Lynne's Layered Mexican Dip

My MIL makes this easy, yummy dip often when we come to visit :)

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
either a can of chili or homemade hot dog chili
1 can of diced Mexican style tomatoes with diced green chilies
1 bag pf Mexican shredded cheese
sour cream

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Spread cream cheese in the bottom of a medium baking dish. Layer the chili and then the tomatoes. Top with the shredded Mexican cheese and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve hot with nachos or whatever chips you like and sour cream on the side.

Awesome Hummus

I was craving hummus this week and remembered that my friend, Melissa, had sent me this recipe that she said her family just loved. I doubled it and took some to a cook-out this weekend and everyone loved it and was asking me for the recipe. I used an extra garlic clove because fresh garlic is so good for you and adds so much flavor. All the adults loved it, but the extra kick was a little too spicy for my little ones. I also used my basic oil blend instead of just olive oil, and I think that the faint sweetness of the coconut oil was a nice contrast to the strong garlic flavor.

Total time: 5 minutes, Makes 1.5 cups
1 15 oz. can chickpeas ( garbanzo beans), rinsed
1 clove garlic
1/4 c olive oil, plus more for serving
2 TB fresh lemon juice (fresh makes a difference.)
2 TB tahini
1 t ground cumin
kosher salt
1/4 t paprika

>> In a food processor, puree the chickpeas and garlic with the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, cumin, and 3/4 teaspoon salt until smooth and creamy. Add 1-3 TB water as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.

>> Transfer to a bowl , drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika before serving.

This post is part of the Real Food Progressive Dinner! and Kelly's Korner SUYL

Make-Ahead Meatballs -- new recipe review

This recipe caught my eye because it mentioned using cooked brown rice instead of bread crumbs or crackers as a filler. Although I ought to, I haven't started making my own bread crumbs and didn't want to buy a processed kind with mysterious ingredients :) I love Food Renegade's recipes because they contain "real" ingredients instead of processed food. These meatballs were very flavorful and everyone in my family enjoyed them. My 1-year old really surprised me: I gave her a piece of one right after they came out of the oven, and every few minutes she would toddle back over to me, signing, "please" because she wanted more. She ate a ridiculous amount of meatballs that day! I'll be using this recipe from now on!

• 3 eggs from pastured hens
• 1 small onion, chopped (or half a large one)
• 1 1/3 C. bread crumbs (or cooked brown rice)
• 2 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp. Italian herb blend
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 3 lbs. grass-fed ground beef

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the next six ingredients and mix well. Finally, add the beef and mix well. Shape the meatballs into one inch balls (should make approximate 100 meatballs). Place in single layers on ungreased 1-inch deep baking pans and bake at 400F for 10 minutes, until done.

Drain the fats and store for later use or (heaven forbid!) discard.

Once the meatballs and pans have cooled to the touch, place the meatballs (tray and all) into your freezer to “flash freeze” them. After they’ve frozen, remove the meatballs from the trays and transfer to plastic freezer storage bags or other freezer storage.

Keep stored in freezer and remove only as many meatballs as you need at a time. You can thank the flash freezing for that. It helps each meatball hold its individual shape and not stick to the other meatballs around it. This way, you can remove as few or as many meatballs as you need for whatever you’re serving up.

Reheat make ahead frozen meatballs on the stove, in sauces, or in the oven (350F for 20 minutes).

Enjoy!

Heather's Delicious Tomato Basil Chiffonade Appitizers

My friend, Heather, made these for our game night and everyone gobbled them up instantly. And don't be deterred by the amazing title. My friend was telling me the recipe and when she said to chiffonade the basil, everyone else thought that was a pretty cool word (that we didn't know how to do, ha, ha) and instructed me to put it in the title. (And if you are like me and don't know how to chiffonade, click HERE and you will see that it is super easy and takes only seconds :) For best results, slice everything pretty thinly.

Ingredients:
1 thin French baguette
olive oil
garlic salt
pesto (optional)
tomatoes
mozarella cheese
basil

Directions: Slice the baguette; brush olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle with hgarlic salt and broil both sides til just golden. If you want pesto, add it on the top. Layer tomotaoes and mozeralla on top. Broil until the mozarella is melted. Chiffonade the basil and sprinkle on top!

This recipe is a part of Kelly's Korner SUYL appetizers!

Beth's Asian BBQ Meatballs

I recently went to a healthy foods taste party and recipe swap. Everyone made something healthy that their family really enjoys, and brought copies of the recipe for everyone to take home with them. What a great idea! I'm going to be posting some of the recipes that I enjoyed eating there. Here is the first:

This has great flavor, is very healthy, and would make a great appetizer or main dish when served over rice or quinoa

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. freshly grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, mashed
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
1 Tbs. raw honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup ketchup
1 lb. ground beef

Directions: To make meatballs, add 1 egg and a little of the sauce. Slightly brown meatballs in skillet then place in crockpot; cover with sauce. Cook on low for a few hours.

This recipe is part of the Real Food Progressive Dinner and Kelly's Korner SUYL appetizers!!!

Cranberry Orange Dip (in a little crockpot)

I love the combo of cranberry and orange and this is pretty healthy, too, since it doesn't have refined sugar in it :) You can reduce the amount of orange zest if you think its too tangy, but I love it! I found it on this website

Ingredients:

--8 oz cream cheese
--2/3 cup shredded swiss cheese
--2 T apple juice
--1/2 tsp orange zest
--1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

The Directions.

Plug in your Little Dipper to get it started warming up. Shove the block of cream cheese down into it. You may need to squish it in with a spoon. I promise it will fit. Shred the swiss, and add it. Grate the orange and add the zest. Add the apple juice. Cover and let it cook for 45 minutes to an hour. When the cream and swiss cheese have fully melted, stir in the dried cranberries.

Serve with your favorite crackers or apple slices.

Smoky Bacon Wraps

These are not the least bit healthy (ha, ha) but are always a hit at parties, especially with the fellows :) And they are easy!

Ingredients:
1 pound sliced bacon
1 pkg. miniature smoked sausage links
1 cup brown sugar (maple syrup works as well :)

Directions: Cut each bacon strip in half widthwise. Wrap one piece of bacon around each sausage. Place in a foil-lined 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar (or maple syrup). Bake, uncovered, @ 400 for 30-40 minutes til bacon is crisp and sausage is heated through.

This post is a part of KK's SUYL breakfasts!

Grandma Connie's Orange Blossom Sticks

Grandma Connie used to make these whenever we would come to visit and I would just about eat them all in one day! They are the perfect sweet and crunchy treat :)

Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 small orange rind, grated
1 loaf extra thin sliced Pepperidge Farm white bread

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar together; add orange rind. Cut bread in thirds and spread mixture on bread. Bake at 225 for 1 hour.

Donna's Pineapple cheese ball

I love this!

Ingredients:
2 pkg. cream cheese, softened
big can crushed pineapple, drained
1 Tbs minced onion
sprinkles of seasoned salt
crushed nuts

Directions: Mix first 4 ingredients; roll in crushed nuts

Lynne's Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Something Mark just can't get enough of and I love it, too. Better than what you get at a restaurant :) We don't put the tabasco sauce in because we aren't spicy people but a lot of people love it :) You can also make it ahead of time and freeze it!

Ingredients:

1 stick margarine

1 med. Onion (1 cup chopped)

2 (10 oz) pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained

1 (14oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (not marinated)

1 (8 oz) cream cheese

1 (8oz) sour cream

1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt to taste

2 Tbs Tabasco sauce if you want it spicy J.

Directions: Melt margarine in a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach, artichokes, cream cheese, sour cream, ¾ cup Monterey Jack cheese, ¾ cup Parmesan cheese, Tabasco sauce (if desired), and salt. Stir until well blended and heated through. Pour mixture into a baking dish and top with remaining cheeses. Bake at 350 until cheese starts to brown. Approx. 15 min. serve warm with chips, crackers, etc.

Lynne's Party Meatballs

These freeze well, so I make tons at the same time :) We love to eat it over brown rice or quinoa. Its also a great thing to take to a covered dish :)

Ingredients:
2 lb. Ground beef
3 slices bread in crumbs
½ cup milk
¼ cup finely chopped onions
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp. salt

Sauce ingredients:
1 ½ cup ketchup
6 TBS. butter
6 Tbs. brown sugar
3 Tbs. vinegar
6 Tbs. water

Directions for Meatballs: Mix together and shape into 1-inch balls. Bake on cookie sheet 25-30 minutes at 375.
Directions for sauce: Mix ingredients together, simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Add meatballs to this mixture and heat thoroughly

Brandi's Creamy Sausage Rotelle Dip

My friend Brandi Miller makes this for game nights regularly and we just can't get enough of it! Its a fun dip because you can make it as spicy as you want. Mark and I are not big spicy people so we use maple sausage and mild rotelle, but we have friends who love the super hot sausage and rotelle :) I also like to use 1 1/2 pkgs of cream cheese to make it creamier :)

Ingredients:

1 pkg cream cheese (If you like really creamy, use 2 pkgs :)

1lb sausage

1 can rotelle tomotoes

Directions: Mix together in crockpot and serve when hot

Lynne's Incredible Ham Biscuits

These are the most incredible ham biscuits I've ever eaten in my life! Mark didn't even have to beg me to get this recipe from his Mom because I'd already stolen it :) Perfect for showers and covered dishes! I usually make a bunch and freeze in smaller portions so that we can have them for breakfast whenever anyone is staying with us :)

Ingredients:
About 40 party rolls or biscuits
1 ½ lb ham, sliced
1 lb Swiss cheese
Special Spread:
1 stick margarine, softened
4 tsp. minced onion
3 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 tsp poppy seed
3 tsp. dry mustard
Directions: Mix special spread and let sit for about 15-20 mins. Slice rolls/biscuits and fill with ham and cheese. Spread approximately 1 tsp. of mixture on top of each biscuit. Stir each time. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees. (Can make ahead of time and wrap in foil and refrigerate till needed)

This recipe is a part of Kelly's Korner SUYL appetizers!

Lynne's Chip Beef Cheese Ball

Thanks to my mother in law for this yummy spread for chips or crackers!

Ingredients:
8 oz. Cream cheese, room temp.
2.5 oz. Packet Hormel dried chipped beef
chopped pecans if desired

Directions: Cut up chipped beef; mix with cream cheese. Roll into a ball. Roll in chopped pecans if desired. Refrigerate til serving.

Husband’s Favorite Barbeque Beef cups

This is a recipe that Mark insisted that I find. He ate these at every covered dish at his Baptist church growing up and loved them. So I searched online til I found something that sounded similar. Now I make mini-cups and take them to covered dishes and they are always a hit! I usually double the beef mixture and freeze half of it so that I can make these in a jiffy the next time :)

Ingredients:

1 can refrigerated biscuits

1 medium onion, chopped

½ cup barbeque sauce

¼ tsp thyme

1 lb. Ground beef

1 clove garlic, mashed

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. oregano

Cheddar cheese for topping

Directions: Brown hamburger, onion, and garlic together. Add barbeque sauce, seasonings, and simmer until hamburger is cooked. Meanwhile, press biscuits into muffin tins, forming cups. Fill with hamburger mixture and top with cheddar cheese. Bake according to biscuit directions.

This recipe is part of Kelly's Korner SUYL