Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

Ingredients:

10 oz bacon cut into thirds
2 (8oz) cans whole water chestnuts, drained
1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c bbq sauce

2 T soy sauce

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400F.  
• Wrap each slice of bacon around a water chestnut and secure with a toothpick
• Arrange in a 9 x13 baking dish, set aside.  
• Whisk the brown sugar, bbq sauce, and soy sauce together
• Brush sauce over each bacon wrapped chestnut
• Bake for 30 minutes, brushing with sauce halfway through
• Enjoy

Made for Thanksgiving 2024, tasty, make sure the bacon gets crispy.  

Everyone enjoyed but said water chestnuts were odd.  

Antipasta Skewers

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
8 oz mozzarella balls
4 oz salami sliced ( rolled and folded to fit on skewers)
1/2 jar sweet/spicey peppers (sliced into bite sized pieces)
1 bunch basil (chop )
1 sm. jar artichoke hearts (bite sized pieces)
1/2 jar kalamata olives (also green olives work)
Small skewers

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Directions:

Build the skewers with a mozzarella ball, salami, pepper, basil piece, artichoke heart, olive. I repeated as my skewers were 4 " long.


Place the skewers on a platter and drizzle the olive oil over them along with the vinegar. You can add basil to the top also.

Cheese Fondue

Ingredients:

1⁄2 lb imported swiss cheese, shredded
1⁄2 lb gruyere cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cherry brandy, such as kirsch
1⁄2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 pinch nutmeg

Directions:

In a small bowl, coat the cheeses with cornstarch and set aside.
Rub the inside of the ceramic fondue pot with the garlic, then discard.

Over medium heat, add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a gentle simmer.
Gradually stir the cheese into the simmering liquid. Melting the cheese gradually encourages a smooth fondue. Once smooth, stir in cherry brandy, mustard and nutmeg.

Arrange an assortment of bite-sized dipping foods around fondue pot.
Serve with chunks of French and pumpernickel breads.
Some other suggestions are Granny Smith apples and blanched vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and asparagus.

Denise made this for poker party 2023. It was very tasty.

Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potato Bites

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter melted
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 Teaspoon cinnamon
2 large sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch squares
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 lb thin bacon strips cut in half

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the melted butter, salt, cayenne pepper and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the potatoes and toss to coat.

Place the brown sugar in a shallow bowl. Wrap one piece of bacon around a sweet potato cube, secure it with a tooth pick. Roll the bacon wrapped sweet potato cube in the brown sugar so all sides are coated. Repeat for each cube.

Place the cubes on a parchment lined baking sheet, bake 40 - 45 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Cool completely before serving.

Stephanie made these for Thanksgiving 2023 at Morro Bay

Denise mad for her poker party Christmas 2023

Roasted Squash with Goat Cheese and Poached Cranberries

Ingrdients:

1 butternut squash, sliced crosswise into 6 rounds
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cup fresh cranberries
½ cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 (4-ounce) log goat cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup heavy cream
⅓ cup roasted and salted pepitas (nuts)

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Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°

Toss together squash and oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast, turning once, until golden brown and tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

Combine cranberries, maple syrup, orange juice, and rosemary in a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until cranberries begin to pop, 10 to 12 minutes.

Stir together goat cheese and heavy cream in a bowl until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve squash topped with cheese mixture, cranberries, and pepitas.

Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

12 whole fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

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Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.
When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

Barb Lawry made these to bring to Stephanie's Thanksgiving 2018. Denise really liked them. Barb put more garlic in than the recipe called for.

Fancy Deviled Eggs

Top deviled eggs with bacon crumbles,  2 green olive with pimento, 1/2 black olive, slice of jalepeno pepper

All are very tasty

Bruschetta

Ingredients:

Baguette

Olive oil

Tomatoes

Basil

Garlic

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

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Directions:

Slice baguette and rub with olive oil infused with garlic.
Then bake 350 until light brown.

The bruschetta,was just chopped and seeded tomatoes, chopped basil, minced garlic, little EVOO and salt and pepper

July 2017, Candi McDonald

Black Bean and Corn Pico de Gallo

Ingredients:

1 (15 oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can of sweet corn, drained and rinsed
2 (10 oz) cans of Ro*Tel tomatoes and green chilies - drained
The juice of 3 limes (about 3 Tbsp)
1 Tablespoon cumin
½ cup diced red onion
1 medium jalapeno, seeded and chopped

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Directions:

Drain and rinse black beans and corn
Drain most of the juice from the Ro*Tel
Mix the corn and black beans with 2 cans of Ro-tel diced tomatoes and green chilies
Dice the onion, chop the jalapeno and mix with the beans and corn.
Juice 3 limes over the mixture
Add in 1 Tablespoon cumin
Mix well
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour
Top with freshly chopped cilantro (and additional lime juice, if desired)

Pimento Cheese spread

Ingredients:
1 package cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar.. I used extra sharp..
3/4 cup grated Monterey Jack
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 to 3 tablespoons pimentos, smashed (but, if you remember, I didn't have (or couldn't find) a small jar of Pimentos the day I made it, so I bought a jar of roasted peppers and chopped them up... I think it added to the flavor of the finished product greatly. )
1 teaspoon grated onion
Cracked black pepper, and a bit of salt to taste... (Remember: Cheddar is very salty the sharper it gets, so you may not need any more added salt..)

Directions:
Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add all of the remaining ingredients and beat until well blended.

Notes: Not only great on crackers and a sandwich, but VERY good stuffed in celery too.
Makes 2 cups
2283 calories for the entire recipe
71 calories per tablespoon

Cheesy Buffalo Chicken dip

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast, grilled or baked,
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 stalk celery
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese
3/4 cup blue cheese dressing
1/3 cup hot pepper sauce (Franks Red Hot)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

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Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Shred the chicken. Heat olive oil in medium pan, add celery and cook until soft. Mix in the cream cheese, blue cheese dressing. Cook and stir until smooth and creamy. Stir in chicken and hot sauce. Spoon mixture into a 8 x 8 baking dish. sprinkle with the shreaded cheese.

Bake in a preheated oven until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Notes: the recipe calls for 3/4 c ranch dressing but I never put it in. Also, I add some blue cheese crumbles to mix when cooking on stove.
This will be very oily when you remove from oven. I use paper towels to soak up some of the oil before serving.

Bobby's Pimento Cheese

House Seasoning:  Mix and can store for 6 months
1 cup salt
1/4 cup pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Ingredients:

1 3 oz package cream cheese at room temp
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
1 cup grated monterey jack
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon house seasoning
2-3 Tablespoon pimentos, smashed
1 teaspoon grated onion
cracked pepper

Directions
Using and electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.  Add all of the remaining ingredients and beat until well blended.  It can be used as a dip or a sandwich filling.

I like to dip veges into it.

Baked Chicken Wings

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
10 chicken wings

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Combine olive oil, garlic, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in a large baggie, seal and shake to combine.  Add chicken wings and shake to coat.
Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet,
Cook the wings in a preheated oven 1 hour or until crisp and cooked through

Twice Baked Potatoes

Directions:
1. Clean large baking potatoes and poke with a fork to release the steam
2. Bake potatoes in oven (350 for about 1 hour) or microwave (on high for 5 minutes per potato
3. Cut in half and let cool
4. Scoop out insides leaving the crusts - scrap well to reduce amount of potato left, try not to rip skins
5. Mix potato meat in a bowl with salt, pepper, butter, sour cream, and cheese. Enough sour cream to make smooth like mashed potatoes.
6. Scoop back into potato crusts
7. Top with cheese, bacon or other toppings.

Bake in oven at 350 for 15 min (or until cheese is melted)

Stephanie notes:

For really crisp skins anytime you bake potatoes rub with lard (or Olive oil or butter) and sprinkle with rock salt. I think Sea Salt would also work but have not tried it. Bake in a hot oven, 375-400. They will take less than 1 hour depending on the size. Note: The skin will soften as they cool but will be crispier than not doing this.

You can top with lots of things. I like chives and blue cheese dressing. Real bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled is really good.

Cheese straws

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed overnight
1 lg egg
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 c finely grated gruyere cheese
1 t fresh thyme
1 t salt
Ground pepper

Heat oven to 375

Roll out each sheet of pastry on lightly floured board until it's 10 by 12.  Beat egg with 1 T water and brush the surface of the pastry.  Sprinkle each sheet evenly with 1/4 c of the Parmesan.  1/2 c of the gruyere, 1/2 t of the thyme, 1/2 t salt and some pepper.  With the rolling pin, lightly press the flavorings into pastry.  Cut each sheet crosswise with a floured knife or pizza wheel into 11 or 12 strips.  Twist each strip and lay on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned and puffed.  Turn each straw and bake for another 2 minutes.  Don't over bake or the cheese will burn.  Cool and serve at room temp.

Hot Crab Dip

1 lb jumbo lump crabmeat,
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
3/4 c mayo
1/4 c parmesan cheese
1/4 c green onion, minced
5-6 minced garlic cloves

Preheat oven to 325

Combine all ingredients in a casserole and gently stir until thoroughly mixed. Bake for 40 minutes, Serve hot with crackers.

Linda's Dip

Ingredients:
2 - 8 oz packages cream cheese ( I use the 1/3 less fat kind)
10 teaspoons cream
10 teaspoons Italian dressing
10 tablespoons ketchup
5 teaspoons grated onion (use juice also)
A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Blend cream and cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Vary onion and onion juice to taste.  Serve with crackers or potato chips.

Original Chex Party Mix

Ingredients:

3 cups Corn Chex® cereal
3 cups Rice Chex® cereal
3 cups Wheat Chex® cereal
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup bite-size pretzels
1 cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips or regular-size bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:
In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High about 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in seasonings. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated.

Microwave uncovered on High 5 to 6 minutes, thoroughly stirring every 2 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.

Oven Directions Heat oven to 250°F. In large bowl, mix cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips; set aside. In un-greased large roasting pan, melt butter in oven. Stir in seasonings. Gradually stir in cereal mixture until evenly coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool, about 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.

Warm Brie with Apple, Pear and Toast

Ingredients:
1 large Fuji apple 
1 large red or brown skinned pear, slightly underripe 
A wedge lemon 
1 pound individual wheel brie cheese 
24 sesame Melba toast rounds, any brand


Directions:
Quarter apple and pear lengthwise and cut into each quarter on an angle to remove the core. Slice apple and pear into 1/4-inch thick slices. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the fruit to slow browning. 

Cut the top rind off the brie and place in the microwave on high for 60 seconds. Depending on the ripeness of the cheese, it will take 60 to 90 seconds on high to heat and melt. If brie is not yet soft and hot after 1 minute, place it back in microwave for another 30 seconds on high. 

Serve the softened, warm brie with a platter of fruit and Melba toasts for dipping and spreading. Reheat brie if it tightens up for 20 to 30 seconds at a time on high.

Crab Cakes

Ingredients:
1 lb crabmeat

1 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 large egg, beaten

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard (or regular)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Oil

Directions:

Blend all ingredients EXCEPT crabmeat.  Add crabmeat, fold in gently, but mix thoroughly.  Shape into patties.  Cook in hot oil until browned, about 5 minutes on each side.

Makes 6 dinner size or 12 hor d'ourve size.