Picke "Roll Up" Dip!

 OK.  I know that a lot of people like the pickles wrapped in cream cheese and corned beef. . .but I gotta admit they gross me out.  Just the idea of someone sloppily touching all that food while they prepare it makes me want to gag.  No offense to anyone who makes/enjoys those salty little morsels, but I can't help but imagine someone licking cream cheese off their finger as they roll a pickle in it.  Ugh. . .Gives me the shivers. I will 100% guarantee that on a "potluck" table, I will avoid them completely.  I guess my exception to that rule is if my sister makes them.  I just know she's a hand washer which brings me comfort.

I may not eat the little rolls. . .but the flavor combo is a true classic. . .so I like to make it into a dip/spread and serve it with chips or crackers!  That's way more 'doable' for me! My sister makes this dip as well, and it's always good!

As far as I'm concerned the ONLY pickles to use are the Clausen Pickles!  Crisp and fresh and totally delicious!!!! 

PICKLE "ROLL UP" DIP
1 8oz brick of cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
Corned Beef Lunch Meat, as much as you'd like.  I like a lot. .. so we use a lot.
Pickles. . .diced super tiny. . .again. . .we like a lot so we use a lot.
Pepper

Mix all ingredients together and serve with Potato Chips or Crackers!  Yum!

Heath Bits Toffee Dip!

This is amazing. . . with or without apples.  Took everything in me not to grab a spoon and just go crazy.  The dip is great with apples, but we all know that the apple is just a vessel to get this delicious dip into your mouth. . . My kids absolutely loved it, but who wouldn't?  Definitely a crowd pleaser here people!

Heath Bits Toffee Dip

1 8oz brick of Cream Cheese
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 package of Heath Bits

1.  Mix together the cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.

2.  Add 1/2 the bag of Heath to this mixture.

3.  Spread in a shallow serving dish, and sprinkle on remaining Heath Bits!  (If you'd like, you can drizzle caramel on top. . . I just had some Caramel Ice Cream Topping on hand so I heated it up and drizzled it on!)

4.  Serve with apple slices!

Marinated Ham Sammies

To. Die. For. A few years back I had tasted one of these at a party and couldn't get them out of my head. I came across many recipes, but none measured up. I made them several times and then I found the key: Kings Hawaiian Dinner Rolls.

See, they are a combination of every thing sweet and savory, but if you use regular dinner rolls, and not the Kings Hawaiian, they are just not sweet enough. Trust on me this one, it makes all the difference in the world. Being the Sam's Club shopper that I am, I buy these in a 24 count package for $3.88!

These are great as appetizers, and a must have on Christmas and Easter morning when you wanna pop something in the over without doing any cooking. And I don't know about you, but I am SO OVER all the "egg bakes" of this world.

I have never made them and NOT had someone ask for the recipe. As a matter of fact, once you do make them, not only will people ask for the recipe, you'll be known as "the girl who brought those little ham things" at every future gathering.

I suppose I should mention that there's an astronomical amount of butter involved, but it's the Holidays. . .grab the butter and run with it!

Make them. Seriously. Tonight.

Marinated Ham and Swiss Sammies

24 Kings Hawaiian Dinner rolls, split
24 pieces of ham, folded neatly to fit in dinner roll
24 small pieces of swiss cheese, again, nice and tidy inside that pillowy little roll
3 sticks of butter (take a deep breath. . .you're not eating them every day.)
4 Tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestishire sauce (if your worried about any ingredient is should be this one. . . made from fermented fish. Not even kidding. Saw it on Dirty Jobs.)
3 Tbsp spicy mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar

1. Arrange the bottom of all the buns in a large baking dish. I use a 10 x 15 pan.

2. Top each bun with a piece of ham, a piece of cheese, and the top of the bun. Some recipes say to put mayo on each bun, but the butter has left me feeling guilty enough.

3. Mix together the rest of the ingredients and microwave until melted.

4. Pour over sandwiches, cover with foil, and refrigerate over night.

5. Assuming you were smart enough to make these the night before Christmas, means that in the morning, when the kids are dumping stockings and you want to crawl back in bed, toss these bad boys in the oven, and wait for pure bliss! 350, until everythings melted and gooey. usually about 25 minutes.

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps

2 large chicken breasts, cooked
1 tablespoon oil (for frying)
1 large onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Asian chili pepper sauce (optional, to taste)
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts (drained and chopped)
1 bunch green onions (chopped)
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

1. Chop chicken into VERY small pieces.

2. Heat a medium skillet to high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil.

3. Add chicken and onions and stir fry for 1 minute.

4. Add garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar and chili pepper sauce to the onions. Stir to mix well.

5. Stir in water chestnuts, green onions and sesame oil.

6. Serve in lettuce leaves with fried Rice Sticks (I used the Dynasty MaiFun Rice Sticks)

Mozzarella Sticks

Mozzarella Sticks

12 pieces of string cheese
12 egg roll wrappers
oil for frying
Spaghetti Sauce for dipping

1. Heat oil in a skillet for frying. I don't use much, just enough to fry and flip the mozzarella sticks.

2. Roll each piece of string cheese in an egg roll wrapper, just like you would an egg roll.

3. Fry in oil until browned and crispy.

4. Serve with spaghetti sauce.

Nachos!

It's Tuesday at my house, (Although this won't post until Thursday.) and we have a picky eater. I don't know how it happened. We never offer an alternative to dinner, and there's no dessert or treat for kids who don't eat, but we still have a little girl, who would rather not eat dinner or dessert, than eat something she doesn't love. However, tonight is Tuesday. Taco Tuesday. It's Taco Tuesday at our house EVERY Tuesday. It's the one night a week, where I know she will polish off every last bite of her dinner.

So here we are. Tuesday night. Same old same old. Tacos are actually a huge hit for everyone here. All my kids love them, and they're one of Dave's favorite meals. But I have to admit, I'm a little sick of tacos. Tonight, we mixed it up a bit, and had nachos. Tessa, of course, still had to eat hers in the form of a taco, but the rest of the kids had Nachos. It seems a bit junk-foody, because they're nachos, but we LOADED them with lettuce, onion, tomato, and avocado.

I'm hoping that one day, our picky little girl, will branch out, broaden her horizons, and try something new. I encourage it at each meal. But so far to no avail. But I guess that's just her right now. Until she's ready to branch out. . .we will enjoy tacos. Every. Single. Tuesday.

Nachos!

1 lb hamburger
1 pkg. taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
1 13oz bag of tortilla chips
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag of shredded lettuce
1 onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
sour cream
taco sauce

1. In a skillet, brown the hamburger. Once browned, add in water and taco seasoning. Cook until thickened.

2. In a 10 x 15 pan, dump out about 1/3 of the bag of chips.
3. Top with 1/2 the beef.
4. Add 1/2 the cheese.
5. Repeat layers.
6. Bake, at 350 for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and gooey.
7. Top with lettuce, onion, tomato, avocado, sour cream, and taco sauce.8. Eat!

White Castle Burgers!

Ok, so Dave was sick today, and he's kind of a cry baby when he's sick. Because he can be such a whiner, I wanted to make him a really special dinner. I know what you're thinking. . .Does White Castle really scream "special dinner?" Not for most people, but you don't know Dave. He's obsessed.

It's been said that his Mom craved these little burgers when she was pregnant with him. Where we live, however, there is no White Castle. If there were, he's probably be a thousand pounds heavier. So I found a recipe, tweaked it a bit, and made them for dinner. They were great! SO CLOSE to the real deal!

I put plenty of pictures with this post, so you can see exactly how I did this. It's out there on many other recipe sites as well. If you like White Castle, you gotta give these bad boys a try!


White Castle Burgers!

1 1/2 pounds hamburger
1 onion, finely chopped
1 package Lipton onion soup mix
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
Cheese slices
Pickles
Ketchup
Mustard

1. In a large bowl mix together the hamburger, Lipton Onion Soup Mix, peanut butter, and milk.
2. Sprinkle chopped onions evenly in a 10 x 15 pan. (At this point I toasted the onions a bit, but you don't have to do that.)
3. Scoop the meat mixture over the onions in the pan.
4. Flatten the meat and spread/smooth it out.
5. Put it in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. The meat will shrink.
6. Add your cheese slices. Put it back in the oven for 7-10 minutes (until cheese is melted).
7. Then add the tops of your buns and place back in the oven for about 5 more minutes.
8. Remove burger tops, and top with a pickle.
9. Slice the burgers with a pizza cutter and pick up the slider/top bun with a spatula and set it on the bottom bun.

Veggie Pizza

Veggie Pizza

2 pkgs. of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
2 8oz pkgs. cream cheese
1/2 cup mayo
2 tsp dill
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Fresh Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots

1. Unroll and place crescents in a 10 x 15 pan. Press seams to seal.

2. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until slightly browned. Cool completely.

3. Mix together cream cheese, mayo, dill, and garlic powder.

4. Spread cream cheese mixture on cooled crescent rolls.

5. Chop fresh veggies, and top pizza with a thick layer of veggies.

Bacon Cheddar Cracker Spread

Mmmmmmm. . . Bacon. I adore this lovely mixture. It is so good. I mean, honestly, it's bacon and cheese.

I had this for the first time at a party and I HAD to have the recipe. It has become a Holiday Staple in our home. It's at almost every get together.

You can put it on anything, and it will taste delicious. I like to eat it with Wheat Thins. It's something about the salty bacon with the sweet cracker. Yum. We've also topped baked potatoes with this as well, and it gets all melty and cheesey.

You HAVE to make it. Just do it.

Bacon Cheddar Cracker Spread

1 lb cooked, crumbled, bacon
2 bunches of chopped green onions
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
enough mayo to hold ingredients together

1. Mix together the bacon, green onions, and cheese.

2. Mix in mayo. You only need enough mayo to hold the ingredients together.

3. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

4. Serve with crackers.

Pizza Sandwich Sticks

Pizza Sandwich Sticks

8 slices of good bread
8 slices of smoked provolone cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 jar pizza sauce

1. Mix together butter, cheese, and garlic powder.

2. Spread mixture on to 4 slices of bread.

3. Put bread, butter side down, on grill pan.

4. Top each piece of bread with 2 pieces of provolone cheese.

5. Butter last 4 slices of bread.

6. Top cheese, with last slices of bread.

7. Cook like grilled cheese sandwiches.

8. When sandwiches are done, cut into sticks, and serve with pizza sauce.

Cream Cheese Wontons

Cream Cheese Wontons

1/2 pkg. wonton wrappers
1 8oz pkg. cream cheese
oil for frying

1. Place a tsp of cream cheese in the center of each wonton wrapper.

2. Brush edges of wrapper with water.

3. Fold the wonton wrapper in half forming a triangle. (Corner to corner.)

4. Fold the other two corners toward the center.

5. Fry in hot oil until browned and crispy. (I just use a frying pan with a little bit of oil.)

6. Drain on paper towel and serve.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

1 can of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans of vacuum packed super sweet corn (Green Giant is the BEST!)
1 can super sweet white shoepeg corn (again, Green Giant.)
1 large tomato, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 jalapeno peppers, diced super small
Juice from 1 lime
1 to 2 tsp of cumin
Salt and Pepper

1. Mix all ingredients together and eat with chips!

Chili No Bean Dip

Chili No Bean Dip

1 can Fat Free Hormel Turkey Chili No Beans
1/2 block of 2% Velveeta Cheese
1 small can Durkee French Fried Onions
1 Small can Rotel Tomatoes and Chili

1. Mix all ingredients together in crockpot.

2. Cook on low until melted.

3. Serve with chips!

Cheddar Cheese Ball

Here is another classic recipe of my mom's. I'm not quite sure where she got it, or when she started making it. I do know that it was at every holiday that we had. When it comes to Christmas, our meals were big, but the appetizers were huge! We always started with loads and loads of appetizers. So much so, that in recent years, the meal has kind of gone to the wayside. Sure there's still a ham, and usually some potatoes, but there's no more sit down dinner. We eat our way through the day, and top it all off with lots and lots of Christmas cookies. There's nothing better! I make this Cheese Ball a lot. Not just for holidays. It's become our "date-night-in" staple. Pop in a movie, throw together a cheese and cracker platter, grab a bottle of wine, and there's our date night.

Cheddar Cheese Ball

1 8oz brick of cream cheese
1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp finely chopped green pepper
1 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Worcestishire sauce
Chopped Nuts

1. Mix together cream cheese, cheddar cheese, green pepper, onion, lemon juice, and Worcestishire sauce.

2. Form into a ball.

3. Roll in nuts.

Cucumber Pita Triangles

My mom used to make these a lot for get togethers when I was younger. She didn't use pita bread, however, she used the mini snack size rye bread. You can make it either way. I love both!

Cucumber Pita Triangles
1 Weight Watchers Point for Two Cucumber Pita Triangles

2 Pita pocket rounds, cut into triangles, and separated.
1 8oz brick of reduced fat cream cheees
1 pkg. of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing and dip mix
1 to 2 Fresh cucumbers, sliced

1. Mix together cream cheese and ranch seasoning.

2. Spread a little of the cream cheese mixture onto the pita bread.

3. Top each triangle with a cucumber.

Cheesy Artichoke Dip

Cheesy Artichoke Dip

1 14oz can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayo
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
salt
pepper

1. Mix together artichokes, sour cream, mayo, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 cup parmesan cheese, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.

2. Spread in a small baking dish.

3. Top with leftover 1/2 cup of each cheese.

4. Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.

5. Serve with crackers.