Nathan's BDay BBQ Menu

A few weeks ago, Nathan and I invited a couple friends over for a low-key birthday bbq. We had burgers, brats, beers, and a few mean games of BAGS. It was a rockin good time, of course, but my favorite part of the day had more to do with cooking/preparing a few scrumptious dishes than playing bags. Is that weird?

Awesome Buffalo Chicken Dip (serves 15)
2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained*
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces
1 box/bag of crackers/tortilla chips, whatever you'd like!

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and cook on 300 until hot and bubbly (about 20 minutes). Serve with celery sticks and crackers/tortilla chips. *I've made this recipe using chicken that I've boiled and shredded and using canned chicken...and I couldn't tell the difference between the two...

Aunt Dorothy's August Tomato Salsa (variation) (serves 15)
8 tomatoes, diced
2 onion, finely diced
3-4 jalapeno peppers, finely diced*
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely diced
3 teaspoons kosher salt
2 limes, juiced

In a large bowl, mix diced tomatoes, onion, peppers, cilantro, garlic, salt, and lime juice. Then, process half of the mixture in a food processor and add back to the bowl. Chill for 2 hours before serving. *Depending on your heat tolerance, either seed the jalapeno or leave unseeded.

Grilled Veggie Sandwich
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cup sliced red bell peppers
2 small zucchini, sliced
2 red onion, sliced
2 small yellow squash, sliced
1 large loaf of french bread, split horizontally
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Preheat the grill for high heat. Brush vegetables with olive oil on each side. Brush grate with oil. Place bell peppers and zucchini closest to the middle of the grill, and set onion and squash pieces around them. Cook for about 3 minutes, turn, and cook for another 3 minutes. The peppers may take a bit longer. Remove from grill, and set aside.

Spread some of the mayonnaise mixture on both sides of bread, and sprinkle the bottom half with feta cheese. Layer vegetables and top with more feta. Wrap sandwich in foil and place in 350 degree for 20 minutes.