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Recipe of the Week: Crunchy Cheese Crisps

December 8, 2007 2 Comments

This week’s featured recipe comes from Taste of Home. It’s another tasty yet simple appetizer recipe, and it’s also low in fat. Nobody will be able to eat just one.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup finely crushed potato chips
1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch cayenne pepper

Directions
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Shape into 3/4-in. balls. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack. Yield: 4 servings.


Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, Recipe of the Week, recipes

Recipe of the Week: Christmas Pinwheels

November 29, 2007 3 Comments

This week I decided to post an appetizer recipe for the recipe of the week. These pinwheels are very easy to make and will look great on your party table or buffet. And as far as holiday recipes go, this one is pretty light and a perfect counter to all the cookies, candies, and other sweets you’ll be eating this month. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese softened
1 package (.4 ounces) ranch salad dressing mix
1/2 cup minced sweet red pepper
1/2 cup minced celery
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup sliced stuffed olives
3 to 4 flour tortillas (10 inches)

DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and dressing mix until smooth. Add red pepper, celery, onions and olives; mix well. Spread about 3/4 cup on each tortilla. Roll up tightly; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Slice into 1/2-in. pieces. Yield: 15-20 servings.

My Tips & Suggestions

To make this dish even more festive, arrange the pinwheels on a platter in the shape of a Christmas tree. Also consider placing the pinwheels in the shape of a wreath. In the center place a bowl of dip, vegetables, or crackers.
For kids – If you have kids or adults coming over that may not like every ingredient in the recipe, make a separate batch, leaving out one or two ingredients. (ie – a lot of people are not fans of green olives) As long as you have the cream cheese and salad dressing mix, you can do anything with this recipe. Obviously the red and green colors make this a festive looking recipe, but you could also add cheese and/or bits of ham or chicken for the non-vege lovers out there.

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, Christmas, Recipe of the Week, recipes

Thanksgiving Recipe: Marshmallow Pilgrim Hat Cookies

November 19, 2007 2 Comments

INGREDIENTS:
24 chocolate-striped shortbread cookies
12-ounce package of chocolate chips
24 marshmallows
tube of yellow decorators’ frosting

Set the chocolate-striped cookies stripes down on a wax-paper-covered tray, spacing them well apart.
Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave or double boiler.
One at a time, stick a wooden toothpick into a marshmallow, dip the marshmallow into the melted chocolate, and promptly center it atop a cookie.
Using a second toothpick to lightly hold down the marshmallow, carefully pull out the first toothpick.
Chill the hats until the chocolate sets, then pipe a yellow decorators’ frosting buckle on the front of each hat.

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, desserts, fall, recipes, Thanksgiving

Cooking with Pumpkin

November 3, 2007 Leave a Comment

Halloween’s over. It’s time to throw out the old jack-o-latern, but pumpkins are still in season and are great to cook with. Pumpkin Pie is a famous Thanksgiving Day treat, but for a little change of pace, try some pumpkin bread:
Pumpkin Bread
Makes 2 loaves. Prep time: 15 minutes.
Cooking time: 1 hr. to 1 hr. and 15 minutes.
4 cups self-rising flour
3 cups sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 16oz. can pumpkin
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2/3 cup water

Preheat oven at 350F degrees. Grease two loaf pans. In large bowl mix all dry ingredients together. In separate bowl mix pumpkin, eggs, oil, and water together; add to dry ingredients. Fold together until well moistened. Divide batter between the two prepared pans. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove loaves from pans after about 15 minutes cool time.

And for your afternoon or evening snack, make your own toasted pumpkin seeds.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

1/2 Cups Pumpkin Seeds
3 Teaspoons Melted Butter
Salt to taste.

Mix the seeds with the butter and salt. Spread the seeds out evenly on a cookie sheet, and bake at 300 degrees for 40 mins. Prep Time: 5 Min

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, fall, recipes

Sweet Treats for Day of the Dead

October 25, 2007 1 Comment


Dia de los Muertos or “Day of the Dead” is a tradition in hispanic cultures dating back some 2500-3000 years. It is a celebration in remembrance of the dead. November first is known as All Saints Day, and it honors children who have died, while November second, All Souls Day, is celebrated in honor of deceased adults. It is believed that the spirits of the dead will visit their relatives on Dia de los Muertos, and in honor of the dead, the families prepare an alter and leave offerings.

Though it is a Mexican holiday, it has spread and is now celebrated in areas all over the world. In fact, several Mexican communities in the United States now hold Day of the Dead celebrations. Some of these celebrations are said be very traditional, while others are a blend of Mexican and American culture.

Today chocolate skulls and coffins and other Halloween treats compete with the traditional Mexican Day of the Dead cuisine, but the traditional sweets of Dia de los Muertos are still known to be very delicious. In celebration of this holiday or as a special Halloween treat try making your own sugar skulls or Mexican sweet bread, called pan de muertos.

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, desserts, fall, Halloween, recipes

Great Snacks for Halloween

October 21, 2007 Leave a Comment
Today I’ve got some fun Halloween foods that your kid’s are sure to love!
Bugs in a Blanket (from http://www.pillsbury.com/)
Prep Time: 30 min ; Start to Finish: 45 min Makes: 24 snacks
1 can (11 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated breadsticks
24 cocktail-size smoked link sausages (from 14-oz package)
3/4 cup shoestring potatoes (from 1 3/4-oz can)
Ketchup, barbecue sauce or mustard
1 . Heat oven to 375°F. Unroll dough; separate at perforations into 12 breadsticks. With knife or kitchen scissors, cut each breadstick in half crosswise, making 24 pieces.
2 . Wrap each piece of dough around center of each sausage, pinching to seal and leaving each end of sausage showing. Place seam side down and 1/2 inch apart on ungreased large cookie sheet.
3 . Bake 11 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; place on serving plate or tray. Cool 2 minutes.
4 . Insert shoestring potatoes into baked dough to resemble legs and antennae. Decorate “bugs” with dots or stripes of ketchup. 

Sweet Moster Cupcakes (from familyfun.go.com)

2 dozen cupcakes from your favorite recipe
3.4-ounce box of vanilla-flavored instant pudding
green food coloring
1 cup of green melting candy (we used Wilton Candy Melts)
24 large marshmallows
skewers
waxed-paper-lined baking sheet
M&M’s Minis
small serrated knife
chocolate frosting
black gel
2 green Tic Tac mints

1. Bake and cool 2 dozen cupcakes from your favorite recipe. Prepare a 3.4-ounce box of vanilla-flavored instant pudding. Stir in drops of green food coloring until you have a shade you like, then place it in the refrigerator to chill.

2. Next, microwave 1 cup of green melting candy (we used Wilton Candy Melts, available at party supply stores) for 1 minute at 50 percent power, then stir. If necessary, heat in 15-second intervals until completely melted. One at a time, spear 24 large marshmallows with a skewer and roll them in the melted candy, coating the sides. Set them on a waxed-paper-lined baking sheet, add M&M’s Minis for eyes, and place them in the refrigerator to chill.

3. With a small serrated knife, remove a 1-inch-wide chunk from the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a tablespoon or so of the pudding, then spread chocolate frosting around each pudding hole.

4. Cover each pool of pudding with a chilled marshmallow. Add black gel facial features and 2 green Tic Tac mints for bolts.

5. Finally, top each monster head with a bit of frosting and muss with your finger or a fork. Keep the cupcakes chilled until serving time.

Halloween Cat Cookies (from Taste of Home)

 

1 tube (18 ounces) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
54 pieces candy corn
1 can (16 ounces) chocolate frosting
Red shoestring licorice, cut into 1-3/8-inch pieces
9 thin chocolate wafer (2-1/4 inch diameter), quartered

Bake cookies according to package directions. Cool on a wire racks. Cut off yellow tips from 18 pieces of candy corn (discard orange and white portion or save for another use). Frost cookies with chocolate frosting. Immediately decorate with two whole candy corns for eyes, a yellow candy corn tip for nose, six licorice pieces for whiskers and two wafer quarters for ears. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.

 

Monster Burgers (taken from http://www.pillsbury.com/)

Prep Time: 35 min ; Start to Finish: 35 min

8 ground beef patties (4 oz each)
8 burger buns, split
8 slices (3/4 oz each) American cheese
8 thin slices cooked ham
16 slices dill pickle
Ketchup1 . Set oven control to broil. Place ground beef patties on broiler pan. Broil with tops 3 to 4 inches from heat 10 to 12 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, turning once.
2 . Place bottom halves of buns on serving platter. For each monster burger, place 1 cooked patty on bottom half of bun. Cut cheese slice in half in zigzag pattern to look like teeth. Place half of cheese slice on burger, with “teeth” hanging off 1 side of patty.
3 . Loosely fold ham into tongue shape; place on top of “teeth.” Place remaining cheese “teeth” on top of “tongue.” Top with top half of bun. Place 2 pickle slices on top for eyes. Dot “eyes” with ketchup for pupils.

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, fall, Halloween, recipes

Simply Delicious – Creamy Salsa Dip

October 13, 2007 Leave a Comment

With football season in full swing and holiday parties right around the corner, everyone needs quick and simple snack and appetizer ideas. This dip is the perfect choice if you’re looking for something inexpensive and easy. It’s a unique and tasty alternative to salsa that your family and friends will love.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup chunky salsa

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Stir in sour cream and salsa. Cover. Refrigerate 4 hours before serving. Serve with tortilla chips and/or crackers.

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, Recipe of the Week, recipes
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