Roasted Red Pepper Cheesecake

1 cup butter cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 (8-oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup ricotta cheese
3 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pesto sauce (recipe below)
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, pureed and drained

Preheat oven to 325. Mix the cracker crumbs and butter. Press into the bottom of a 9" Springform pan. Bake for 10 minitess. Mix the cream cheese and ricotta cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the Parmesan, pesto sauce, and red peppers. Pour over the crust. Bake for 55 min to 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out dry. Run a knife or metal spatula around the rim of the pan to loosen the cake. Cool before removing from the pan. Refrigerate 4 hrs. or overnight. Let stand 15 mins at room temperature before serving. Serve with crackers.


Pesto Sauce

1/2 cup walnuts or pine nuts
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 cups (4 ounces) lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil


Toast nuts in a dry skillet. In a food processor, combine nuts, basil, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Process until nuts are finely chopped. With processor running, stream in olive oil and process till smooth.

Mango Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

Mango Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

2 large cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 cup diced mango

4 large red chili peppers

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 Tbs. cornstarch

4 Tbs. water

In a blender, puree together all the ingredients, except the last two. Transfer the mixture to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat and simmer until the mixture thickens up a bit and the garlic & pepper bits begin to soften, 3-5 minutes. Combine the cornstarch and water. Whisk this into the sauce and continue to simmer one more minute.

Let cool completely before storing in a glass jar and refrigerate. Makes about 2 1/3 cups sauce.

Raspberry Peach Salsa

2 Peaches, sliced in half
1 T. Olive Oil
1 Poblano Pepper
2 cloves Garlic, minced
5 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2 Sweet Onion, diced
1/2 bunch Cilantro, chopped
1/2 Serrano Peppers, finely chopped
1 pint fresh Raspberries
1 Lime
1 t. Salt

Rub olive oil on cut sides of peaches. Grill peaches and poblano pepper till soft and charred, about 10 minutes. Remove from grill. Immediately place pepper in a plastic bag to sweat for 5 minutes. Cool peaches slightly. Remove skin from peaches. Remove pepper from plastic bag, the skin should come off easily now. Dice pepper and peaches.  Combine peaches, Poblano, garlic, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and Serrano peppers. Stir gently. Zest lime. Add lime zest and juice, salt, and raspberries. Very gently, fold to combine.

Crock Pot Chicken Dip

3 frozen chicken breasts
8 oz. cream cheese
1 can corn, drained
1 can pork and beans
1 can jalapenos
1 jar salsa
2 T. dry taco seasoning mix

Put all ingredients in crock pot on low for 8 hours. Shred chicken breasts with two forks. Serve with tortilla chips.

Mango Salsa

1 cup onion, finely chopped

2 cups mango, chopped

2 cups tomato, chopped

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

6 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped

1 cup bell pepper, seeded and chopped

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon honey, warmed

¼ teaspoon oregano

¼ teaspoon basil

2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced

When peeling mangoes, hold them over the bowl to catch juice. Mix all of the ingredients together, stirring after each ingredient. Put mango in last. Let stand for several hours.

Pico de Gallo

6 roma tomatoes, diced

1 sweet onion

1 jalapeno, chopped fine (remove seeds and ribs for milder salsa)

½ cup fresh cilantro leaves

1 teaspoon salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

Juice and zest from a lime

Combine all ingredients. Enjoy!

Megan’s Blender Salsa

2 cans stewed Mexican style tomatoes

1 onion, quartered

1 jalapeno, quartered (remove seeds and ribs for milder salsa)

½ cup fresh cilantro leaves

½ teaspoon garlic salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Place all ingredients in the blender. Chop until desired consistency. Serve with tortilla chips.

Layer Dip

1 can hot bean dip

2 avocados, mashed

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix

2 tomatoes, diced

1 small can sliced black olives, drained

8 ounces shredded mild cheddar

Mix sour cream and taco seasoning together. Set aside. Layer ingredients in 9x13 pan in the following order: bean dip, avocado, sour cream mixture, tomatoes, olives, cheese. Chill for at least one hour before serving with corn tortilla chips