Wahoo Chili and Gorgonzola & Olive Cheese Bread

It is that time of year again! When the leaves turn colors, football is on tv, the weather is a bit crisp and I need to make chili.  I don't know what it is but as soon as the temperature dips just a bit and there is football on Sundays, chili is a must-have.  

Some days I spend all day in the kitchen chopping, mixing, browning and seasoning but these days, quick and easy has taken center stage.  This quick and very easy recipe for chili using the Wahoo Chili® Seasoning Blend from Tastefully Simple tastes like it took a lot of work when in actuality, I tossed things together in just a few minutes.  Same goes for the amazing Gorgonzola & Olive Cheese Bread.  These two are a perfect pair for a Sunday in sweats watching your favorite football team.  

 Start by chopping an onion

 And tossing it into a large pot or Dutch oven. Sauté the onions just for a few minutes with a drizzle of oil.  I used canola.

 Toss in a pound of ground beef.  I like to use 85% lean ground beef (I usually cook with 90% or 97%) but using 85% gives the chili more flavor.  Speaking of, season with some salt and pepper.

 I also added a few shakes of Tastefully Simple's Garlic Garlic™.  I cooked the ground beef until it was no longer pink in the middle.

 While the ground beef cooked, I poured two cans of diced tomatoes with green chills into my food processor.  I am not a huge fan of tomatoes and their texture so this helps that out.  If you like tomatoes, feel free to blend just one can or leave them both intact.

 Here is my delicious sauce.

 Pour it into the ground beef.  You can see there is still some texture but the majority of it is blended.

 You will also need some actual tomato sauce

Kidney beans--drained.  I like to drain mine, the water has lots of salt in it and the consistency of it grosses me out. So slimy! 

Then comes all the seasoning you need.  Isn't that awesome!?  No real measuring just add as much as you would like. 

If you are more of a "measurer" the cap holds two tablespoons.  So smart!  I added 3 capfuls, we like it spicy around here! Then it just simmers away...

 When the chili was almost done--I cooked ours for about 2 hours but you can cook it much shorter (30 mins) or much longer, just keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn on the bottom.

Anyway, when the chili was almost done, I concocted this delicious cheese spread starting with cream cheese.

 This delicious Gorgonzola & Olive Cheese Ball Mix. This stuff is amazing!

 And finely shredded cheese.  This was a Monterey jack and cheddar blend.  Otherwise known as "double cheese" by my niece Ava.  She's awesome.

 I gave it a quick stir and decided it also needed a bit of butter.  So I added that and gave it another stir.

 Sliced up my bread.  I used a loaf of Tastefully Simple's Bountiful Beer Bread®.

 And schmeared the cheese mixture on top and placed on a baking sheet.

 In the oven at 375 for 5 minutes and they came out all perfectly melted and crispy on the bottom.

 And there you have it! The perfect football or any time meal.

 I cannot rave about this bread enough!  Its creamy, crispy and FULL of flavor.  It is great as a dipper to the chili but an amazing stand-alone bread as well.

 The chili is super flavorful with a nice consistency!  I'm also a huge fan since all of the chili seasonings are in the shaker and it comes together in a flash!

These recipes would be great for entertaining as well!  Keep in mind that chili gets better after sitting so it can be made ahead of time and reheated when ready to serve.  The cheese mixture could be made ahead of time as well and spread on the bread and baked when ready.

What are your favorite fall foods?

Wahoo Chili

1 medium onion, chopped
Drizzle of canola or vegetable oil
1 pound ground beef
Salt and Pepper for seasoning
1 teaspoon Garlic Garlic™
2 15 oz cans of tomatoes with green chilis
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 15 oz can red kidney beans, drained
4-6 tablespoons of Wahoo Chili® Seasoning Blend
Optional Garnishes: sour cream, cheese, green onions etc...

Drizzle the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven on medium-high heat.  Add in the onions and cook for 2 minutes or so.  Add in the ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and Garlic Garlic.  Cook until no longer pink.  Once the meat has browned, pour in the tomatoes with green chilis (if you don't like the texture of tomatoes, blend in a blender first), tomato sauce and beans. Add the Wahoo Chili® Seasoning Blend to your taste.  Keep in mind that the seasoning gets stronger as it cooks so season it just a bit less than you think you would like after the first time you taste it.

Let the chili simmer for at least 30 minutes but as long as you would like.  I cooked ours for 2 hours being sure to keep stirring and scraping the bottom from time to time.

When serving, garnish with sour cream, cheese, green onions etc.

Enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz

Gorgonzola & Olive Cheese Bread

4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used Monterey jack and cheddar blend)
1 packed of Gorgonzola & Olive Cheese Ball Mix
2 tablespoons softened butter
Bread of your choice, I used Bountiful Beer Bread ®

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the cream cheese, shredded cheese, Gorgonzola & Olive Cheese Ball Mix and butter in a small bowl.  Spread onto the sliced bread.  Place on baking sheet.

Bake the bread for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the bread is crispy on the bottom.

Serve and enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz


**DISCLAIMER: I did receive free product and was compensated for this post however, all opinions are true and my own.  As always, you cannot buy my love, baby.**

Spinach Queso Dip

This past weekend I was at the DailyBuzz Food Festival in San Francisco.  It was such a great time but I will tell you all about that later. 

For now, let's talk about this dip.  I made it a few weekends ago and we noshed on it while watching the football game.  It is a mix between spinach and queso dip.  Slightly spicy, creamy and full of flavor.  

Start by adding a block of cream cheese (I used 1/3 the fat) in a large pot on medium heat.

Add a jar of salsa.

Cube up a block of Valveeta.  Confession: this is the first time I have ever bought this stuff.  Sometimes you just need to do things…this is one of those times.

Add the cheese to the pot.

Defrost and strain the spinach.

Add the spinach into the pot.

Along with a packet of ranch dressing.  Mix and stir until fully combined and all of the cheese has melted.

That is IT! It doesn't get much easier than that.

So creamy and delicious.  You can put this in a crockpot to keep it warm just be sure to keep it on low or warm.

Spinach Queso Dip

8 oz cream cheese (1/3 the fat is okay)
1 15.5 oz jar salsa
1 box (16 oz) Valveeta cheese
1 10 oz box of chopped spinach, defrosted and drained
1 packet of ranch dressing mix

In a large pot, combine the cream cheese and salsa.  Turn the heat to medium.  Cube the Valveeta into small cubes and add into the pot.  Add the spinach and ranch dressing.  Stir until all of the cheese has melted.

Serve with your favorite chips.

Enjoy!

Modified from: Haystacks & Champagne

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

Did you make the Pulled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with the Blue Cheese Celery Slaw last night like I told you?  I hope so because umm... then you could make these Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas!  I made them today and Mr. Schwartz said they were "happily delicious."  Whatever that means.  

But, make these, I'm telling you, they. are. awesome.  And stay tuned, fun stuff as in ahem, A GIVEAWAY is coming soon.  Like tomorrow if I can get it figured out!  Yay!  This is going to be fun. 

Now off to watch the Golden Globes.  Wee! 

Musical Selection:  I Wanna Die by: Miranda Lambert.  If I was a good singer I would belt this out in karaoke for sure.  I seriously visualize myself singing it every time I listen to it.  I'm a dork. 

Start by drizzling a little canola oil into a large skillet on medium high heat.

Place a flour tortilla in the pan and use your hand to spread around the oil evenly.

Add some mozzarella cheese.  Mr. Schwartz added cheddar too.  Use whatever cheese you have on hand.

Add the pulled buffalo chicken.  I microwaved it just a bit to take the chill off.

Top with additional cheese.  This will assist the quesadilla to stick together.

Top with another tortilla. Let cook for about two minutes or until the cheese begins to melt and the tortilla starts to brown like....

This.  Cook for an additional two minutes or until all the cheese has melted.

Cut into triangles.

And serve with the slaw.

Oh goodness, this is fantastic!  Happy leftover eating : ) 

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas 

2 large flour tortillas

1/2 cup mozzarella and or cheddar cheese 

1/2 cup pulled buffalo chicken (recipe found: here) 

left over Blue Cheese and Celery Slaw (recipe found: here) 

Preheat a large skillet with a drizzle of canola or vegetable oil.  Place one of the tortillas in the skillet and move it around to distribute the oil evenly.  Add 1/4 cup of the cheese on top of the tortilla.  Place the buffalo chicken (I heated mine up in the microwave for about two minutes on high first) on the cheese and top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.  Place the other tortilla on top. 

Cook for about two minutes and flip the quesadilla and cook for an additional two minutes or until all of the cheese is melted.  Cut into triangles and enjoy with the slaw! 

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz