Penguin Party!

We "invited" some penguins to our holiday dinner this year!

(olives, cream cheese, carrot)

Lipton's white pizza dip

So good! So easy!  Think Really yummy Artichoke dip meets cheesy bread.

1 envelope Lipton® Recipe Secrets® Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
1 cup (8 oz.) ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 oz.)
1/4 cup (1 oz.) chopped pepperoni (optional)
1 loaf Italian or French bread, sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In shallow 1-quart casserole, combine Lipton® Recipe Secrets® Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix, sour cream, ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.   2. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.   3. Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve with bread.

The Dip That Saved Me

I got a Kitchen-Aid Mixer for Christmas. I haven't used it. My oven has been used once since January. My kids are getting sick of pancakes and my husband misses meat. Yes, I am pregnant and am so nauseous that my once beloved past time of cooking for my family has been thrown aside. There is however one thing that I have been craving. It doesn't smell up the whole house and I could eat it by the bucket-load. This dip has literally become my alternative to pancakes and french toast and cold cereal. If it's weird please don't tell me-I don't think I want to know!

Tomato, diced
Large bunch of fresh cilantro, llightly chopped
1/2 stalk green onion, minced
dash or two of lemon juice
handful of chopped black olives
dash of garlic salt

I could eat this stuff straight from the bowl- but then again, I am pregnant. It is also pretty good on corn chips. Matt (my husband) likes to throw in a handful of grated cheese, which is good, but lately- I like it just the way it is.

South Western Wedges

Cut up potatoes
Olive Oil
Season Salt
Cayenne Pepper

Brush potatoes with oil, place in Ziplock, shake in season salt enough to lightly coat the potatoes, do a few shakes of the cayenne, zip the ziplock and shake and bake!

Bake at 400 for about 20-30 minutes
For crispier taters, cut finer wedges or do Fry style!

1 hour bread and Carrabbas style dip

Slightly adapted from the original Pantry Secrets recipe:

10 1/2 C white BREAD flour
1/2 C Sugar
3 rounded TB of fast rising yeast
3 TB (approx) oil or liquid lecithin (don't measure.  Just glug it in so it looks about right)
4 C hot tap water

Mix dry ingredients
add oil and water
mix for 1 min and if it is too dry add water
DO NOT ADD flour after it is done mixing
Spray counter and pans with pam
shape loaves (makes 4) place in pans
Cover with a towel and let raise 25 min
Bake at 350 for 25 min

That's it!  I used 2 loaves worth for the braided loaf.

Carrabbas style dip

1 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp crushed black pepper
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp garlic salt

combine and add 1 TB spice mixture to a small bowl and add Olive Oil to taste.

Wannabe Outback Cheese Fries... in honor of my resolve to diet

5-6 Rinsed and Sliced Russet potatoes
Season salt and chili powder
Bake at 425 until golden brown

Move to a plate

Top with 2-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
and crispy bacon bits

Nuke in the microwave until cheese is nice and melty

Serve and dip in Ranch dressing

Cream Cheese Wonton's

Cream Cheese Wonton's

Filling:

Cream cheese

2 cloves garlic grated or finely minced

fresh snipped green chives for color

lump crab meat (if you like and aren't allergic)

Egg roll or wonton wrappers

These are actually the same thing the difference is size grab what ever your local store has (they are located in the produce section)

1 egg and 1/4 cup water for egg wash

frying oil (your preference olive, peanut, etc)

If you have egg roll wrappers cut them into 4 equal pieces. Add a dollop of the cream cheese mixture to each square. Brush sides of each square with the egg wash mixture.
Pinch up the sides and set onto a drying rack while the oil comes up to temp. (Side tip: use the smallest sauce pan you have for frying. The smaller the pan, the less oil is needed)
Fry the wonton's one at a time (or as the pan allows - do not over crowd the pan it will bring down the temp of the oil). Remove from oil when the wonton has puffed up and is golden brown. This is very quick so don't walk away from the pan. About 30sec each! Remove onto a paper towel or rack to allow any excess oil to come off.

Serve warm :-)

Sweet Crestini

Sweet Crestini

Thin bagguette or day old bread (sliced into thin rounds)

Butter

Walnut Oil (or lightly flavored oil)

Cinnamon

Crushed Almonds

Brown Sugar

Dash Nutmeg

Arrange rounds on a cookie sheet (parchment paper optional).

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat until combined and fragrant.

Brush the mixture onto each bread round (being sure to get some of the almonds on each slice.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until golden (may take less time depending on the size of your bread rounds)

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve with a sweet dipping sauce or along side baked Brie.

Americanized Wontons

Cooked white rice
browned and drained Hamburger
frozen veggies of choice (peas and Carrots are both good)
Cream of mushroom soup (opt)

MIX together in bowl

Scoop on to Wonton wrappers (found in the produce section)

brush outside of wrapper with whipped egg whites and press edges together diagonally.
fry in hot oil.

Voila!  Serve with soy or duck sauce

Beve's Pumpkin Potpourri

a FALL TWIST for Gorp Ingredients: 1/2 c. Wild Berries (Red Jelly Beans) 1/2 c. Owl Rings (Cheerios Cereal) 1/2 c. Colored Flies (M&M's) 1/2 c. Butterfly Wings (Fritos) 1/2 c. Cobwebs (Coconut) 1/2 c. Ants (Raisins) 1/2 c. Earth Worms (Chow Mein Noodles) 1/2 c. Squirrel nuts (Shelled Peanuts) 1/2 c. Bat Bones (Pretzels) 1/2 c. Bird Seed (Shelled Sunflower Seeds) Directions: Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Makes 10 (1/2 c.) servings. A fun treat at Halloween time, thanksgiving time, or any time during the fall. Number Of Servings:How big are the hands grabing the goodies???

Butterscotch fruit dip

2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 (12-ounce) bags butterscotch morsels
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, transfer to a bowl and serve with fresh fruit.

Amuse Bouche-Kiddo style

I thought these were common in every house, but I have met some confused faces when I refer to apples and peanut butter.

Its about the same as "Ants on a Log" (Celery filled with PB and raisins or chocolate chips on top.) But with apples instead of celery.

The fruit kabobs are just small portions of fresh fruit you have around on a toothpick.

These are GREAT for snacks at kid parties... or any parties really. Particularly if you add a fruit dip.

Americanized Won-tons

I need to find my camera charger. This one is with out pics. But they look gorgeous on a plate, so i'll have to post pics when I make these again.

here goes...

~Combine cooked hamburger, cooked white rice, and cream of mushroom soup
(amounts vary depending on how many you need to feed)

~Egg roll wrappers (I find mine in the produce section next to the salad at Macey's)
With a brush or your finger, line the sides of each egg roll wrapper with Egg Whites

~Spoon rice mixture onto wrapper and fold into a triangle. Make sure that you can close the sides. (the egg whites seal the sides)

~drop in hot oil and fry until bottom is golden brown then flip it and brown the top side.

Let it sit on a paper towel for a minute to absorb some of the oil and serve.

We ate this last night with a Green Salad and Strawberries.
Also makes a great appetizer

Steakhouse bites

10 Crackers Keebler® Town House® Original
4 oz deli roast beef, thinly sliced
10 asparagus spear tips, blanched
2 Tbs prepared horseradish
2 radishes, thinly sliced


Directions

1. Top crackers with roast beef, asparagus tips, horseradish and radish slices. Serve immediately.


I haven't tried these yet, but I'm gonna!

Quesadillas

I LOVE HOMEMADE QUESADILLAS!!!!!

I didn't get a lot of variety in my comfort food upbringing. Plus as a kid I was super picky. In High School, my mom started making the plain cheese quesadillas and then later added Salsa. Now that I'm on my own and have expanded my pallet in many, many ways, I still revert to the now "fancy" Quesadilla. It now has chicken, salsa, cheese, guacamole, and sour cream.