So I was out shopping and was really craving a burger. McDonald’s was closest and was the cheapest, but I got there and they had Szechuan Sauce and as a pretty big Rick and Morty fan I knew that my husband would be devestated if I came home without it, so I got tenders instead.

While sitting watching TV, the craving didn’t subside. I knew I had ground beef in the fridge and bacon that had to be used soon so I decided to experiment an came up with tonight’s appetizer!

Spicy Bacon Cheeseburger Dip

Ingredients

1 lb Ground Beef

1 cup bacon- cooked and crumbled

8 oz Velveeta with Jalapenos (Regular or Queso Blanco- which I used)

1 can Diced Tomato with Chiles

Potato Chips (with ridges) or Tortilla Chips to serve with

Directions

1. Brown ground beef and then drain fat, return to stove at a low heat
2. While ground beef is cooking, dice Velveeta into small cubes
3. Drain and add can of diced tomato
4. Add bacon crumbles
5. Add cheese and stir until well mixed and cheese has melted and become smooth
6. Serve with ridged potato chips or tortilla chips

My husband and I don’t really shy away from trying the weirdest types of pizza created. We’ve eaten Crab Rangoon Pizza, even one that was inspired by a Big Mac. We toss weird things on the ones that we make, and eat it even if it tastes awful. Not everything can work.

But one thing that did work, and worked so well, was when we were eating Panda Express and both agreed that Orange Chicken would taste AMAZING on a pizza. And oh my did it. It’s a regular meal in our house, but also one of those delicious apps we make for The Walking Dead, or whatever show we stay up late to watch (yeah, we’re old.)

Orange Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

Medium “To-Go Entree” of Panda Express Chicken, Diced Into small pieces

1 cup of Orange Chicken Sauce

8oz Shredded Mozzarella

Pizza Crust Dough

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
2. Roll pizza dough onto greased pan, stretch to fit.
3. Spread sauce onto the dough to coat
4. Spread half of the cheese on as the next layer
5. Spread on diced chicken
6. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-17 minutes until the crust is a golden brown.

Growing up Sloppy Joe’s was a stable in our house. The Manwich kind, it was cheap, quick, and easy. For my dad, he always had to soup them up. My mom would make the base my dad would work his magic, open faced hamburger bun, Sloppy Joe mix, and topped with a slice of American cheese. Toasted in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes. And served with a side of potato chips-usually Jay’s, that Illiois staple. My stomach grumbles just thinking about it.

Eating Sloppy Joe’s a little over a week ago reminded me of that and so Sloppy Joe Nachos were born.

Sloppy Joe Nachos

Ingredients

1 bag Wavy/ridged potato chips

1lb ground beef

1 can Manwich Sloppy Joe mix

8 slices of American cheese

1 bell pepper sauteed

1 small onion sauteed

1 green onion chopped (optional garnish)

Sour cream (optional)

1. Brown ground beef, drain fat and add can of Manwich. Stir until well heated.

2. In bowls add a couple handfuls of potato chips.

3. Top with as much or as little sloppy Joe mix

4. Toss in microwave and nuke for about 1 minute or until cheese is melted

5. Add sauteed onions and peppers

6. Garnish with green onions and sour cream if you so wish

ENJOY!

Hello all! Welcome back! Thank you for hanging in there with me during the hiatus. Life got crazy here, we were doing some renovations and the kitchen was part of that, so we weren’t even cooking our own meals. Holy cow, I’ve been over fast food for so long now.

I’ve been thinking about ideas and upcoming weeks are going to have some delicious options. I’ll be posting new recipes ever Saturday and am super psyched not only for the new season of The Walking Dead starting tomorrow but all of the delicious items coming up.

This week’s app is inspired by sweet and salty and the want to make something quick and easy to share with my adorable dogs.

I give you:

Zombie Grub Popcorn

Ingredients

1 bag microwave popcorn, already popped

1 cup white chocolate chips

Red food coloring -liquid not gel (gel does weird things to the melted white chocolate

Directions

1. Split white chocolate chips into 2 containers and microwave them for a minute and a half, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth.
2. Put drops of red food coloring in one container and stir in, adding drops until you get the color you want- from pink brain colored (as seen below) to blood red
3. Put popcorn in large bowl and drizzle white and red chocolate over the top and stir well to mix
4. Once coated, serve in bowls and chow down!

Mmmmmmmm Braaaaaaiiiiiins

This week’s appetizer is kind of the opposite of my last appetizer. If you recall, the last dip was overcooked to the point that the milk curdled and it was inedible.

This week’s app actually started out as an attempt to make Chicago Style Deep Dish pizza. Publix (our grocery store) was out of the pre flattened pizza dough I like to use (their brand, sold in the mini fridge by the bakery, the stuff is amazing) so I bought the dough ball and thought “Hey, flattening it can’t be too hard, can it.”

*insert canned laughter from sitcoms*

*increase to maniacal laughter*

*crash to sobs*

My husband tried to. I tried to. My husband tried again.

Then he got frustrated and started making balls and tossing them in the springform pan I was planning on using.

Then he put it in the oven for 15 minutes.

Took it out, topped it with cheese and sauce and put in again for the cheese to melt.

And voila. My husband made the app for the week. Giving me a break for a change haha.

And he became a surprise guest chef for the week!

Melvin’s Killer Pizza Balls

1 Ball Pizza Dough

1 Jar Pizza Sauce (use as much or as little as you want)

½ Cup Mozzarella Cheese

Optional: Additional pizza toppings

1. Heat oven to 350 Degrees
2. Roll dough into inch sized balls and place them into greased cake pan
3. Bake for 15 minutes
4. Take out and top with pizza sauce, cheese and any other toppings you may want to add.
5. Bake for 5-7 more minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
6. Take out and enjoy!

So let me get real with y’all her right quick. I’m not a person who makes half a dozen apps just to get the perfect picture, or even the perfect result. This wee’s recipe is one of those times. It was burned. Really bad. The temp seemed perfect in my head, not so perfect when I checked on it. In the back of my head, I thought, maybe just a couple more minutes… But I listened to my timer set and not my gut.

It looked burned. It was burned on top, and had been enough time that the milk products in it even seemed to curdle in a way. So, as you read the recipe below, please know that I modified it to what my gut told me- that couple minutes extra from the “checked it” point. Where it should have been absolutely perfect.

We all have failures, and we all can fix it in the future, so I hope you enjoy what is bound to be an amazing app.

Hot Cheddar and Bacon Dip

16 oz Sour cream

1 1/2 cup Bacon (cooked and crumbled)

8 oz (1 brick) cream cheese

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (separate 1/4 cup on the side for topping)

1. Preheat your oven to 400
2. Mix together all ingredients with the exception of the 1/4 cup of cheese
3. Pour mixture into a 9″ cake pan and spread to even
4. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top
5. Bake for 20 minutes. The cheese should be melted and the mixture should be bubbling.
6. Serve in a hollowed out sourdough breadbowl or in the pan. Serve with chips (potato or tortilla), baguettes, or crackers (the garlic Ritz crackers go spectacularly with it)

Stick to the 20 minute cook time, you won’t regret it!

Ready for some deliciousness?! I know I am. 

This week is a continuation of the chili series!
This week’s recipe is a favorite of Ann. Ann owns a kickass Acura TL Type S that The Munching Dead sponsors at car shows!

Future posts will be going up on Saturday nights so that you can enjoy the app for the show!

On a side note, the bowl featured in tonight’s recipe, I found in this little shop called Mildred and Mables, and it’s by Mud Pie and I just knew I had to buy it the moment I saw it! In case anyone else saw it and needs it too!

In Queso Zombie Emergency Chili Queso!

1 cup chili

1 cup Velveeta cheese

Tortilla chips

Toss the chili and the cheese into a crock pot on low, and let it melt down, stirring every half hour. It takes a couple hours but it’s so worth it!

It can be served as a dip, you can toss it on top of the chips for a delicious nacho topping, Ann loves to throw it over spaghetti noodles, and I’m quite keen on putting it on a messy, yet delicious burger!

I am so excited. This week will be the very first in a series of posts welcoming the fall season. One of my favorite things about fall is the fact that it is getting cooler out and it is now acceptable to make hot food every day of the week. One of my favorites is making chili in the crock pot, because it is so easy to do and, well, I work from home so I get to smell it cooking all day. An insane buildup to the delicious finale at dinnertime. And then so many things to do with the leftovers, and apps have become the one thing that I consistently make with the leftovers.

Chili freezes extremely well, so when I am invited over to someone’s house last minute, and need something to take with, I defrost that chili in the microwave and make something to wow everyone!

This week I am going to start with the very base of all of the recipes, the chili. I make an insanely large batch, and typically use it as a way to clean out all the meat in my freezer that is nearing the time it needs to be purged. You can mix and match meats when you put it in the pot, I remember a time when I had venison, ground beef, chicken, and ground turkey, and you would never know! So remember, when making this recipe, feel free to make it your own. Because, essentially, that is what the point of my chili is.

Ingredients

1lb dried kidney beans (soaked in water overnight)

2lb ground beef (browned)

1 white onion (diced and sauteed)

3 jalapeno (diced and sauteed)

3 green peppers (diced and sauteed)

1 anaheim pepper (diced and sauteed)

1 16oz can diced tomato

1 16oz can crushed tomato

2 packets of McCormick Chili seasoning

1 small can tomato paste (optional)

1. Mix all items in crock pot and leave on low heat for 6-8 hours minimum.
2. Towards the end, if it is too watery for your liking, mix in a can of tomato paste which will thicken it up.

Also a huge shout out to my mother in law for the beautiful crocheted kitchen towel you see below the bowl!

As you may or may not know, the head of The Munching Dead resides in Georgia, and as a result of being in the eventual path of Hurricane Irma, we are on hiatus this week in order to ensure everything is in order for when the storm hits. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to have a delicious app for you next week.

For all of those also in the path, please stay safe and take a moment to make sure your disaster preparedness kits are ready and everything is secured safely outside and around your home. I hope to see you all here once the storm has passed!

-Melissa

Head Creator of Everything Delicious for The Munching Dead