I made this Bacon Cheddar Cheese Dip last week, and my family devoured it! Of course, my family loves anything with bacon. lol I went grocery shopping today and bought more supplies to make it for them again this weekend.

 

 

 

Bacon Cheddar Cheese Dip

 

Ingredients:

1/2 pound bacon, chopped or crumbled
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

 

 

Combine all ingredients until well blended. Place into oven proof bowl (see notes below), smoothing the top.

 

 

Bake at 350 for approximately 10 minutes. Time will vary according to the size of your bowl or pan. The bacon is already cooked, so you just need it to be hot and the cheese melty.

 

Serve warm with your favorite crackers.

 

 

Linda’s Notes:

 

I divided this recipe into two of the bowls shown in the pictures, each with about 1 1/4 cups of dip before baking. You could use a larger bowl, or even a 9×5 pan, and adjust the cooking time.

 

I used turkey bacon, but you could certainly use pork bacon.

 

You can also serve this with chips, instead of crackers. A pita chip would be great with it.

 

It’s so good!

 

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I don’t normally buy cream soups, so this is perfect for me to keep on hand for cooking.

I had some cubed steaks in the freezer from our 1/2 cow that we bought. I put them in the crockpot with the soup made from this mix. They were so good!

When we have deer meat, I also like to cook it in the crockpot with this cream soup. Any meat, actually, is good cooked in this cream soup.

I don’t like mushrooms, so this cream soup is perfect for me to use in place of cream of mushroom soup in recipes.

 

 

Cream of Whatever Soup Recipe

2 cups powdered milk
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup instant chicken bouillon powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine these and store in an airtight container.

To use for soup, combine 1/3 C mix and 1-1/2 C water. Bring to a boil while stirring often. Add a vegetable for more flavor, such as diced celery, sliced mushrooms , or some diced broccoli.

To substitute for canned cream soup: Mix 1/3 cup mix with 1 1/4 cups water. Boil for a few minutes, stirring well to prevent sticking.

The chicken bouillon can be replace with beef, or vegetable.

If you only have bouillon cubes, you can unwrap the cubes, place in a zip top freezer bag, and crush.

 

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Everyone in my family has their favorite foods that they like to eat all the time. So I find myself make these recipes again and again.

 

I hope you find some new favorites for your family!

 

 

12 of My Favorite Recipes that I Use Again and Again

 

Cincinnati-Style Chili – This chili served over spaghetti is so good! It has a different taste to it than the chili with beans that is eaten like a soup/stew. I didn’t put a lot of cheese on it for the picture so you could actually see the chili, but cheese piled high and covering it all is the traditional way to serve Cincinnati-Style Chili.

 

Jag – is a recipe I got from my mother in law years ago. They got it from a lady from Portugal when she made it for them. They said she made hers with fish. Jag is an easy, one pan dish that everyone will love. Even kids!

 

 

Skillet Sausage Pasta – This easy skillet dinner is so good! My whole family loves it.

 

 

Chicken Pasta Salad – I’ve been making this recipe for over 20 years. It’s one of our favorite summer meals. So good!

 

 

Macaroni Salad – This is the best macaroni salad I have ever had! I got this recipe about 10 years ago from an email group I was in. It has just the right balance of vinegar and sugar.

 

 

 

Fried Green Tomatoes – This is a southern dish that others in the country are finding out about. My husband loves these! He would pick all the tomatoes in our garden when they were green if I let him! Sliced green tomatoes freeze great, so we can enjoy these all winter.

 

 

World’s Easiest Candy – This candy is a favorite of my whole family, and everyone that we have given it to. Like the name says, it the easiest candy to make.

 

 

Chocolate Marble Loaf – I started making this recipe over 30 years ago. This cake baked in a loaf pan is so moist and delicious. You don’t frost it, though. Served with whipped cream, and maybe a drizzle of chocolate sauce, and it’s a dessert great for the family and company alike.

 

 

Gluten Free Applesauce Gingerbread – I love making this around the holidays as these are the flavors that are usually served that time of year. I have made this cake with regular all purpose wheat flour and gluten free all purpose flour. It’s yummy either way.

 

 

Brownies are a favorite of many, many people. Including my family! This recipe makes 2 13×9 pans of brownies. If you are not serving them to a crowd, brownies freeze great. Frozen brownies thaw quickly at room temperature so are very convenient to have on had for when friends visit.

 

 

Banana Bread – This recipe can be made with wheat flour (white) or can be made gluten free. And it tastes great either way!

 

 

Quick, Easy No Bake Granola Bars – So easy & so good!

 

 

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I have been using this recipe for several years now. I don’t even remember where I first got the recipe from. These Quick & Easy No Bake Granola Bars are a family favorite.

 

They are perfect for student athletes to take and eat after a game. My girls loved taking them when they played volleyball. They are a great anytime snack. We’ve even been known to eat them for breakfast!

 

 

Quick & Easy No Bake Granola Bars

 

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

2 cups quick cook oatmeal
1 cup rice cereal

1/2 cup chocolate chips

 

Optional Add-In’s:

up to 1/2 cup of raisins, or other dried fruit
up to 1/2 cup chopped nuts

 

 

 

In a large pan, melt the butter with the honey, and brown sugar. Bring this mixture to a boil, and boil until the sugar dissolves, approximately 2 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, then stir in the remaining ingredients, except chocolate chips.

 

 

 

Press mixture into a 9 x 13 pan. Press chocolate chips into top.
Refrigerate until firm. Cut into desired size bars. Wrap individually in plastic wrap, or layer between waxed paper in an air tight container.

 

 
These will keep for a week. I think. They never last that long in my house! I have also frozen them, and that works well. Just thaw at room temp.

 

 

 

*This post contains affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission.

I haven’t planned out a menu for several weeks. Getting ready for Christmas, helping my married daughter move out of state, and sickness, have prevented it. I haven’t even taken any food pictures! *gasp*

 

After checking the fridge, freezer, & pantry, I filled in each day’s dinner using the daily plan below. I already had all the week for this weeks dinners in the freezer. I have fresh lettuce & tomatoes for Taco night, along with potatoes & carrots for Friday, but the rest of the vegetables I will use this week are in the freezer, including greens beans that I froze myself last summer, and the potato wedges. I may used some canned vegetables in tonight’s soup. Or I may use frozen. I’ll see what I feel like using when I assemble the soup. lol I canned the homemade applesauce, so I just need to pull the jar out of the pantry.

 

Thankfully, it’s going to be an easy week in the kitchen!

Hopefully, I’ll have lots of pictures to share next week!

 

 

 

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

 

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

 

Saturday – quick & easy- New Years Eve – Pizza, Pizza Rolls, meatballs in bbq sauce, chips & Salsa, cookies, brownies

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Get your own!

Monday – chicken or turkey –  Homemade turkey soup – from our Christmas turkey, garlic bread

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Spaghetti with meatballs, green beans

Wednesday – Taco Night- Tacos with all the fixin’s, Taco salad with multi-grain tortilla chips for some

Thursday – pork or venison – Venison Steaks, Potato Wedges, corn, homemade applesauce

Friday – venison  – Roast with potatoes and carrots in the slow cooker

 

 

 

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

 

 

 

 

 
It seems I am constantly in my kitchen. So I am always looking for kitchen time savers. Here are my

 

My Top 10 Favorite Kitchen Tips

 

 

Hang a calendar in the kitchen – makes it easier to plan ahead for events, great for writing menus on, and keeping track of how old leftovers are

 

Store your herbs, salt, etc. in a drawer next to the stove – it’s easy to grab what you need while cooking

 

 

Store your measuring cups in a bin – they won’t fall out of the cabinet every time you open the door

 

Store your measuring spoons standing up in a cup or round storage container – it’s easier to find the one you are looking for

 

 

Keep your most used recipes taped to the inside of an upper cabinet – they will always be there when you need them

 

Put plastic wrap over the keyboard of your computer when following a recipe online – you can scroll or click without getting food on your keyboard

 

 

Keep your cutting board from traveling across the counter while you are chopping by placing a damp dish towel under it

 

 

Meat is easier to slice if you put it in the freezer for 30 minutes first

 

Cool cookie sheets before putting more dough on to bake – the dough melts too quickly if placed on hot pans

 

When reheating foods in the microwave cover with a damp paper towel – it absorbs splatters, keeps food from drying out, and won’t melt & sag onto your food like plastic wrap