BLT Dip…

With the Super Bowl a few short weeks away, I thought I would share this with you.

 The original recipe calls for seasoning salt and onion powder. I replaced those with Ranch Dressing seasoning mix. This is simple recipe and a true crowd pleaser.

Serve with crackers, bread or even vegetables. For those who like to get creative, cut shapes out of your bread such as stars, or footballs.

For my dieting friends, you can still have this wonderful dip, just use light mayonnaise, non-fat sour cream and omit the bacon drippings.

 I like to use this instead of mayonnaise on my BLT sandwich.

Ingredients:

1 lbs cooked bacon, crumbled

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon of bacon drippings

2 teaspoons of Ranch Dressing mix

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, cover

Refrigerate for at least half hour before serving.

Easy Spinach Dip…

My dad sent me this recipe; he got it from my step-mom's niece, Metrina.

Spinach dip is the only way I can get my kids to eat spinach. Lucky for them they weren't subject to hours of Popeye cartoons. I do not know how many hours, I had drilled into my head that spinach makes you stronger from watching that cartoon. The truth is Popeye was right spinach does make you stronger. In June 2012 "researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm said they had conducted a study showing how nitrate, found naturally in spinach and several other vegetables, tones up muscles."

So eat your spinach even if you have to digest it in dip form!

 

1-16oz sour cream

1- cup mayo

1-package of knoor's spring mix

1-8oz can of slice water chestnuts, dice up

3-green onion stems, sliced

1-package of frozen chopped spinach (defrost then squeeze out all the water)

Mix everything until well blended, chill for at least 4 hours so it can firm. Serve with bread, chips, wheat thins, or any other thing that taste good but on the plain side.

When you put it in the fridge, you must say good night to it.

Appetizers or Apateezers

If you watch show The Big Bang Theory, you will understand… “Apateezers.” For those of you who have not seen the show… you need to watch season three to get the joke.

The holidays are“party season" and  I thought I would share with you today a few ideas for appetizers.

Hot Macadamia Dip  

This is a nice creamy dip that really brings out the flavor of the macadamia nuts. This is served warm with crackers.

Ingredients:

11 ounces cream chesse, softened

2 Tablespoons milk

1 – 2 ½ ounce jar of dried chipped beef, shredded

1/3 cup onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

¾ cup chopped green pepper

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼  teaspoon ground ginger

¾ cup sour cream

½ coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F

 Blend cream cheese and milk until smooth

Stir in beef, pepper, garlic , ginger,  onion, green pepper. Fold in sour cream, pour into a glass pie plate or shallow baking dish.

In small skillet, sauté the nuts in butter until thoroughly glazed. Sprinkle glazed nuts over mixture and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. This should make 12 to 15 servings

This next recipe comes from Light & Tasty magazine Dec. 2008. If you saw these across a room, you would think they were a version of deviled eggs. The cucumbers are peeled, sliced in half then stuffed. This recipe makes 44 servings.

 Nutritionally, this would be a great choice for healthy low fat appetizers. The breakdown is as follows: 1 canape equals 6 calories, trace fat (trace saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 27 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein. Diabetic Exchange: Free food.

Smoked Salmon Cucumber Canapes Recipe

Ingredients

2 medium cucumbers, peeled

4 ounces smoked salmon, flaked

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon capers, drained

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise; remove and discard seeds.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.

Spoon into cucumber halves.

Wrap in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until filling is firm. Cut into 1/2-in. slices. Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen.

I found this next recipe on Disney.com and even though it is more geared for children, I know a few adults and teens would go bonkers over these cute little Taco Cups. The recipe only makes about a dozen cups. I would suggest you double it if you are having a good size get together.  I think the kids and I will make these for dinner!

Taco Cups

Ingredients:

1 can of refried beans

½ pound cooked and seasoned ground beef

1 cup shredded cheese, you can use cheddar, I prefer a Mexican blend

1 cup of salsa

½ sour cream

½ sliced black olives

1 bag of Tostitos Scoops

 Optional if making for adults - ¼ cup sliced jalapenos

Directions:

Set chips on a large platter and layer each chip with beans, meat, cheese, salsa, sour cream and olives

This next recipe was sent to from my Dad, he found it on cooking.com It is a nice spin on stuffed mushrooms, using Brie and crabmeat. The recipe calls for jumbo lump crabmeat, if the cost is too much you can try using the imitation crab meat. 

Brie and Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

18 large mushrooms, stems removed & chopped

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon garlic salt

2 tablespoons minced onion

1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

4 ounces jumbo lump crabmeat

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

3 ounces Brie, cut in 18 pieces

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F

Wash and dry mushrooms, remove stems.

Place mushroom caps on a cookie sheet. Brush caps with some of the butter and sprinkle with garlic salt.

In a skillet, sauté the mushroom stems, onion and Worcestershire sauce using the remaining butter.

In a bowl, mix crabmeat and mayonnaise.

Fill caps with mushroom and onion mixture.

Top with crabmeat and Brie. Bake for 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and cheese is melted.

The last recipe is from Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade. This would great if you need to transport a dish for either work or family gathering, since it is made in a 4 quart crock-pot. I picked this recipe for my sister, husband and daughter, who if given the chance would live on bacon!

 Spicy Cheese and Bacon Dip

 Ingredients:

16 ounce box of Velveeta cheese

½ pound pepper Jack cheese, shredded. If you can find it, try using Sonoma Jack Cheese

8 ounces of cream cheese, softened

10 ounce can of diced tomatoes with habanero peppers

¾ cup cooked crispy, crumbled bacon

¼ cup diced green chiles

½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Tortilla chips

Directions:

Coat a 4 quart crock-pot with cooking spray, before adding cheeses, tomatoes, bacon, chiles, and pepper sauce. Stir well

Cover and cook on low setting for 3 to 4 hours. Stir once halfway through cooking time.

Serve warm with tortillas

Pumpkin Pumpkin and More Pumpkin

As you might be able to tell, we love pumpkin recipes in our house. Pumpkins are low in calories and high in fiber, vitamin A and C. This is one item; I stock my pantry with during the holidays. Most stores will not stock canned pumpkin year round.

I thought I would give you three recipes today, a dip, cobbler and muffins. The dip and muffins are light on calories.

Pumpkin Dip

Ingredients

3/4 cup (6 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

2 teaspoons maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

24 apple slices

Directions

Place first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add syrup and cinnamon, and beat until smooth. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Serve with apple.

This pumpkin recipe came from Cooking Light magazine.

Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup canned pumpkin

3/4 cup fat-free sour cream

1/3 cup fat-free milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large egg white

Cooking spray

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through salt) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture.

Combine pumpkin and next 6 ingredients (pumpkin through egg white); add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon the batter into 18 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

Combine 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and brown sugar; sprinkle over muffins.

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; cool on a wire rack