Tag: Appetizers

appetizers · Beef · Breads · Daily Thoughts · Super Bowl Recipes · Uncategorized

Italian Meatball Munchies

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

Last night we had spaghetti & meatballs for some friends. Since we had some sauce and meatballs left over, I decided to use them in a new way this evening. Using slices of baguette, we sliced a couple of the meatballs and made our own little munchies. As we were eating them, it dawned on me how great these would be for a party appetizer. Perfect little snack when you are wanting a light meal, but want something with lots of flavor. *recipe for spaghetti & meatballs are on blog

1 baguette, sliced thin

Left over spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
meatballs, sliced thin

Olive oil
butter
garlic powder

Use as many baguette slices as you need. Using equal amounts of butter and olive oil, melt together and add garlic powder to taste. Using a pastry brush, spread the garlic-olive oil-butter mixture onto one side of each bread slice. Place bread slices on a baking sheet and place in oven and broil until slices are lightly toasted.
Remove from oven and turn slices over. Spoon some of the sauce onto each slice and then place a slice of meatball on each piece. Sprinkle cheese over the top and place back in oven and broil until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.

Serve immediately.

appetizers · Daily Thoughts · Holiday Fare · Uncategorized

Holiday Quick Bites

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

One of my favorite magazines is Southern Lady. The pictures of homes and decorating styles won my heart at first glance. The recipes are so Southern and just perfect for home dinners or entertaining. The recipe I am posting today is not only delicious, but a great little appetizer for the holidays in that the red and green will look so festive on your serving buffet or table. Taken from Souther Lady Jan 2017…..

Artichoke &B Sun Dried Tomato Phyllo Bites

2 (14 oz cans) artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
1/4 cup finely chopped oil-packed sundries tomatoes, drained
1/2 teas Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teas garlic powder
1/4 teas hot sauce
3 (1.9 oz) packages frozen mini-phyllo cups, thawed
Garnish:
Chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (If the pans or coated, I don’t use the parchment paper or even lightly greased you will not need the paper)
In medium bowl, stir together all the ingredients except the phyllo cups and garnishes.
Place phyllo shells on prepared pan. Spoon the filling mixture into shells.
Bake until filling is hot, about 12-15 minutes.
Garnish with finely chopped chives.
NOTE:
To freeze, place filled unbaked shells (which you did not thaw to fill)in an airtight container. When ready to serve, remove amount needed and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake at 350 until filling is hot, about 20 minutes.

This is a great and easy holiday appetizer because it can be made ahead and frozen until ready to heat to serve.

appetizers · Breads · Chocolate · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Uncategorized

Cooking With Ginger

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We have a young chef who comes into our community once a month who is absolutely wonderful. Not only does she bring us amazing recipes, but she is funny and just livens up the people who show up. You come away laughing and in such great moods, it is just a great class to attend. Last week she made 4 really good recipes of which I have already made one. It will be one of our staples from now on. Open Faced Caprese Sandwiches. She also gave us the recipe for Butterscotch Peanut bars, Watermelon-Feta-Basil Salad and a summer mixed drink which I will post tomorrow. But today I am posting the Caprese Sandwiches and Butterscotch Bars.
I bet when you read the title you thought this post would be all about recipes which included ginger. Fooled YA!

Caprese Sandwiches
1 Roma Tomato, sliced into four slices
2 tables chopped fresh basil (or more depending on how many slices of bread you are using)
Fresh Mozzarella log, sliced thinly
4 slices of Italian Bread or baguette
Balsamic Reduction *Found it at some Walmarts and also Trader Joes
Butter and Olive Oil

Preheat oven broiler or toaster oven
Gently spread olive oil or softened butter on one side of the bread. Place in oven to lightly toast.
On opposite side of buttered or oiled bread, with a pastry brush, place olive oil on the dry side of the bread that has not been toasted. Place tomato slices on top of bread. (If you are making more than 4 slices of bread, use another tomato)
Top with slices of mozzarella. Again, use enough slices to make however many slices you need.
Place bread onto baking sheet and place under broiler for 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted and starting to bubble.
Top with chopped basil and sprinkle with the balsamic reduction. You may want to sprinkle each slice with sea salt.

Butterscotch Peanut Bars
This quick and easy bar to make taste similar to a Pay Day candy bar.

Bar
1/2 cup butterscotch flavored baking chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup salted Spanish peanuts or salted peanuts
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Glaze
1/4 cup milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 teas shortening

Melt butterscotch chips, peanut butter and butter oven low heat in small saucepan, stirring constantly 3-5 minutes. Cool 5 minutes.
Stir in peanuts and marshmallows. Pour into a buttered 8″ square pan. Cover and place in fridge 30 min or until set.
Melt chocolate chips with shortening in a small saucepan or microwave until chips are melted. In 15 second intervals. Sir after each interval. Drizzle over the cooled bars and refrigerate until chocolate is set.
Cut into bars and keep covered in fridge.

appetizers

Stuffed Artichoke Bites

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If you are already on the lookout for great little appetizers for the holidays, you will want to add this one to your list. Simple and quick, you will fall in love with them.

2 cans quartered artichoke hearts, drained

2/3 cup Progresso Italian Seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup olive oil, divided use

1 clove fresh garlic, finely chopped

1 cup Parmesan Cheese

2 eggs, well beaten

In a skillet, heat about 2 tables of the olive oil and saute the garlic for 1 to 2 minutes. Then add the cheese, bread crumbs and rest of oil. Stir until well combined. Stir in the eggs. Shape around the artichoke hearts and placed on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated 350 oven for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

appetizers · Holiday Fare · Vegetables

Stuffed Red Peppers (Vegetarian Recipe by Melissa Southam)

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What a great recipe to serve at a luncheon (especially at Christmas because of the gorgeous colors) alongside any type of meat, or even combined with a couple of different salads for a beautiful plate of salads. Taken from Frisco Style Magazine, this one caught my eye.

2 red bell peppers

olive oil

7 oz feta cheese (I will probably use the herb & garlic feta crumbles for extra flavor)

20 cherry or grape tomatoes

2 Tables pesto

2 tables water

ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Halve the peppers, cutting right through the stalk. Scoop the seeds out of the cores of the peppers. Brush an oven dish with oil and place the peppers on it. Dice the feta cheese and add it to a bowl with the halved cherry tomatoes. Mix the pesto with the water before adding it and the ground black pepper to the bowl. Stir the mixture before spooning it into the pepper halves. Bake the peppers in the oven for about 15 to 18 minutes or until they bubble and are heated thoroughly.

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Breads · Breakfast · Super Bowl Recipes

Bacon-Cream Cheese Pinwheels

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The first of the Super Bowl Recipes.

3 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tables finely chopped onion

1 teas milk

1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls

5 bacon strips, cooked and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, mix cream cheese, onion and milk. On a lightly floured surface, unroll the crescent dough into one long rectangle; press perforations to seal.

Spread with cream cheese mixture; sprinkle with bacon. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal.

Using a serrated knife, cut roll crosswise into 24 slices. Place pinwheels on ungreased baking sheets, cut side down.

Bake 12-15 min or until golden brown. Refrigerate leftovers, trust me, there won’t be any.

Uncategorized

Savory Caesar Mushroom Caps

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

Great appetizer from Paula Deen.

12 large whole mushrooms

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 ( 8oz) cream cheese, softened

1 teas onion flakes

2 tables roasted pecans (chopped)

1 table olive oil

1/4 teas ground cayenne pepper

3 Tables Briannas Asiago Caesar Salad dressing

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stem. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough ends.

Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Saute until any moisture has disappeared and stems are tender. Set aside to cool.

Combine cream cheese, Asiago Caesar dressing, onion flakes, cayenne pepper, cooled mushroom stems and chopped pecans together mixing well. Mixture should be very thick.

Using a small spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on each mushroom top.

Bake for 20 min in the preheated oven, or until mushrooms are piping hot and the cheese is golden brown.

Uncategorized

Meatballs With Olive Tapenade

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I am in love with tapenade. I fool myself into thinking that if I just have fancy crackers with tapenade that it will keep me from eating so much at dinner, which in turn, would make me loose weight. I just forget to figure in how much fat is in olives. On Friday nights, we love to end the week with a Frication (staying home and watching Shark Tank, Last Man Standing and 48 Hours), all the while munching on appetizers. It is our way of making us feel like we belong with the “in” group which just snacks for dinner instead of sitting down to heavy foods. We just don’t tell anyone how many of these cute little “appetizers” we down during the evening. Let’s just say that the more intense 48 Hours gets, the more we munch. If 48 Hours ever becomes 96 Hours, we are going to need to join Appetizers Annon!

When I found this recipe in FoodNetWork.com Magazine, I knew it would be the next Fri night snack. It combines tapenade with meatballs! What a great combo. I can make this during the week and wa-la, warm it up Fri night, serve it with pita bread and we have a winner folks.

Tapenade (Or buy your favorite)

1/2 cup pitted green olives

1 cup fresh parsley

5 scallions, roughly chopped

1 1/2 tables capers, drained and rinsed

1 small clove garlic, roughly chopped

2 teas Dijon mustard

2 tables EVOO

Meatballs

1 lb ground beef chuck

1 4 oz jar pimientos, drained (patted dry and chopped)

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs ( I will use Progresso Italian seasoned breadcrumbs)

1 large egg, beaten

Kosher salt

2 tables EVOO

2 tables tomato paste

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 tables packed light brown sugar

1 teas red wine vinegar

Prepare the tapenade:

Soak the olives in warm water for 5 min. Drain. Combine the olives, parsley, scallions, capers, garlic, mustard and olive oil in a food processor and pulse several times.

Prepare the meatballs:

Put the beef in a large bowl and add 1/4 cup of the tapenade (reserve the rest for serving).

Add pimientos, breadcrumbs, egg and 1/2 teas salt; mix well with your hands until combined. Dampen your hands and form into 1 1/2″ meatballs.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. *(I like to bake them at 350 on a greased jelly-roll pan for about 15-20 min or until they test done).*See below

If frying, add the meatballs and cook, turning until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. transfer to a plate.

Add the tomato paste to the skillet and cook, stirring about 1 min. Add the chicken broth, brown sugar and vinegar; cook stirring until sugar dissolves.

Return the meatballs to the skillet; reduce heat to low and spoon liquid over the meatballs occasionally until liquid is reduced by half. (about 30-40 min). Transfer to a platter and serve with the reserved tapenade.

*If you decide to bake them, pour drippings from pan to a skillet where you will continue with the directions above to form the sauce.