Pickle Wrap Dip

 Here is another one of the many dips, spreads, cheese balls, that

we tried over the holidays.

This one was pretty darn easy to put together.

Just three ingredients and you are ready to dive in with your crackers.

16 oz. cream cheese, soft

12 oz. deli sliced ham, diced

16 oz. baby dills, drained and diced

Mix all together and chill

 We found out that if you let this chill overnight the flavors seem to pop more.

And yes, this tastes just like the pickle wrap slices.

 The recipe came through my Facebook feed without a link.

So I don't have anyone to credit this recipe to.

I will admit that the recipe does not belong to me.

Whoever it was that thought of doing this is a genius.

Sure does beat spreading, wrapping, and slicing.

See Ya'all Soon!

Club Sandwich Dip

 One thing we have been doing over the holidays

(from before Thanksgiving until now)

is, we have been trying different dips and cheese balls.

We have tried some really good ones, 

and also ones that aren't very good.

But we have been having fun trying the different combinations.

This one struck my attention because of the name.

Who doesn't like a good club sandwich?

And to have it on a cracker.....even better.

This one didn't last long in our house.

Actually, we wiped it out in one day.

I skipped the crock pot method and did mine on the stove.

I didn't want to wait for this goodness. 

I found this recipe in a Family Circle Magazine.

Hometown Favorites, Volume 6

Club Sandwich Dip

1 lb. smoked turkey, chopped

8 oz. cooked ham, chopped

8 oz. process cheese spread (Velveeta)

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, cut up

1 c. light mayonnaise

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

6 slices bacon, crisp-cooked, drained, and crumbled

1/2 c. cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 TBS sliced green onion

Whole wheat toast points (I served mine with Wheat Thins)

In a 3 1/2 or 4 qrt slow cooker combine turkey, ham, process cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and mustard.

Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 1-2 hours or until cheeses are melted, stirring after 1 hour.

Serve immediately or keep warm, covered, on warm setting or low-heat setting for up to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Before serving, stir in half of the bacon. Top with the remaining bacon, tomatoes, and green onion. Serve with whole wheat toast points.

See Ya'all Soon!

Beer Cheese Dip

 This recipe came from Culinary Hill.

And when they say "addictive" they are telling the truth.

We wiped this out in one sitting.

 I served this with Ritz crackers and the new Tostito Rolls.

This is a very good dip.

Great for parties and family gatherings.

It is so good that I'm thinking about serving this for our Thanksgiving.

It will put a little life into the original veggie and cheese trays.

Beer Cheese Dip

3 (8 oz.) pkgs cream cheese, softened
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, I shredded my own
1 pkg dry ranch salad dressing mix
6 oz. beer
1/2 tsp. onion powder
garlic powder to taste

Combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese (save a little for garnish), ranch mix, beer, and spices. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. If you can wait that long.....Sprinkle with a little shredded cheddar cheese.

Strawberry Pizza

Well,

now that strawberry season is pretty much over with,

I thought I would share this recipe that I threw together one day.

I had to go to Johnie's Facebook page to steal the picture. 

When I threw this together I didn't think I would need to post it

to the blog.

Strawberry pizza is a popular item, right?

But then I thought (after I made it, and ate it), I put my own

personal twist in this recipe.

I will do my best to put this together for you.

Strawberry Pizza

1 pkg. sugar cookie mix, prepared as instructed on package

Spread on a pizza pan. Keep it away from the edges because it will spread as it bakes.

I baked it in a 350 F. degree oven until it turned light brown.

I left it cool completely.

For the cream cheese mixture I did this:

1-8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened

2 left over packages of cream cheese frosting I had leftover from pumpkin whoopie pie kits.

1/4 c. Domino light sugar & stevia blend

1 tsp. vanilla

Mixed this all in a Kitchen Aid mixer, spread on the cooled cookie crust.

Sliced cleaned strawberries. Blended half of them in a blender. Poured the blended strawberries in with the sliced ones and spread them on the cream cheese mixture.

1 c. chopped cocoa almonds.

Sprinkled on top of the strawberries.

And there you have it. Strawberry pizza!

You can make your cream cheese mixture any way you want to. I just used what I had in my kitchen. This was dearly loved by everyone in the house.

See Ya'all Soon!

November 3rd & Gooey Pumpkin Roll Bars

 November 3rd is the mark of Johnie and I's first full year together.

I thought I would share one of our "best memories" picture.

I love this picture of us.

And that day was full of adventure.

This photo captures the perfect ending.

The past year has been so wonderful.

Full of adventure,

romance,

fun,

and lots of love.

We are both looking forward to many more years together.

We were not able to be together on our special day,

so I did the next best thing.

I made Johnie a sweet treat.

 The inspiration for this recipe came from Chef In Training.

When I run across cake mix recipes I try and use what I have in my cupboard

instead of running out and buying the exact ingredients.

My creation was turned into Gooey Pumpkin Roll Bars.

I had a box of Pumpkin Caramel Delight

and a French Vanilla cake mix.

Perfect match!

Just like Johnie and I.

 Of course,

Johnie loved them,

and so did all of his co-workers......

 With the cream cheese mixture on top these tasted just like a pumpkin roll.

And there is no rolling involved.

I used the caramel packet in the Pumpkin Delight box just 

to dress them up a bit.

Then I sprinkled on chopped pecans.

Gooey Pumpkin Roll Bars

1 box Pumpkin Delight cake mix
1/2 box French Vanilla cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg

Using a mixter, mix these ingredients together and press into a greased 9x13 cake pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Using the same mixer:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. powdered sugar

Mix these together until smooth. Spread over unbaked crust.
Place in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Mine used the entire 30 minutes.
Let it cool completely and drizzle the caramel packet over the bars. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.

See Ya'all Soon

Homemade Mac & Cheese

 Before we get started on this post we have a question to ask.

Have you ever had a total FAIL on the grill 

that ends up being one of the best things you've ever ate?

That is exactly what happened to us.

We wanted grilled burgers.

We seasoned the burger with dry Italian salad dressing seasoning.

Formed patties.

Placed them on the grill.

A great seasoned burger, right?

While Angie was in the kitchen preparing the mac & cheese

Johnie came yelling at the back door.

"Angie! Come quick! We have a serious problem!"

Johnie placed the burgers on the grill grate,

grilled one side like normal,

went to flip them and they fell apart.

Crumbled!

So Johnie's idea was cast iron skillet.

Angie ran inside to retrieve one.

Johnie finished the burger meat on the grill in a cast iron skillet.

He melted (glue) some garlic and herb goat cheese crumbles 

in with the meat.

We piled the meat and cheese mixture on toasted onion buns,

and it tasted just like the meat you would find in a gyro.

It was fantastic! 

So a total FAIL has the chance to be a total PLEASURE.

And the story behind the mac & cheese.....

A post from Walking on Sunshine came through the

Facebook feed for homemade mac & cheese.

We jotted down the ingredients that were needed 

and we made a mad dash to the grocery store.

While we were in line at the check-out this magazine jumped

off the shelf and into Angie's hands.

Isn't it crazy how that works?

Johnie and Angie looked over the recipe and decided

that Johnie should purchase this magazine for Angie.

Hey, Angie paid for the food items......

We will show you how we dressed this up a bit.

It is very easy to make,

and after it is all thrown together it just takes 

3 minutes under the broiler.

 We used whole wheat pasta spirals.

Added bacon pieces.

Threw in some dry spices (which does not add to the calories).

The bacon adds to the calories, but not much.....

We cooked up some bacon slices for our burgers.

When we had about 5 slices left we cut them in pieces and 

browned them for the mac & cheese.

This is what we did:

Homemade Mac & Cheese

10 oz. whole wheat spiral pasta

1 TBS olive oil

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 1/4 c. chicken broth, divided

1/2 c. 2% milk

8 tsp. flour

4 oz. cream cheese

1/4 tsp. salt (we did not salt)

1/4 tsp. ground pepper corns

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (more or less, up to you)

1 tsp. dry mustard

5 strips bacon, fried and crumbled

2 c. Mexican blend shredded cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.

Preheat broiler to high.

Heat a med. sized pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic to pan. Heat for 3 minutes. Add the bacon during the last minute.

Stir in 1 c. chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute.

In a bowl combine remaining chicken broth, milk, flour, and dry spices, stirring with a whisk until flour dissolves.

Add to bacon mixture.

Bring to a boil and whisk for 5 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken.

Remove from heat and add cream cheese. Stirring until smooth.

Add pasta and toss to coat.

Let stand 5 minutes.

Pour pasta mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish.

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Place casserole under broiler for 3 minutes. 

Ours didn't take that long. You don't want the cheese to get too brown.

Oh and, Johnie threw together a foil pack of butter,

sliced mushrooms, and onion on the grill.

Those also went on our super failed burgers.

Foodie Friends Friday!

Best party ever!! Come check out all the great recipes.

See ya'all soon

Pumpkin Cookie Cheesecake

 I have got to get this post from

my brain

to my fingers

to my computer

before I forget how I made this.

I went to Pinterest looking for a no-bake cheesecake recipe

that calls for marshmallow.

Of course, I was sent clicking all over the place 

until I finally ran across a typed out recipe available

to everyone for the taking.

No source!

But I made some changes of my own.

 For the crust I had some help from Mr. Pillsbury himself.

This is a pumpkin cookie mix.

The box mix was given to us by Johnie's sweet mother.

I mixed together 1 stick melted butter, 1/2 c. chopped pecans, 

and the dry cookie mix.

I pressed what I needed into two glass pie plates

(sprayed with cooking spray).

I had approximately 3/4 c. crumbs left over.

I placed the crusts, 

threw the extra crumbs on a small baking stone

to be baked with the crusts,

in a 350 degree F. preheated oven for 10 minutes.

 For the filling:

I mixed 1-8 oz. brick soft cream cheese,

1-16 oz. sour cream,

1 tsp. vanilla

in my stand mixer until smooth.

On the stove top over medium heat in a medium size pan

I mixed,

melt 1 stick of butter

1-16 oz. bag mini marshmallows.

Add the marshmallows a little at a time 

until they are all melted smooth.

After the marshmallows are all melted 

add it quickly to the cream cheese mixture.

Mix together until smooth.

Evenly pour the cheesecake mixture into the two pie crusts.

Place them in the fridge until set (about 2 hours).

After the pies are set

take them out and cut into individual servings.

Top each serving with Schmucker's salted caramel ice cream topping.

The left over baked crumbs are sprinkled on top of the caramel.

One whole pie went to work with Johnie.

I can't have this sweet stuff laying around the house....

I will eat it!!

And just to let ya'all know,

Johnie loved it.

See ya'all soon