SHARON'S JALAPENO POPPERS

 While we are away on a road trip visiting extended family, I thought I would re - share some posts that surprised me because not many people checked them out.

I personally don't like "heat" and especially peppers, but these Jalapeno Poppers that my friend Sharon made for our canasta group several years ago are a must for entertaining. Everyone else raved about them and couldn't stop eating them. I hope you will check them out.

JALAPENO POPPERS

CAJUN SHRIMP

I was fortunate enough to get to enjoy Friend Carol's Cajun Shrimp not just one day but two. Actually Friend Janice did also. The first time was when our Mexican Train group met at Carol's house last Thursday, she served us lunch and prepared this Cajun Shrimp. (Which everyone enjoyed, btw)
Friday our Tasty Bunch was meeting for dinner and then dessert back at Keith and Carol's house. Janice and Leon and Wayne and I are in the Tasty Bunch, too. Keith and Carol had chosen a restaurant to meet at, but with the situation with the Covid-19 virus, Carol offered to cook dinner for us instead. We decided that was probably the better idea. So we got to enjoy the Cajun Shrimp too days in a row. 😋

CAJUN SHRIMP

1/2     cup olive oil
1        clove whole garlic or garlic powder as Carol used
2        tablespoons Cajun seasoning (Carol used Emmeril's Essence)
2        tablespoons lemon juice
2        tablespoons minced parsley
1        tablespoon brown sugar or 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar blend
1        tablespoon soy sauce
large shrimp (thawed if frozen and peeled)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine all ingredients but the shrimp in a baking dish. Add shrimp and marinate at least 1 hour. Remove the clove of garlic if you used one and bake 8 to 10 minutes. 

You can also put shrimp on skewers and cook on grill.

MILLION DOLLAR CHEESE BALL

Christmas Day is almost here or if you are like us, Christmas is more than just one day. We celebrated Christmas with our MO son and his family last night (thus I didn't get this post written earlier). We will go to church with them on Christmas Eve, but last night we had dinner, gifts, and a win with the Kansas City Chiefs' football team. It was a perfect evening. Granddaughter Madison said it seemed like Christmas to her. Don't forget to read all the way to the end to see a picture of us with Madison and Tyler.

The recipe I am sharing with you this morning is one Friend Carol made for the Mexican Train group back in November. She said she made it by the recipe except for the onion because she knows I don't eat onion especially raw, but she didn't know why it turned out like it did. The recipe is actually called Million Dollar Dip. Hers was dry and didn't hold together very well. I decided I would make it myself before I shared it.

Well, mine turned out into a cheese ball. I also made it by the recipe except for the onion, but as I was mixing it together, it started forming into a ball so I decided to just serve it that way and changed the name of it to a "cheese ball" instead of a dip. Measuring grated cheese is tricky so that might have made the difference. I didn't ask Carol if she used full fat cream cheese as I didn't (I used 1/3 less fat Neufchatel cheese) but I don't think that should make a difference, but it might.

Let me know what your attempt turned out to be - a dip or a cheese ball. I would love to hear from you.

MILLION DOLLAR CHEESE BALL

1     8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature. (I used 1/3 less fat)
3/4  cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1     cup freshly grated sharp Cheddar (I grated 4 ounces of cheese)
1     cup freshly grated Swiss (I grated 4 ounces of cheese)
1/4  cup blue cheese crumbles or feta cheese crumbles
8     slices regular-cut bacon, fried crisp, and chopped fine
4     green onions, sliced, green and white parts
1/2  teaspoon salt
1/4  teaspoon black pepper
1/4  teaspoon garlic powder
1/2  cup slivered almonds or chopped pecans (optional)

Add the cream cheese and mayo or salad dressing to a large bowl and stir

until smooth.

Add the cheeses and stir again until well combined.

Add the bacon,

onions, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Stir together with a rubber spatula until evenly combined.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours.

If you are covering with nuts, form into a ball and

press nuts

into sides.

Serve with chips or crackers.













Here is the picture I promised from last night.

HONEY DATE SPREAD

I have had so many "Friends and Family" recipes to share with you lately, I haven't been able to share them all. A couple of weeks, now, my Mexican Train friends met at Friend Carol's house and she served us a light lunch before we started playing. As always she was prepared with copies of the recipes so I could share them with you here. (I am so truly blessed!)

One of the dishes that she served was this Honey Date Spread that Carol had actually gotten the recipe from Friend Sue. It is served on toasted pita bread and was so good. It was my first time to eat green olives.

HONEY DATE SPREAD

1       cup crumbled goat cheese
1/2    cup sliced almonds
1/2    cup chopped pitted dates
1       teaspoon thyme
2       tablespoons chopped green olives
1/4    cup honey
Toasted pita bread

Combine all of the ingredients except the honey. 
Microwave the honey for 15 seconds. 
Add honey to the other ingredients and stir to make a spread. (Carol used more honey.) 
Cover and store in refrigerator. 
When ready to serve, toast pita and microwave the spread mixture. 
Cut pita bread into halves or fourths and spread mixture over the bread. 

COWBOY SALSA

Friend Barb just about outdid herself for our Farkle gathering this past Monday. One of the dishes she served was this Cowboy Salsa. Everyone raved about it. Friend Janice isn't really fond of avocado but she said it tasted really good in this. (I can't eat peppers so that's why I didn't eat any.) I would make this for guests that we were entertaining even though I wouldn't be eating it. 

Click here for printable version of just the recipe.

COWBOY SALSA

1      can black beans
1      can corn (can use frozen corn)
1      large red pepper chopped
1/2   medium onion, chopped
1/2   cup balsamic vinegar
1/2   cup oil,
1/2   cup sugar (Barb used Splenda)
3      tablespoons Hot Sauce (Barb used 1 tablespoon)
1-2   avocados, chopped

Combine the beans, corn, red pepper, and onion. Set aside.

Combine the vinegar, oil, sugar, and Hot Sauce. Pour over bean mixture. Cover and refrigerate to marinate 8 hours.

Drain most of the liquid off and add avocados. 

Serve with chips.

EASY CINNAMON SUGAR PECANS OR ALMONDS

I always love when my friends and I gather at another friend's house and she has already printed the recipe for me for something she made and served us. When a few of us met at Friend Sue's house for Farkle, she served these delightful Cinnamon Sugar Almonds. Sue said she preferred to use almonds instead of pecans because she liked the taste to the almonds. Trust me - I ate enough of them to agree with her.

Click here for a printable version of just the recipe.

EASY CINNAMON SUGAR PECANS OR ALMONDS

1      lb pecans or almonds
1      cup sugar
1      tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2   teaspoon salt (or your preference)
1      egg white
2      teaspoons vanilla extract
2      teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large Ziploc bag.

Whisk the egg white, vanilla, and water with a fork in a large bowl until frothy.

Add the nuts to the egg mixture and stir until well coated. Pour nuts into the bag, seal, and shake until well coated.

Spread nuts on prepared baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Cool before serving.

SHRIMP - CHEESE BITES

I am finally getting around to sharing these Shrimp-Cheese Bites that I made when the Friends' Bridge Couples met at our house back in August. As I have said so many times here, I don't do appetizers that well. Don't get me wrong, when I do, they usually turn out fine, but I am always nervous about them and take too long trying to find something to do. 

I found the recipe for these "bites" in Betty Crocker's DO AHEAD Cookbook. I prepared mine and cooked them to be ready when everyone arrived so I didn't use the directions for "doing it ahead" that I included at the bottom of the recipe. Let me know how they turn out if you do make them ahead.

SHRIMP - CHEESE BITES

1/2       cup (1 stick) margarine or butter
1-1/4    cups flour
1          egg, beaten
2/3       cup chopped cooked shrimp
2          ounces farmer or goat cheese, crumbled
1          egg
1          egg yolk
1/2       cup half-and-half
2          teaspoons chopped fresh or 3/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut margarine or utter into flour with pastry blender or two knives in a medium bowl until mixture is crumbly.

(I always use my fingers. Have butter at room temperature and it is much easier.)

Stir in 1 beaten egg until well mixed;

shape into ball.

Divide into 24 balls.

(I used my small cookie scoop but only made 18 balls. I ended up pinching off a little from each one to make 23 balls. Next time I might just make 18 of them and use the tablespoon of dough for each one as it seemed like I didn't have quite enough to cover the bottom and up the sides of the mini cup.)

Press 1 ball on bottom and up side of each of 24 ungreased small muffin cups, 1-1/4 x 1 inch.

Divide shrimp among cups.

(I used the small salad size cooked shrimp and cut them into thirds.) 

Sprinkle with cheese.

Beat 1 egg and the egg yolk in a small bowl;

stir in half-and-half

and basil.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the egg mixture into each cup. (I measured the tablespoon which I am glad I did as I had just enough.)

Bake about 20 minutes or until light brown.

Immediately remove from pan to wire rack.









TO STORE: Refrigerator - Cool bites completely on wire rack. Refrigerate tightly covered no longer than 24 hours.
                    Freezer - Cool bites completely on wire rack. Place in single layer on cookie sheet. Freeze uncovered at least 2 hours. Place bites in labeled airtight freezer container. Freeze no longer than 2 months.

TO REHEAT: From Refrigerator - Oven - About 25 minutes before serving, heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet about 15 minutes or until warm.
                      From Freezer - Oven - About 30 minutes before serving, heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet about 18 minutes or until warm.
                   

ZESTY BLACK BEAN SALSA

My third and last hosting event in less than two weeks was the Friends' Couples' Bridge group. We have not attended any of the gatherings this year due to other commitments, but I signed up for us to host back earlier this year for August so we didn't have any other plans this month. It was good to see everyone since I had not seen most of them this year. I wasn't sure I would remember how to play. As it turned out, I was the big winner ($6) with the highest score and my husband got his dollar back with the lowest score.

Since we hadn't been this whole year, I wasn't sure what the hosts served. We used to do dinner, but stopped that several years ago. I asked Friend Linda and she told me what they had last month...appetizers, cupcakes for dessert, and table snacks. I don't do appetizers well mainly because I don't usually eat them. They usually have onions or peppers or hot spicy stuff I don't eat. 

I found a recipe in Gooseberry Patch Made from Scratch cookbook for this Zesty Black Bean Salsa. Lynn Simone's (from Smithfield, Va) recipe sounded like something everyone would like (but me, of course, but that's ok). I have to share a "text" conversation I had with Linda. I didn't want to have a lot to be making just before everyone showed up but the recipe didn't indicate making it ahead of time and putting it in the refrigerator so I didn't know. I decided to ask Linda. This is how our "conversation" went:

ME: Can you make a bean and corn salsa ahead of time and put it in the frig

Linda: Are u asking Linda?

ME: Yes

Linda: I don't have that recipe but I can make regular salsa

ME: (I realized that she had misunderstood what I was asking her and thought I was asking her to bring a salsa when they came.) I'm sorry. Guess that didn't come out quite right. I am making a bean and corn salsa and I was wondering since I've never made it before can you make it ahead of time and then just put it in the refrigerator so that I don't have to be making it at the last minute.

Linda: I would think so

ME: Ok. Thanks. I thought you would know

Linda: I would do that if it were my recipe.

ME: Didn't mean to scare you

Linda: Lol

When they arrived at our house, I asked her if she had brought the bean and corn salsa. She just laughed.

I did make it about an hour or two before everyone arrived and stored it in the refrigerator. Everyone really enjoyed it. My husband likes it so much that he made it again and he eats it as a side with his dinner.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe.

ZESTY BLACK BEAN SALSA

1      15-1/2 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1      15-1/4 oz can corn, drained
3/4   cup red pepper, diced (I used several red and orange peppers)
1/2   cup green onion, sliced
1/3   cup cilantro, chopped
1/4   cup lime juice
2      teaspoons cumin
1/4   teaspoon garlic salt

Combine beans, corn, red pepper, onion, and cilantro in a large mixing bowl; 

mix well. 

Whisk together lime juice, cumin, and garlic salt together in a separate bowl;

pour over bean mixture and toss gently. 

I divided it between two serving bowls, covered with lids and stored them in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Then I stirred the mixture to redistribute the lime juice mixture. 

Serve with tortilla chips. I had blue corn chips and regular tortilla chips. Makes 4 cups.

FIESTA DIP

With Cinco de Mayo happening tomorrow, you might find this recipe for Fiesta Dip just what you need for your celebration. Actually it is a perfect dip to throw together at the last minute if you have unexpected guests or just entertaining friends you invited over.

Friend Ellen served it to our quilters' canasta group who met at her house yesterday. One reason I really liked this, besides it tasting really great, she made it and left one end free of the green onions. (Turns out Ellen doesn't like raw onions either.) She thought she had some black olives but didn't so just imagine you see them in the picture. Another fabulous thing about this recipe is you can add any of your favorite ingredients in it.

FIESTA DIP

1       can refried beans
sour cream
black olives
chopped green onions
fresh chopped tomatoes
grated cheese

Spread the beans on the platter/plate you plan to serve the dip on.

Cover it with a layer of sour cream.

Sprinkle the black olives you have sliced, chopped green onions, fresh chopped/diced tomatoes on top.

Then top with grated cheese.

Serve with "dipper" chips or other chips.

Can you think of any other ingredients you could add? Would love to hear your suggestions.

CAROL'S BACON WRAPPED STUFFED DATES

If you read my blog, you have probably read that I don't do appetizers well. I don't really know why; I just don't. Whenever I find a good one to make, I get excited and hope I will remember it the next time I need to make one. 

Thursday night we went to Friend's Patricia and Gary's Open House that they have for their street every Christmas. (We don't live in their neighborhood, but she invites us because we are friends and in Tasty Bunch together.) I made the Chocolate and Peanut Butter Truffles which were a big hit. Friend Carol brought her Stuffed Dates. (She brought them last year also.) I had forgotten about them until she mentioned to me earlier in the day that that was what she was bringing. I took one bite and announced, "This is what I am taking tomorrow night to the Friends' Couples' Bridge Christmas party." I remembered how good they were, I had just forgotten about them. I thought I had shared it last year here, but when I looked, I couldn't find it.

Well, guess how I spent the hour before we went? If you said, "making some stuffed dates to take to the party" you are right. I actually got them ready for the oven but waited to bake them in the oven until it was closer to time to leave. That way they were still warm when we got to the party.

CAROL'S BACON WRAPPED STUFFED DATES

1       lb bacon, fried limp and cut in half
3       oz. cream cheese (You can use fat free or reduced fat)
sliced almonds
1       lb pitted dates (You can use whole dates and remove the pits)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Cut bacon slices in half (I had 23 dates so I just took out 12 slices of bacon) and

fry til limp.

I placed it on paper towels to absorb some of the grease.

Slice dates in half (down one side).Remove pit if necessary.

Pinch off a piece of cheese and place inside date.

Top with one or more almond slice(s) and close date.

Wrap with half slice of bacon and

secure with a toothpick. 

Place on a baking sheet and

bake for 10 minutes. (I placed my wire rack in the bottom of the jelly roll pan and placed wrapped dates on top of the rack to bake and baked them for 15 minutes to cook the bacon a little bit more.)

Remove from oven and place on paper towel to absorb excess fat. (Since I had baked them on the wire rack, I didn't do this.)

These are so awesome. Everyone loved them at the party.