Mexican Bell Stuffed Peppers with Monterey Jack Cheese!

I love crock pots! When I first moved away from home it was one of the first kitchen accessories I got myself. I had to get one of the largest ones I could find so I could fill it up and make a huge delicious meal to enjoy with friends. In fact, I think they’re so fabulous that they shouldn’t just be used for comfort food or soup in the Winter… they can still work magic in the kitchen in the Spring! Here’s a round-up Spring crockpot recipes to enjoy this year:

1. Crock Pot Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers topped off with Monterey Jack Cheese.

2. This Cauliflower and Broccoli in Swiss Cheese Sauce recipe is a great side for any spring meal! Tillamook Swiss Cheese adds a sweet nutty flavor to these vegetables!

3. Lasagna in a slow cooker?! That’s right, start up the crockpot with this Vegetarian Lasagna featuring Tillamook Shredded Mozzarella and you’ll have a yummy Spring dinner with little effort.

4. I don’t know about you, but tacos are a spring stable in my house. With this Chicken Tacos recipe you’ll be able to make simple, delicious tacos and top them off with Tillamook Cheese and Sour Cream!

5. You might not think spring when you first look at this Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe, but if you had the foresight to start your spring garden and plant some spinach then all you have to do is skip to the garden, harvest your spinach, throw in the artichoke hearts, cheese, and sour cream, and you’ll have the freshest spinach artichoke dip anyone has ever tasted.

What other recipes will you be cooking up in your crockpot this Spring?

By Laura

Love is in the air! It’s finally time to start prepping your plans to win over the heart of your secret crush or longtime lover. Here are some ideas to inspire your craftier side and help you give your valentine a homemade sign of your affection.

Flip your average cupcake on its side – but really. Layer a mason jar with pieces of cupcakes and icing for a festive and portable treat! You can even dye white cupcake batter pink and red for an extra pop of color!

Bake a giant cookie and write a little love note on it with icing! You can bake a stick into the back for an easy cookie-gram handoff to your valentine.

Repurpose Tillamook Yogurt and Sour Cream containers into candy carriers. Cover them in felt and fill with your favorite holiday candies!

Still have some Smile Sticks from your last Loaf Love Tour visit? Remove the handle and cut a hole into the middle of the smile for a lollypop! When the kids lick their lollypop, the smile stick will be in perfect position over their mouth! You can cover the back with felt or paper and write a personalized note to your valentine!

Show your loaf love with a festive homemade lunch! You can easily cut sandwiches into hearts using cookie cutters. Sometimes it’s the little things that show you care. Don’t forget some Oregon Strawberry or Raspberry Yogurt for a little pop of pink!

By Amalya

With the Super Bowl charging closer, it’s time to rally your friends for the big game! Whether you’re a 49ers fan, a Ravens fan, or just excited to see that Destiny’s Child reunion you’ve been holding out for, we can all agree, no Super Bowl party is complete without some killer eats!

Here are 5 tasty dips suited for the Super Bowl and best served in a bowl.

Spinach Artichoke Dip
Spinach, artichoke, and cheese join forces to create the dream team of dips.

Queso Blanco
A little sibling rivalry never hurt anyone! As Jim and John Harbaugh duke it out for the big win, Vintage White Medium Cheddar and Monterey Jack team up in this tasty dip. I guarantee you’ll be making more than one touchdown in the queso bowl.

Smoked Salmon Sour Cream Dip
This may not be one of the usual suspects at your Super Bowl parties, but just like Kaepernick’s single-game NFL record, this dip will surprise and delight your guests.

7 Layer Dip
Seven flavors. Seven layers. Seven reasons you’ll love this dip.

Creamy Crab Dip
Leave the crabbiness to this creamy dip! Your friends will be too busy raving over this dip to get angry that your team scored another touchdown.

By Amalya

Recently, I’ve been catching myself adding a little spice to my favorite cheesy dishes. One of my favorites is to add habañero jelly (a sweet and spicy combination) to my grilled cheese sandwiches. When I realized Tillamook Cheese and habañero jelly are a match made in taste bud heaven, I came up with the idea of combining them into sweet and savory dessert. This recipe takes the delicious flavor of cheddar cornbread and kicks it up a notch with spicy habanero and sweet frosting. 

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients: Cheddar Cheese Cornbread Muffins
¾ cup flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey
½ cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese Shreds
1 egg
2 tablespoons Tillamook Premium Sour Cream
¾ cup milk
Kelly’s Habañero Jelly (I also tried them with Glenmore Farms Marionberry Preserves – delicious alternative if you don’t like spicy)

Preparation: Cheddar Cheese Cornbread Muffins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place cupcake papers in a cupcake pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, corn meal, and cheese. In a separate bowl, beat egg, add milk, sour cream, and honey.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Stir mixture until dry ingredients are fully moistened. Fill cupcake cups ⅔ full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Spoon 1 teaspoon of jelly on top of the slightly warm muffin. Let cool for 20 minutes and frost.

Ingredients: Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz pack of cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup Tillamook Unsalted Butter
2 cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Preparation: Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat cream cheese and butter in a mixer with vanilla and gradually add powdered sugar while mixing until mixture thickens. Continue adding sugar to your liking. Put into a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes. Enjoy!

Best when eaten right away :)

What unlikely combinations will you try making cupcakes with!?!

By Amalya

In celebration of Hanukkah (the Jewish Festival of Lights) my family and I are cooking up some traditional potato latkes served with delicious Tillamook Sour Cream.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
4 cups peeled and shredded potatoes
2 tablespoons grated onion
5 eggs
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons salt
1 cup peanut oil
Tillamook Sour Cream

Preparation
Peel and wash potatoes and shred in a food processor or by hand. Then place potatoes in a cloth or cheesecloth and wring out as much water as possible. In a bowl, mix the potatoes, onions, eggs, flour, and salt.

Fill a deep skillet with the peanut oil over medium-high heat and heat until hot. Place large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the hot oil and press them into patties using a spatula. Brown one side, flip to brown the other side – do this carefully so you don’t splash hot oil. Remove latkes from oil and place on a paper towel to soak up excess oil. Serve hot with a dollop of Tillamook Sour Cream and apple sauce to your liking.

The good news is we can celebrate with latkes for eight days straight!

What traditional recipes do you look forward to this time of year?

By Amalya

Looks fancy, tastes delicious

There are many party themes out there. You can have an Italian party, a murder mystery party or even a chocolate themed night. But when I was planning my next dinner party I could think of no better party theme than Oregon! An Oregon party lets me celebrate all the things I love! My home state makes so many tasty foods, the party is practically planned before you even get started. What better way to start an Oregon party than a salmon dip?

Yields (number of servings): About 14

Ingredients
Smoked Oregon salmon – about 2 inches wide
½ cup Tillamook Premium Sour Cream
¼ cup cream cheese
3 teaspoons capers, diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
5 green onions, diced
2 splashes of Tabasco
Salt and pepper
2 rolls – like hoagie rolls

Oregon ingredients for this Oregon appetizer

With your fingers, shred the salmon into a bowl. In a separate bowl combine Tillamook Premium Sour Cream and cream cheese. Then combine with the salmon. Add lemon juice, onions, Tabasco, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir until well combined. Refrigerate until the mixture firms up a bit (about 20 minutes). You want it to hold its shape.

Cut the end off your rolls and hollow out the inside of the roll so you can see all the way through it. Be careful not to puncture the crust. Use a spoon to fill the roll with the salmon mixture. Cut the filled roll into ½ inch slices.

Tillamook Sour Cream and Oregon salmon start any Oregon themed party off on a delicious note!

By Kelly

Discover yummy recipes that use Tillamook Sour Cream!

Sour Cream is extremely versatile! I’ve found that while it makes the usual appearances in nachos, baked potatoes, and casseroles, it also pops up in unexpected places. Here are a few recipes that unsuspectingly use sour cream and I cannot wait to try:

• Best way to amp up a boxed cake mix? Sour Cream, of course!

• I am not only sharing this because I am an ice cream lover…this just sounds yummy! Peaches ‘n’ Sour Cream Ice Cream!

• Creamy, tangy, and affordable? These pancakes fit the bill! Sour Cream Blueberry Pancakes!

What recipes do you use sour cream in?

By Laura

Sour Cream is the perfect addition to your traditional apple pie.

Everyone has their own family traditions when it comes to the holidays. For my family, our holidays are centered around the food. Lots of food, and that can be a huge production. There is a famous incident where an aunt tried to change the typical Thanksgiving meal to all appetizers. That’s right, no turkey. No mashed potatoes. Just appetizers. Let’s just say, there was a huge revolt and the scheme was never attempted again.

We may try a new dish or two each year but there is a whole long list of dishes that never change. One such dish is the Sour Cream Apple Pie. It’s one of several desserts that is made each year for Thanksgiving but is by far the best one to eat for breakfast the next day. I secretly pray that my family picks the chocolate pecan pie, the pumpkin pie or the lemon meringue pie after dinner, wanting to ensure that my breakfast is safe. There’s something just magical about adding Tillamook Premium Sour Cream to the apple filling. The sour cream transforms the inside of the pie into a silky smooth, rich center. I promise, it’s the best dessert or breakfast pie our there!

Ingredients
1 unbaked pie crust
1 cup Tillamook Premium Sour Cream
1 egg
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon flour
4½ cups peeled and chopped green apples
¾ cup sugar
⅔ cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ cup room temperature Tillamook Salted Butter

Preparation
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Combine the sour cream, egg, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of flour in a large bowl. Toss the chopped and peeled apples with the sour cream mixture, ensuring that all the apples are coated. Pour the sour cream and apple mixture into the pie crust.

In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar, ⅔ cup flour, cinnamon, and butter. This mixture will become your topping. Take about a tablespoon of the butter and sugar mixture at a time and form a small flattened tile in the palm of your hand. Place each tile of sugar on top of the pie, overlapping so that at the end, the pie is covered by the sugar mixture. You can use your hands to manipulate the mixture over the pie so it is all smoothly covered. Place pie in the oven and for about 1 hour or until the pie is golden brown. Eat right away or wait until breakfast.

By Kelly

Starting today, we’re celebrating the season with Tillamook Sour Cream! Tillamook Facebook fans can download a printable 75 cents off coupon!

Head over to our Facebook page and get in on the smooth and creamy fun!

Here are some tasty recipes to cook up with Tillamook Sour Cream!

By Loafy

Home Entertaining Recipepalooza: We asked some of our favorite bloggers to share a recipe and their tips for home entertaining. This recipe comes from Haley Shivers’ blog Love Life Family…and then some. Haley Shivers is the Author and Mom behind Love, Life, Family…and then some. Based in Houston, Texas she has a passion for all things blogging and social media.

Tillamook Easy Sour Cream Enchiladas 

Overview
A hearty and delicious family favorite, these enchiladas are a huge hit every time I make them! Pair with Spanish rice and black beans for a perfect meal. My tip for this recipe is that if you find that the sauce is too thick after adding in your sour cream, you can use extra chicken broth 1 tablespoon at a time to thin it out.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Yield (number of servings): 8

Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 lb), cubed
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Tillamook Butter
8 flour tortillas
2 cups Tillamook Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese, divided
1 ½ cups Tillamook Sour Cream
1 cup chicken broth
1 4-oz can green chiles
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparation
Using a large skillet over medium heat, cook onion and chicken in butter until chicken is cooked through. Next, spoon onion chicken mixture into tortillas, add some cheese, and roll them up. Place the rolls side by side in a buttered 9×13 baking dish, fold side down.

In a skillet whisk together sour cream, chicken broth, and green chiles over medium-high heat. Add in garlic powder, cumin, and cayenne. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Pour sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 17-19 minutes or until cheese becomes lightly brown and bubbly.

About Haley:
Tips for stress-free home entertaining:
“My secret to making entertainment in the home stress-free is to be well prepared. I shop ahead of time so I make sure the day of my event I won’t have to run to the store and lose valuable prep time.”

Kitchen advice for other moms and dads:
“My kitchen advice for Mom’s preparing for a family gathering is to have a fun craft or project to have your kids work on the day of your party (for Holidays, I like to give them a craft kit to create a table centerpiece). Sit them down in the living room with the activity and have dad or another relative supervise. With less to worry about things will go more smoothly in the kitchen while you’re cooking.”

Follow Haley and her blog online:
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By Tillamook