Crock Pot Cheeseburger Dip

Just a fun fact about me... I move a lot. Not "run in circles, shake my foot, wave my arms" move a lot. I mean "pack up my house and move to a new one" move a lot. We're up to six different homes in the past five years. It drives my family and friends crazy. How many corrections/updates their address books have is a running joke in my family. I really don't know why we move so much. Every move has had its reasons, all of which made sense at the time. Looking back I understand that from the outside it seems ridiculous. I guess we could dissect my ridiculous life choices all day, but I really am getting to a point here. :)

My most recent move brought us to a great subdivision in a small town west of Chicago. We're close to our hometown and our parents, which works out great. Even though we grew up in the area, a lot of our friends have moved away or we've disconnected for some reason over the years. Now that I'm a stay-at-home mom it was really important to me to meet other moms in the area. Lord knows you can go absolutely insane staying home all day with no adult conversation!! Luckily I met another stay-at-home mom in the neighborhood one day at the park. Janell has lived in the subdivision for a while and has been GREAT at introducing me to other neighbors; not to mention keeping my sanity in check at our weekly play dates! At a recent get together she made this slow cooker dip. It was AWESOME. So being the "constantly-thinking-about-our-blog-readers" girl that I am, I immediately asked for the recipe. The timing couldn't be better. This is perfect for your Superbowl parties! You can serve it with cut up bread, crackers or tortilla chips. It didn't come with an official name so I named it the Crock Pot Cheeseburger Dip; although I'm not sure that adequately sums up its awesomeness. On behalf of all who try and love this recipe (try it, you'll love it)- a BIG thanks to Janell! :)

~Wendy

Crock Pot Cheeseburger Dip

Recipe Type: Appetizer

Author: Wendy

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 2 hours

Total time: 2 hours 15 mins

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef


• 1 lb pork sausage


• 1 Tbsp garlic powder


• 1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder


• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce


• 1 Tbsp white vinegar


• 1 can Rotel tomatoes


• 1 can cream of mushroom soup


• 1 lb Velveeta cheese

Instructions

1. Brown the hamburger and sausage in a skillet. Transfer to a crock pot and then add remaining ingredients, stir until combined. Cook until cheese is melted on low 1-2 hours.

Notes

Janell typically uses the spicy version of the pork sausage and the Rotel tomatoes. I ended up using regular pork sausage that I had in the freezer and the medium Rotel tomatoes. So feel free to dial up or down the heat depending on your crowd. She also mentioned that the ground beef and sausage can be made in advance, but a tip to insure they don't dry out is to mix them with the tomatoes and soup before you refrigerate. Then when you're ready to throw it in the crock pot you simply add the remaining ingredients and cook.

3.2.1215

 

Sausage Balls

Oh how I wish there was a better name for these. I even tried to think of one, but at the end of the day these are, in fact, sausage balls. So there you go. Regardless of their name- they are great. They are also perfect for any holiday party. Easy to make in advance and season-appropriate if you make the cranberry sauce for dipping!

This recipe came to be during one of my "clean living" phases. About every six months I decide that I should be a better mother and limit my kids' exposure to all evil in the world, starting in my kitchen. So I start madly researching chemical-free, hormone-free, antibiotic-free... you get the idea. It usually begins with a large purchase from Trader Joes or Whole Foods and ends when I see the cost. My last round of clean living mania resulted in a meat share membership through a local farmer, and has actually stuck. Every month they deliver to members in our local area and we meet them in a predetermined location to pick up our portion. Its usually 18-20lbs of pork, beef, chicken and eggs; all hormone and antibiotic free.  The farm name is Walnut Family Farms. If you're in Illinois look them up- its very reasonable and the meat/egg quality is fantastic. My favorite part of the membership is that each month you don't know what cuts of meat you'll receive. As I mentioned in my last post I like to be creative with my cooking. So when I get my shipment its like Christmas! I love to unpack the bag and think about what I can make in the upcoming weeks.  I'm a food dork, I know.

One of our last shipments included a pound of pork sausage. After searching online, through cookbooks and on Pinterest I settled on making sausage balls. There are literally hundreds of Sausage Ball recipes out there. So as usual I took a little something from each one and came up with my own. And since cranberries were on sale at Aldi that week I decided to add a cranberry dipping sauce. You can make each one small for an appetizer dish or make them a bit larger and serve them as a main course with a side of veggies and mashed potatoes. Try them out and let me know if you like them!

~Wendy

Sausage Balls w/ Cranberry Dipping Sauce

Recipe Type: Dinner or Appetizer

Author: Wendy

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 18 mins

Total time: 28 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• Sausage Balls


• 1 lb pork sausage


• 1 stalk of celery, diced


• 1/4 c. diced green onion


• 1 1/2 c. bisquick


• 3 c. shredded cheddar cheese


• 1/2 tsp sage


• salt & pepper to taste


• Cranberry Dipping Sauce


• 12 oz bag fresh cranberries


• 3/4 c. brown sugar


• 6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate (about 1/2 of normal size can)


• 1 tsp cornstarch

Instructions

Sausage Balls

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Form into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Remove from the pan almost immediately to avoid sticking.

Cranberry Sauce

1. In a medium sized saucepan combine the cranberries, orange juice concentrate and brown sugar. Warm over medium heat stirring frequently until the cranberries pop open. Add in the cornstarch and stir sauce until thickened, usually 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool before serving.

Notes

Other options for dipping sauce could be BBQ sauce or a mix of equal parts mayonnaise and mustard. I much prefer the cranberry sauce! If you intend on serving these as a main course, I would recommend making the sausage balls into 2 inch balls before cooking. Increase baking time by 3-4 minutes to insure they are cooked through the center.

3.1.09