Tag: Party Foods

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 · Daily Thoughts · Holiday Fare · Vegetables

Stuffed Mushrooms

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These great little gems have now been placed in my “oh my gosh why haven’t I made these before? I only have maybe 20 years or so left to eat them” folder! Because we had some friends over last night for spaghetti & meatballs, I started thinking about the left over cornbread dressing from Thursday evening when I made stuffed zucchini. They were so good I had the leftovers today for lunch. They were easy, quick and will be a favorite for any fall/winter dinners that we have.

12 large white mushrooms, cleaned and stems taken out and chopped very fine (the stems, not the mushrooms)
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained very well. I just continued to squeeze the thawed spinach until I couldn’t get anymore moisture to squeeze out.
1 box of sage or herb Stovetop ( I can’t remember what the box said now) cornbread dressing, made according to directions.
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tables Worcestershire
2 tables red wine vinegar
1/2 teas onion powder
Black Pepper to your liking
Parmesan cheese for topping the mushrooms.

Prepare a baking dish by spraying with Pam, big enough for the mushrooms to fit.
Melt about 2 tablespoons of the unsalted butter in a medium frying pan. Add the finely chopped mushroom stems and sauce until they are cooked. About 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the onion powder,and pepper to your liking.
Add as much of the drained spinach as you like. (I used about 2/3 cup.) Stir until well mixed. Add about 1 cup of the corn bread dressing to this mixture. Stir until well combined.
Place about a tablespoon of this mixture into each hollow mushroom cap and then place mushroom in baking dish.
Melt the rest of the butter in a microwave safe container. When butter is melted, add the Worcestershire sauce and the red wine vinegar. Pour over the tops and around the mushrooms. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the tops of the mushrooms and bake in preheated 350 over for about 10-15 minutes or until stuffing is bubbly and mushrooms are tender. d
*Depending on the size of the mushrooms, you might not use all of the stuffing mixture. I had some left over and just spooned it around the mushrooms in the dish so I could eat it all….it’s that good.

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

Totcho (tater tots meet nachos)

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A dear sweet friend sent me a page out of a magazine which gives all the cakes which were popular during the last century. It was so interesting to see how peoples taste change through the years. As I was looking over the cake info, I happened to turn the page over and wa la…here was these delicious looking Totcho’s. For those of you who love tater tots, this one will certainly be one you will want to serve for all those game watching days.

Bake frozen tots as directed on the bag (depending on how many you want to serve will depend on how many tots you use.)
Meanwhile, saute a pound of ground hamburger meat with your favorite taco seasoning. Drain meat, then top the tots with the taco flavored meat. Sprinkle shredded Cheddar cheese and bake for about 5 minutes. Top with drizzled sour cream, chopped black olives and chives.
Add some heat with a drizzle of your favorite hot sauce or Sriracha. Instant Appetizer which will certainly score a touchdown with your guests.

appetizers · Daily Thoughts · Dips · Uncategorized

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

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This morning it was such fun to go to a friends house with 3 other friends to make jelly. It reminded me of stories from women who use to meet with ladies to sew or make jelly or batches of cookies. We had a blast. Some chopped while others measured sugar or vinegar to pour into the pan. One friend sat and cut out the material to make the lids look festive. All in all, it was such a lovely day. There is nothing quite like cooking with other women to bond you into a more fun and deeper friendship. Pass the jelly and grab a cracker…this makes a great hostess gift for the holidays. Pour it over a 8 oz bar of cream cheese and you have a wonderful appetizer that people love. Thank you Shirley for the great morning which is such a nice new memory!

3 green bell pepper, minced
4 fresh jalapeño peppers, deseeded and cut into small pieces
6 cups white sugar
1/2 teas cayenne pepper
1 (6 fluid oz) container liquid pectin
3 drops of green food coloring

In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine peppers, vinegar, sugar and cayenne pepper. Cook over medium high heat. Stir frequently until mixture begins to boil.
Stir in pectin, boil 5 minutes longer stirring constantly and then mix in green food coloring. Skim off any foam and remove from heat.
Ladle into sterilized jars. Seal and process in a boiling-water canner for 5 minutes. (we did not do this, but simply wiped the cleaned jars (and lids) and place lids on the jars when mixture was still warm. We tightened the outer lid and placed jars in fridge, where they will stay.) If you plan on storing these on the shelf instead of fridge, you will need to process in the boiling-water canner.
We doubled this recipe which gave us 18 (6 oz) jars.

appetizers · Daily Thoughts · Vegetables

Caesar Mushroom Caps

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Isn’t it great to receive those cooking magazines that all us to have wonderful evenings when we get to just sit and look through them for new ideas?
Because Fall is (hopefully for those of us who live in the Sun Belt, known as Arizona) right around the corner, it seems like those kind of evenings just come around a little more often than they did in the summer. Maybe it is because our hearts turn to cooking and baking, because after all, isn’t that what Fall is for? As I got out some old magazines last night, while watching Diners, Diners and Dives, this page called to me. Loving mushrooms and loving what great appetizers they always make, it got my attention.

12 large whole mushrooms
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 teas onion flakes
1 tables olive oil
1/4 teas ground cayenne pepper
3 tables Brianna’s Asiago Caesar salad dressing

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

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

Combine cream cheese, 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 in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over each mushroom.
Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven or until the mushrooms are piping hot and the parmesan cheese is a golden brown.

Breakfast · Casseroles · Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Breakfast Casserole You Don’t Want to Miss

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

You are thinking, “oh great, just another breakfast casserole” but wait…this is not just another one. It is probably the lightest and fluffiest one I have ever had. Had breakfast at a friends home yesterday and she had made this. She had been to a breakfast where every lady there requested it. And yes, all 6 ladies there yesterday did the same. I don’t like cottage cheese, but didn’t even know it was in it.

10 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

1 teas salt

1/2 teas pepper

2 teas baking powder

2 cups grated cheddar or jack cheese

1 4 oz can chopped green chiles

5 slices bacon, cooked an crumbled

2 cups small curd cottage cheese

Blend eggs, flour, butter, baking powder, salt and pepper. Fold in cheese, chiles, bacon and cottage cheese. Pour mixture into a greased 9×12 baking dish.

Bake for 30 min at 400 or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean

Serves 6-9 depending on sizes of portion.

Options, can add mushrooms or spinach to batter.

Thanks Marilyn for sharing this with us…it was really delicious.

appetizers · Breads · Daily Thoughts · Super Bowl Recipes · Vegetables

Bruschetta Melts

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One of my favorite foods is bruschetta. Sometimes on a Friday or Sunday evening, instead of making dinner, we choose to just have a plate of bruschetta. When I saw this in a Taste of Home magazine from 2015 (ok, I have been kinda busy and am just sitting down to go through some old magazines) I knew this would be our dinner next time we went for a little healthier dinner than running to Baskin-Robins for a hot fudge sundae. Yes we do that about once a month, nothing like a gorgeous hot fudge sundae for dinner….try it sometime. It will make your heart sing.

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teas lemon juice

1/2 teas seasoned salt (such as Lawry’s)

1/2 teas pepper

1/4 teas garlic powder (I will use probably about 3 cloves as we just cannot get enough garlic, hum…I wonder why we don’t have many friends?)

4 plum tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion

2 tables minced fresh basil

1 carton (8 oz) spreadable chive and onion cream cheese

24 slices French bread (1/4″ thick)

2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

Additional minced fresh basil

Preheat oven to 425. In a small bowl, wish the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder until blended. Stir in tomatoes, onion and 2 tables fresh basil

Spread cream cheese over French bread slices and place on greased baking sheets. Top with tomato mixture; sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake 7-9 min or until mozzarella cheese is melted. Sprinkle with additional minced fresh basil if desired.

appetizers · Holiday Fare · Super Bowl Recipes · Uncategorized

Cheese & Bacon Dip

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Party Season is upon us!  This delicious and easy dip will be perfect for football parties or friends coming over for a visit!

1 (8oz) cream cheese, softened

8 oz of shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teas onion powder

1/2 teas dry mustard

3-5 drops of bottled pepper sauce (such as Tobasco)

6 slices of fried crisp bacon, crumbled

Combine all ingredients and mix well! Place in a greased small baking dish and bake for about 15-20min in preheated 350 degree oven! Serve with chips or crackers

appetizers · Breads · Desserts · Fruit · Holiday Fare · Uncategorized

Caramel Apple Grapes

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img_2946This is another recipe which we got in the class last Thursday, when we leavned about the Monster Cookies. These are so perfect to have on a platter, which can be picked up and pop in your mouth (with toothpicks). Great little party food. We had them in class and they were delicious.

Ingredients

As many seedless green grapes as you need, washed and dried

toothpicks

1 cup caramel bits

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 cup salted peanuts or pecans, crushed very fine

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine the caramel bits with the heavy cream. Stir until melted. Keep warm on lowest setting, till you have the grapes ready to begin dipping.

Dip the grapes into the caramel sauce and then into the crushed nuts. Place on a sheet of waxed paper to set.

That’s it! Pop those babies in your mouth and enjoy!