I remember the first time I had this spinach artichoke dip. I know that may sound weird, but it was so good – it’s hard to forget! I was at my parents house and my mom used her vintage Crock Pot to make the dip for Easter. (Yes, I even remember what holiday it was made for!) I was hooked. I asked her for her recipe and have been making it ever since.

What is spinach dip?

This dip has been around for quite some time. It’s the type of dip that once you try, you can’t stop thinking about it. Spinach dip is a warm dip that is full of cheese, spinach and artichokes. It can be made on the stove top, but we love the ease of this slow cooker version. It’s warm, creamy, delicious and all made in your Crock Pot. It’s great for new cooks and even one the kids can help with too!

Slow Cooker Spinach Dip Ingredients

One of the things that makes this dip so good is that you only need a handful of common ingredients. The artichokes are the most exotic thing you need and even they are easy to find at most grocery stores. To make slow cooker spinach dip you will need:

• spinach
• artichokes
• cream cheese
• sour cream
• mozzarella
• spices

Spinach – You can use fresh or frozen spinach for this dip. I like using frozen so I don’t have to worry about the spinach going bad in the fridge. On the other hand, fresh spinach is easier because you don’t have to squeeze out the water. Feel free to use whatever you prefer.

Artichokes – Canned artichokes work best for this recipe. You can find them in the canned good aisle. They are normally near the beans.

Cream Cheese – Any type of cream cheese for your spinach artichoke dip will work. If you want lower fat cream cheese, feel free! I suggest taking the cream cheese out 30 minutes to an hour before you want to make the dip so it softens.

Sour cream – Grab a tub of sour cream to add to the dip.

Mozzarella – Shredded mozzarella cheese is needed in this recipe. It helps makes the dip even creamier. You can use pre-shredded cheese or you can grab a brick and shred it yourself. I love using his manual cheese grater for shredding our own cheeses!

Spices – There are only a few spices needed for this warm spinach dip: garlic powder, onion powder plus salt and pepper.

How to make spinach artichoke dip in the slow cooker

This recipe can be broken down into 3 steps – prep, mix and stir. The slow cooker does the rest of the work!

Step 1: Prep the ingredients. Chop the cheese cream into blocks. Drain the artichokes and chop them into pieces as well. Use your heart to decide how big you’d like the artichokes. If you want bigger chunks, I would give them a quick chop. Smaller pieces? Dice the artichokes more finely.

NOTE: If you are using frozen spinach, allow it to thaw completely. Press out the spinach between your hands until most of the water is removed. Then add it to your slow cooker.

Step 2: Add to slow cooker. Place everything in the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on low for 2 hours or high for 1 hour. Be sure to stir everything at the half way mark.

Step 3: Stir and serve. Give the dip one final stir before serving warm. You can serve it directly from the Crock Pot or transfer it to serving dish. Add crackers or tortilla chips to the the serving dish.

Suggestions for dippers

This dip is so good you can easily eat it by the spoonful. But some dipper suggestions are:

• crackers
• tortilla chips
• carrot sticks
• bagel chips
• celery
• pita chips
• sliced bell peppers

Tips and FAQs for warm spinach dip

Tip: Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray so that the dip comes out easier. If you leave your slow cooker on, the dip with start to dry out around the edges and using spray or butter will help with clean up.

What is spinach artichoke dip made of? This warm spinach dip combines spinach and artichokes with cream cheese, sour cream, mozzarella cheese and spices. Once combined this dip has amazing flavor!

Tip: Use fresh spinach to get the best flavor. While frozen spinach has its advantages, using fresh spinach in this dip will yield the most flavor.

What size slow cooker do you need? You can use any size slow cooker for this dip. I used an 8 qt Crock Pot, but any size will work.

Tip: Be sure to stir the dip at the half way cooking mark. So 30 minutes if you are cooking on high and 1 hour if you are cooking on low. A silicone spatula works best for this.

How to make in the oven

Don’t want to use your slow cooker? No problem! You can easily make this dip in the oven. Follow the steps for prep and then place everything in a prepared baking dish. I suggest spraying it with cooking spray before adding the ingredients. I would reserve some of the mozzarella cheese for the top of the dip. Cook for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

How to store leftovers

Place any leftovers in a Tupperware or Ziplock bag and put in the fridge. The spinach artichoke dip will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days. To heat it, remove from the fridge and warm in the microwave.

Can I freeze it?

Yes, you can freeze the dip. Prepare it as described below and then allow to cool completely. Place in a Ziplock bag and flatten it out. Place in the freezer to be stored for up to 3 months. To eat, allow to thaw in the fridge overnight and place in the microwave to warm through. You will need to stir it to combine everything again.

Other dip recipes to try

Looking for other dip recipes to try other than this slow cooker spinach dip? I suggest:

• Shrimp scampi dip
• Easy taco dip
• Margherita pizza dip
• Caramel apple dip

Slow Cooker Spinach Dip

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

How this creamy spinach artichoke dip in your slow cooker!

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Ingredients

• 8 oz fresh spinach
• 1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts
• 1 container (8 oz) cream cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions

1. Cut the artichoke hearts into bite sized pieces.
2. Cut the softened cream cheese into 8 inch blocks.
3. Place everything in the slow cooker and stir to combine.
4. Cook on low for 2 hours, stirring half way through.
5. Stir before serving.
6. Enjoy!

Notes

Can cook on high for 1 hour.

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These spicy cheddar sausage balls are an easy appetizer to bring to your next event.  Or whip up for a quick breakfast! These classic sausage balls are made with Bisquick and are ready in under 30 minutes. Everyone will love this quick and easy appetizer!

We decided this year to do the book advent calendar thing-y with the kids.  Ya know, where each night you open one wrapped book til Christmas?  That one. My moms and went to the book store and bought 25 books for the occasion. 

Long story short – it didn’t go well. The kids fought over who was going to open the present each night and then they lost interest when they realized they were only books. Currently taking suggestions for new advent ideas for next year.

Classic sausage balls

I’m also working on finalizing my menu for Christmas day. We normally start the day with a light breakfast and some appetizers. We finish out the day with a big family meal, which typically includes my momma’s lasagna.

These cheesy sausage balls are always on the appetizer list. They come together quick and everyone loves them. They are perfect for snacking on throughout the day.

A sausage ball is exactly what it sounds like – a mixture of sausage and other ingredients, normally cheese and a flour blend. You can customize your sausage balls to your taste and add in (or take out) anything you’d like.

Sausage ball ingredients

The great thing about these classic sausage balls is that there are very few ingredients needed to make them. You will need:

• Bisquick
• breakfast sausage
• cheese
• milk
• spices

Bisquick – There are a few options when it comes to the type of Bisquick to use here. You can buy the classic Bisquick, grab the gluten-free Bisquick if needed, or make your own! I love using my homemade Bisquick mix because it’s cheaper than the store bought and you know exactly what’s in it.

Breakfast sausage – You can use any kind of breakfast sausage that you like for these sausage balls. I like to use a spicy pork breakfast sausage, but any type of sausage that crumbles will work here.

Cheese – Again, feel free to use any type of shredded cheese you prefer in this recipe. I love using a sharp cheddar, but any shredded cheese is good.

Milk – You will need 3/4 cup of milk for this recipe. Regular cow’s milk is what I used, but you can use any non-dairy milk (almond, coconut, etc) here too.

Spices – I just used salt, pepper and paprika in my sausage balls. The sausage brings most of the flavor so I kept the spices mild. You can add in/subtract any spices you’d like.

Optional add-ins – Like I mentioned, you can customize these sausage balls to your liking. I love adding onion to mine (as seen below!) but you can add in:

• jalapenos
• fresh herbs
• bell peppers
• celery
• cream cheese
• or anything else!

How to make classic sausage balls

Once you have all your sausage ball ingredients gathered, you will also need to grab:

• medium sized pan
• a mixing bowl
• spatula
• cooking sheet
• silicone liner or baking spray

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. You can either line your cooking sheet with a silicone liner or spray it baking spray. This will prevent the sausage balls from sticking to the sheet.

In your pan over medium heat, cook the breakfast sausage. I added onions to mine and cooked those at the same time. Cook until no pink shows, remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Once the sausage has cooled, add it to your mixing bowl and mix in the Bisquick, cheese and paprika. Mix everything together until a crumbly dough forms. Slowly stir in the milk and combine.

Roll into balls and drop onto your prepared cookie sheet. You can also drop spoonfuls of dough directly onto the sheet as well.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges start to brown. Remove from oven, allow to cool and enjoy!

Classic sausage ball questions

These sausage balls are pretty easy to make but I always get the following questions when I share them.

How long are sausage balls good for? – They are good for 2-3 days when stored in an airtight container and put in the refrigerator.

Can you leave cooked sausage balls out? – No. They need to be placed in the refrigerator to be kept safe to eat later.

How do you freeze sausage balls? – In order to freeze these classic sausage balls you need to cook them, allow them to cool completely and then place in the freezer on the cookie sheet. Once they are frozen, remove and place in a plastic bag and put them back in the freezer.

You will want to thaw them out before warming them up in the oven or the microwave.

What can I substitute for Bisquick? – If you don’t have any Bisquick on hand, you can try making your own! It’s easy and uses basic ingredients. Get the easy homemade Bisquick recipe here!

Spicy Cheddar Sausage Balls

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Ingredients

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 pound spicy breakfast sausage
• 3 cups Bisquick mix, or homemade
• 1 pound sharp cheddar
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 3/4 cup milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Cook the sausage and onion.

In a large bowl, mix the sausage, onion, Bisquick, cheese and paprika.

Stir in the milk slowly.

Roll into balls and place on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 4916Cholesterol: 775mgSodium: 11254mgCarbohydrates: 258gFiber: 11gSugar: 64gProtein: 204g

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Like this recipe? Be sure to check out:

• Bacon, Swiss Avocado Bites
• Meatball Sliders
• Rosemary Parmesan Skillet Foccacia

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This post is sponsored by Red Baron. All opinions are my own.

Hey there! Are you a football fan? We love college football at the Grant house! Funny thing is, when I was in high school I think I only went to maybe two football games my whole 4 years. I just had other things to do and none of my friends went so we did other things on Friday nights.

Ryon played drums in the band in high school so he went to a lot of football games. More than I went to, that’s for sure!

Now? We enjoy watching college football together. Most Saturdays you can catch us hanging out on the couch watching the Spartans or the Aggies or whoever is playing. The kids seem interested in what is going on and Ryon will take the time to explain the ins and outs of the game. Avery says he’s going to play for the “green guys” when he gets older.

My favorite part about ANY football game is… the food! Of course! I picked up these Red Baron Deep Dish pizza singles from Sam’s Club specifically for Saturday football watching.

When it comes to football food it needs to easy to grab between plays or during half time. There isn’t much time to cut into a filet Mignon when it comes to football. (I mean you could..)

These pizza dippers are perfect for game day snacking. They make the deep dish singles portable and easy to grab, dip and eat. All while watching the Spartans (or Aggies!) run one in for a touch down!

You can also use whatever dip you like! We picked ranch and marinara, but a BBQ or teriyaki sauce would work great as well!

Pizza dippers

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Ingredients

• 2-3 Red Baron deep dish single pizzas
• sauces for dipping

Instructions

Cook the pizza according to the package.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Get your sauces ready for dipping during this time!

When the pizza still warm but cooled a bit, cut into strips with a pizza slicer.

Arrange near sauces and enjoy!

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If you loved this recipe, we would love for you to leave a review to help others!

• Fool proof pizza dough
• Margherita pizza dip
• Easy chicken stir fry

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Thank you SeaPak for sponsoring today’s recipe!  All opinions and recipe ideas are my own.  Be sure to check out SeaPak for easy seafood meal options!

Hey yall!  Do you know what I love most about fall?  Besides the cooler weather and the holidays.  I love fall sports!  Oh yes.  I am a fall sports person.  My favorite?  Baseball, of course!  The playoffs and world series are starting and man do I love it.  I played softball back in my high school days so watching fall baseball brings back memories.  

Late night practices, early morning practices, laughing with my friends, crying with my friends.  Jumping fences and breaking your ankle.  That’s how I started my freshmen year of softball, by the way.  With a broken ankle.  And I jumped the fence in order to be on time to practice.  It didn’t work out so well.  

Of course there is also football, basketball and hockey in the fall as well.  I like them all, especially since they give me a reason to cook.  And I love to go all out when we have people over.  I don’t mean super fancy or dressed up kind of all out.  I mean come as you are and eat tons of delicious food all out.  

Easy delicious homemade food.  And lots of it.  I like to have a big spread to make sure people can be sure to find something they like.  

I’m also talking super easy dishes too.  Dips, wings, sandwiches.  Easy snacks that people can eat while chatting about the game.  I added this SeaPak shrimp scampi dip to our snack line-up and oh my goodness!  It’s heaven in warm, ooey, gooey, extra melty cheese form.  It’s the perfect addition to any party table.  

Plus, October is national seafood month and SeaPak makes it easy to add delicious shrimp into your appetizers or meals.  You can find SeaPak at most major grocery stores (I grab mine from Kroger!) or use their product locator to help.  You can also find them on social media (Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram) sharing great shrimp-tastic recipes.

Shrimp scampi dip

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Ingredients

• 1 block cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups of Italian blend cheese, divided
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chives, minced
• 6 oz SeaPak shrimp scampi
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cheese cream, 1 1/2 cup cheese, onion, garlic, chives, salt and pepper (to taste) and frozen shrimp scampi.

Press the mixture into a baking dish and top with remaining cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove, top with additional chives and enjoy with pita chips or crusty bread.

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Yall.  Quesoooo!  Or chile con queso.  Or cheese dip with chiles in it.  Or chips best friend.  Or your new best friend.  Or all of it.  I say all of it.  When we go out to eat at any Mexican restaurant this is what I order.  Chile con queso with flour chips.  I don’t think there is anything better.  Nay.  I know their isn’t anything better. 

I love the queso that we get when we go out, but nothing beats homemade.  And being able to make it whenever you want.  Ahhh.. now that’s the best. 

The great thing about this chile con queso recipe is that you can adapt it anyway you like.  Some people put sausage or chorizo in their queso.  Or use a spicier pepper.  I used a jalapeno but if you like queso with a bite then serrano or habanero.  I don’t like too much spice in my queso.  Weird, I know.

Fun fact – I’m not really a big fan of spicy food.  I barely like pepper on my food.  I know.  I know.  Weird.  But this queso?  Just the right amount of spice and absolute perfection. 

Chile con queso

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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1-2 cups of milk
• 6 cups of shredded white cheese
• 1 -15 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained
• cilantro for topping

Instructions

In a large saucepan add the butter, onion, jalapeno and garlic. Allow to cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent and the garlic fragrant. About 5 minutes.

Stir in the flour and allow to cook for about a minute.

Whisk in the milk, slowly, and allow to cook until it starts to thicken.

Turn the heat down to low and add in the cheese. Stirring to combine. Add in the tomatoes and give a final stir. Pour into bowls, top with cilantro and enjoy!

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Hello, hello, hello!!  I’ve missed yall!  My site was down for 4 or 5 days and I wasn’t able to post anything!  I couldn’t even login or do anything on the back end.  It was sad and I wasn’t sure what to do.  Well, that last part is a lie.  I cooked.  And I ate what I cooked.  And I took pictures before so I can share it all with you!  

Yay! 

Not a horrible hiatus by any means.  

I may have made guacamole twice in the 4 days.  I love me some guacamole and after I finished the first bowl by myself (don’t judge), I realized I don’t have a guac recipe on my site!  Blasphemous!  I set out to right that wrong.  And I went one step further and did a fun little video!

HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!

A few things to note though – first, HOW GORGEOUS IS THAT PIONEER WOMAN BOWL?!  I mean seriously.  Doesn’t it make you want to just swoon?  My amazing sister in law gifted me a few bowls AND the mason jar drink set!  And I just love them!  

Second, I’m convinced that good guacamole is messy.  You mash and mix and there is no way that your bowl should be clean after that.  And there is NO WAY I’m getting a whole new bowl and transferring my guacamole.  I don’t like extra dishes.  So a messy bowl of homemade guacamole it is!  

And now.. the video!  Yall, let me know if you like these kinds of videos.  I think it was pretty fun to make and if yall enjoy them – I will keep making more!  Here’s to more guacamole and hopefully more videos! 

Homemade guacamole

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Ingredients

• 3 large avocados
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon Nature's seasoning (or salt and pepper)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• cilantro for topping

Instructions

Slice the avocados lengthwise and remove the pits. Scoop out the meat of the avocado into a bowl.

Add in the diced onion, jalapeno, and tomato. Mix until combined.

Add the Nature's seasoning and garlic powder. Mix until combined.

Garnish with cilantro.

Enjoy!

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Hellllo all!  I hope you had a nice Christmas!  Santa was very good to our family this year.  The kids made out like bandits.  Especially at grandma’s house.  Santa thought they were extra good at grandma’s house.  Which I debate, but there is no telling grandma otherwise.  

I have like a Christmas hangover.  There was so much going on in such a short amount of time.  Church, family time, presents, dinner, more presents, church again, baking.  I bet I could sleep for a week.  But now I have to start thinking of New Years plans.  Mainly food.  Because hello, that’s the best part.  To help, my bloggy friends and I rounded up our favorite New Years appetizers.  

Mini onion and cheese pastries // Another with onions I am bound to love! 

Sausage stuffed bread // I know this would disappear in minutes if I made it for New Years.  

Maple pecan baked brie // Fun fact – I love ooey gooey brie.  I try to have it at almost every party we host!  

Pumpkin apple beer cheese dip // I am literally drooling over this cheese dip.  

Avocado wedge salad // Sometimes I make this salad for dinner.  It’s normally an appetizer but it’s hearty enough to be a meal!  

Taco pinwheels // I love tacos!  This is a fun spin (see what I did there?  Pinwheel?  Spin??) on a classic! 

Slow cooker salsa verde corn dip // I could have a whole meal of nothing but appetizers.  And this dip would be at the top of the list! 

Almond and herb crusted goat cheese // Just add crackers and this appetizer is good to go! 

Spicy cheddar sausage balls // Another appetizer that disappears off the plate faster then any other appetizer! 

Avocado feta salsa // Now this – I could eat all day!  

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Let’s just take a second to appreciate all that cheeeese!  I’m an over cheeser.  I put more cheese then necessary in everything.  I have to have it on hand or I feel like I’m missing something.  Some people add ketchup to everything – I add cheese!  Eggs, pasta, casseroles.  Everything gets a good sprinkling of cheese. 

I would say I’m a cheese snob, but I’m not.  I am an equal cheese lover.  My favorite is Swiss and extra sharp cheddar.  I like my cheese to have a bite to it! 

I pulled out my skillet to make these potato wedge nachos too.  I haven’t used my skillet in awhile.  I have been so dang busy that I haven’t really cooked much lately.  Desserts – yes.  Dinner and breakfast – no.  You can see where my priorities are with that one. 

If I do cook it’s normally a quick pasta for dinner.  The kids love pasta just like their momma.  Wooo!  Ryon is still trying to get used to the whole pasta for every meal thing.  He’s German and I’m Italian.  I want pasta and he wants potatoes.  I can only have potatoes once or twice a week before I’m potato’ed out.  He could do potatoes every.single.day. 

I’m slowly turning him to the dark side (pasta) but he still wants his taters. 

Fine husband.  You can have your taters.  But I’m going to smother them in cheese first.  Well, taco meat, black beans, fire roasted tomatoes and then cheese.  Basically I put a South Texas spin on his beloved potatoes.  I’m pretty sure he was ok with the whole loaded taco potato wedge nacho thing.  And we may have both had them for breakfast the next day too.  Hey, eggs go on everything! 

Taco potato wedge nachos

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Ingredients

• 1 pound of hamburger meat
• 1 package of taco seasoning (or homemade)
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can petite diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 cups of cheese
• 1 bag of frozen potato wedges
• cilantro for topping

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a skillet, brown the hamburger meat until no pink remains. Drain fat.

Add in the taco seasoning with 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Add in the can of black beans and tomatoes. Toss together with the meat.

Toss the potatoes in the skillet and mix with meat, black beans and tomatoes.

Add 1/2 cup of the cheese and mix again.

Top with the remaining cheese and put in the oven.

Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through and the cheese is bubbly.

Remove, top with cilantro and enjoy!

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Couscous taco bowls

Chipotle pasta skillet

Loaded breakfast tostadas

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I just dropped the kids off for their first day at a new school.  Just typing that makes me a little sad!  I miss my monsters already.  I didn’t think I would be emotional about them going back to school since it’s not their first rodeo.  They were in a mother’s day out program for 2 years before they started at this new school.  We loved their old school and I credit them for teaching the kids soooo much. 

Then we were moving to Austin and I had to pull them out of the mother’s day out program.  Then we didn’t move to Austin, but their old school didn’t have room for them anymore.  Within a few weeks, both of the kids spots had been filled.  So they have been home with me since the summer.  And I honestly loved having them with me. 

Ryley is going to be 5 in a month and then she starts kindergarten in September.  We had already decided that we didn’t want to send the kids to public school.  Absolutely nothing about public school, it’s just a decision we made for our family.  But we are very limited on private school options down here.  I even tossed around the idea of homeschooling, but Ryley wasn’t really interested in that. 

I asked her “Do you want to stay home with momma and do school here?”  She told me “After I go to kindergarten.”  Well, ok.  She’s such a social little butterfly that she wants and needs to be around other kids.  We went to the park yesterday and she followed around another little girl just saying “Hi, I’m Ryley.”  She just loves people.  My sweet girl. 

They will be able to go to kindergarten at the new school, so that’s a huge blessing already.  She will be able to be with her new friends for at least a year.  From there, we will have to probably find another private school or maybe Ill  home school.  It’s sort of up in the air right now what we will do at this point.  I just ask the good Lord to guide me in making the best decision for our kids when it comes to school.  Oh and patience.  I ask him for patience a lot too. 

I knew Ryley would do well when I dropped her off.  She met her new teacher and was just so excited she could hardly contain herself.  She was trying to play it cool though and just stood in line and smiled with her hands in front of her.  I was a little worried about Avery because he kept telling me he didn’t want to go to school.  Over and over he kept saying it.  I finally told him that he has at least 15 more years of school so he needs to get use to the idea. 

When I dropped him off at his class he sat down and I told him “Let me help you with your coat, buddy.”  He said “No, mom, I got this.”  Well, ok.  You got this buddy.  I’ll see you after school.  I’ll just be here.. thinking about you until I can go pick you up. 

Peach Salsa

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Ingredients

• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 large peach, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and diced
• 1 8 oz can on diced pineapple
• 1 handful of cilantro
• juice of half a lime

Instructions

Combine the tomato, peach, pineapple, jalapeno and onion together.

Stir in the cilantro and add lime.

Enjoy!

Notes

Can be stored for up to 2 days in the fridge.

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 246Sodium: 24mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 10gSugar: 45gProtein: 6g

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• Avocado hummus
• Avocado wedge salad
• Italian steak kebabs

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I know what you’re thinking – its a little cold to be thinking about grilling, Kelley.  In most places that is a true statement.  In South Texas – not so much.  We keep our grill outside, uncovered, all year round.  We do steaks and chicken and even kebabs most weekends.  Even the “winter” ones. 

Side note – kebabs or kebobs?  I feel like I say kebobs but kebabs is the correct spelling.  Kebabs makes me think of Barbara Streisand.  Babs.  Ke-baaaabs.  Yea.  Ill stop now. 

Funny story – Ryon and my dad have the same grill.  A few years ago I took my dad with me to help me buy a new grill for Ryon for Father’s Day.  It was on sale and was a really nice grill.  [Don’t ask me the brand now.. I couldn’t tell you to save my life.]  We got the last one and there was a huge hole in the box.  I made sure that the hole didn’t mean dented or scratched metal and loaded it up in the truck. 

I paid first and then had the guys at the store load it up.  Is what I should have said. 

Turns out my dad really liked the grill and needed a new one.  Guess which one he picked?  The same one that we had just bought for Ryon.  So they are grill twinsies now.  [Don’t tell them I said that, I’m sure guys don’t appreciate that kind stuff.] 

We actually use the grill at parents house more then we use the one at our place though.  My brother moved to California about a year ago and needed to sell his huge smoker pit before they left.  Our friend said he’d buy it so one weekend Ryon drove to Dallas to help my brother pack and came back home with the smoker.  [Such a good guy that Ryon Grant!]  The pit now sits at our house and we fire it up for big events and birthday parties and such. 

Yes, that’s my father.  Please don’t tell my mom I put this picture of him up – she’ll probably cringe with embarrassment.  But he wanted a picture with the kebab so I obliged.  Plus, he was the one who made them so I figured it was only fair. 

This has also been the first year in 3 years that we haven’t been in Michigan around this time.  I downloaded the Timehop app and it keeps showing me pictures of the kids in the snow up there.  Gah, I miss it.  Even though we are able to grill year round down here – I love the change of seasons.  And the snow.  Yes, I even like the snow. 

Italian Steak Kebabs

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Ingredients

• 2 cups Italian dressing
• 1-2 pounds cubed steak
• 2 yellow squash, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Pour the Italian dressing in a dish and add the steak. Allow to marinate for a few hours - or overnight in the fridge.

Layer your steak cubes, squash, onion and bell pepper onto bamboo skewers.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place on a hot grill and let cook for 10-15 minutes.

Flip and cook on the other side for another 10-15 minutes.

Remove from grill, allow to cool and enjoy!

Notes

Feel free to use any vegetables you like!

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 2723Cholesterol: 531mgSodium: 5337mgCarbohydrates: 70gFiber: 5gSugar: 48gProtein: 194g

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