White Pizza Dip

White Pizza Dip

1 pint grape tomatoes, tomatoes cut in half

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 (12 ounces) blocks cream cheese, softened

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, freshly grated

8 ounces provolone cheese, freshly grated

1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese + more for garnish

4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1/4 cup freshly chopped basil leaves

2 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme leaves

1/2 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano leaves

crackers, bread or chips for serving

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil then place tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with olive oil and salt, then roast for 20-25 minutes, until bursting. Set aside.

While tomatoes are roasting, mix softened cream cheese with about 7 ounces each of provolone and mozzarella, then and parmesan. Stir in fresh herbs, garlic and roasted tomatoes, mixing well to combine. Transfer mixture to an oven-safe baking dish (mine was 6 x 4 round). Sprinkle with remaining provolone and mozzarella. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until top is golden and bubbly. Serve immediately with crackers, chip or toasted bread.

Snowman Shooters

Snowman Shooters

• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate
• 1 pint of vanilla ice cream
• 1 Small &  1medium ice cream scoops
• 8-12 Mini chocolate chips (or peppercorns)
• 4-6 Small pieces of carrots, cut into tiny spears

In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, place the chocolate squares and microwave them for 35-40 seconds, just enough to soften.  Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the chocolate, then return to the microwave for 50-60 seconds.  Remove and stir until the chocolate is fully melted and a thick hot fudge sauce forms.

Spoon hot fudge sauce into the bottom of 4-5 small shooter glasses.  Using a medium-sized ice cream scoop, scoop some of the vanilla ice cream into a rounded ball and plop it carefully on top of the hot fudge sauce.  Use the small sized scoop to do the same, placing the second scoop on top of the first one to create the snowman’s head.

Gently press the carrot nose & chocolate chip eyes into the snowman’s head.  Return to the freezer and allow to freeze until ready to serve (to ensure your shot glasses don’t freeze & crack, I recommend making these just about 1 hour ahead of time).

Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Jalapeno Bites

Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Jalapeno Bites

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay
• Pinch of Salt
• 12 Jalapenos, halved & seeded
• 24 – six inch pieces of bacon, uncooked

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine cream cheese and spices in small bowl.  Spoon mixture into each pepper half, until level.  Wrap each in bacon, and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Remove and enjoy!

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Jalapeno Popper Dip Ingredients 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated 1 (4 ounce) can sliced jalapenos (pickled), drained 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional) 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated Directions Mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, parmigiano reggiano and jalapenos in a bowl and pour into a baking dish. Mix the panko bread crumbs and parmigiano reggiano and sprinkle over the dip. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the sides are bubbling and the cheese cheese has melted and turned golden brown on top, about 20 minutes. (Source)

White Trash Dip

White Trash Dip



• 1 can chili (15 oz)
• 2 packages cream cheese (8 oz ea), softened
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 lb. bacon
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook bacon.  Crumble.
3. Mix together chili, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, and green onions in a large bowl.
4. Spread mixture into a pie pan.
5. Cook for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
6. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
7. Serve with chips.
   
   
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Watermelon Fire and Ice Salsa

Watermelon Fire and Ice Salsa

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped watermelon
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the watermelon, green bell pepper, lime juice, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno and garlic salt. Mix well and serve.

(Source)

BLT Bites

BLT Bites

Ingredients

• 16 to 20 cherry tomatoes
• 1 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup chopped green onions
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley

Directions

• Cut a thin slice off of each tomato top. Scoop out and discard pulp. Invert the tomatoes on a paper towel to drain.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon into tomatoes. Refrigerate for several hours. Yield: 16-20 appetizer servings.

Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

1 1/2 cups cooked and shredded chicken or 1 (12 ounce) can chunk chicken, drained

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup Ranch dressing

1/2 cup Buffalo wing sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot, not to be confused with their pepper sauce. Start with less if you want and add more to your desired hotness.)

3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

blue cheese crumbles (optional)

Heat chicken and Buffalo sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Make sure to break up the chicken so there are no big chunks. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in shredded cheese. Pour into a shallow dish or pie pan and sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles and microwave it until the cheese melts. We usually only sprinkle blue cheese on half of it for those who aren’t blue cheese fans. Serve with chips for dipping.

American Flag Cake Recipe

2 boxes white cake mix (plus oil and eggs) 
Blue and red food coloring 
For cream cheese frosting: 1-1/2 pound cream cheese (3 – 8oz. packages, not low fat) 1 pound unsalted butter (4 sticks) 2 pounds powdered sugar 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla 


1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease two 8″ cake pans with nonstick spray. 
2. Make cake mixes according to box directions. You will need to make one 8″ blue cake, and three 8″ red cakes. I dyed one batch of cake batter red; I split the other batch in half and dye one half blue and one half red. Try to use as much batter as you can for each cake, because you want to end up with thick cakes. 
3. Bake the 8″ cakes according to box directions. Cool completely before going on to the next step. 
4. The most complicated part of creating this cake is torting the red cakes. Pain. in. the. butt. I used a large serrated knife to cut the cakes. Torte two of the red cakes so that you end up with 4 or 5 thin and even layers. Try to make the layers as level as possible. 
5. Use a knife to level off the blue cake (remove the “dome” that forms when the cake bakes). After the blue cake as been leveled, cut a hole out of the middle of the cake. I used a large round cookie cutter for this step. Using a round cookie cutter is a good idea because of the sizing consistency it provides. At the end of this step your blue cake should look like a donut — with a hole in the middle. 
6. Use a knife to level off the last red cake. Once the cake is leveled, use the same round cookie cutter to cut a circle out of the red cake. Torte the circle you cut out to get three thin layers. 
7. For the frosting, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Slowly add the cream cheese until you reach the desired consistency. I like thicker frosting, so I always add nearly 2 lbs of powdered sugar. 
8. Time to assemble! Layer the first 4 or 5 full-sized red layers on a cake platter, adding cream cheese icing between each layer. Once the full-sized red layers are assembled, add the blue “donut” to the top. Fill the “donut hole” with the small red slices of cake, adding cream cheese icing in between each. Thoroughly frost the outside of the cake and decorate the top of the cake if you’d like to. I used red and blue frosting to create a spiderweb/fireworks design. 
9. Before cutting into your cake, chill the cake in the refrigerator for a few hours so the frosting can set (and the cake will be easier to cut!). Enjoy!

Creative Way To Serve Appetizers

Serve veggies inside baguettes. This is great for baby showers, BBQ's, weddings, or even pool parties. Every time I have served them they have been a great hit. You can put celery, carrots, and even red and green bell peppers inside the baguette.

Teeny Tiny Rainbow Cakes

Teeny Tiny Rainbow Cakes

Ingredients

• 2 boxes Better Crocker SuperMoist white cake mix, mixed up according to package directions
• 3 tubs white frosting
• parchment paper

• 9"x13" inch pans
• liquid food coloring (I used colors from both the classic and neon sets)

Directions

1. 1Measure out 6 sheets of parchment to line your 9”x13” pan - you'll want a couple inches of overhang on both long sides of pan.
2. 2Preheat oven per cake baking directions on box.
3. 3Divide cake batter evenly into 6 bowls.
4. 4Color with liquid food coloring. I used a classic food color set for the red and yellow, a 2:1 yellow/red ratio for the orange, blue and purple from a neon set, and a custom mix of the neon and classic green on the green layer. You’ll need about 20 drops total in each bowl to get nice, vibrant colors.
5. 5Place one of the parchment sheets in the pan. Secure the sides to make distributing the batter easier. I used binder clips, which worked great. (Remove these before baking!)
6. 6Pour the first bowl of batter into the pan, and spread it just to the edges of the pan with a spatula. When you pour the batter in, it won’t look like much. Spread it out on the parchmentas evenly as possible, and pop it in the oven.
7. 7Bake the layer for about 10 minutes. Watch it carefully - these thin little layers cook fast!
8. 8Remove from oven and allow layer to cool on a cooling rack (in the pan) for 10 minutes.
9. 9Remove layer from pan using the paper parchment handles, and place layer back on cooling rack to continue cooling.
10. 10Repeat with remaining layers.
11. 11Once you’ve baked all six layers, and allowed them to cool completely (won’t take long), grab a couple tubs of white frosting. Give the frosting a thorough stir so it’s nice and loose.
12. 12Place the first layer back in the pan (leaving the parchment on). Spread about 1/3 of a tub of the white frosting evenly on the layer.
13. 13Grab the next layer in your line-up. You can use the parchment to position it, lay it face down on the frosted first layer, and then just peel the parchment off.
14. 14Repeat with remaining layers, until you get to the last one, which you won't frost.
15. 15Wrap the pan with parchment (which won't stick to the cake) and then a layer of heavy foil and place in the freezer. Weigh the cake down using a cutting board or another pan, with a few pounds of frozen food or other freezer safe items on top.
16. 16Let the cake freeze at least overnight.
17. 17Several hours before serving, remove from freezer, unwrap, grab the cake slab out of the pan with the parchment handles, and get ready to cut. Cutting is best done when the cake is frozen!
18. 18Cut with a 2 1/2” diameter round biscuit cutter – and keep in mind that you’ll need a tall cutter with handles that don’t interfere too much. Once you've cut, just push the cake out of the cutter, gently but firmly onto a plate or cutting board. Repeat with remaining cake.
19. 19Top with frosting and sprinkles.
20. 20Spread rainbow cake joy throughout the land.

Taco Pizza!

Taco Pizza

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 envelope taco seasoning mix
• 2 (8 oz.) cans Pillsbury crescent rolls
• 1 (16 oz.) can refried beans (I used the jalapeño kind)
• 2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican blend
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives
• 4 green onions, chopped

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brown ground beef and drain. Add taco seasoning to the ground beef according to the package directions.
3. Unroll crescent rolls into rectangles. Place in ungreased 11 1/2 inch x 16 1/2 inch jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Press dough over the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides to form crust.  Bake at 375 oven for 11 to 13 minutes or just until golden brown.
4. Microwave beans in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute.  Carefully spread beans over warm crust creating a thin layer.
5. Top with cooked beef mixture, sprinkle with cheese followed by tomatoes, black olives and green onion.  Return to oven for 3-6 more minutes until cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.  Makes 12 main dish servings or 48 appetizers.