Meatballs

I recently made this recipe when our local tiny commissary in South Korea was out of meatballs and I needed them for a baby shower for my friend Diana!  Many people said they liked them and I realized maybe I should make homemade meatballs more often vs buying store bought ones haha!  This recipe is easy and versatile.  Use these for party meatballs, spaghetti and meatballs, meatballs subs, etc. My new go-to meatball recipe!

1 beaten egg 

1/2 c bread crumbs (Garlic & Herb for party meatballs, Italian for spaghetti)

1/4 c finely chopped onion

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp black pepper

8 oz lean ground beef

If putting meatballs in a sauce of some kind, you don't need to add any additional salt.  If you were having them as a stand alone item without any sauce, add a little bit of salt, maybe 1/2 tsp or so.  

Place all items in a big bowl and mix with hands until well combined.  Then form standard sized meatballs (about golf ball sized or a little smaller)  and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  

Recipe Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, page 492 (adapted by me)

Picture Source: I Heart Nap Time

Party Meatballs

A staple at every church potluck or Super bowl Sunday partayyyyy!

Mix and put the following ingredients into crockpot on low:

*Note: half recipe below for family of 5 to 7-ish.  :)

1 can crushed pineapple (with juice)
18 oz bottle BBQ Sauce
18 oz grape jelly
2 small bags meatballs

Serve with rice.


Picture Source: Natasha's Kitchen
** Def want to try the meatball recipe and sauce recipe on the picture source!  It looked awesome!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Oh my gosh, this stuff is BOMBBBBB!!!!  We had it at a friends house recently and it was so good.  Serve with tortilla chips.

1 package  (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing
1/2 c Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
2 c cooked chicken
1/2 c crumbled bleu cheese (optional)
(I think when we had it they added in about 1/2 c cheddar cheese)


Combine all ingredients in a 1 qt baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until hot.  Makes about 4 cups dip.  I believe you can also put it in a crock pot.

Spicy Mexican Dip

Very delicious dip right here! We had it at Bunco last night.


2 sticks cream cheese (8 oz each)
2 cans Rotelle
1 can green chills
1 jalapeño (or less, depending on how hot you want it.  Try doing 1/3-1/2 first!)


Simmer rotelle, chillies and jalepeno in a large sauce pan.  Cube cream cheese (1 inch cubes) and stir until melted.  Serve with tortilla chips or bread.  Warning.  Super addicting.

Source:  my friend Cheryl

Cranberry Salsa

My friend Jodi and I recently threw a baby shower for our friend Angie.  Since its Christmas time, we had the theme "Santa Baby" which turned out adorable!  One food item we had was this delicious cranberry salsa.  Jodi made the snowman out of cream cheese, rolled into balls and put the cranberry salsa around the edge of the plate.  She put the crackers on another plate next to the snowman and salsa.  It was easy and so delicious.  


D. Family Cranberry Salsa:

Bag of Whole cranberries

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce

1-2 Jalapenos diced (start with one, add more if needed)

1 bunch cilantro 

6-8 green onions

1 t cumin (I always use 1 Tablespoon)

Up to 1 cup sugar (to taste)

8 oz cream cheese

boil whole cranberries until they pop open

dice jalapenos, cilantro, and green onions together in blender

put the boiled cranberries, canned cranberries, and mixed greens in a bowl.  Add cumin and sugar to taste.  Mix well.

Pour over block of cream cheese.

Serve with crackers

Source: Jodi D.

Top Picture Source :Whats Cooking America

Snowman Picture Source : Six Sisters Stuff

Vanilla, Banana and Coconut Cream Pie

I love this recipe because it is very versatile.  The base of vanilla cream filling is the same and you can alter with a few versions below.  There were also a few other versions I didn't post yet because I want to try them before posting.  I also used this recipe for a baby shower recently.  I made a parfait by putting the vanilla cream in the bottom of a clear cup (1/4 C each), topped with berries and homemade granola.  It was delicious and totally worth the effort.  The mixture of the berries, vanilla cream and granola was perfect in my opinion!

Vanilla Cream Pie

Prep 45 minutes, Bake 30 minutes, Oven 325 degrees, Cool 1 hour, Chill 3 hours, Makes 8 servings

1 recipe Baked Pastry Shell, store bought or whatever pie crust you choose

4 egg yolks
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C cornstarch
2 1/2 C half and half, light cream or milk
1 TBSP butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1.  Prepare and bake the pie crust.  Set aside to cool.

2.  For filling, in a medium saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch.  Gradually stir in half and half.  Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly; reduce heat.  Cook and stir for 2 more minutes.  Remove from heat.

Slightly beat egg yolks with a fork.  Gradually stir about 1 cup of the hot filling into yolks.  Add egg yolk mixture to filling in saucepan.  Bring to a gentle boil; reduce heat.  Cook and stir for 2 more minutes.   Remove from heat.  Stir in butter and vanilla.  Keep filling warm.  Pour into baked pie crust.  Chill 3+hours  before serving.


For Banana Cream Pie:  Prepare as above, except before adding filling, arrange 3 medium bananas, sliced (about 2 1/2 C) over bottom of the shell.  Top with Whipped Cream.

For Coconut Cream Pie: (haven't tried yet).  Prepare as above, except stir in 1 C flaked coconut with butter and vanilla.  Sprinkle another 1/3 C flaked (and toasted would be delicious) coconut over a whipped cream topping.


Recipe Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
Photo Source: My Baking Addiction

Easy Cheese Ball

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 (1 ounce) package Ranch dressing mix

1 1/2 C chopped pecans

In a medium size bowl, mash cream cheese. Mix dressing mix and Cheddar cheese into the cream cheese. Shape the mixture into a ball. Roll the ball in the chopped nuts. Refrigerate covered until ready to serve. Yum!  

Mel's Note:

*You may need to refrigerate mixture for a few hours after mixing ingredients, as the mixture may be too soft to make into a ball unless it has had time to harden again.  

 Recipe and Photo Source: All Recipes

Strawberry Footballs

Its a little late to use these for the Superbowl, but here is a fun idea for your next football party! I made these for a baby shower recently and the theme was football. Anyway, I loved the way these turned out! The link for the original recipe is below, but I didn't follow it exactly.

First, wash the strawberries and let them dry completely. I put them on paper towels and patted them dry. After the berries are dry, I melted Chocolate Almond Bark (found in the baking section) over a double boiler. I only dipped the front of the strawberry in chocolate vs dipping the entire strawberry. I was afraid of running out of chocolate. Looking back, I should have just went wild because I had a lot of chocolate left over. After you dip the strawberries, let them cool on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. When all strawberries are dipped, place the tray in the fridge to cool until the chocolate is solid again. It won't take long, just a few minutes probably.

For the lacing, I melted white chocolate chips and used a disposable piping bag. Using chocolate chips was tricky because it took about ten minutes of struggling with the piping bag to get it the right consistency. First the chocolate was too hot so it was clumping. Then for awhile it was just the right temperature and came out like a dream. Last it was getting too cool and started to get hard again. Looking back, using white chocolate chips looked good on the strawberries because it hardened well, but it was kind of a pain to produce. I might try frosting of some sort the next time I make the lacing. :)

Note: Do NOT make these ahead of time. Do them right before your event. If you put the chocolate covered strawberries in the fridge, they get all watery and weird. Trust me! :)

Original link:

http://www.slashfood.com/2008/01/31/super-bowl-week-chocolate-covered-strawberry-footballs/

We also made some peanut butter football bars. This lacing was produced using frosting.

Marci's Spinach Artichoke Dip

For those of you who know who Marci is, we all know this dip is incredible! We have it at a lot of gatherings with friends and its always pretty much gone. So good! Marci always made it in a medium-sized crock pot. It was perfect because she would just plug the crock pot in and it would stay warm.


1 package of cream cheese
1 can artichoke hearts
1/2 cup frozen spinach- thawed and drained of water
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
a few cloves of minced garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp dried basil
mozzarella cheese



Marci's instructions:
Mix everything together except mozzarella. I usually chop artichokes kinda chunky, but when in a hurry I mix it all in my food processor which makes it kind of pureed. The original recipe was to bake in the oven and put mozzarella on top near the end, but I don't know the temperature or time because I always cook it in my mini crockpot. In my crockpot it usually takes an hour, but it is at a low temperature. I add the mozzarella on top at the end(although I have made it without the mozzarella and it is still good). Yum Yum.

Photo Source: The Food Network

Magleby's Rolls

My friend Rachele had a baby shower recently. Another friend Emily made these yummy rolls for it. The picture isn't the greatest of the rolls, but trust me, they are good. I think its good to have random recipes on hand that are good to serve at parties or showers, and this one def is!

The recipe comes from this website:

http://seasonsatmytable.blogspot.com/2009/01/maglebys-rolls.html

Homemade Roll recipe for 12 or 12 Rhodes Texas size frozen rolls
1/2 cup melted butter. (the original recipe calls to add 1/2 cup mayo to the butter, but I skip this step)
1/2-1 cup grated parmesan cheese
dried parsley flakes, garlic salt


Shape dough into balls or thaw Rhodes rolls just until soft, you don't want them to start rising. Dip entire ball into melted butter and or mayo mixture. Roll entire ball in cheese. Lay on baking sheet sprayed with Pam, several inches apart. Sprinkle with garlic salt and parsley flakes. Let rise and bake according to roll recipe or directions. These are amazing served warm, but great at room temp too.

Fruit Salsa w/ Cinnamon Chips

 This yummy side dish has been served at Cinco de Mayo, Superbowl and Book Club parties. It is delicious. Trust me :)



Fruit Salsa

1 apple peeled and diced
1 banana peeled and diced
4-5 large strawberries diced
1 can mandarin oranges drained and crushed
3 Tbsp crushed pineapple
3 Tbsp jam (I used raspberry)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp white sugar

Cinnamon Chips
Brush one side of tortilla with melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Cut into slices with pizza cutter. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes.

Photo Source: Things That Make You Say Mmmmm

'She's About To Pop' Baby Shower

The past few posts (except the coconut pecan bars), I've listed some recipes from a baby shower a few of my friends and I threw another friend. She is having her first boy. Anyway, since this is a food blog, I thought I'd post some of the food pics from the shower.


The shower idea came from this website:
http://blog.amyatlas.com/2010/12/shes-about-to-pop-bubbles-guest-dessert-feature/

The dessert table

Bubble cupcake pops made with diet coke. I didn't make these, but I wanted to add how awesome I thought they turned out. They have mini suckers on top. You can also see the carmel corn I made (see "Candy" section for recipe).

My "mini whoppie pies!" How cute, right??!! See the "Cookie" section for recipe.
Jello custard pop shots. They were made by tilting the shot glasses in mini muffin tins so the jello could set up. So creative!

Bubble Oreos. Basically, white chocolate covered oreos. SO good :)

The main food table. In the back is the strawberry spinach salad (see my "green salad" section for recipe. To the left is the ham and cheese slider sandwiches. The recipe for that is listed under "Main Dishes: American, and Sandwiches." We also served spinach artichoke dip, a relish tray and fruit salad.

My friend homemade these suckers and they were really good too.

Happy Baby Shower throwing!!

Ham & Cheese Sliders

A few friends and I threw a fun baby shower for my friend last weekend. For the next few posts, I'll be adding the food dishes we had at the shower.


The theme for the baby shower was "about to pop" so we used this recipe because it went with the whole "pop" theme from the poppy seeds. I'll say that originally I didn't think these sandwiches looked super delicious or anything special. I was happy at how wrong I was! They were really good and we had a lot of compliments on them. So, make these little sandwiches for your next birthday party or baby shower. Trust me. Everyone will love them :)


I'll add that the picture above is not the sandwiches I made. Sadly, I forgot to get a picture. :( The ones we made were on buns that were a little bit larger and they looked awesome.



Go to this link for the original recipe.
http://www.justcookalready.com/2010/01/ham-cheese-sliders.html


Recipe:
24 good white rolls
24 pieces good honey ham (we used 2 slices of thinly sliced ham per roll)
24 small slices swiss cheese or 12 slices, cut in half. (we used the pre-sliced kind)
1/3 mayo
1/3 cup miracle whip




{poppy seed sauce}


1 1/2 TBSP poppy seeds
1 1/2 TBSP yellow mustard
1 stick butter, melted
1 TBSP minced onion
1/2 tsp. worschestershire sauce


In a small bowl, mix together mayo & miracle whip. Spread into both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham & a slice of swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls & place into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.


In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. Let sit 10 minutes, or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil & bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover & cook for 2 additional minutes. serve warm.

Lil' Smokies

Bake Time: 20 minutes
Temperature: 400 degrees

INGREDIENTS:

1 package Little Smokeys hot dog sausages
1 package bacon
brown sugar
toothpicks
tinfoil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut slices of bacon in half.
2. Wrap each half slice of bacon around a little smokey and pin it with a toothpick.
3. Thickly coat in brown sugar.
4. Place on a tinfoil-lined pan. If not, your pan will never be clean again!
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or longer if you like the bacon cooked more.

Photo Source: Tasty Kitchen

Butterflied Coconut Shrimp

Coconut Butterflied Shrimp

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb large shrimp, shelled with tails intact
1 extra large egg
6 TBS milk
1 TBS brown sugar
½ C all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
4 oz (1 1/3 C) unsweetened shredded coconut
vegetable oil for frying

DIRECTIONS:

1. Butterfly shrimp by cutting along curved back almost through other side. Open each shrimp like a book and remove intestinal vein. Rinse gently under cold running water.
2. Whisk the egg, milk and sugar in mixing bowl until smooth. Gradually whisk in flour and salt, then continue whisking constantly until batter is perfectly smooth. Let stand 30 minutes.
3. Spread coconut in a thin layer on baking sheet. Hold one shrimp by the tail and dip in batter, making sure batter coats all surfaces. Wipe shrimp against rim of bowl to remove excess batter and place on coconut. Repeat with remaining shrimp.
4. Turn each shrimp in coconut to lightly coat and place on wire rack to allow coating to set.
5. Pour enough oil into large deep skillet to measure 1 inch. Heat over medium high heat until end of shrimp dipped in oil sizzles at once. OR If available, use a deep fryer; it is much easier.
6. Add half the shrimp to skillet and fry, turning once, until shrimp are cooked through and coating deep golden brown, about 2 minutes.
7. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to paper towels to drain briefly. Fry remaining shrimp in same manner. Serve as a hot appetizer.


Coconut Shrimp Dipping Sauce
(Note: I am looking for another dipping sauce recipe.  This one is still good, just not "The One").
Mix Together:
½ C orange marmalade
¼ C Dijon mustard
¼ C honey
shredded ginger
optional: few drops hot pepper sauce


Recipe Source: My SIL Heather, not sure where she got the recipe.
Photo Source: Forkful of Comfort