Cheesy Roasted Red Pepper Dip
7oz jar roasted red peppers (about 1C diced)
*I used a 12oz jar and it came to about 1C diced
4 C grated pepper jack cheese (3/4 lb)
8oz cream cheese (I use low-fat)
3/4 C mayonnaise
2 T minced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T Dijon mustard
Preheat oven to 350. Remove peppers from jar and blot excess water with paper towels. You want to make sure they are dry so they don't add moisture to the dip. Then dice 'em up. In a bowl, soften cream cheese in microwave so it will be easier to stir. Add in mayo, onion, garlic, and dijon. Stir to combine and then add in grated cheese and the diced peppers. Place in an 8x8-ish dish (pie plate works). At this point you can pop it in the fridge if you're going to cook it later and you can even make it a couple of days ahead of time. Place in the oven and cook for 30-45 minutes. Baking time depends on the dish. It will start to bubble and brown on the outside edge, and you want it to be bubbly all the way through to the center. It will be nice and golden brown on top, especially around the edges. Mine usually takes 40-45 min.. Serve immediately. If the dip is done and your party hasn't started, just keep it warm in the oven. If you're eating left-overs, or you cooked it ahead of time, reheat in the oven as well. Funky things happen in the microwave. You can serve it with anything that sounds good- tortilla chips, pita chips, crackers (choose a plain flavored one), veggies, or warm baguette slices.
Strawberry Gazpacho .
(Serves approx. 8)
2 quarts strawberries (about 2 lbs.), rinsed, hulled, and halved
1 ripe mango, pitted, peeled, and diced
2 kiwis, peeled and diced
¼ cup sugar or sugar to taste
1 cup white grape juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
½ cup vanilla low fat yogurt
Dice one cup strawberries; combine in a small bowl with mango and kiwi. Reserve and refrigerate ½ cup. Puree remaining halved strawberries with the sugar in food processor until smooth. I don't have a food processor, so I used a blender and needed to add some of the grape juice at this point to help it to blend well. I also didn't make it super smooth because I wanted it a little more chunky. Pour into a bowl; stir in grape juice, lime juice, and remaining diced fruit. Refrigerate at least two hours, or up to one day. To serve, ladle gazpacho into individual bowls. Top with yogurt and reserved fruit.
Winter Fruit Romaine Salad .
1 Head Romaine
1 Head red leaf lettuce
1 Pomegranate
1 Pear – cut into pieces
1 Apple – cut into pieces
1 can mandarin oranges
Cut up lettuce and place in large bowl. Place all fruit on top. Can put pear and apple in Ziploc bag and add a little lemon juice to keep from browning before serving. Mix up dressing and add to salad just before serving.
Dressing
½ cup sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup oil
Roasted Cornish Game Hens
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon-pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 Cornish game hens, about 1 1/2 pounds each, rinsed and dried thoroughly
- 1 green bell pepper, large dice (I used less, maybe 1/2 green bell pepper)
- 2 stalks celery, large dice
- 1 onion, large dice
- minced garlic (optional: I added it to the recipe myself!)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small mixing bowl, stir together salt, lemon pepper, dried basil, poultry seasoning and I also added a heaping teaspoon of garlic powder. (I also 1 1/2 to 2 times the seasoning mixture to make it more flavorful.) Rub olive oil all over the hens and season each with the salt mixture. For best flavor season the cavity of each hen also. Place the hens on a baking sheet pan with plenty of space between them. You may need to use 2 pans. Mix together diced bell pepper, celery, onion and minced garlic. Loosely stuff the cavities of each hen with mixture. Roast the hens in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F and the juices run clear. Remove the hens from the oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before carving or serving.
TIPS: Line the baking sheet pan with foil under the wire rack for an easy clean-up. The veggies and herbs stuffed in the cavities of the hens will impart flavor to the meat as it cooks. Be sure not to crowd the hens on the baking sheets or else the skin won't crisp up properly and they will take much longer to cook.
(Serves 6-8)
1 lb. fresh green beans
Olive Oil
S&P
1 Clove Garlic, chopped finely (optional)
6-8 Slices of Center Cut Bacon
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Blanch green beans for 3 minutes. Toss them in olive oil, S&P, and garlic.
3. Bundle about 5-6 green beans and wrap piece of bacon around the bundle. You can secure with a toothpick. (You can place bacon in microwave for a minute or two before wrapping to speed up cooking time).
4. Place on cooling rack placed in baking sheet and roast for about 10-15 minutes until bacon is cooked.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes 4-6 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds unpeeled red potatoes, quartered
- 3/4 to 1 stick of butter, room temperature
- 1 cup Romano cheese, grated (or a parmesan/romano cheese blend)*I actually used an italian blend and a parmesan blend.
- 5-6 cloves roasted garlic, chopped
- Salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Chives, for garnish
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm; drain. Stir in butter, cheese, garlic, salt and oregano. Mash with a potato masher. Top with snipped chives when ready to serve.
Cake Balls
Serves: 36
Ingredients
- 1 (18.25 ounce) package cake mix
- 1 (16 ounce) container prepared cake frosting
- 6 ounces of chocolate flavored confectioners coating disks or bar (available in white chocolate, dark or milk)
- Food Coloring (optional)
Favorite combinations:
- *Red Velvet Cake/Cream Cheese Frosting and dipped in white or milk chocolate coating
- *Strawberry Supreme Cake/Strawberries and Cream Frosting - Dipped in Chocolate Coating
- *White Cake/Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting - Dipped in Chocolate Coating
- *Caramel Cake/Chocolate Mocha Frosting - Dipped in Chocolate Coating
- *White Cake/Wild Cherry Vanilla Frosting - Dipped in Dark Chocolate Coating
- *French Vanilla Cake/White Chocolate Almond Frosting - Dipped in Chocolate Coating
- *Dark Chocolate Cake/Cream Cheese Frosting - Dipped in White Chocolate Coating
- *Spice Cake/Cream Cheese Frosting - Dipped in White Chocolate Coating
- *Lemon Cake/Lemon Frosting - Dipped in White Chocolate Coating
- *Confetti Cake/Vanilla Frosting - Dipped in White Chocolate Coating
Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box. When cake is finished baking allow to cool for 30 minutes. Crumble the cake into a large bowl. Add the frosting and mix until well combined. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Line a baking tray with wax paper. Use a melon baller as a scooper to form balls with the cake mixture. Place on wax paper. Once you have used all of the cake mixture, place the baking tray in the freezer for 1 hour. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl of the microwave, stirring every 5-10 seconds until smooth. At this point you can add a bit of food coloring if you are using white chocolate.
Remove the balls from the freezer. Using one toothpick, pick up the balls one at a time and dip in the chocolate. Use a second toothpick to slide the ball off the first toothpick onto the wax paper lined baking tray. If desired, top it with a sprinkle of cake crumbs, small candies, or other decorations while the coating is still wet.
NOTE: If the balls fall off the toothpick into the chocolate, they are not firm enough to work with and you'll need to place them back in the freezer for additional time
Once you have covered all the balls in chocolate coating place the tray in the refrigerator until the chocolate coating is set. At this point you can drizzle other chocolate on the balls for decoration.
Can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
