Jalapeno Bites

Here's a little snack I whipped up the other day for our open house. I needed a little appetizer and thought this might go over well. IT Guy loves jalapeno poppers that you can get at some fast food places, and these were a pretty tasty substitute. You can make them as hot as you like by leaving in some of the seeds. I made sure and took them all out because I wasn't sure how much heat people wanted. But they were very good....there were none left!

Jalapeno Bites



25 Wonton wrappers
5 - 6 fresh jalapenos
25 1-inch chunks of cheddar cheese
salt
1 egg - beaten
oil for frying

Slice washed jalapenos in half lengthwise. Slice off the tops. Remove seeds and veins. Cut each half into 1 inch pieces.

Brush edges of a wonton wrapper with egg wash.

Place a piece of jalapeno and a chunk of cheese on the wonton wrapper. Add a sprinkling of salt then fold the edges in to make a little package. Repeat with the rest of the wrappers, jalapenos, cheese and salt.

Heat oil to medium heat and fry the bites until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

 
Here's what you need..use as much 
of the ingredients as you like. I made 25.

 
Chop off the tops of the peppers 
and slice down the middle. Then 
scoop out the seeds and veins. 
You can use rubber gloves for 
this step to avoid "the burn". Ouchie.

 
Cut each jalapeno half into large 
chunks then chunk the cheese, too.

 
Place a piece of jalapeno and 
cheese and a sprinkling of salt 
on the wonton wrapper. Brush 
the edges with beaten egg. 
Start folding like this...

 
..then this...

 
..until you get this.

 
Fry 'em up and serve. Yum! And ole!

Appetizers are always something I like to look at on a menu. Unless I am going to order one for my meal, it's rare that IT Guy and I indulge, though. It's good to know that if I want appetizer food, I can make it at home..like these little guys! How good are they? Very! After my daughter ate one, she said...."Mom, if these were on a menu, I'd order them." Pretty nice compliment, I'd say.

Southwest Eggrolls



2 cups frozen corn
1 pound ground beef
2 cups shredded colby-jack cheese
4 oz can diced green chiles, drained
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 package of egg roll or wonton wrappers
1 egg - beaten

Cook ground beef until almost done then add cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Mix well and continue cooking until meat is no longer pink.

Heat some vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

In a large bowl, combine cooked meat, corn, green chilies and green onions. Toss to combine.

Place 2 - 3 tablespoons of meat mixture onto an eggroll wrapper and top with some cheese.

Paint the edges of the wrapper with some beaten egg then fold to enclose the filling.

Fry for a few minutes until wrapper is golden brown on both sides.

Okee doke...here we go.

Cook the ground beef until almost done then add the spices and cook the rest of the way.

Combine the cooked meat, the corn, green chilies and green onion.

Add some of the meat mixture and the grated cheese to a wrapper. Paint the edges of the wrapper with some beaten egg.

I turn my wrappers on an angle then fold up the bottom and tuck the filling in.

Then fold in the sides.

Then finish with securing the top. Done!

Fry them up until nice and golden. All your doing here is browning the wrapper since the stuff inside is already cooked. You could even try brushing the wrappers with a little olive oil and baking them until they're crispy. That would be fine.

Ranch Avocado Dipping Sauce

1 cup ranch salad dressing
1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and mashed
2 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and serve with eggrolls

The dipping sauce.

Combine everything in a small bowl...

Then mix it well!

These are tayyyyy-stee!!!!

This recipe came from a friend of mine in CA. (Hi Melody!) I remember the first time I had this at her house. She had a bunch of goodies sitting on her kitchen island and when I tasted this, I don't think I left the kitchen all night long. I hovered around in there snacking on this dip until it was gone. So, so good! Well...I made this for the cookie exchange I had last week and when the evening was over, there was not one tiny bit leftover. Everyone raved over it and I had numerous people ask me for the recipe. Yep...it's pretty crowd pleasing!

Chicken Hot Dip



2 chicken breasts - cooked and shredded OR 2 cans chicken breast meat
1 8-ounce package cream cheese - softened
8 ounces (1 cup) sour cream
8 ounces (I used a bit more) shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 teaspoon chicken bullion granules
dash garlic powder
1 large round of sourdough bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until well blended.

Cut the top off of the bread bowl and hull out the inside, reserving all the bread. Fill the hollowed out bread with the chicken mixture.

Place filled bread bowl on a cookie sheet.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 - 45 minutes until mixture is hot and bubbly.

Cut up reserved bread to use as dippers.

You can also bake this in a baking dish and serve with crackers.

Here's the stuff you'll need. You can use 

chicken you've cooked yourself or use the 

canned chicken like I did here.

Slice off the top of the bread.

Tear out the bread inside and reserve.

Stir the sour cream, cream cheese, 

grated cheese, garlic salt and bullion.

Then pile it into the hollowed out bread.

Cut up the leftover bread to use as dippers. Crackers work, too!

Bake it up...serve it hot!

You know...sometimes I like to make stuff just for me. IT Guy won't touch seafood OR anything Chinese. So I knew when I made this, I wouldn't have to share. Ha!! And I was right...it was ALL MINE!! (Insert evil laugh here.) There's something to be said for living with someone who doesn't always have the same taste in food as you. Go me!

Crab Meat Cream Cheese Wontons with Sweet and Sour Sauce



25 wonton wrappers
1 8-ounce package cream cheese - softened
1 8-ounce can crab meat
1 egg - beaten

Heat 2 cups of vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat.

In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and crab meat. Beat until well mixed.

Drop teaspoon sized portions onto the middle of a wonton. Brush edges of wonton wrapper with beaten egg then fold into the shape of a triangle.

Drop filled wonton into hot oil and fry for a few seconds until wonton is light golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Serve with Sweet & Sour Sauce (recipe follows)


Makes about 25 wontons

Here's all you need for the wontons

Cream the cream cheese until smooth. 

Then throw in the crabmeat....

...and whizz that around until combined.

Plop a hefty teaspoon of the filling onto a wonton 

wrapper and brush the edges with the beaten egg.

Drop them two or three at a time in the hot oil. They only take a few seconds to cook so watch them close. You may have to flip them over to make sure both sides get browned.

See? Nice and golden.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

¼ cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon ketchup
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 5 teaspoons of water

In a small saucepan, combine rice vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar and soy sauce. Heat to a boil then add the cornstarch/water mixture. Stir and cook until thick.

Here's the ingredients for the sauce if you want to make your own. You can buy the jarred stuff and that works, too.

Combine the rice vinegar, ketchup, 

brown sugar and soy sauce. Heat to boiling..

..then add the cornstarch/water mixture. 

Stir and cook until thickened.

Makes about 25 of the yummiest little goodies ever!

This is something that is so versatile. Don't like chicken? Use ham. Want to use something other than spinach? Go for it! Change up the cheese. Whatever your preferences. It's so easy to throw together and can be used as dinner or served as an appetizer. Don't you just love food that's interchangeable??

Chicken and Spinach Crescent Wrap



2 8-ounce rolls refrigerated Crescent Rolls
2 cups cheese (cheddar, white cheddar, jack)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 small onion, diced
1 cup mayonnaise
4 ounces cream cheese – room temp
1 clove garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

On a parchment lined rimed cookie sheet, lay Crescent Rolls out flat with wide ends in the middle of the pan. Overlap edges a bit – 8 rolls on each side of the pan. Press dough together to seal where the rolls meet in the middle of the pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cheese, chicken, spinach, onion, mayo, cream cheese, garlic and salt and pepper. Mix well.

Place chicken mixture on top of sealed rolls leaving about 1 inch on each end. Turn up the ends of the dough then begin to bring pointed ends of rolls over the top of the chicken mixture, alternating right and left. Make sure ends are sealed.

Beat 1 egg with about 1 tablespoon of water. Brush crescent wrap with egg wash. Chill for about an hour then bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow wrap to stand about 5 minutes before slicing.

Here's what you need. Looks like I forgot

 the mayo and the garlic in the picture.

Mix the chicken, onion, cheese, cream cheese, mayo, drained spinach, salt, pepper and garlic in a medium sized bowl.

Lay your crescent rolls out on a rimmed baking sheet like this. Press the seam in the middle together.

Add the chicken mixture to the crescent rolls.

Then start folding the side and ends up.

Make sure the ends are sealed.

Then press the whole thing down a little 

bit so its kind of flat-ish/round-ish. Brush the dough 

with an egg wash. Chill for about an hour or so.

 

Bake it up then let it sit for about 

5 minutes before slicing into it. Yum-o!!!

Traci's Fruit Dip

I thought I would share with you a recipe for this dip we served at our daughter's wedding. A friend of mine (Hi Traci!) gave it to me. It's served at lots of wedding and baby showers that I attend and it's always a hit so I figured I'd serve it at the wedding and see if we'd get the same results. We did. I had several requests for the recipe. I was happy to share the love! This recipe is too good to keep a secret. So make it, serve it and be a hero!


Traci's Fruit Dip



2 cups pineapple juice
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 8-ounce containers Cool Whip

Combine pineapple juice, flour, and egg and mix until all combined. Stir mixture into a medium saucepan with the sugar. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Allow to cool completely. Fold in Cool Whip. Chill until ready to use.

Serve with assorted fruits.

The original recipe is half of the above ingredients....I doubled it to serve LOTS!


Here's what you'll need 
for this yummy dip!


Combine the pineapple juice, sugar, 
eggs, flour and butter. Cook it until it's 
nice and thick and bubbly.


Then cool it, baby! I put the pan 
in a sink full of iced water to speed 
up the process. I'm impatient. Did you know that?


The transfer the cooled mixture into a large bowl.


Fold in the cool whip. Chill then serve!


Then let your spoiled pet lick 
the Cool Whip container.