Gooey and Cheesy Warm Bacon Dip

I'm excited to share this recipe with you because it's kind of amazing on 3 different levels.

Level one: ease.  The instructions are literally to mix everything together and then bake it.

Level 2: ingredients.  There are 5, and you probably have all of them in your fridge right now.

Level 3: (you knew this was coming) - the taste!  I'll confess that I personally haven't tried this dip due to the bacon, but I have made it 3 times so far, and every time, it has been completely devoured.  After all, the title kind of summarizes how great it is: it's gooey, it's cheesy, it's warm, and there's bacon.  Win win win.

I made this for my best friend's shower, for a birthday party, and for Kenzie to bring to her friend's shower.  Rave reviews all around.  So many people asked for the recipe, and the best part is that I can actually tell them what to do because it's just so simple.  I like to serve it with sliced baguette, but it would go great with crackers or veggies too.  It's just a super easy and yet deliciously impressive dip that should make an appearance at your next party or potluck!

Recipe:

gooey and cheesy warm bacon dip
from Kitchen Meets Girl

Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup sliced green onion

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Combine softened cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, bacon and green onion.  Spoon mixture into a 1-quart baking dish and bake for 25 - 35 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and hot.

3) Serve with bread slices, crackers or veggies.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

What do you do when the Super Bowl happens to have the Patriots in it, and it also happens to fall on your sports-obsessed sister's birthday?  Obviously the answer is that you throw her a party, even if you weren't feeling the greatest.  And it also means that you probably have to put on some plastic gloves and make buffalo chicken meatballs.

The cool part about these is that they are actually healthy (I got the recipe from Skinny Taste).  There are lots of "hidden" vegetables that you can sneak in there for the carnivores, like celery, carrot and scallion.  They get minced up tiny and mixed in with the meat, garlic and panko.  Then they get baked and slathered in your choice of buffalo sauce.  Nick, being a buffalo sauce expert, requested two different batches, one with regular buffalo and one with some sort of sweet and spicy sauce.  Hey, what did I care?  I wasn't eating them, so I agreed.  The recipe calls for a drizzle of bleu cheese on top of the meatballs, but I left out dipping bowls in case people didn't like it.  This made for some messy bowls, but I think it was still a good decision.

Considering there were only 3 meatballs left after the party - and they had to compete with wings from The Hangar - I'd say they were pretty popular with the birthday girl and her guests!

Recipe:

buffalo chicken meatballs
from Skinny Taste

Servings: 26 • Size: 1 meatball  • Old Points: 1 pts • Weight Watcher Points+: 1 pt 
Calories: 37 • Fat: 2 g • Carb: 1 g • Fiber: 0 g • Protein: 4 g • Sugar: 0 g
Sodium: 135 mg (without salt)  • Cholest: 26 mg


Ingredients:
oil spray
1 1/4 pound ground chicken
1/4 cup panko crumbs
1 large egg
2 scallions, chopped
1/3 cup finely minced celery
1/3 cup finely minced carrot
1 clove crushed garlic
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/3 cup buffalo hot sauce of your choice
1/4 cup blue cheese dressing

Instructions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly spray a non-stick baking sheet with oil.

2) In a large bowl, combine the chicken, panko crumbs, egg, scallions, celery, carrot, and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Using clean hands, mix until combined.  Roll the mixture (1/8 cup each) into 26 meatballs.

3) Place meatballs onto prepared baking sheet and bake until cooked through and golden, about 16 to 18 minutes.

4) Place meatballs in a bowl, add the buffalo sauce and gently toss to combine.  Serve immediately, drizzled with bleu cheese dressing if desired.

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Thingies

I have made these spicy little numbers twice now.  They are the epitome of perfect party food.  I made them first for Ross' house warming/ ugly sweater party.  It was my plan to see how they went over with my family, and if people liked them, I would make them again for Christmas Eve.  Considering only one was left out of 40, I decided they were a hit, and did end up making them for our family holiday party!

The beauty is how simple these are.  No, they're not jalapeño poppers, there's no breading (gluten-free!) or frying (hence the "thingies" name). You simply slice the jalapeños in half and scrape out the seeds (lots of them like to hide near the stem... I found this out the hard way.  FYI, they are the spiciest part!).  Then fill them with softened cream cheese, wrap them in bacon, and bake.  That's it!  I broiled them the last couple minuets to get the bacon extra crispy.

The second time I made them, Nick made the suggestion to add a little shredded cheddar to the cream cheese.  I did that, and they got rave reviews yet again, so if you're looking for some extra flavor, go for it and add the cheese!  Not too much - I used maybe 1/4 cup total.

Obviously I can't tell you how these are personally, but I can tell you that they were devoured, complimented, scarfed, and even cheered when they were spotted at the second party! :)

Recipe:

bacon-wrapped jalapeño thingies
from Pioneer Woman 
serves 10

Ingredients:
20 whole fresh jalapeños, 2 - 3 inches in size
2 packages cream cheese, softened
1 pound regular bacon, sliced into thirds
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, optional

Instructions:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put a cooling rack in a baking pan so the thingies will not cook in the bacon grease.

2) If you have them, wear latex gloves for the pepper prep.  Cut jalapeños in half lengthwise.  With a spoon, remove the seeds and white membrane (or leave them if you like things hot!).

3) If using cheese, mix into the cream cheese.  Smear softened cream cheese into each jalapeño half.  Wrap each half with a 1/3 slice of bacon.  Secure by sticking a toothpick through the middle.

4) Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.  You don't want the bacon to shrink so much it starts to squeeze the jalapeño.  If, after 20 minutes, the bacon doesn't look brown enough, just turn on the broiler for a couple minutes to finish it off.  These are best when the jalapeño still has a bit of bite to it.  Serve immediately.

Taco Dip

I have not posted in my blog for a week, and my excuse is so pathetic: I could not for the life of me decide whether or not I wanted to share the next two recipes.  I kept going back and forth.  It has nothing to do with how delicious they were, because they were great; this one in particular was so great that I made it twice within a week.  It's because of the untimely-ness of the recipes.  Okay, here's the deal: they are  Halloween recipes.  Halloween. As in, October.  And today it's December and so far from Halloween that it's not funny.  I'm having a Christmas party tonight, for God's sake.

I've learned my lesson; I should have bumped this to the front of my recipe list and shared it at Halloween time, even though my rule is to strictly go in the oder in which I have made things.  Because when my next post is spider cookies, I will crush your Christmas spirit and disgust you with my poor planning.  Sorry.

The good news is, you can actually customize this for any holiday.  In fact I will probably be making it for tonight's Christmas craft party.  Even though the official name of it is graveyard taco dip, it doesn't have to be a graveyard!  You create the graveyard with cookie cutter cut-outs of tortillas; they get baked and crisp up and you can stand them up and make a graveyard (I made ghosts, cats, pumpkins, etcetera).  However for Christmas, you could easily make ornaments, trees, stockings, and so on.  It's really about what cookie cutters you have!  And I luckily got a box of 100 for my shower with cutters for basically every holiday, so let the taco dip reign continue!

Now let's talk about the dip itself, because it is so good.  I made it for a mini Halloween party that I had here, and then again for our work pot luck lunch; I even brought the rest of it in to my grad class and we polished it off that night.  Everyone loves it because there is so much goodness to love.  There's a layer of refried beans,  then a layer with a sour cream and taco seasoning. The third layer is my favorite: it's a super cool, creamy and delicious mixture of mashed avocado, garlic, and Greek yogurt (the original recipe called for mayonnaise and I refuse).  I could eat that layer by itself with a spoon, I swear.  The fourth layer is salsa, and then I added my own fifth layer of shredded cheese.  You can finalize the deal with some chopped scallions to make it look like grass, but if you aren't making a graveyard, it won't matter if you skip them.  This is such an easy dip to put together, but it's just so delicious.  Serve it with tortilla chip and encourage people to eat the homemade tortilla chip decorations too.

Happy Hallowchristmas!


Recipe:

taco dip
from Chickabug

Ingredients:
1 can refried beans
2 cups sour cream
1 package taco seasoning
2 avocados, mashed
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup salsa
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
1 bunch scallions, chopped
2 large tortillas for decoration

Instructions:

1) In a small bowl, mix the taco seasoning and sour cream.  In another small bowl, mix the mashed avocados, minced garlic, and mayonnaise.

2) In a small Pyrex dish or plate, layer the beans, sour cream mixture, avocado mixture, salsa, and cheese.  Sprinkle the scallions on top.

3) Chill at least an hour, or until ready to serve.  The dip can be made a day ahead and kept, covered, in the refrigerator.

4) To make the tombstones or other holiday decorations, cut the shapes you want out of tortillas.  Place the cut-out shapes on a parchment paper-lined cookie tray and bake at 350 degrees until the tortillas are nice and brown.  Add the shapes to the dip just before serving.

Corn Dog Muffins

Because I am married, I have now realized that any time I neglect to drink alcohol or take a day off from work, everyone will think I am pregnant.  The problem is, I never really drink, and I did actually get sick last week and miss a day of work.  It's crazy how quickly people have been asking me when they can expect babies.  The truth is, they're going to have to wait a while.  I just went back to school and would prefer to finish that up first.  In addition, Mark and I just moved out of our parents' houses!  We are newlyweds who are also, in a way, new adults.  I think we have to master this part of our lives before we add anyone else's lives to the mix.  It'll happen, but it won't happen any time too soon!

With that said, I have been thinking a lot about our future (hyperactive) children.  I have been reading way too many blogs on how to get your kids to be good eaters.  It is so important to me that my children aren't your average macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, and hot dogs every night kind of kids.  I myself was a picky eater (nothing pickier than a 2-year old vegetarian who didn't like vegetables), and I don't want that for my kids.  I want them to want to eat quinoa, and arugula, and curries.  I don't want them to hate spicy food or fish or even meat, for that matter.  Some of the blogs I follow have young children with more adventurous palates than I do!  I really hope I can stick to my guns and force my little Ajemians to enjoy leeks and polenta and farro!

However, in case one night my sweet darlings throw a hissy fit about millet casserole, here's a good backup plan: mini corn dog muffins.  Now, I made a different version of these before, and Kenzie and I thought they looked a bit obscene.  This time around, I tried a different corn muffin recipe, and I cut the hot dogs into smaller pieces.  That way, they completely sunk into the muffin and didn't poke out, looking downright inappropriate.

I actually made this batch for some kids - Laura's and Cathleen's.  One night they all came over to do some heavy duty work gossip, and I whipped these up for the three little ones.  However, I think Kenzie and Nick liked them just as much if not more than the littles.  And to be honest, I made a few that I left the hot dogs out of, and I enjoyed eating those!  There's something nostalgic and comforting about corn dogs, I tell you.  I'm still dreaming of the vegetarian corn dog I got at a festival 2 years ago.  Maybe next time, I need to try these with my soy dogs! :)

my hungry corn dog muffin eaters, checking out the pond!

One side note, perhaps slightly off topic: I cut way too many little pieces of hot dog for these muffins, but I found a great use for them.  Dog owners, rejoice: it was the perfect way to get Daisy to take her pills!  I just pushed a pill into each hot dog slice, and she devoured it so quickly, she didn't bother trying to spit out the pill (which she does with every single other way I've come up with to get her to take her pills!)  So if you have a strangely mouth-dexterous dog, little hot dog slices may be your new best friend.

Recipe:

corn dog muffins
from the Pioneer Woman
makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup shortening, melted, slightly cooled
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
1 whole egg
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 whole hot dogs

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Combine corn meal, flour, and salt in a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, and egg.  Add baking powder and baking soda to the wet ingredients.  Stir into the dry ingredients.  Add 1/4 cup melted shortening,  stirring constantly.

2) Grease muffin tins and fill them a little more than half full with batter.  Cut a hot dog into pieces.

3) Bake until cornbread is done, about 10 - 12 minutes.  Remove from the pan and serve with ketchup and mustard.

Skinny Queso Dip

You are never going to believe this, but it's true: there is a queso dip out there in the world that is not just one giant heart attack waiting to happen.  I know that low fat queso sounds impossible, or at least tasteless and pasty.  And let me tell you, while I was cooking this, I definitely had my doubts.  There are a few steps where this recipe looks pretty gross (the secret is in the corn starch, but it makes for a pretty weird-looking queso in the beginning).  But honestly?  This dip is amazing.  Hot, cheesy, and full of tomatoes, garlic, onions, lime juice, fresh cilantro, and spices like cumin to chili powder... I am craving it just thinking about it.  I should probably also say that it has two types of hot peppers in there too, but clearly I left them out of mine!

So you are probably wondering, how on earth can queso be skinny?!  As I said, the secret is in the corn starch.  It thickens everything up without the use of tons of cheese.  In fact, there were less than 2 cups of (reduced fat) cheese in this queso dip!  And only a teaspoon of oil used to cook up the vegetables.  Using skim milk to make the corn starch slurry helps too :)  Lots of special little tricks to make a ridiculously delicious and bizarrely low fat (less than 93 calories in 1/4 cup, not including chips) queso dip!  Kenzie and I are proud to admit that we chowed down on this pot of cheesy goodness by ourselves.... and perhaps I started eating it while she napped until I knew I was going to need help stopping myself!

Recipe:

skinny queso dip
from Skinny Taste
makes 11 1/4-cup servings

Ingredients:
1 cup skim milk
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup minced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 poblano pepper, diced (I skipped that)
1 - 2 jalapeños, seeded and diced (skipped)
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
10 ounce can Rotel tomatoes with chiles, diced and drained
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1 3/4 cups shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar

Instructions:

1) In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the milk with 3 tablespoons cornstarch to create a slurry; set aside.

2) Heat a large saucepan on medium heat; when hot, add oil.  Add the onions, garlic, poblano, and jalapeño and cook until soft, about 5 - 7 minutes.  Season with salt, to taste.

3) Add the chicken broth and the rest of the milk.  Bring to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes to reduce slightly.

4) Add the slurry to the pan and stir; simmer a minute until it bubbles and thickens, then reduce heat to low.

5) Add the drained tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and add the cheese.  Stir until it melts completely.  Serve immediately.

Realizing I was about to eat the entire pot of queso alone....

Reuben Pigs in Blankets

Yup, pigs in blankets.  With hot dogs.  Real hot dogs.  I'm trying, I really am, to make some meat every now and then for my family.  I can't say that I want to do it often, since after spending time making food, you want to eat it yourself, and I don't want to eat meat.  But still.  I wouldn't call it a New Year's Resolution, but it's a goal.  Hence these pigs in blankets.

My December issue of Food Network Magazine had a whole section of different kinds of pigs in blankets, and I thought that would have minimal meat touching.  I thought the Reuben ones sounded interesting - although not so good for me, because I don't like hot dogs or sauerkraut.  I also felt like it would be Nick's dream snack, so I refused to even tell him about it.  I made it as a surprise one night when we were watching some sort of sporting event (probably football... it's always football).

These are pretty easy, but make sure you have a nice big work space.  You have to be able to roll out the crescent dough, spread sauerkraut and relish on top, add a hot dog, sprinkle it with shredded swiss cheese, and then roll it back up.  Then they get sprinkled with caraway seeds - real reuben style.  I bought mini hot dogs but then let them rot in the fridge before I remembered I wanted to use them, so Kenzie picked up regular-sized ones and I just cut them up (which was gross).  They are served with thousand island dressing.

The final result?  I tried one and wasn't a fan, but that was expected.  Neither was my mom, but she isn't big on sauerkraut either.  I made a double batch and most of them went.  They were pretty flavorful, and it seemed like people were eating more of them than they planned (I was told they were addictive).  But I think I will stick with healthy vegetarian snacks from now on!  All you carnivores out there, you might end up being pretty popular during the next football game if you bring these with you.

Recipe:

Reuben pigs in blankets

from the December issue of Food Network Magazine

makes 24 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sauerkraut, drained and roughly chopped

3 tablespoons pickle relish

1 8-ounce tube crescent roll

2 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup)

24 beef cocktail franks

1 large egg, lightly beaten

caraway seeds, for topping

thousand island dressing for dipping

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degres and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Combine the sauerkraut and relish in a small bowl; set aside.

2) Unroll the crescent dough and pinch the seams together with your fingers.  Cut the dough in half lengthwise, then slide each half crosswise into 12 strips.  Spread about 1 teaspoon of the sauerkraut-relish mixture on each strip of dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border on one short end.  Sprinkle with the cheese.  Place 1 frank on each strip of dough and roll the dough around the frank, pressing lightly to seal.

3) Transfer to the baking sheet seam-side down; brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with caraway seeds.  Bake until the dough is golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Serve with thousand island dressing.

30-Minute Homemade Soft Pretzels

Pat's birthday was last month and I promised him I'd make him anything his heart desired.  I made a cake for him a week or so after the big day - that post is coming - but the day of, his request was pretzels.  Not surprising, since he also begged for them at the beach (that's when I made the soft pretzel bites).  Like me, Pat is a big time soft pretzel fan.  I had recently pinned a recipe for 30-minute homemade soft pretzels, and I was intrigued by the idea of 30-minute yeast dough.

As usual, it did take me longer than the 30 promised minutes, but I added the extra step of boiling the pretzels.  The blog I got the recipe from said it was optional, but knowing how important the boiling step is to both pretzels and bagels, I insisted on doing it.  It was still quicker than the regular process of making pretzels, though.

The end result was a delightful soft pretzel, all of which were devoured immediately.  I didn't notice much of a difference between these and the ones that rise for hours - maybe a little denser but not that noticeable.  I definitely need to buy myself some pretzel salt; I use kosher or sea salt but it kind of disappears after baking.  Nevertheless, these were puffier and softer than I'd expected for pretzels that don't take any extra rising time!  Definitely a good recipe to keep in mind when you're craving pretzels but don't feel like spending all day on them!

Recipe:

30-minute homemade soft pretzels
from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 3/4 - 4 1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for the counter surface to knead
1 large egg, beaten
course sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.  Set aside.

2) Dissolve yeast in warm water,  Stir with a spoon until fairly mixed, about 1 minute.  Some clusters of yeast will remain.  Add salt and sugar; stir until fairly combined.  Slowly add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time.  Mix with a wooden spoon until dough is thick.  Add 3/4 cup more flour until the dough is no longer sticky.  If it is sticky, add up to 1/2 cup more.  Poke the dough with your finger - if it bounces back, it is ready to knead.

3) Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.  Knead the dough for about 3 minutes and shape into a ball.  With a sharp knife, cut ball of dough into 1/3 cup sections.  This measurement does not have to be exact - use as much or as little dough for each pretzel as you wish; the size of the pretzel is completely up to you.

4) Roll the dough into a rope with an even diameter.  This measurement will depend on how large you want the pretzels.  Once you have your long rope, take the ends and draw them together so the dough forms a circle.  Twist the ends, then bring them towards yourself and press them down into a pretzel shape.

5) The fifth step is "optional" but not in my eyes!  Boil 9 cups of water with 2/3 cup baking soda.  Dunk the pretzels one by one into the mixture for 30 seconds.

6) In a small bowl, beat the egg and pour into a shallow bowl or pie dish.  Dunk the shaped pretzel into the egg wash (both sides).  Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with salt.

7) Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees (mine took longer).  Turn the oven to broil and bake for 5 more minutes to brown the tops.  Watch closely to avoid burning.  Allow to cool and enjoy.  Pretzels may be stored in an airtight container or zipped top bag for up to 3 days,but they will lost their softness.  They do freeze well.

Enjoying her pretzel!

Caprese Bites

Get ready for this, folks: I hereby officially have my very first original recipe to share with you.  Before you send me a congratulations card in the mail, know that I have since seen very similar recipes on the internet, but I swear to you that I came up with this on my own.  Here's the story:

Our garden is insane this year (was, I should say... I think we harvested for our last time the other day :( ) and we were overrun with cherry tomatoes.  Cherry tomatoes everywhere, all the time, in every recipe.  And we gave some away.  And we threw some out when they sat out and rotted.  And there were still cherry tomatoes everywhere.  So, the night of my movie premiere party (yes I'm famous and was on the Lifetime Network), I decided to make an appetizer using some of the bountiful little tomatoes.  Since I love caprese salad, I had the idea of pairing a cherry tomato with a ball of fresh mozzarella and some basil, skewering it all together on a toothpick.  Genius, right?  I was pretty proud of myself.  I know it's a pretty simple idea and it's not like I actually cooked anything... but still.  I was happy that I came up with an idea and was able to execute it without staring at a cookbook.  I'm so rules-oriented sometimes that going away from a real recipe scares me like crazy.

Anyway, nothing scary about this appetizer.  People really devoured them, despite the fact that I had tons and tons of food for them to eat (lots more posts about the premiere party food coming up!).  In fact, Kenzie ate so many that she gave herself an acid reflux attack but said she didn't regret it for a second.

They're adorable, first of all, and so delicious; I salted and peppered them, and gave some of them a quick drizzle of olive oil and balsamic (Mom hates it) to bring out the flavors a little more.  Quick, tasty, pretty, and fun... and mine!!!

Recipe:
caprese bites
from me!!!!!!

Ingredients:
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
10 - 14 small fresh mozzarella balls, halved or cut into thirds
1 large bunch fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to taste
balsamic vinegar to taste, optional

Instructions:

1) Pair each tomato half with a piece of mozzarella.  Depending on the size of your basil leaf, wrap the leaf around the tomato and mozzarella, or stack the tomato and mozzarella on top.  Skewer with a toothpick.  Salt and pepper the skewers, and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste.

Hummus Cups with Cucumber and Tomato

Aren't they pretty?

This is a quick and easy appetizer that is just delicious.  All of the parts are excellent: pizza dough, hummus, and fresh vegetables.  So Joanne and Adam Gallagher (whoever they are) are geniuses for thinking to put them all together.  Basically you take pizza dough and bake it in mini muffin cups, and then fill the cups with hummus and chopped cucumber and tomato.  I made them when Anne came over for dinner and they were all eaten before dinner was done!

I will confess to using store-bought pizza dough and hummus, but I bet this would be even more amazing if you made your own.... which I just may have to do.  The recipe called for Pillsbury pizza dough but I just used a bag.

Don't forget to poke holes in the dough cups before you bake them; if you forget they won't stay in cup form and you'll end up with dough pillows!  I only found this out when I neglected to poke one of them :)

Recipe:

hummus cups with cucumber and tomato
from Inspired Taste
yield approximately 24 cups

Ingredients:

1 can Pillsbury Classic Pizza Crust (or a bag of store-bought dough... or your own recipe!)
1/2 cup hummus
1/2 cup diced cucumber
5 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1) Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly spray 24 mini muffin cups with cooking spray.

2) Roll pizza dough out into a 14x12" rectangle (approximately).  Then use a 2 1/2" cookie cutter to cut out 24 circles of dough.  Press each circle of dough into the muffin cups.  Use a fork to pierce the bottom of each pizza cup, 3-4 pricks per cup.

3) Bake pizza cups 8-10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.  Transfer cups to a cooling rack to col completely.

4) Once cooled, fill each pizza cup with a heaping teaspoon of hummus, and then top with a few pieces of cucumber and a quarter of tomato.  Finish with a sprinkling of salt.

Tomato Bruschetta with Ricotta and Basil

Okay folks, I've found it: this is literally the best appetizer recipe you will ever find, and thus the only one you will ever need (slight exaggeration but not really).  If you like bruschetta (and who doesn't?), this is the greatest bruschetta ever (no exaggeration there).

Alright, I need to calm down, but that is how excited I am about this tomato bruschetta with ricotta and basil.  Easy to make, beautiful, and absolutely delicious: these little guys are honestly such a great accompaniment to any Italian meal.  I made a double batch of them one night when we had a bunch of aunts and uncles and my grandmother over to visit, along with some pasta and bread (recipes to follow!) and they were such a hit.  Betsy said she didn't remember the last time she ate something that good.  And every single one was devoured!

Really they're that good.  The thin layer of whipped ricotta just tastes so amazing and creamy, it's hard to believe it is only made from ricotta, salt, pepper, and olive oil.  The tomatoes are salty and fresh and juicy, but the ricotta prevents them from getting the bread soggy.  No one could believe that there was actually no garlic in them; they are so garlicky, but that's only because you rub each toast slice with a garlic clove!  Add the chopped basil on top and... well my mouth is watering.  Just make these, soon, and you won't be sorry.

One last note - I left out the red wine vinegar and the 3 tablespoons olive oil from the tomatoes, solely by accident, but I thought they were so perfect, I find it hard to imagine them tasting any better with the vinegar.

Recipe:

tomato bruschetta with ricotta and basil

from Sweetpea's Kitchen

yield 12 toasts

Ingredients:

1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered

salt and pepper

1/4 teaspoon sugar

7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 loaf ciabatta bread, sliced crosswise into 12 1/2-inch-thick pieces (I bought pre-sliced at Price Chopper!)

1 garlic clove, peeled and halved

1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese

3 tablespoons chopped basil

Instructions:

1) Combine tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and sugar in a bowl and let sit for 30 minutes.  Transfer tomatoes to a fine mesh strainer and allow to drain.  Return tomatoes to bowl along with 3 tablespoons oil, vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; toss to combine.

2) Adjust oven rack to about 4 inches from heating element and heat broiler; broil bread slices until golden brown on both sides (or just pop them in the toaster if you're lazy like me!).  Brush both sides of each with oil (I didn't) and rub with garlic clove.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3) In the food processor, puree ricotta, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth, about 1 minute.  With processor running, slowly add remaining 3 tablespoons oil until incorporated.  Spread ricotta mixture evenly on toast slices.  Top toasts with tomato mixture and sprinkle with basil.  Serve.

Summer Rolls with Carrot-Ginger Dipping Sauce

When it's summer time, and I find a recipe with the word "summer" in it, it just feels appropriate.  Therefore, when I found this recipe for summer rolls - similar to spring rolls -  in my Meatless cookbook, I wanted to try it out.  They're no-cook, which is good for a hot summer day.  In a way, it is kind of a more fun method of eating your salad.  Different from spring rolls, which can be fried or baked, summer rolls are made of rice paper wrapped around fresh raw vegetables.

Rice paper is really easy to work with.  They come in hard sheets, and you just have to soak them in hot water for a few seconds until they become pliable.  Then they're ready to be filled with vegetables, rolled up, and served with the carrot-ginger dipping sauce - which is amazing in and of itself (it is very similar to my Asian ginger carrot dressing - if you like the dressing at hibachi restaurants, this is the dipping sauce/dressing for you).

Rachael was my expert summer roll wrapper while I worked on chopping the vegetables and making the sauce.  We were a pretty good team.

The end result was, like I said, a fun and delicious way to eat your salad.  These rolls were filled with beets, carrots, cucumber, red bell pepper, and daikon radish, but you could swap different veggies in or out.  In fact, on my mom's request, I added some chopped lettuce to them as well.  The dipping sauce was great and I caught people dipping not only their summer rolls but pretzels in it before dinner!  Everyone seemed to like them, with the exception of Alex, who said the rice paper texture freaked him out.  It is kind of weird to eat a food that is see-through, but I promise it doesn't really have a taste and is just there to hold everything together!

Recipe:

summer rolls with carrot-ginger dipping sauce
from Meatless by Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

for the rolls:
6 rice paper wrappers (8-inch size)
2 cups radish or alfalfa spouts
1 red beet, scrubbed, trimmed and very thinly sliced crosswise (I physically could not slice it so I made matchsticks!)
1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 Kirby cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, cut into matchsticks
3/4 cup coarsely grated daikon radish

for the sauce:
3 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 small shallot, quartered
2 tablespoons coarsely grated peeled fresh ginger
1/4 cup rice vinegar (unseasoned)
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
pinch of each of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup canola or safflower oil
1/4 cup water

Instructions:

1)  Make the rolls: soak 1 rice paper wrapper in a large bowl of hot water just until pliable.  Transfer to a work surface and smooth to make flat.  Place one-sixth of the sprouts, beet slices, carrot, cucumber, bell pepper, and daikon on the bottom third of the wrapper, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.  Fold bottom of paper over fillings, tuck in sides, and roll up tightly to enclose.  Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling ingredients to make 5 more rolls.

2) Make the sauce: puree carrots, shallot, ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper in a food processor until smooth.  With machine running, add oil and then water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream until smooth.  Serve sauce with summer rolls.

Arancini

The night my friends came over and I made the glorious lemon baby cakes  and the sparkling lemonade (and, while we're on the topic, my favorite Greek salad as well), I obviously needed to make something for dinner as well!  While on Pinterest a while back, I came across the magnificent idea of arancini.  The name in and of itself is fun to say and just sounds delicious, and then when you hear that they are deep fried balls of rice and cheese - oh man.  Where can you go wrong with those parts!??!

Here's the thing... I kind of suck at (and am a little afraid of) deep frying.  I tend to ignore recipes that call for frying because it's scary and I always think back to my one frying experience when I tried to deep fry shallots for my from-scratch green bean casserole.  Things did not go well.  The oil kept getting too hot and my thinly-sliced shallots turned into charred black nuggets in seconds - not to mention the dangerous high velocity blobs of scorching oil that constantly tried to find their way towards my arms and face.  So I have not gone near hot oil for over a year.  I even tried to find recipes for baked arancini, and I did see them, but they just didn't look or sound as good as the fried ones.  I had to be brave and try to try once more!

First I had to cook the rice.  Not just any rice can be made into rice balls; it has to be really sticky. I ended up using arborio rice - and making way too much of it, by the way, but that's another story; so is the story about impatiently waiting for the rice to cool.  You definitely want to make the rice waaaay in advance!  Then, you mix up the rice with some parmesan cheese, form it into a ball with a little square of fresh mozzarella tucked inside, and roll it in egg and breadcrumbs.

My expert frying assistant!

Then comes the scary frying part.  The oil has to stay at 375 degrees; this required quite a bit of finagling with the dials, turning it up and down and up and down, but we kept it fairly close to the target temp most of the time.  The first one I tossed into the oil I took out way too quickly because I was nervous.  The recipe says to cook them until they are golden brown, but from my experience, a darker brown was the color to aim for.  Golden brown meant a nicely cooked outside but the cheese inside wasn't melty yet.  Dark brown meant it was done perfectly.  Luckily I had Dani as my frying assistant; I will admit that she was far better than I was at it and less panicky!  Thanks for coming to a dinner party and doing the dirty work, Dani!

The end result?  These guys are delicious.  Crunchy on the outside, gooey and carb-fabulous on the inside, they are absolutely heavenly served with some hot marina sauce.  Everyone loved them and we all agreed that the frying was worth it!  Healthy - not so much, but definitely a good treat :)

Recipe:

arancini (rice balls)
from Just A Taste
yield 8 arancini

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked white rice, cooled
1/2 cup gated parmesan cheese
3 eggs, separated
8 small cubes fresh mozzarella
1 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
oil for frying
1 cup marinara sauce

Instructions:

1) Place a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and add enough vegetable oil to rise 4 inches in the pot.

2) Combine the rice, parmesan, and 1 egg in a medium bowl and use your hands to thoroughly combine to mixture.

3) Form each arancini by taking a small portion of the mixture, squeezing it firmly and stuffing one cube of mozzarella inside each ball.  Repeat this process to form 8 arancini.

4) Whisk together the remaining 2 eggs.  Dip each arancini in the eggs and then in the breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess.

5) Once the oil reaches 375 degrees, add 2 or 3 of the breaded arancini to the pot and fry then until golden brown and cooked throughout.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the fried arancini from the pot and transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate.  Immediately salt the arancini.

6) Repeat the frying process with the remaining arancini.  Serve arancini warm with a side of warm marinara sauce.