Food

I’ve been waiting for the return of football for what seems like forever. It’s my favorite time of year, and I love coming up with recipes that are perfect for game day. I am about to share with you one of the best dips EVER! My famous Bacon Cheeseburger Dip! Who doesn’t like bacon, burgers, and football?!

I have been crazy for dips for as long as I can remember. It all started with a homemade French onion dip that my mom used to make on special occasions. As soon as I heard that we were going to a cookout or a holiday party, I would get excited. I knew that mom was going to make her famous dip! It was a secret family recipe, and I used to sit in the kitchen and watch her make it, paying attention to every ingredient and detail. She would let me be the taste tester… until I started eating it by the spoonful.

To me, party dips are the perfect food. Once I realized that I had a knack for cooking, I’ve been coming up with dip recipes ever since. I make this Bacon Cheeseburger Dip Recipe all year long. It’s perfect for game day, sporting events, holidays and friendly get-togethers.

Bacon Cheeseburger Dip Recipe

I’m not sure what it is, but sports and food go hand in hand for me. Between hockey, basketball and the start of the MLB season, I’m going out of my mind … In a good way! 

When I have a game on, a brother needs some munchies. Over the years I have collected dip recipes like they are baseball cards. Chips and dip are the perfect snack food!

My newest creation is Cowboy Queso Dip— and it is SO GOOD!!! I’m not a Cowboys fan, but Bears Queso Dip sounded awful. This queso dip recipe is perfect for any every occasion— I hope you enjoy it!

Cowboy Queso Dip Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. hot pork sausage
  
• 16 oz. Velveeta, cut into 1” cubes
• 1 (14.5-oz) can Rotel Tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 c. Shredded Pepper Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1-2 diced jalapeños seeds removed
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Brown the sausage in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Crumble your sausage as you cook it.
2. When the sausage is fully cooked, add chicken broth and allow to cook down/reduce for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add cheese and stir to combine until fully melted, approx. 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, jalapeños and cilantro.
5. Serve with tortilla chips.

I’m sharing #SausageFamily in my life as part of a Johnsonville sponsored series for Socialstars™.

Johnsonville Meatballs are a tasty new twist on an old favorite. I’m a big fan of meatballs. Whether they’re covered in red sauce on my spaghetti or slathered in a sweet and spicy coating for a game day food, meatballs are one of my favorite foods. Now they’re even better. Johnsonville meatballs go the same route as the Johnsonville “burgers” I’ve talked about in the past. They change the game in a delicious new way. So, I decided to use them in one of my favorite recipes… Bourbon BBQ Meatballs.

Johnsonville Meatballs – Fully Cooked and Full of Flavor

I love to make meatballs for a dinner or a game day snack, but what I don’t love is the process. It’s so involved, with all the ingredients and mixing and molding and trying to make sure they don’t fall apart. It’s a pain. With Johnsonville, I don’t have to fool with any of that business. Their delicious meatballs come fully cooked and ready to go. All I have to do is put them in my favorite dish, and I’m golden.

Johnsonville Meatballs come fully cooked, which is incredibly convenient. They also come in three tasty flavors – Original Italian, Homestyle, and Three Cheesee. Like all Johnsonville products, they’re made with premium cuts of pork, AND each bag has about 20 meatballs so there’s plenty to go around.

Family Meals are Fast with Johnsonville Meatballs

Like I said, I’m not all about cooking as a way to spend my time. When I cook, I want something that tastes good and that doesn’t take too long. That’s the biggest selling point for me with Johnsonville meatballs. They make cooking fast. I’ve started using them in my family’s favorite – spaghetti and meatballs – and they love it. It’s really good. I love it because it’s really fast. All I have to do is boil some noodles and heat up my favorite jarred sauce with the meatballs inside. Boom. Done. So far, I’ve used all three varieties, and they’re all winners. My favorite is the Three Cheese. Those are so good topped with spaghetti sauce.

One of my favorite holiday recipes are Bourbon BBQ Meatballs and the Johnsonville Meatballs are perfect for it.

Bourbon BBQ Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 package of Johnsonville Original Italian Meatballs
• 1 28oz bottle of sweet barbeque sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of bourbon

Instructions

1. Pour all the liquid into a slow cooker and stir.
2. Add meatballs.
3. Make sure all of the meatballs get coated.
4. Cook on low for 4 hours.

Enjoy!!

This is my recipe for Easy Johnsonville Sausage and Cheese Stuffing Balls. It’s a new way to eat stuffing and they are easy, original and delicious. I’m sharing #SausageFamily in my life as part of a Johnsonville sponsored series for Socialstars™.

I’ve always been a big lover of Thanksgiving. It was the most laid back of holidays at my house. Dad would cook the turkey, Mom would be in charge of all of the side dishes. If a family member did come over, you usually had to sit through a diatribe about how their old school recipes were better than what you were cooking. For some reason, their recipes always included 75 ingredients and 5 days of prep work. But, it was always better!! The day pretty much unfolded like this. Eat a great meal, watch some football and take a nap… Sounds like a little slice of heaven to me. I love the traditions of Thanksgiving, but my family and I decided to start making some of our own traditions and it started with the side dishes.

I’m all about green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and stuffing with gravy. My wife, daughter and I have been putting our own spin on some of these traditional Thanksgiving dishes. The one that is our favorite is Easy Johnsonville Sausage and Cheese Stuffing Balls. You get all the great flavor of traditional stuffing, add mild Italian ground sausage, cheese and then put it in to a bite size form. These things are ridiculously good!! You can serve them as an appetizer with a side of gravy or cranberry sauce or let them replace the stuffing at the table all together.

Easy Johnsonville Sausage and Cheese Stuffing Balls

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage
• 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 box Cornbread Stove Top Stuffing mix
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 eggs

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a cookie sheet with non-stick aluminum foil.
2. In a frying pan, cook sausage meat until crisp.
3. Add in onion powder and stir.
4. Remove from heat and let cool.
5. In a large bowl, combine cheese and Cornbread Stove Top Stuffing.
6. Stir in the cooked sausage mixture.
7. Add in the chicken broth and 2 eggs. Stir well to combine.
8. Use a tablespoon to scoop mixture and then roll into a ball and set on cookie sheet.
9. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until balls are cooked through and are browned.

Enjoy the Easy Johnsonville Sausage and Cheese Stuffing Balls!

I walked outside this morning around 7 am and felt a little nip in the air. I live in South Florida, so by nip in the air, I mean 67 degrees. But, I’ll take what I can get. One thing that I love to cook during the fall months are chicken wings! They’re perfect for a snack, dinner, the big game, entertaining, in the bathtub (Don’t judge!) and just about any other kind of occasion. When I get in the kitchen, I love to experiment and wings are a great test subject. I was feeling something sweet, spicy and with just a hint of garlic. So, I came up with an easy Sriracha Honey Garlic Wings Recipe.

I’m into anything spicy, but sometimes I like to balance out the heat with a little sweet and savory. Lately, I’ve cut out a lot of carbs and especially sugar. I want to be able to eat healthy, but still enjoy the foods that I really like. When you cut out the sugar, you realize that you are limited in the sweeteners that will work for baking. I’ve used honey and agave, I just think they still have a lot of calories and sugar that I don’t need. So, with this recipe I am trying Truvia® Nectar.

Truvia® Nectar is the latest product in the Truvia® line of great-tasting sweeteners made with stevia leaf extract.

Sriracha Honey Garlic Wings

Ingredients:

• 3lbs. of thawed chicken wings
• 1/4 cup Truvia® Nectar
• 1/2 cup of Sriracha
• 1 tbsp garlic (more to taste)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF.
2. Line a baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil.
3. Pat chicken wings dry with paper towels and lay wings in a single layer.
4. Bake wings for 20 minutes.
5. Flip wings and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until crispy.
6. Combine Truvía^® Nectar, Sriracha and garlic in a large bowl.
7. Gently toss wings in sauce until completely coated.

Enjoy!

Click here to get a free sample of Truvía^® Nectar.