Easy and Awesome Pimento Dip

Pimento Dip is creamy, cheesy and so good! This is a fantastic tasty spread that is the hit of every party.

Dips are perfect for any occasion. Similar to this 5 Minute Million Dollar Dip, and this Cheesy Olive Bread, this is super EASY, and super Delicious!

Pimento Cheese Dip

This well known “Southern” dip actually got its start in the north, New York State to be exact. But the South perfected this creamy dish post WWII, which has won the stomachs of many. This is in fact one of the most popular spreads and most used in the south. With it’s creamy cheesy flavor there’s little wonder why.

Pimento Cheese is one of those dips that adults and kids love alike. It’s also very versatile, you can customize it to your tastes. This is fun to make and delicious to eat! It’s a true favorite. It can be used in so many ways. And it’s so quick and easy to transport. This is perfect for any occasion, whether it’s a party, or snacks for the kids, it’s a winner!

Easy Pimento Dip Ingredients

Just a few ingredients make this scrumptious dip.

• Cream Cheese: Can use reduced fat cream cheese if you want.
• Mayonnaise: Do not confuse this for Miracle whip.
• Cheddar Cheese: Medium or sharp cheddar give the best flavor.
• Jar Pimentos: Drain before using.
• Onion, Garlic, and Paprika: The spices that meld it all together.

Dip, Baby Dip!

This is so quick and easy! Have some fun and watch a movie, play a game and enjoy this dip!

1. Combine: Place all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
2. Mix: Using a hand mixer beat the ingredients till combined.

What Are Pimentos?

• Pepper: Well according to those who know, a  pimento, or cherry pepper is a variety of large, red, heart-shaped chili pepper that measures 3 to 4 in long and 2 to 3 in wide. The flesh of the pimiento is sweet, succulent, and more aromatic than that of the red bell pepper.  Pimento peppers aren’t frequently found fresh but are sold jarred in most grocery stores.  You can usually find them near the olives or in the specialty foods
• Pimento cheese: is just a combination of cheddar, cream cheese, mayo, spices, and the key ingredient, pimento peppers. This recipe was developed in the early 1900’s and perfected after WWII. It’s become an extremely popular spread.

Tips and Variations for Hot Pimento Dip

• Mayo: Authentic pimento cheese dip is made with a good quality mayo. You can substitute for the mayo with  plain unsweetened yogurt with success, but it will change the flavor.
• Cheese: Shred your own cheese from a fresh block. Pre shredded cheese often comes coated and will detract from the creaminess.
• Different Cheese: You can play around with the cheese to your liking. Use a combination of cheeses, or a different flavor. The type of cheese you use will definitely change the flavor.
• Spice it up: Add hot sauce or buffalo sauce and pepper jack cheese to spice things up. Using different spices can make this dip unique.
• Not Just a Dip:  This a wonderful on bread and grilled for a grilled pimento cheese sandwich to die for! Use it instead of mayo on sandwiches for extra zing
• Top it: Put on top of grilled chicken, pork, hamburgers or other meat for a twist on the normal.

More Amazing Easy Dips

These are more dips to try at your next occasion!

• Loaded Creamy Ranch Dip
• Awesome 7 Layer Dip
• Marshmallow Cream Cheese Fruit Dip
• Pepperoni Pizza Dip
• Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip

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Pimento Dip

Pimento Dip is creamy, cheesy and so good! This is a fantastic tasty spread that is the hit of every party. 

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword pimento dip, pimento dip recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 8 People

Calories 231kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

• 8 ounce cream cheese
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded
• 1 4 ounce jar pimentos drained
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

• In a medium size bowl add the ingredients. Using a hand mixer beat the ingredients until combined. Serve with crackers and veggies if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 231kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 267mg | Potassium: 60mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 624IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 181mg | Iron: 1mg

 

 

 

 

 

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Cowboy Casserole

Cowboy Casserole is a family favorite made with seasoned ground beef in a creamy sauce, corn, cheese, and topped with crispy tater tots. It’s irresistible!

If you love easy casserole recipes, also try this Tuna Rice Casserole and this Chicken Divan Casserole.

Tater Tot Casserole

This is a tried and true family favorite. When you need a quick and easy recipe that everyone will love, this is the answer. From the creamy ground beef sauce all the way up to the crispy tater tots, this recipe is as deliciously cozy as it gets. It takes less than 15 minutes to assemble, so you always have time to make a homemade meal for your family. Trust me, they’ll love this one!

What is a Cowboy Casserole?

Cowboy casserole is a true crowd-pleasing recipe. It’s made by layering a creamy ground beef sauce, sweet corn, and cheddar cheese into a casserole dish. Then it’s topped with tater tots and baked until the casserole is bubbly and the tots are nice and crispy. It’s pretty hard to resist.

What do you Need To Make Easy Cowboy Casserole?

• Ground beef: lean is best.
• Onion and garlic: flavor!
• Diced tomatoes: we use canned as the juices help create the sauce.
• Sour cream: makes the sauce so creamy. You can sub plain yogurt if you’d like.
• Corn: we use frozen corn but canned corn works, too.
• Cheddar cheese: Use aged for the best flavor. Or try a mix of white and orange cheddar.
• Tater tots: the crispy topping that is the best part about a cowboy casserole.

Time to Make a Casserole!

This really is such an easy recipe!

1. First: Start by cooking the ground beef until it’s only a little bit pink. Then add some onions and garlic and let them cook until the beef is fully cooked.
2. Next:  Mix in a can of diced tomatoes and some sour cream then season that creamy, beefy sauce with salt and pepper.
3. Last: Once the beef is ready, you’ll put it into a casserole dish and top it with corn, cheese, and tater tots

Variations to Try

• Protein: Swap the ground beef with ground chicken.
• Beans: Add some black beans.
• Topping: Use curly fries instead of the tater tots.
• Seasoning: Add some taco seasoning for a Tex-Mex version!

Can this Casserole Be Made Ahead Of Time?

Yes! This casserole can be prepared and assembled 24 hours in advance. Cover and store it in your fridge until you’re ready to bake it. You’ll want to add a few minutes to the cooking time.

Tips for Making the Best Cowboy Casserole

You might notice that the oven temperature in this recipe is quite a bit higher than some other cowboy casserole recipes. There’s a good reason for that!

We bake our casserole at the temperature that’s recommended for cooking tater tots. This ensures that the tots get nice and crispy because nobody wants soggy tater tots.

So if you want the best cowboy casserole, crank up the heat!

More Casserole Recipes to Try

• Makeover Pumpkin Mac and Cheese Casserole
• Easy Sausage and Rice Casserole
• Pesto Alfredo Chicken Casserole
• Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole
• Turkey Mediterranean Casserole

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Cowboy Casserole

Cowboy casserole is a family favorite made with seasoned ground beef in a creamy sauce, corn, cheese, and topped with crispy tater tots. It's irresistible!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword cowboy casserole, tater tot casserole

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 611kcal

Author Kristen Stevens

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion minced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup sour cream can be light
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups frozen corn thawed
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 26 ounces tater tots

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
• Cook the lean ground beef in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until only a little pink remains. Add the onion and garlic and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Mix the tomatoes and sour cream into the beef then season with salt and pepper.
• Pour the creamy beef into a 9x11 inch casserole dish. Top with the corn, then the cheese, then arrange the tater tots in a single layer on the top.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the tater tots are crispy and brown.

Nutrition

Calories: 611kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 1232mg | Potassium: 873mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 616IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 346mg | Iron: 3mg

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Fall off the Bone Slow Cooker Short Ribs

Fall off the Bone Slow Cooker Short Ribs is a perfect hearty, satisfying, and savory dinner! Full of flavor and fork tender succulent beef, it’s a meal worth coming home to.

Serve this with a side of Dad’s Famous Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Cauliflower or Stick of Butter Baked Rice. You can serve the meat and sauce on top the sides to help sop up all the goodness as well.

Slow Cooker Short Ribs

According to definition, short ribs are a cut of beef taken from the brisket, chuck, plate, or rib areas of beef cattle. They include a short portion of the rib bone, thus the name short rib. This cut of meat is actually pretty tough but once it reaches fork tender, it’s amazing. Your whole family will love this delicious dish!

This is why beef short ribs were meant for long, slow braising at a low heat. The longer you cook them the better they become, if you try to cook them fast, they’ll remain tough. Cooking them in the slow cooker may just be one of the best ways to get them to the perfect level of fall-off-the-bone doneness. After cooking away for hours in your crockpot, short ribs turn from chewy and tough to melt-in-your-mouth tender. They’re a perfect winter meal. Add a vegetable some rolls and your set for a hearty week day or Sunday special meal.

Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs Ingredients

The ribs slow cooked with the sauce imparts the best flavor. You are going to love it!

• Beef Short Ribs: 8-10 should fit nicely in your slow cooker
• Salt and Pepper: To taste
• Olive Oil: To Taste
• Carrots: Use large carrots, not baby carrots. Large carrots have more flavor
• Beef Broth: To have a good beefy flavor don’t substitute for other broth.
• Garlic: 3 cloves minced, sounds like a lot but trust me it’s needed.
• Tomato Paste: Imparts strong flavor without the extra water.
• Worcestershire Sauce: Gives immense flavor
• Italian Seasoning: One of my all time favorite spice combinations, it’s so good!

Cooking Beef Short Ribs

Quick prep work and then let the slow cooker do all the work!

1. Sear: Salt and pepper the short ribs and sear in the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Make sure to do all sides. When they have a nice golden crust on all sides place in the slow cooker and add the carrots on top.
2. Sauce: In a small bowl whisk the beef broth, garlic, tomato paste, worcestershire and italian seasoning. Pour the sauce over the ribs
3. Cook: For best results cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Tips for the Best Short Ribs

It’s really hard to mess these up, unless you don’t let them cook long enough.

• Ribs: You can use short ribs with the bone in or without. Either will be amazing
• Veggies: You can add onion and celery along with the meat.
• Searing: You may be tempted to skip the searing step, Don’t! It caramelizes the surface of the meat enhancing the flavor. So good! Worth the extra time.
• Tough:  If you short ribs turn out tough, that means that they didn’t cook long enough. Long and slow is key and they need to reach an internal temperature of 180-205 degrees F. This is when the heat is able to break down the connective tissue that makes them tough.

How to Make a Gravy

The sauce will create a mouth-watering gravy you don’t want to skip.

1. Cool: After the meat has cooled for about 15 min in its juices remove the meat and cover.
2. Drain: Let the drippings cool for another 5 min till the fat begins to rise. Spoon the fat off of the liquid and discard.
3. Boil: Turn the Slow Cooker on high or you can pour the drippings into a saucepan on the stove over high heat.
4. Thicken: Mix 2 Tablespoons of Cornstarch and 1/4 cold water together. Pour into the drippings and stir constantly till nice and thick.

More Beef Recipes to Love

• Thai Basil Beef
• Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
• Slow Cooker Korean Beef
• One Pot Beef Stroganoff
• Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon

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Fall off the Bone Slow Cooker Short Ribs

Fall off the Bone Slow Cooker Short Ribs is a perfect hearty, satisfying, and savory dinner. Full of flavor and fork tender succulent beef, it's a meal worth coming home to.

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword short ribs, slow cooker short ribs

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 10 minutes

Servings 6 People

Calories 66kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

• 8-10 beef short ribs
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 large carrots sliced
• 1 cup beef broth
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning

Instructions

• Salt and pepper the beef short ribs. Heat a large skillet with the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the short ribs and sear each side for 1-2 minutes or until they have a golden brown crust. Remove from skillet and add to the slow cooker and add the carrots on top.
• In a small bowl whisk the beef broth, garlic, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and Italian seasoning. Add to the slow cooker.
• Cook on low for 8-9 hours or high 4-5 hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 66kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 306mg | Potassium: 363mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 10204IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg

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Overnight Oats

Overnight Oats are a healthy, versatile, make ahead, portable filling breakfast to get you on your way.  These oats have to be one of the best inventions EVER!

Mornings just start off better with a hearty good breakfast. Overnight oats join Keto Pancakes, Easy Egg Muffins and The Best Acai  Bowls as one of them.

Healthy Overnight Oats

I’m always looking for things to make life easier, and overnight oats is one of them. Being able to throw this together the night before and have a nutritious, filling breakfast ready when I need it, is a life saver. It makes mornings run smoother and I love that my family (and me) have a healthy option in the morning. I’m telling you it’s a game changer. This works for lunches too!

This basic recipe is so flexible. The whole family will enjoy putting their own toppings and flavor combinations together to create their one of a kind breakfast. Experiment and have fun and enjoy knowing you’re starting the day (or afternoon) off right!

Easy Overnight Oats Ingredients

This comes together beautifully. This is simple and easy!

• Oats: Rolled oats not quick oats
• Milk: Can use any kind of milk you prefer
• Plain Yogurt: I like to use Greek yogurt for the extra protein
• Chia Seeds: Add nutrition and give it texture.
• Honey: Natural sweetener
• Cinnamon: Just a pinch will do, or add more for your liking.
• 8 oz Jar with Lid: Doesn’t have to be fancy

How to Make the Best Overnight Oats

These overnight oats are silky and flavorful and so good for you. If you haven’t tried them, you have to! You’ll wonder what took you so long.

1. Mix: In a medium sized bowl combine all the ingredients and stir to mix
2. Pour: into a jar and seal with lid
3. Fridge: Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight
4. Flavor: Top as desired before eating.

What are Overnight Oats?

• What: These are simply rolled oats, not quick oats, that are soaked in liquid of some kind from 3 hours to up to 5 days if you wish.  This makes the oats perfectly soft and ready to eat.
• Milk: You can use any kind of milk you’d like, that’s part of the fun. Super simple and individualized.
• Oats: The star of the show, you’ll want to use rolled oats for their texture. Quick oats are so small they’ll turn mushy fast. Steel cut can be used, they’ll require longer soaking and the texture will be chewy.
• Yogurt: If you want to you, you can leave out the yogurt. It does give it a silky smooth texture and adds flavor and protein. Try flavored yogurts to change up the taste.
• Healthy: Not only are oats good for you, think lower cholesterol, help you lose weight, heart healthy.  But soaking them overnight actually enhances their goodness. Soaking helps break up phytic acid found in oats that can make it hard to absorb it’s nutrients such as  iron and zinc. By breaking it up your body can more easily absorb these healthy nutrients.
• Cold or Hot: You can eat these straight from the fridge, bring them to room temp or microwave them. It’s up to you.

Add More Flavor!

Get ready to be creative. The possibilities for toppings and flavors are endless. But there are a few things to keep in mind to keeping them amazing.

• Add ins: These are flavor enhancers you can add right with the oats to soak along with them. Think of things that won’t go mushy if they soak for a long time. For example, flax seed, protein powders, cocoa, honey, zests, mashed bananas, flavored yogurts, jams and syrups.
• Toppings: These are foods that will go soggy if you soak them. Add these to your oats right before eating. This includes items such as berries, granola, coconut, chocolate chips, and nuts.
• Imagination: The possibilities truly are endless. Here are some ideas however to get you started.
  • Apple Pie: chopped apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and chopped walnuts
  • Chocolate Peanut Butter: Cocoa powder, Peanut butter, chocolate chips and peanuts,
  • Banana Nut: Banana, chopped pecans and maple syrup
  • Pina Colada: Pineapple chunks, coconut flakes, vanilla yogurt
  • Very Berry: Mixture of frozen berries, granola and coconut flakes
  • Mint Chocolate Chip: mini chocolate chips and mint extract
  • Nutella: Nutella and chopped nuts
  • Carrot Cake: Shredded carrot, ginger, cinnamon and nuts
  • Pumpkin Pie: Canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice and nuts.

More Oatmeal Recipes to Love

• The Best Carmelitas Cookie Bars
• Insanely Good Homemade Granola
• No-Bake Energy Bites
• Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
• Almond Granola Bars

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Overnight Oats

Overnight Oats are a healthy, versatile, make ahead, portable filling breakfast to get you on your way.  These oats have to be one of the best inventions EVER! 

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword healthy overnight oats, overnight oats, overnight oats recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes

Servings 3 Jars

Calories 218kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• pinch of cinnamon
• 8 ounce jar with lid

Optional Toppings:

• Peanut Butter
• Berries
• Bananas
• Apples
• Nuts
• Cocoa Powder

Instructions

• In a medium sized bowl combine the oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, honey, and pinch of cinnamon.
• Pour into jar and seal with a lid. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Top with desired toppings or mix ins.

Nutrition

Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 285mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 172IU | Calcium: 181mg | Iron: 1mg

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