Mini Crescent Cheeseburgers

December 5, 2011 by

The taste of cheeseburgers in a simple appetizer, what more could you ask for? From the Taste of Home site (original here), the note with the recipe explains, “A friend first brought these snacks to a Sunday school party. The original recipe called for pork sausage, but I substituted ground beef with taste-tempting results. – Pam Buhr, Mexico, Missouri.” Mini Crescent Burgers are the fifth of my 25 Appetizers of Christmas.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 envelope onion soup mix
  • 3 tubes (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 375° F.
  2. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
  3. Stir in cheese and soup mix; set aside.
  4. Separate crescent dough into triangles; cut each triangle in half lengthwise, forming two triangles.
  5. Place 1 tablespoon of the beef mixture along the wide end of each triangle.
  6. Roll up; place pointed side down 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.
  7. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Variations

  • Mini Crescent Burgers can be assembled up to 2 hours in advance. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
  • Mix in some bacon bits for Mini Crescent Bacon Cheeseburgers.

Time Required: 45 minutes

Servings: 16

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Almond Cheddar Appetizers

December 4, 2011 by

Another of Mom’s recipes, these appetizers are tasty, cheesy, and melty. Mmm. Almond Cheddar Appetizers are the fourth of my 25 Appetizers of Christmas.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  • ½ cup onion, minced
  • ¾ c. slivered almonds, chopped
  • 8 bacon strips
  • 1 loaf French bread

Directions

  1. Toast almonds at 350° for 5-10 minutes.
  2. Cut bacon into ¼-inch pieces, fry and drain.
  3. Cut bread into ½-inch slices and cut slices in half.
  4. Combine mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, cheese, onion, almonds and bacon together in small bowl.
  5. Spread on bread halves, and place on a greased baking sheet.
  6. Bake at 400° for 8-10 minutes or until bubbly.

Variations

  • To make ahead, assemble and place on cookie sheet. Cover and freeze for 1 hour. Place in Ziploc bags to store for up to two months.

Time Required: 1½ hours

Servings: 48

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Katie’s Caramel Crunch

December 3, 2011 by

This highly-customizable recipe makes a delicious snack mix. It can work for any holiday or event. Just adjust the added candies to fit the color scheme. The recipe came from the Kellogg’s site (original here), and is very close to a recipe I used to make for Halloween. Still can’t find that recipe, but this one is a great substitute. Katie’s Caramel Crunch is the third of my 25 Appetizers of Christmas.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups Kellogg’s® Crispix® cereal
  • 3 cups popped popcorn
  • 2 cups small square pretzels
  • 1 cup cocktail peanuts (optional)
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 250°F.
  2. In 17 x 11 x 2-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray, combine Kellogg’s® Crispix® cereal, popcorn, pretzels and peanuts (if desired). Set aside.
  3. In heavy 3-quart saucepan combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup.
  4. Bring to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly.
  5. Reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
  6. Remove from heat.
  7. Stir in vanilla and baking soda. This mixture will foam up, so be sure you don’t let it boil over!
  8. Immediately pour over cereal mixture.
  9. Stir until evenly coated.
  10. Bake at 250°F about 1 hour or until deep golden brown, stirring every 15 minutes.
  11. Spread on wax paper. Separate clumps.
  12. Cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Variations

  • My version of this recipe is a little different. Instead of moving the mix to wax paper, stir it in the pan to ensure it is broken up properly. Allow it to cool a bit and add seasonal candies (like candy corn and pumpkins, holiday M&M’s, etc.). The mix needs to be cool enough that the candy will not melt.
  • I recommend buying a bag of prepopped popcorn on the chips aisle at your grocery store for this recipe. You can pop your own, but then you have to sort through the bowl to remove any unpopped kernels or burned pieces. If you buy the prepopped stuff at the store, you save a lot of time and don’t have to worry about missing a kernel.
  • Change the cereal mix to your liking. You can use 6 cups of whatever you like. Obviously 3 cups of Rice Chex and 3 cups of Corn Chex would be the same as 6 cups of Crispix. It’s highly adaptable though. You can use whatever cereal mix you like. I’d just stay away from anything fruity or “candy” like (e.g. Chocolate).
  • I am not savvy about gluten-free recipes, but I am told this recipe can be easily adjusted for a gluten-free snack mix.

Time Required: 1½ hours

Servings: 24

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Muddy Buddies

December 2, 2011 by

We first encountered this chocolatey snack mix at Girl Scout camp, many years ago. These days you can buy a bag of Chex-branded Muddy Buddies in the store, but it’s not quite the same as making it yourself. Since it’s a Girl Scout camp recipe, it’s kid-friendly. Expect a fun, chocolatey mess and giggles! Muddy Buddies is the second of my 25 Appetizers of Christmas.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • ½ cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 9 cups Rice Chex, Crispix, or Rice Krispies
  • 1½ cups powdered sugar

Directions

  1. Melt together the chocolate chips, peanut butter and vanilla over medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid sticking.
  2. Add cereal and mix until well coated.
  3. Add powdered sugar and mix until coated.

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Chicken Cheese Ball

December 1, 2011 by

This recipe is from Mom’s personal collection. Its origin is lost to the mysteries of time. Chicken Cheese Ball is the first of my 25 Appetizers of Christmas.

Ingredients

  • 2 – 8 oz. pkgs cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 – 10 oz. can chicken breast, drained
  • 1 pkg. dry Itallian dressing mix
  • ½ cup Chopped pecans

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients but pecans, then roll chicken cheese ball in chopped pecans to coat.
  2. Refrigerate until firm.
  3. Serve with crackers.

Variations

  • You can also combine the pecans into the chicken cheese ball mixture and spread into a dish. Refrigerate until firm and serve as a spread.

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The 25 Recipes of Christmas Are Coming!

November 30, 2011 by

Last year, I posted 25 Cookies of Christmas. I’ve always loved advent calendars, and the cookie recipes mailed out by the folks at Taste of Home and Food Network inspired me to create my own list. I wanted to continue the tradition this year, but knew that finding 25 more cookie recipes would be a challenge.

After polling some friends, I decided to focus on appetizers and snacks this year. Starting on December 1, I will post one snack or appetizer recipe a day. I’ve focused on appetizers that I could see the family actually eating. You will find no fancy nonsense like pate or caviar. You also will not find seafood, since I don’t like much other than the occasional fish and chips. There are mainly handheld savory snacks with pork or beef. There is lots of cheese, and there are a few dips.

I hope you find something that interests you in this year’s collection of appetizers, but if you were thinking you wanted something sweet instead, you can always try one of the 25 Cookie recipes:

  1. Pumpkin Cookies
  2. Preacher Cookies
  3. 7 Layer Cookies
  4. Ethel’s Sugar Cookies
  5. Blueberry Oat Bars
  6. Original Girl Scout Cookies
  7. No-Bake Candy Cups
  8. Orange Cookies
  9. Hidden Mint Cookies
  10. Chex Snack Bars
  11. Brownie Bon-Bons
  12. Glazed Nut Bars
  13. Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Cookies
  14. Golden Oatmeal Bars
  15. Carrot Cake Cookies
  16. Triple Chocolate Brownies
  17. Butter Pecan Cookies
  18. German Chocolate Cookie Bars
  19. English Cookies
  20. Chocolate Chipped Brownies
  21. Paula Deen’s Magical Peanut Butter Cookies
  22. S’mores Snackin’ Cups
  23. Pineapple Cookies
  24. Oatmeal Carmelitas
  25. Monster Cookies

 

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Puff Pastry Rollups

September 1, 2010 by

I saw Emeril make a version of this recipe about five years ago. Immediately I knew I could make a wide range of variations that would be great finger foods for holidays and parties.

Since it relies on store-bought puff pastry, this appetizer is simple to make—but it will taste as though you’ve been slaving away all day. You can also prepare this recipe in advance and freeze it. Just pop it out of the freezer and allow it to thaw overnight.

Ingredients

  • 1 sheet puff pastry (one box contains 2 sheets)
  • 6 to 9 slices thinly sliced ham
  • 1/2 cup Swiss cheese, grated

Directions

To Assemble:

  1. Sprinkle counter with flour.
  2. Unfold pastry sheet on counter.
  3. Press any cracks or seams with your fingers. Dab water on any tears to help hold pieces together.
  4. Lay sliced of ham on top of the pastry in a single layer. Edges can overlap slightly. Leave 1/2" on the long edge of the side far from you free of filling.
  5. Sprinkle ham with cheese, covering all the ham.
  6. Roll pastry and filling like a jelly-roll, rolling away from you.
  7. Dab the far edge of the pastry with water and press against roll to seal as you finish the roll..
  8. Wrap the rollup on wax paper.
  9. Chill rollup, seam sides down, until firm, at least 20 minutes
  10. To freeze: wrap rollup in two layers of foil and store in a zip-top bag.
    If making several variations, be sure to add a label that indicates the filling.

To Bake:

  1. If frozen, allow the pastry to thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
  2. Preheat oven to 400° F.
  3. Sprinkle counter or cutting board lightly with flour.
  4. Slice the rollup into 1/2" slices and transfer to a baking sheet, using a thin, metal pancake turner or spatula (to avoid losing any fillings). Arrange 1″ apart on sheet.
  5. If some of the cheese falls out, simply sprinkle it on top of the slice.
  6. Bake in batches in middle of oven until golden, about 14 to 16 minutes.
  7. Cool on wire rack for 3 to 4 minutes before serving.
  8. (Optional) Serve with honey mustard or Dijon mustard.

Variations

Nearly any combination you desire can work as the filling for these rollups. Here are a few variations we like.

  • Sliced roast beef with sharp cheddar.
  • Sliced corned beef with Swiss. Serve with thousand island dressing, if desired.
  • Sliced pepperoni with mozzarella (this can be greasy). Serve with marinara, if desired.
  • Sliced turkey with cheddar or Swiss. Sprinkle with bacon bits, if desired. Serve with Ranch dressing.
  • Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on the puff pastry and top with sun-dried tomatoes and caramelized onions. (This variation cannot be frozen.)

Time Required: 30 mins

Servings: 6–8

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