Queso Blanco Dip (White Cheese Dip)

My sweet friend Sarah sent me this amazing queso recipe.  If you haven't noticed, we eat a lot of Mexican food at our house, so we had this finished off in no time.  It would be great to snack on this while watching a football game.  You could also serve it as a sauce over your favorite Mexican dish. 

The recipe calls for a block of white American cheese, but I couldn't find a block of it, so I ended up using individual slices of white American cheese, and that worked just fine; it probably melted faster than the cubes would have.

Feel free to cut the recipe in half depending on the size of your crowd.

Queso Blanco Dip

1 1/4 (1.25) lb block white American cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup diced green chiles
10 pickled jalapeno slices, chopped
1 oz picked jalapeno juice
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup cold water
Pinch of cumin (optional)

Toss all ingredients into a large microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stopping to stir after every minute.  (The mixture might seem too liquid-y during the first few stirs, but it will come together nicely when all the cheese has melted.)

Serve immediately as a dip with tortilla chips.

Store leftovers in refrigerator.  Reheat in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until creamy and hot.

Oven Toasted Ravioli

I love toasted ravioli, and I'm so glad to discover how easy it is to make at home!  You can use thawed frozen ravioli or refrigerated ravioli, which is what I used.  It can easily make a main course for me, but it's great as an appetizer.  I'm sure you'll love it!  Thanks to Steph at Plain Chicken for sharing! 

Oven Toasted Ravioli

12 refrigerated ravioli
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
6 Tbsp Italian bread crumbs
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 375.  Whisk together egg and milk in shallow bowl.  In another bowl, combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.  Dip ravioli in egg mixture first and then in bread crumbs.  Place on baking sheet.  Repeat until all ravioli are coated.  Spray ravioli with cooking spray, and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with warm marinara or pesto.

Fried Pickles and Jalapenos with Blue Cheese Dip

These were absolutely delicious!  I adapted the recipe from this Paula Deen recipe I found a while back.  We ended up making two batches, just for the two of us! 

You can use fresh jalapenos like Paula Deen did, but I used sliced pickled jalapenos and bread and butter pickles.  Either way you do it, these will turn out great.  I didn't pour much oil in the skillet because I'm not used to frying things and because hot grease generally makes me nervous.  I only fried them for a minute or two per side, and that was enough. 

You have to assemble Fry Mix, and you should cut the recipe down or just be prepared to save some for later.  I'm sure it keeps in an airtight container for a couple of weeks.

The blue cheese dipping sauce is outstanding.  When we ran out of pickles and jalapenos, we moved on to Wheat Thins or anything else we could find.  I lightened it up by using fat-free Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and it was excellent. 

Fried Pickles and Jalapenos with Blue Cheese Dip

1 cup Fry Mix (Recipe below)
1/4 cup Pickled jalapeno slices
1/4 cup Bread and butter pickles
Canola oil, for frying (or peanut oil or vegetable oil)

Heat a small amount of oil in a deep skillet to 375.  While the oil heats up, coat the jalapeno slices and pickle slices in the fry mix.  Using a slotted spoon or tongs, carefully lower the jalapenos and pickles into the oil.  Fry for about 2 minutes, turning them to brown evenly.  Drain on a paper-towel lined plate, and season with salt.  Serve immediately with Blue Cheese Dip (recipe below).


Fry Mix

3 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup self-rising white cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed black pepper

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix.


Blue Cheese Dip

1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup low-fat mayonaisse
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup (2 oz) crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions

Combine the yogurt, mayonaisse, salt, and pepper.  Fold in the blue cheese and green onions.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Rattlesnake Bites (Beef-Stuffed Crescents)

I was so pleased with how these came out!  The recipe below shows how to make them fromm scratch, but I approached these with some leftover hamburger patties that had already been grilled.  For some reason, a leftover hamburger sounded awful, but transformed into these Rattlesnake Bites, they were awesome!  (I think they're called Rattlesnake Bites because of the good kick of heat that they have.  They're not too hot, but it's just enough to not be bland.  If you wanted to crank up the heat, you could add chopped jalapenos, too.) 

You can use regular-sized crescent rolls, and those would be great appetizers or finger food; just know with those, you'll only get about a tablespoon of the meat filling for each roll.  I used the jumbo rolls and put about 1/3 cup of filling per roll.  

Also, there wasn't any neat rolling going on.  As long as I got the seams pressed together, I was satisfied.  They tasted excellent whether or not they looked like crescents. 

Rattlesnake Bites

1 lb ground beef
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (I used original Rotel)
4 oz low fat cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes
Salt and pepper
2 tubes refrigerated jumbo crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375.  In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until it is no longer pink; drain.  In a bowl, combine meat, tomatoes and chiles, cream cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. 

Separate crescent dough into triangles.  Divide the beef mixture evenly along the short end of each triangle; carefully roll up.  Place on greased cookie sheets.  Bake in preheated oven for 14-17 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

Fried Tomato Sandwiches

YUM!  Buck's tomato plants are yielding beautiful, fresh tomatoes, and we couldn't wait to try them out.  These open-face sandwiches were delicious!  We had friends over and made two separate batches of these.  So good!

Notes about the recipe: The tomatoes tend to fall apart in the skillet, so slice them a bit thicker than you might normally.  Since I fried the tomatoes in butter, I wanted to save some fat somewhere, so opted for fat-free cream cheese on the baguette.  I also thought about substituting Laughing Cow cheese for the cream cheese; I might try that next time.  Also, you'll probably have to cook these in batches.  There's no skillet in my house big enough for so many slices of tomatoes, but I could fit half of what it called for.

I want to especially thank my aunt Carolyn and my wonderful cousins for giving me the cookbook that contained this recipe.  I appreciate it very much. :)

Fried Tomato Sandwiches

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
3-4 ripe tomatoes
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
Salt and pepper
1 baguette cut into thin (1/4" slices)

Melt butter in skillet.  Place sliced tomatoes in pan, and sprnkle with half of the sugar, salt, and pepper.  Saute for 4-5 minutes; flip and sprinkle with remaininng sugar, salt, and pepper.  If tomatoes seem runny, continue to saute on low heat until sauce thickens. 

Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet, and broil until golen.  Spread with softened cream cheese, and return to oven until cream cheese bubbles.  Spread friend tomatoes over open-faced toasted baguette.

Tomato, Feta, and Basil Tart

What a perfect recipe for the summer!  Our tomato plants actually already have tiny tomatoes on them (so early!), and our basil is taking off.  When I make it again, I'll add more basil after it comes out of the oven.

I used a refrigerated pizza crust for this, and it was really easy.  If possible, put it on a hot pizza stone, so the bottom of the crust can be crispy; otherwise, it's a little soft, but it's still good.  Feel free to make your own crust for this if you're inclined.

Hope you enjoy--the tart, as well as the beginning of summer!

Tomato, Feta, and Basil Tart

1 refrigerated pizza crust
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup (2 oz) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup basil leaves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 425.  Place dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, on top of dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold edges of dough over tomatoes to partially cover. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, and sprinkle with basil.

Southwestern Egg Rolls

Happy hour is a regular occurrence for us, but with this beautiful weather we're already having, we're about to change our HH location from a restaurant to our back porch.  We've found that these egg rolls are very good with a cold drink after a long day at work.  They're really good!  We'll be making these often.

The recipe below makes 6 egg rolls, but you could easily double or triple it for your crowd.  I used cilantro instead of parsley.  To make it easy on yourself, use rotisserie chicken or Crock Pot Salsa chicken; I bet you could even use canned chicken.  If you wanted a meatless recipe, you could leave out the chicken and use more black beans for protein.

Southwestern Egg Rolls

1 Tbsp vegetable oil6 (6 inch) flour tortillas
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half, cooked and shredded
2 Tbsp minced green onion
2 Tbsp minced red bell pepper
1/3 cup corn kernels
1/4 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp diced jalapeno peppers
1/2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley or cilantro
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/3 tsp salt
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 450. 

Heat vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in green onion and red pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until tender. Add shredded chicken into the pan with onion and red pepper. Mix in corn, black beans, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until well blended and tender. Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack cheese so that it melts.


Wrap tortillas with a clean, lightly moist cloth. Microwave on high approximately 1 minute, or until hot and pliable. Spoon even amounts of mixture into each tortilla.  Fold ends of tortillas, then roll tightly around mixture. Secure with toothpicks.

Place egg rolls on baking sheets sparyed with cooking spray.  Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven, turning tortillas after 8 minutes for even browning.  Cut diagonally, and serve warm.

Sliders

I have to be honest.  These were incredible.  We wanted to go to happy hour at a restaurant, but I knew I could make happy hour food at the house, and these fit the bill perfectly.  They were awesome.  I wish I'd discovered them during football season. 

I used the 93/7 ground beef in an effort to not feel as guilty about mixing in mayonaisse and cheese, and I'm glad I made that decision.  I'm sure they'd be extra flavorful with 80/20, but like I said: mayonaisse and cheese are added on top of that.  Even though you will drain the extra grease, going lean on the meat doesn't hurt. 

The recipe is easy to double or triple, depending on your crowd (or just your appetite).  We didn't eat all twelve of ours, but we found that they reheat in the microwave nicely.

We ate these with fries and beer.  It was not a healthy night, but it was certainly a happy night. 

Sliders

1 lb ground beef
12 dinner rolls, split in half (I used King's Hawaiian rolls)
1/2 (1oz) envelope onion soup mix
2 heaping Tbsp mayonaisse
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  In a skillet, combine ground beef with onion soup mix.  Cook and stir together over medium high heat until beef is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink.  Drain and discard any excess grease.  Remove from heat.  When slightly cooled, stir the mayo and cheese into the ground beef mixture.

Slice the rolls in half sandwich style.  Place the bottoms of the rolls on a baking sheet that has been lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.  Place the meat mixture on top of the roll bottoms.  Replace the tops of the rolls.  Cover with another sheet of foil sprayed with cooking spray. 

Bake in the preheated oven until heated through and cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. 

Cream Cheese Jalapeno Crescent Poppers

These are just as amazing as the name suggests.  They're also extremely easy to make, and you probably already have all the ingredients in your refrigerator.  They were fantastic as an appetizer when we tried them, and it isn't difficult to have five of them without batting an eye.  Try them!  You will love them! 

Cream Cheese Jalapeno Crescent Poppers

1 can crescent roll dough
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 oz pickled jalapenos, diced
1 Tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, jalapenos, and sugar until mixed thoroughly.  Unroll crescent roll dough into two long and skinny rectangles.  Press the seams together.  With the back of the spoon, spread half of the cream cheese mixture onto one of the rectangles. 

Once the filling has been spread on one of the crescent roll rectangles, roll up dough on the long end (so you'll have a long, skinny roll).  Cut the roll into 16 pieces, and place each piece cream cheese-side-up (and down) on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 13 minutes.  Repeat with remaining crescent rectangle and remaining half of cream cheese mixture.  Enjoy!

Meatballs a la Pizzaiola

Have you recently watched one of Giada's shows on the Food Network?  She always looks beautiful, and she always makes food that sounds so delicious.  One thing that doesn't sound so great to us, however, is her pronunciation of Italian words.  Let's be honest.  It's annoying.  I have her cookware and her food processor from Target, but I roll my eyes when I hear her say mozzarella.  Or, if you hear Buck imitate her, MOZZZAREELLLLLLA.  She's a wee bit ridiculous.

Anyway, we made these very good meatballs with some pasta (PASta) and a side of marinara sauce.  You could do these as a hearty appetizer or with spaghetti. (spaGHEtti)  Next time, I'd either bake them on a rack over a baking sheet (so some of the fat will drip out) or just pan fry them entirely (so they will develop a good crust).  The half and half that I did wasn't strong.  I also used 1 1/2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes, and they were just a little spicy; you can adjust the seasoning to your liking.

During our Italian lesson with Giada, we learned that the title of this dish means that they're meatballs with all the flavors from a pizzeria: sundried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, tomato paste, not to mention the little cube of mozzarella in the middle.  They didn't especially taste pizza-flavored to us, but they were very good either way.  The recipe below makes a whopping 3 dozen meatballs, so cut the recipe to make it suit your needs.

Meatballs a la Pizzaiola

Cooking spray
2 large shallots, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained (5 or 6)
1/3 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds 20-percent fat ground beef
1 pound ground pork
6 ounces smoked mozzarella, cut into 36 (1/2-inch) cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cups marinara sauce, warmed


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside. In a food processor, pulse together the shallots, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, shredded mozzarella, Parmesan, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, and salt. Process until blended. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the beef and pork and, using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Form the mixture into 36 equal-size meatballs (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter).  Insert 1 cube smoked mozzarella cheese into the center of each meatball and form the meat around it, completely enclosing the cheese.


In a large nonstick skillet, heat half the oil over medium heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining oil and meatballs.  Place the browned meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes for medium doneness. Set aside to cool slightly, and serve with warm marinara sauce

Cheesy Corn Puffs

This recipe is in this month's Food Network Magazine as a new twist on an old-fashioned kitchen staple: a can of creamed corn.  They were good, but I think they'd be even better with some sharp Cheddar cheese or some chopped jalapenos.  As much as I love pepper jack cheese, it doesn't have the kick that these need. 

Cheesy Corn Puffs

1 cup creamed corn
1 tsp salt
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese, plus more for topping
3 eggs
1 Tsbp fresh chopped chives

Preheat the oven to 400.  Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray.  Bring the corn, butter, and salt to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat.  Reduce the heat to low, add the flour, and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 2 mintues.

Scrape the dough into a bowl; let cool slightly.  Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well between each addition.  Stir in the cheese and chives.  Chill the dough 15 minutes. 

Scoop tablespoon-size mounds of dough onto the prepared sheets, about 2 inches apart.  Sprinkle with more cheese.  Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown and puffy, 20-25 minutes.  Serve warm. 

Club Sandwich Puffs

This is another recipe I adapted from Plain Chicken.  They were so good, and they're a great appetizer or snack for tailgating.  They're quick to put together, and you probably have most of the ingredients in your refrigerator already.  Try them!  They're great fresh out of the oven. 

Club Sandwich Puffs

1 oz deli ham, chopped
1 oz deli turkey, chopped
2 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 tsp minced onion flakes
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 egg
1 Tbsp honey mustard
1 (8oz) package refrigerated crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350.  In a small bowl, combine finely chopped ham, turkey, bacon bits, onion flakes, cheese, honey mustard, and egg.  Mix well.

Lightly spray a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.  Unroll crescent rolls and press into one large rectangle; cut rectangle into 24  squares.  Press dough squares into muffin cups and shape up around the edges.  Fill each muffin cup with some of the meat mixture.  Bake 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Black Bean Dip

This is based on the recipe for Paula Deen's Monster Mash, but I don't think we should limit it to just Halloween.  This dip has a place at your party table all year long.  It's extremely easy, and it was really good!  I liked it better when it was hot instead of when it had gotten to room temperature.

I let myself feel okay about eating huge quantities of this dip because I used fat free cream cheese, shredded cheese made with 2% milk, and organic fat-free black beans.  Surely that cancels out the bag of chips we ate along with it. 

It makes quite a bit, too, so you can save any leftovers (or in my case, what wouldn't comfortably fit into the 8x8 dish), and spread it in some tortillas with shredded chicken for a delicious soft taco later in the week.

Black Bean Dip

4 oz cream cheese
2 (20.5 oz) cans refried black beans
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
2 cups (8 oz) shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 Tbsp taco seasoning
Tortilla chips, for serving

Preheat oven to 325.  Lightly spray a 2-quart baking dish.  Cut cream cheese into small cubes and place on bottom of dish.  Combine beans, tomatoes, taco seasoning, and 1 cup of the shredded cheese, and spoon into the baking dish.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Remove from oven, and stir so that the cream cheese is combined with the other ingredients.  Turn on the broiler.  Top dip with the remaining cup of shredded cheese, and broil until the cheese has melted and is slightly browned.  Serve hot with tortilla chips. 

Chicken and Black Bean Mini Empanadas

I really liked these!  This were really good served with salsa and sour cream.  If you're going to the trouble to make them, you might as well make several sheets of them, and that's fine because they reheat beautifully.  I was able to get 11-12 empanadas per sheet of puff pastry, and I cut them into circles with a water glass.  I'm sure a biscuit cutter is more proper, but you use what you have.  Similarly, I used a beer bottle to roll the puff pastry dough into the a bigger rectangle because I didn't have a rolling pin.  I've since received one.  (Thanks, Amanda.)

To speed up the process, you can also make the filling the day ahead.  I made the filling with my favorite, Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken, but you could use any shredded or ground meat--beef, pork, turkey, or deer (if you live in my neck of the woods).  The recipe calls for a can of black beans, but I didn't even use half of it. 

This is the perfect party appetizer or tailgate food, and they're nice and filling.  You should try these! 

Chicken and Black Bean Mini Empanadas

4 sheets Puff Pastry dough
1 egg
1 Tbsp water
1/2 lb  cooked shredded salsa chicken
1 Tbsp Philadelphia Cooking Creme Southwest Blend
1 small red bell pepper, diced (I used one from a jar)
2 tsp dried minced onion flakes
1 tsp taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used the 4 cheese Mexican blend)
1/2 (15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Thaw the puff pastry sheets at room temperature for 40 minutes or until they're easy to handle.  Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Stir the egg and water with a fork in a small bowl.

Heat a skillet over medium heat, and combine the chicken, bell pepper, taco seasoning, and Cooking Creme until warm.  Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese and half the can of black beans. 

Unfold one sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface, and roll out into a 16"x12" rectangle.  Cut into 12 (2.5") rounds.  Put 1 teaspoon of the chicken mixture on each round.  Wet the edges of the round; fold over and press the edges with a fork to seal.  Place the empanadas on the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining sheets of puff pastry.  Brush empanadas with egg wash. 

Bake for 18 minutes or until golden.  Serve with salsa and sour cream. 

Ham and Cheese Hot Pockets

In this month's Food Network Magazine, there are recipes for different dinner pockets.  Just like Hot Pockets, these were nice and tasty, but they're better because you can control the ingredients that go into them.  In the magazine, they suggest broccoli-cheddar pockets, shredded chicken pockets, and picadillo pockets.  We went with good ol' ham and cheese. 

These were so easy because the recipe only calls for refrigerated bread dough.  The can that I had expired in April, so instead of wagering a precious sick day over a $3 can of bread dough, I opted for the two new cans of crescent rolls that I had.  I think they were even better than they'd be if I'd followed the recipe.

I'm putting the recipe like it calls for in the magazine, but if I use two cans of crescent rolls again, I'll definitely make more filling next time.  Also, change it up to make it how you like it--I always use whatever cheese we have, which usually ends up being the Mexican four-cheese blend.  If you want to splurge on some gruyere, be my guest!

Ham and Cheese Hot Pockets

1 (11oz) tube refrigerated French bread dough (or 2 cans crescent rolls)
1 cup (about 4 oz) grated cheese
1 cup (about 4 oz) deli sliced ham
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne pepper
All-purpose flour, for dusting
Cooking Spray
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 425.  Mix the cheese, ham, mustard, nutmeg, and cayenne in a bowl until combined.  Squeeze the mixture together with your hands to make it compact.  Spray a baking sheet lightly with cooking spray. 

On a floured surface, roll out the dough.  (If using bread dough, cut the dough into four pieces, and roll out each piece into a 6"x8" rectangle.  If using crescent rolls, cut the dough into 8 pieces.)  Divide the filling evenly among each dough rectangle.  Fold the two shorter sides of the dough over the filling, stretching the dough to cover.  Fold the two longs ides of the dough to form a packet; pinch the edges to seal. 

Place the pockets seam-side-down on the prepared baking sheet.  Beat the egg and one tablespoon of water in a small bowl; brush the pockets with the egg wash.  Bake until golden-brown, or about 15 minutes. 

Bacon and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

These were great!   I made the filling for the caps the day before, and then I stuffed them and baked them the day I served them.  These would probably be even better if some breadcrumbs were involved, but these were excellent how they were.  I tripled the recipe below, but you can change it to suit your own needs.  You can also use whatevevr mushrooms you want, but I used baby bellas.  Yum!

Bacon and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
8 mushrooms
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 400. 

Remove mushroom stems; set aside caps, and chop the stems.  In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.  Slowly cook and stir the chopped stems and onion until the onion is soft; remove from heat. 

Place onion caps on baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil.  Roast for 5-6 minutes, and remove from oven. 

In a medium bowl, stir together the mushroom stem mixture, bacon, and 1/2 cup of cheese.  Mix well.  Scoop the mixture into the mushroom caps.  Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.  Remove from the oven, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Parmesan Pesto Crescent Rolls

This was the perfect bread to go with our pasta.  (Read: these carbs were delicious with our other carbs.)  It was nice to get so much taste from such little effort.  We'll have these again soon! 

Parmesan Pesto Crescent Rolls

1 can crescent rolls
Basil pesto
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375.  Unroll crescent rolls on baking sheet.  On each unrolled cresecnt, place 1/2 tablespoon pesto and 1 teaspoon grated Paremsan cheese.  If desired, sprinkle extra Parmesan cheese on top of rolls.  Roll up and bake for 11-13 minutes.  Enjoy!

Banana Bread Bruschetta

I saw this recipe in a Southern Living cookbook, and since I had just made banana bread, I couldn't help but try it out.  YUM.  This was delicious!  If you want to make your own banana bread, you can of course use the recipe for Almost No Fat Banana Bread, but you could easily just buy a loaf at the bakery.  This would be great at brunch with a mimosa, or you could use it as an appetizer at a party.  It's wonderful.

Banana Bread Bruschetta

1 loaf banana bread
Goat cheese
Apricot or pear preserves

Slice banana bread into half-inch-thick slices.  Cut each slice in half, and arrange on a baking sheet.  Broil 6 inches from heat for 2 minutes.  Spread each slice evenly with 2 tsp goat cheese and 1/2 tsp apricot or pear preserves. 

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls

I can assure you that this is not on the pre-wedding diet. 

This bread is just sinful.  It is SO good.  You should make it right away; I just recommend that you make it when several other people are around.  Otherwise, it would be too easy to pull off all the pieces and eat it all by yourself.

Thank you, Steph at Plain Chicken, for your amazing recipe!

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls

1 round, unsliced loaf sourdough bread
8 oz Cheddar cheese, shredded
3 oz bag Oscar Meyer Real Bacon Bits (or crumbled cooked bacon)
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 Tbsp Ranch dressing mix

Preheat oven to 350.  Using a sharp bread knife, cut the bread in both directions, but don't cut through the bottom crust.  Sprinkle the cheese and bacon bits in between the cuts.  Mix together the butter and Ranch dressing mix, and pour it over the bread.  Wrap in foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Unwrap bread, and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted. 

Chipotle Ranch Chicken Sliders

In the July/August issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray, she has several slider recipes, and it inspired us to come up with our own recipe.  I read through them all and liked the idea of grilled chicken sliders, and I really liked how easily we could change the recipes according to our taste.  You could add cheese and bacon (and I'm a little shocked now that we didn't), onions and peppers, different condiments, etc.  You can also change the marinade, which would completely change the flavor of the chicken.  (The chipotle flavor could have been enhanced in this recipe if I'd put added a pepper from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, but I didn't have any, so we just relied on the marinade.)  We ate these with my favorite--sweet potato fries--and it was a quick and yummy dinner. 

Chipotle Ranch Chicken Sliders

1 lb chicken tenders
1/4 cup Lawry's Baja Chipotle marinade
Lettuce
Tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1/4 cup Ranch dressing
Dinner rolls

Marinate chicken tenders in Lawry's marinade for at least 30 minutes (the longer, the better).  In a small bowl, combine the Ranch dressing and chopped cilantro; set aside.

When ready to cook, heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray.  Grill chicken tenders, turning occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.  Let rest briefly, and then shred the chicken with two forks.

Slice the rolls.  Layer the chicken on the bottom half, and top with lettuce and tomato.  Spread the cilantro-ranch mixture on the top half of the rolls, and place it on top of the slider.