Meatballs
- 1 can jellied cranberry sauce
- 1 bottle chili sauce (For the record, I would have liked to use the "Homemade Chili Sauce" that they sell in the short, fat bottles at some stores, but the two that I went to did not carry it, so I had to settle for the Heinz variety)
- 1 tbs brown sugar
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- Tabasco, to taste
- Meatballs (I used the ones from Costco)
Directions
- Cook meatballs as insturcted on packaging.
- Combine all other ingredients in a slow cooker on medium.
- Add meatballs to sauce and stir.
Homemade Onion Dip
Ingredients
- 2 large yellow onions
- 4 tbs unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
Directions:
- Cut the onions in half and then slice them into 1/8-inch thick half-rounds.
- Heat the butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
- Add the onions, cayenne, brown sugar, salt, and pepper and saute for 10 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes (or more) until the onions are browned and caramelized. Allow the onions to cool.
- While onions are cooking, place the cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise in a bowl and beat until smooth.
- Add the onions and mix well.
- Flavors mix best if you allow the dip to chill overnight... But good luck waiting that long :-)
- Serve at room temperature!
Chipotle Chicken Mini Tostadas
Ingredients
- 2 boneless/skinless chicken boobs
- 1 chipotle pepper, left whole
- 1 tbs +/- adobo sauce from the can of chipotles
- 1 cup taco sauce (I used Herdez green sauce)
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 3 minced cloves garlic
- A couple of shakes taco seasoning
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt and pepper
- Guacamole (store-bought or homemade... I made mine: avocados, onion, roma tomatoes, lime juice, S&P, cumin)
- Large, sturdy tortilla chips
- Jalapeno pesto (optional, but quite spicy and delicious) (2-3 jalapenos [charred over open flame], 1 bunch cilantro, lime juice, bottled/pickled jalapeno slices [6-8 slices and tbs juices +/-], 2/3 cup parmesean cheese, 1/2 cup cashews +/-, 1/2 cup olive oil +/-. Combine everything in food processor.)
Directions:
- Combine chicken, chipotle, adobo, taco sauce, onion, garlic, taco seasoning, lime, and S&P in large Ziplock bag and allow to marinate overnight.
- Dump the contents of the bag into slow cooker.
- Cook until done-- 3-4 hours on high.
- Discard chipotle pepper, if desired.
- Shred chicken and mix with sauce.
- Top each chip with a scoop of guacamole, the chipotle chicken, and serve with jalapeno pesto on the side.
Spinach Ricotta Cups
Ingredients:
- Cooking spray
- 24 square wonton wrappers
- 1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 10-ounce frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
- 3 eggs
- 2 tbs cream
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- Dash cayenne pepper
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 24 square wonton wrappers
- 1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 10-ounce frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
- 3 eggs
- 2 tbs cream
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- Dash cayenne pepper
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly spray the cups of a 12-muffin pan with the cooking spray.
- Gently press one wrapper into reach cup.
- Bake for 6 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining wrappers.
- In a small bowl combine the ricotta, spinach, eggs, cream, garlic, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, cayenne, and Parmesan.
- Replace 12 of the baked cups into the muffin pan. Fill each with one tablespoon of filling mixture.
- Lay a piece of aluminum foil lightly over the pan and return to the oven.
- Bake for 17 minutes (still at 350 degrees).
- Remove to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining cups and filling.
7-Layer Greek Dip
YUUUMMM!!!
My dish looked like this within minutes... down to one corner
Ingredients:
- 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
- 1 tsp. Greek seasoning
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cup hummus
- 1 1/2 cup seeded, diced cucumbers
- 1 cup seeded, diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped Kalamata olives
- 1/3 cup chopped green onions
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cup hummus
- 1 1/2 cup seeded, diced cucumbers
- 1 cup seeded, diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped Kalamata olives
- 1/3 cup chopped green onions
- 1/2 c. crumbled Feta cheese
- 1/8-1/4 c. minced fresh parsley
- 1/8-1/4 c. minced fresh parsley
Directions:
- With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, seasoning, garlic, and lemon juice until light and fluffy.
- Spread in the bottom of a pie plate or a small, shallow baking dish.
- Spread a layer of hummus.
- In order, create layers by sprinkling the cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onions, Feta cheese, and parsley.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Serve with pita chips
**Note, this is the original recipe. I used a roasted garlic hummus, so I left out the garlic from the cream cheese mixture and let the hummus carry the garlic taste for the dip.
Pesto Chicken Pizza
Ingredients:
- Pizza Crust (I use Boboli, but certainly a good homemade thin crust would be great)
- Pesto, mine uses:
-- Fresh Basil (handful)
-- Thawed frozen peas (handful)
-- Cashews (you guessed it... a handful)
-- Parmesan cheese
-- 3 cloves garlic
-- Dash hot sauce
-- Olive Oil
-- Salt and Pepper
- Grated pepper jack cheese
- Cooked Chicken pieces
- Chopped marinated artichoke hearts
- Chopped Cashews
Directions:
Come on, people. This isn't rocket science. Just make the pizza using the pesto as the sauce instead of a red sauce.
Yum, Yum, Yum.
