Cheese Makes the Game

No matter which NFL team you're pulling for, I hope  cheese will be part of your  party   action to contribute good nutrition  that includes  high-quality protein as well as calcium,phosphorus, and vitamin A. I've collected our favorite snack foods for the game but I think I may have to add this Dairy Makes Sense recipe to the list just for fun!


Co-Jack Cheese Crisps



Ingredients:

Non-stick cooking spray
1 package (8 ounces) finely shredded Colby-Monterey Jack Cheese


Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat rimmed baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place 2 teaspoons Colby-Monterey Jack cheese mounds 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Press mounds gently with fingers to flatten. Bake until mounds are thin, bubbly and golden, no more than 6 to 8 minutes. Immediately transfer crisps to paper towels with a metal spatula. Serve when crisps have cooled completely.

Hint: Baking too long will make crisps too hard and not easily removed from the baking sheet.

Tip: May be baked one day ahead and crisped before serving in oven at warm setting, for 4 to 5 minutes.

Superbowl Cheese Team Wins the Game

I'm rooting for the cheese team--that's the dairy cows that provide all that milk for the delicious cheese that is part of every Superbowl celebration at our house!  In preparation for the big game, I'm collecting a few recipes for game day  that fit our criteria for fun, easy and cheese filled!
This recipe can be found at Dairy Makes Sense.


Confetti Quesadillas

Ingredients:

2 cups fat-free plain yogurt
1 cup finely minced cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
12 soft corn tortillas
1 cup(4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup(4 ounces) shredded reduced fat Colby cheese
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels or black beans
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1 red bell pepper, finely minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely minced

Preparation

Line a large strainer with a coffee filter or paper towel and place over a mixing bowl. Pour yogurt and let sit until some of the liquid has drained away and yogurt is consistency of sour cream. Transfer to small mixing bowl. Stir in cilantro and cumin.

Preheat large skillet over low heat. Line up six tortillas. Divide cheese, corn, cilantro and peppers among tortillas, then cover each with a second tortilla. Place a tortilla on dry skillet or grill and warm until cheese is melted an tortilla is slightly golden. Flip and cook other side until golden. Cut into wedges and serve. Repeat with remaining quesadillas. Serve each wedge with a dollop of cilantro yogurt dip.

Entertaining Idea: Make these ahead and serve at room temperature, or set up an assembly line "grillside" and let guests select their own blend of cheese and "confetti."

January's Comfort Food

No one in my family is too happy about eating leftovers so Mama is very happy to find a recipe that uses leftovers and produces smiles and the thumbs up when asked if it's good enough to be served again! Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham from about.com was the perfect solution this week when we thought it was too difficult to eat any more leftover ham.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese With Ham

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 3/4 cups of half and half
1 1/4 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 14 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3 cups diced ham
5 cups cooked macaroni
1 cup bread crumbs-half for the inside crunch and half for the topping
1/4 cup scallions,diced
pepper to taste

Using a large saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour; stir and gradually stir in half and half, making sure to keep stirring as the entire mixture thickens.
Pour in your cooked macaroni. Add your shredded cheese and your Parmesan to the mixture--now you can add half the bread crumbs and scallions, and add the cubed ham.
Stir well and pour into a well-greased casserole or baking dish. Top with breadcrumbs and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the top is crisp.

 

Next thing you know, they'll be asking when we're having ham leftovers!!