In Which I Learn When to Specify and When to Not and I Share Some Yummy Recipes

Obviously I didn't get my act together and post those yummy New Years Eve treat recipes.  This mommy had a little melt-down over the weekend, fueled equally by too little down time {mommy needs to be left alone once in a while}, the stress of unemployment {finally catching up}, insomnia, being sick, and forgetting to take her anxiety medication for over a week.  Probably it was mostly due to the lack of medication, because that seems to make all those other things waaaaayyyyy more tolerable.  So, on New Years Eve I'm sitting at the computer working on Year-in-Review card orders when I realize it's 8:00 p.m. and no one has made the food to take to the party at 8:30.  I don't know who I thought was going to be making the food.  My mom, maybe?  She always has her act together.  Alas, she is in Houston, not my kitchen.  The only assignments I gave out were to Riley to make cupcakes and Brent to put the Lil' Smokies in the crock pot with some BBQ sauce.  I rushed into the kitchen and lost it when I found the tiny crock pot with what couldn't have been more than 20 mini-sausages in it and every contertop covered in dirty dishes from the cupcake making process.  {And maybe some of them were from dinner the night before, but, ahem!  I've. Been. Sick!  Don't you judge me.}

Now that I'm calmer, and a little more medicated, I can see that it wasn't such a big deal.  To be fair, I hadn't specified how many of the Lil' Smokies needed to be heated up and I only told my son to make cupcakes, not clean up.  I wasn't mad at the guys, I was mad at the kitchen for being so small and messy.  I might not have been completely rational at the time.  I was a wreck, sobbing and slamming cabinet doors {punishing that darn kitchen for offending me so} as I rushed to put together a cool ranch veggie pizza and some of my brother-in-law Josh's famous beef dip.  The beef dip never materialized since there was no can of roast beef in the back of the pantry like I thought and the "cool" ranch pizza was more of a "room temperature" ranch pizza, and we were late for the party, but in the end it was alright.  Our friends don't care about stuff like that and we had food enough to feed an army. {There were 13 of us present.} I know that now.  I actually knew that then, too, but I was too busy melting down to think it through. 

We ended up having a lovely evening playing a new Ticket to Ride game{Asia!}with our friends while the kids played on the new trampoline in the back yard {one of the many great things about Arizona}. And now I know that I should specify exactly what needs to be done at home and not specify when or what I will be posting here on the blog.  Four days into the new year and I'm already wiser! 

Now for the Recipes:

Cool Ranch Veggie Pizza

{source: Pampered Chef, I think.  I've just made it from memory for years.}

Ingredients
2 (8 oz) packages crescent rolls -- Pillsbury now makes those crescent sheets that are awesome!
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 package dry ranch seasoning
2 cups vegetables, cut into bite size pieces {we usually do broccoli, carrots, red peppers, green onions, and olives if I have them on hand}
1 cup shredded cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll crescent dough sheets onto a large non-sick baking pan to completely cover the pan. Press the your fingers over the dough to seal the seems. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
2. Mix together the cream cheese and ranch. Set aside.
3. Once the crust is completely cooled, evenly spread the cream cheese mixture over it. Top with the vegetables and cheese of your choice. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Uncle Josh's Jalapeno Beef Dip 

{source: my brother-in-law Josh Colin -- my kids just call him Uncle Josh}

Ingredients

2 (8oz.) bricks cream cheese, softened -- {did you know they sell a loaf of cream cheese at Costco?!  That was heaven-sent this Christmas with all my baking and pepper jelly cravings!}

16 oz. carton sour cream

1 can roast beef chunks -- that sounds disgusting, but hang in there with me! {These are cheapest at Costco, too.}

1-2 small cans diced jalapeños, depending on how spicy you like it {you could also used diced green chiles to make it really mild}

Fritos Scoops -- you're gonna' want the Scoops, trust me.

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixer -- except for the Fritos -- don't mix in those.

2. Dip Fritos in and enjoy!  That's why you wanna' get the Scoops.  They hold more delicious dip.

Happy New Year {a little late} blog friends!