Oh the Cheesy Goodness

Last week the hubby and I went out for a date night (finally!). We chose to go to a fondue restaurant.  We loved he experience, but not the price.  For the two of us, we spent a little over $100. Yikes!  So this weekend we decided to have a fondue and movie night at our house, kids and all!  Here is my version of the fondue we had last weekend:


Ingredients

1 glove garlic, minced
1/8 cup of Cabernet Sauvignon (any red wine would work, but the Cabernet goes well with the cheese)
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup of White Cheddar cheese (we had Fontina at the restaurant, but cheddar is cheaper)
1/2 cup of Asiago cheese
1/2 cup of Monterrey cheese
1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
Pepper to taste

Directions

Most of us don't have a fancy fondue thing-a-ma-jig, so we have two options here.
- In a saucepan, add your garlic.  Begin to sweat, but do not brown.  Then add your wine and lemon juice.  Stir.  Slowly add your cheeses.  Stir after you add each cheese.  The cheese will slowly begin to melt.  Add your parsley and pepper.  Add to a small crock pot or food warmer.  The cheese will continue to melt into a smooth fondue sauce. 
-Slow cooker method.  add all of your ingredients, stir, and let the slow cooker do the work.  I recommend a smaller crock pot if you have one.

Dipper suggestions: French bread, broccoli, sausage, noodles, tortellini, chicken, peppers, tomatoes, olives, any type of food you could imagine dipping in cheese!

~Enjoy!~

Chili Time!

When the temperature drops, one of my favorite things to make is soups and chili.  Whenever I make chili, I always switch it up a little bit, just for fun.  Here is one of my chili recipes that is a favorite in my house!  What is your favorite way to enjoy chili?

Kate's Chili

1 /2 lb of stew meat (beef)

1/2 lb of pork butt (cubed)
1 medium yellow onion
1 poblano chili1/2 head of garlic
1 can of dark beer
1 can of diced tomatoes
3 tbsp. of tomato paste
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 cube of beef bouillon
1 cup of water
1 can of kidney beans
3 tbsp of ketchup
2 tsp. of dry mustard
1 tbsp. of turmeric
4 tbs. of chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Cut a head of garlic in half. Coat the garlic and poblano in olive oil and salt and pepper. Wrap both in aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until roasted.
2. Brown stew meat in pot. Dice up onion and add. Cook until translucent.
3.Peel the skin and seed the chili, dice, and add to the pot as well.
4. Squeeze out the roasted garlic from the head into the pot.
5. Add one can of beer while scrapping the bits of meat from the bottom of the pot. At this time, add the remainder of the ingredients.
6.Cook for 3 hours on low heat. Be sure to remove the bay leaves from the chili before serving.