Winstead Wandering

Prone to Wander

Homemade Bacon Cheddar Chive Biscuits

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Forget the bland kind that come in a tube; these Homemade Bacon Cheddar Chive Biscuits are flaky, buttery, and everything homemade biscuits should be.

Forget the bland kind that come in a tube; these Homemade Bacon Cheddar Chive Biscuits are flaky, buttery, and everything homemade biscuits should be.

One of the first recipes I ever made was these Homemade Bacon Cheddar Chive Biscuits. I was 21 and J and I were newly married, living in a tiny apartment in Jackson. This was before the days of Pinterest, so much of what I made came from Google or from actual cookbooks.

I remember first making these biscuits in our little kitchen, with its one narrow drawer and its burners that refused to heat evenly. I was so new to cooking and baking then; every recipe was precisely followed because I wasn’t confident enough to make even the smallest changes. Over the years, though, I’ve adapted this recipe, adding the chives and tweaking the process. The result, these Homemade Bacon Cheddar Chive Biscuits, are just as satisfying to make now as they were all those years ago.

Forget the bland kind that come in a tube; these Homemade Bacon Cheddar Chive Biscuits are flaky, buttery, and everything homemade biscuits should be.

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Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

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With plenty of chicken, gooey melted cheese, and the best homemade sauce, Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas are a perfect take on a favorite weeknight meal.

With plenty of chicken, gooey melted cheese, and the best homemade sauce, Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas are a perfect take on a favorite weeknight meal.

A whole lot of my favorite dinner recipes include shredded chicken. Actually, I use it so often that I’ll typically prepare a bunch at once by baking it in the oven or cooking it in my Instant Pot. I use generic seasonings, like garlic and onion powder, and I use my KitchenAid mixer to shred the chicken while it’s hot. Then I have cooked chicken to use in Bacon Cheddar Ranch Chicken Roll-Up, Baked Chicken Taquitos, or these Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.

I much prefer green enchiladas to red, and I especially prefer them when made with my Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce. Once the sauce is made, these little guys are super quick to prepare, especially if you’ve made your chicken in advance. It’s a perfect recipe to make earlier in the day and refrigerate until dinnertime. Serve with your favorite sides and you’ve got a meal.

With plenty of chicken, gooey melted cheese, and the best homemade sauce, Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas are a perfect take on a favorite weeknight meal.

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Hashbrown Crust Breakfast Pizza

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With a crispy crust, tender veggies, fluffy scrambled eggs, and plenty of melted cheese, this Hashbrown Crust Breakfast Pizza is perfect any time of day.

With a crispy crust, tender veggies, fluffy scrambled eggs, and plenty of melted cheese, this Hashbrown Crust Breakfast Pizza is perfect any time of day.

I first shared this Hashbrown Crust Breakfast Pizza on my friend Kayla’s blog. She’s since refocused to share about all things Disney, so she gave me the go-ahead to share this recipe here.

It’s no secret that I love breakfast foods (see here or here), and I also love pizza (here and here). Combining the two was a natural step, and the results were everything I’d hoped they would be. In fact, this breakfast pizza is so outstanding, it even made it to a Buzzfeed post.

With a crispy crust, tender veggies, fluffy scrambled eggs, and plenty of melted cheese, this Hashbrown Crust Breakfast Pizza is perfect any time of day.

So what’s all the hype about? To start, you toss pre-made hashbrowns with melted butter and bake to form a crispy crust. The crust is topped with tender veggies and fluffy scrambled eggs (plus any other toppings you can dream up), sprinkled with plenty of shredded cheese, and baked until the whole thing is one delightful dish of crispy, melty, whole family-pleasing goodness.

With a crispy crust, tender veggies, fluffy scrambled eggs, and plenty of melted cheese, this Hashbrown Crust Breakfast Pizza is perfect any time of day.

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Mexican Street Corn Salad

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With sweet and smoky charred corn, cool sour cream and citrus, and the perfect notes of spice, this Mexican Street Corn Salad will be a year-round hit at your house!

With sweet and smoky charred corn, cool sour cream and citrus, and the perfect notes of spice, this Mexican Street Corn Salad will be a year-round hit at your house!

I first made this Mexican Street Corn Salad a few months ago for guests. The adults and the teenagers all raved about it, and not in a just-being-polite kind of way, either. In fact, at least a couple of them went back for seconds and thirds. I made it recently for a church potluck and, again, the salad got rave reviews.

With sweet and smoky charred corn, cool sour cream and citrus, and the perfect notes of spice, this Mexican Street Corn Salad will be a year-round hit at your house!

It’s not hard to see why this recipe is such a hit. With the sweet and smoky notes of charred corn, the hit of spice from chipotle chili pepper and jalapeños, and the cooling notes of sour cream and citrus, you’ve got a perfect summer salad that will transition right into fall. Sure, grilled corn is typically a summer staple, but the beauty of this recipe is that you capture all the favorite flavors of Mexican street corn without leaving your kitchen.

With sweet and smoky charred corn, cool sour cream and citrus, and the perfect notes of spice, this Mexican Street Corn Salad will be a year-round hit at your house!

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Pasta in Roasted Poblano Cheddar Cream Sauce

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Pasta in Roasted Poblano Cheddar Cream Sauce is easy and quick enough for a weeknight meal, but flavorful and fancy enough for guests.

Pasta in Roasted Poblano Cheddar Cream Sauce is easy and quick enough for a weeknight meal, but flavorful and fancy enough for guests.

I’m in the middle of a month-long gluten-free eating experiment. To be honest, I’m equal parts hoping it will resolve some health issues and also hoping it doesn’t so I don’t have to give up all things gluten-full. I don’t want to buy a lot of expensive (holy cow, gluten-free products cost a lot) gluten-free products, but I knew I needed to have a few things on hand for quick meals.

One of the things I bought was gluten-free pasta so, naturally, I had to make this Pasta in Roasted Poblano Cheddar Cream Sauce. The sauce is thickened with starchy pasta water instead of flour, so it doesn’t get thick and gloopy, rather it stays the perfect consistency to carry the roasted peppers and coat the pasta.

Pasta in Roasted Poblano Cheddar Cream Sauce is easy and quick enough for a weeknight meal, but flavorful and fancy enough for guests.

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Roasted Poblano and Onion Quesadillas

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They be simple to make and require only five ingredients, but these Roasted Poblano and Onion Quesadillas are full of mellow vegetables and just the right amount of melted cheese.

They be simple to make and require only five ingredients, but these Roasted Poblano and Onion Quesadillas are full of mellow vegetables and just the right amount of melted cheese.

My local grocery stores don’t always have a large variety of peppers to choose from so, when I saw the crate of poblanos the other day, I grabbed a few without giving any thought to what I’d make with them.

I immediately roasted most of the peppers because I knew I’d want them that way for pretty much anything I would make. I ate some in a potatoes-and-eggs breakfast bowl and added a little more to a sandwich.

And then I made Roasted Poblano and Onion Quesadillas. The idea wasn’t original, since I make fajita quesadillas all the time. I decided to keep these a little simpler, though, to let the veggies shine. Now I’ve made them three times in the last week. Okay, fine. Four times.

I just.can’t.resist. Poblanos aren’t spicy; sometimes they carry a little heat, but mostly they’re just full of flavor. In addition, onions are probably one of my favorite vegetables. Add in a little cheese, plus the crispiness of the corn tortilla, and I could eat these things all day long.

They be simple to make and require only five ingredients, but these Roasted Poblano and Onion Quesadillas are full of mellow vegetables and just the right amount of melted cheese.

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Creamy Cheese and Bacon Dip

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Got a party? Game night? A regular Tuesday? No matter where you’re going or what you’re in the mood for, Creamy Cheese and Bacon Dip is the perfect answer.

Got a party? Game night? A regular Tuesday? No matter where you're going or what you're in the mood for, Creamy Cheese and Bacon Dip is the perfect answer.

We had a staff potluck at school the other day, also known as the perfect excuse to try a fun new recipe and pass the calories along to my coworkers. I typically bring two recipes to these shindigs because J and I teach at the same high school. Of course I had to make something sweet, but I wanted to make a yummy savory dip, too.

This recipe had me at bacon and cheese. The original version called for all mayonnaise, but I’m not a huge fan, so I included sour cream, too. I found the whole thing a little bland when it was all mixed up, but a few dashes of hot sauce a little garlic salt did the trick.

My Creamy Cheese and Bacon Dip was a hit at the staff party! The bowl was empty by the end of the day, even though I doubled the recipe. It went quickly with the Town House crackers I brought along. One of the office secretaries spread some on a biscuit and raved about the results; clearly, this stuff would be amazing on pretty much anything.

Got a party? Game night? A regular Tuesday? No matter where you're going or what you're in the mood for, Creamy Cheese and Bacon Dip is the perfect answer.

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Cheesy Bacon Rotel Phyllo Cups

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Cheesy bacon rotel phyllo cups are tasty little phyllo cup bites stuffed with melted cheese, chewy bacon, and the spicy goodness of Rotel tomatoes.

Cheesy bacon rotel phyllo cups are tasty little phyllo cup bites stuffed with melted cheese, chewy bacon, and the spicy goodness of Rotel tomatoes.

These cheesy bacon rotel phyllo cups are hard to describe. They’re an instant hit with everyone who tries them and, considering all the baby showers, tailgates, and family gatherings my mother-in-law has made them for, that’s a lot of people. Bite-size appetizers are always appealing, but when you throw in bacon and cheese, they’re irrestible.

Don’t let the use of mayonnaise throw you. I don’t care for mayonnaise in general, but you don’t taste it in this recipe. Instead, it just serves as a binder for all the ingredients you can taste, like the melted cheese and the chewy, salty bacon. If you’ve never had phyllo cups, you’re in for a treat. This Greek dough is thin and crispy, making it the perfect vehicle for what’s inside.

Cheesy bacon rotel phyllo cups are tasty little phyllo cup bites stuffed with melted cheese, chewy bacon, and the spicy goodness of Rotel tomatoes.

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Green Chile White Queso Dip

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company. All opinions are mine alone. #GameTimeHosting  #CollectiveBias

It isn’t game day without a big bowl of this quick and easy, perfectly spicy, melted cheese goodness known as green chile white queso dip.

It isn't game day without a big bowl of this quick and easy, perfectly spicy, melted cheese goodness known as green chile white queso dip.

School is officially back in session for a lot of the country, including us Mississippians. As a teacher, there’s pretty much only one thing that makes me eager to leave behind lazy summer days in favor of going back to work: The allure of fall. It’s right around the corner and, were it not for the oppressive humidity that’s a mainstay in The South this time of year, I’d probably be able to feel it.

It isn't game day without a big bowl of this quick and easy, perfectly spicy, melted cheese goodness known as green chile white queso dip.

In addition to cooler fall temperatures, I’m looking forward to cozy sweatshirts, all things pumpkin, and, most of all, football season.

We’re just about as stereotypical as you might imagine football fans in The South to be. I can just about guarantee we’ll be cheering on our team in person if they’re playing at home, and we catch most every away game on TV. It isn’t just the game itself that’s important, though; it’s the whole ritual of gathering with family and grazing on favorite foods throughout the day.

It isn't game day without a big bowl of this quick and easy, perfectly spicy, melted cheese goodness known as green chile white queso dip.

Because you can’t really have a game day celebration without a dip or three, I made this green chile white queso dip. It’s quick to prepare and is basically a block of shredded white cheddar cheese with a few additional ingredients to make it a smooth, flavorful dip. This cheese dip is best enjoyed right after it’s made, so I love to pair it with some easy make-ahead options, like baked chicken taquitos, double chocolate brownies, or spinach and artichoke dip.

While I was at Family Dollar grabbing some game day staples, like Coca-Cola™, I found Wise Nacho Cheese Tortilla chips that ended up being so good dipped in this queso. Like, insanely good. [Read more…]

Oven Roasted Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese

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Oven roasted potatoes with bacon and cheese are the perfect quick, easy, and delightfully delicious side dish for any time of day.

Oven roasted potatoes with bacon and cheese are the perfect quick, easy, and delightfully delicious side dish for any time of day.

I started writing this post a few months ago, sometime around the start of my third trimester of pregnancy. I craved carbs something fierce- even more fierce than usual- while I was pregnant with Q, and many nights I couldn’t think of a good excuse not to make some sort of potato dish and call it supper.

I ate Parmesan garlic roasted potatoes more than a few times, along with home fries. I had these oven roasted potatoes with bacon and cheese plenty of times, too.

The recipe is surprisingly quick and easy to make. Because the potatoes are cooked in a skillet still hot from frying the bacon, they cook quickly and develop that coveted softness on the side while becoming crisp on the outside. After the potatoes are cooked through, they’re sprinkled with crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese and returned to the oven to let everything melt together.

I often eat them just as they’re pictured, but they’re also great served with salsa, green onions, or diced avocado.

Oven roasted potatoes with bacon and cheese are the perfect quick, easy, and delightfully delicious side dish for any time of day.

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