealing sides, and bake 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, unwrap loaf, and bake another 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and gooey. 

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Comments
This recipe is from Food Wanderings in Asia.  This is an amazingly decadent and delicious version of garlic bread and I can’t wait to revisit this recipe to get a picture since I don’t think I took one initially!

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8-10 medium potatoes, such as red skin, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1-3 tablespoons Sriracha

For the topping
2 cups Mexican cheese blend, shredded
6-8 ounces bacon, cut into pieces and cooked until crisp
1 cup green onion, diced

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 500*F.  Spray 9 by 12-inch baking dish with cooking spray. 

2. In a large bowl mix together olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and hot sauce.  Add potatoes and toss to coat.  Scoop potatoes out of hot sauce mixture, leave as much of the sauce in the bowl as possible, and transfer to baking dish. 

3. Bake potatoes 45 to 50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and crispy brown on the outside. 

4. Meanwhile, add chicken to bowl with hot sauce mixture and stir to coat. 

5. Mix cheese, bacon, and green onion together in medium bowl. 

6. When potatoes are done, remove from oven and reduce heat to 400*F.  Top potatoes with chicken.  Then top chicken with cheese mixture.  Return baking dish to oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and topping is melted and bubbling.  Serve with extra hot sauce or ranch dressing. 

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Comments
This recipe is from Cook Lisa Cook.  I actually didn’t eat any of it since it’s something I made for the guys before I went to trivia one night.  When I got home, Lance informed me that he wouldn’t be eating any for leftovers and that I should avoid it as well.  Art, on the other hand, ate it all in two days.  He loved it. 

What happened?  Hot sauce.  The original recipe called for 6 tablespoons of “hot sauce.”  I use Sriracha as my hot sauce of choice but, even then, 6 tablespoons seemed like a lot so I reduced it to 3.  Apparently even 3 was way too spicy for the milder palates of the household.  I would really like to make this again in a way that’s palatable to Lance and myself, so I’ll be going with a mere single tablespoon of Sriracha next time and seeing how that works. 

Ingredients
For the sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 (28 ounces) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons fresh basil, coarsely chopped

For the chicken
6-8 chicken cutlets
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
1 large egg
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped

Instructions
1. To make the sauce, heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until just shimmering. Add garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt, oregano, and pepper flakes; cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and sugar; increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil and remaining 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm.

2. To make the chicken, sprinkle each side of each cutlet with 1/8 teaspoon salt and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Combine mozzarella and fontina in bowl; set aside.

3. Adjust oven rack 4 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Whisk egg and flour together in shallow dish or pie plate until smooth. Combine Parmesan, panko, garlic powder, oregano, and pepper in second shallow dish or pie plate. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Working with 1 cutlet at a time, dredge cutlet in egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Coat all sides in Parmesan mixture, pressing gently so crumbs adhere. Transfer cutlet to large plate and repeat with remaining cutlets.

4. Heat oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Carefully place 2 cutlets in skillet and cook without moving them until bottoms are crispy and deep golden brown, 11/2 to 2 minutes. Using tongs, carefully flip cutlets and cook on second side until deep golden brown, 11/2 to 2 minutes. Transfer cutlets to paper towel-lined plate and repeat with remaining cutlets.

5. Place cutlets on rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle cheese mixture evenly over cutlets, covering as much surface area as possible. Broil until cheese is melted and beginning to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to serving platter and top each cutlet with 2 tablespoons sauce. Sprinkle with basil and serve immediately, passing remaining sauce separately.

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Comments
This recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated 2013.  (I finally bought myself an online subscription so that I don’t need to wait for the annuals to arrive every year!)  I thought these were super tasty and while they won’t displace Art’s favorite Parmesan Chicken, I would certainly enjoy making this again in the future since it’s a bit easier than my other recipe. 

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
10 ounces marshmallows
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 cups Rice Krispies® cereal

Instructions
1. In large saucepan, melt butter over low heat.  Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.  Stir in vanilla then remove from heat. 

2. Add cereal and stir well until coated. 

3. Spray 9 by 12-inch baking dish with cooking spray and spread cereal mixture into dish.  Press down with wax or parchment paper.  Cool completely then cut into squares for serving. 

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Comments
This recipe is from ricekrispies.com.  Everyone knows how to make these, right?  They don’t really even need a recipe.  However, I haven’t been able to eat these for years and years and years, since Rice Krispies® have had high fructose corn syrup in them until recently.  I actually saw an ad on the TV at the gym (of all places) announcing the Kellogg no longer uses HFCS in their “grain” cereals.  I rushed out to the store to see if this could possibly be true and came home with a box of Rice Krispies® and a bag of marshmallows.  I am a happy camper!