New Year's Eve Cheese Ball

New Year's Eve Cheeseball - from KitchenAid Stand Mix Recipe Booklet
1 cup very sharp old cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
8 oz package light cream cheese
2 green onions, very finely chopped
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 pecans, very finely chopped

1. Place all ingredients, except pecans, in mixer bowl. Beat on medium speed for about 1 minute, until well mixed.

2. Scrape cheese mixture from the bowl onto a piece of waxed paper.

3. Using your hands and the waxed paper, form into a round ball.

4. Spread pecans on a small plate.

5. Roll cheese ball in pecans until evenly covered.

6. Wrap ball in waxed paper and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Serve with crackers and/or fresh vegetables.

Makes 24 servings.

This recipe is being linked at the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Baked Brie

Baked Brie - from Mumma
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup brandy
2 lb ring of brie

1. Mix together brown sugar, walnuts and brandy.

2. Pour over cheese.

3. Cover and chill for at least two hours.

4. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

Serve with crackers.

Bacon and Cream Cheese Dip

Bacon and Cream Cheese Dip - from Mumma

1 8 0z brick cream cheese
1/2 cup mayo
3 green onions, chopped
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup grated cheese

1. Mix all ingredients and place in small casserole dish.

2. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly.

Serve with crackers.

Lobster and Cream Cheese Dumplings

One of my favourite restaurants has a delicious crab and cream cheese dumping appetizer. WA while back, I remember The First Year Wife, mentioning that her husband makes cream cheese dumplings. I asked her for the directions and she told me what he does. So, I went by her instructions and modified the filling a bit for a yummy Christmas eve appetizer.

Lobster and Cream Cheese Dumplings
1 can frozen lobster meat, thawed and drained (you can also use crab)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2-3 green onions, or chives, finely chopped
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic
Salt
Pepper
1 package large egg roll wrappers
2 eggs, beaten

1. Mix all ingredients, except egg roll wrappers, in a medium mixing bowl.

2. Remove egg roll wrappers from the package. One at a time, dip egg roll wrappers into the beaten egg mixture to coat.

3. Lay flat on a cookie sheet. Scoop a heaping spoonful of filling on wrapper.

4. Fold up to close. Repeat until all filling is used.

5. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until browned. Then, turn on the broiler and broil for 2 minutes to crisp them up.** You can also deep fry these, if you'd like. If so, don't bother with the egg wash.

Serve with sweet and spicy thai sauce for dipping.

Makes 12 dumplings.

Black Bean Dip

Look for a quick, easy, and delicious appetizer to take to a New Year's Eve party? Here it is!

Black Bean Dip
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 jar salsa
1 can corn, drained
2 green onions, chopped
Chili powder, to taste
Tortilla chips

1. Mix together first 5 ingreidents. Taste, add more seasoning if necessary.

2. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping.

Makes LOTS of servings!

Taryn's Spinach Dip

A few weeks ago, my girl Taryn, posted this awesome recipe for homemade spinach dip. On Christmas eve, my mom always prepares a lunch of snack-y type foods for their staff before closing for the holidays. This year, since we were all home by then, we joined in. I decided to make this dip as my contribution. It is so yummy. Thanks Taryn!

Creamy Spinach Dip - From Taryn

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 (8-ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 loaf of pumpernickel bread
**Next time, I will also add in one jar of chopped artichoke hearts

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 5 ingredients (through spinach) in a large bowl; stir until well blended.

3. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan.

4. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

5. Serve in a pumpernickel bread bowl, with cubes of bread for dipping.

Greek Style Nachos

Greek Style Nachos with Baked Pitas - inspired by Sandra Lee
4 pitas
2 T EVOO
4-6 tsp Greek seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T minced onion
1 lb groung lamb, beef or venison (although 1/2 lb would be MORE than enough)
1 cup hummus
1 cup tzatiki
1 large tomato, finely chopped
1/4 cucumber, finely chopped
1/2 red oinion, finely chopped
1/2 can sliced black olives
1 cup lettuce, shredded
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1. Brown meat with garlic, minced onion and 2 tsp Greek seasoning. Drain. Meanwhile, prepare pitas and toppings. For pitas, use a pizza cutter to section each one into 8 wedges. Arrange on a foil lined baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with 2 tsp Greek seasoning. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes, until brown and crispy. Chop all toppings.

2. Spread hummus along the bottom of a deep dish pie plate. Sprinkle with remaining Greek seasoning. This isn't really all that necessary but I only had a little bit left so I used it up.

3. Top with ground meat. Like I said, I used an entire pound but 1/2 would have been more than enough. I now wish I had kept the other half to put on pizza tonight.

4. Top with tzatiki. Don't worry - I will never figure out how to spell this word.

5. Top with remaining toppings, ending with feta cheese.

Serve with baked pita chips and/or regular tortilla chips. This makes a delicious appetizer or an interesting meal. We had it for our meal with cucumber dill salad. The only problem is, we ate less than half of it and it doesn't do to well as leftovers.

Seven Layer Nacho Dip

Some variation of this recipe has been found at almost every party or social event that I've ever been to. This is one of the simplest party recipes in the books. But, I always find that it is the biggest crowd pleaser. Everyone loves them some nachos! Sorry about the photo - someone had already decided to give the dip a try before I got a chance to snap a picture!

Nacho Dip
1-2 cups light sour cream
2 T guacamole seasoning (or any kind of tex-mex type of seasoning, if you've got it)
2 tomatoes, chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/4 can black olives, sliced
1 cup salsa
1-2 cups shredded cheese (tex-mex blend is great!)

Layer all ingredients in an 8x8 baking dish, starting with sour cream, followed by the vegetables, salsa and then topped with cheese. Serve with Tostito's scoops!

I've also seen this dip made with a cream cheese and taco seasoning base and also refried beans.

What variation of the seven layer nacho dip do you prefer?

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

I found this recipe for a while and had been saving it for just the right occasion. Just the right occasion came this weekend when we had a party with a group of our friends from high school.


Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip - adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
1/2 package of light cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/8 tsp ginger 1/8 tsp allspice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth. Chill for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Serve with graham crackers and apples for spreading. Be sure to inform your guests that it is not, in fact, roasted red pepper hummus, before they slop it on their plate and let it mix together with their salsa.


This recipe is being shared at Tempt my Tummy Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday.

Coconut Shrimp

This week's chef for the Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge is Alton Brown. This was the hardest week for me to choose a recipe for so far because as I browsed through his recipes I found myself bookmarking and bookmarking and bookmarking. Although I finally narrowed it down to one recipe to make for the purpose of this challenge, I do have a number of his other recipes on the "to-do list" such as garden vegetable soup, squash soup and sweet potato waffles (I'm hoping some of the rest of you chose these recipes so I can see some reviews!)

The recipe I ended up choosing was coconut shrimp. Although you may have heard me mention my dislike for coconut in the past, coconut shrimp is one of my very favourite treats. I am not sure what ever possessed me to even try it because I cannot handle even the tiniest bit of coconut but I did and I'm glad. Actually, now that I think of it, I think the FD's aunt made it for our survivor finale party once and I decided to try it and fell in love.

A few weeks ago, there was a really great sale on frozen shrimp and we grabbed a few bags to stock up. So, I thought this would be a perfect time to try this favourite of mine, since I usually only have it at a restaurant or out of a box from the grocery store.

Coconut Shrimp - adapted from Alton Brown
Makes 4-6 servings (or more if using it as an appetizer)
24-30 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (the recipe also suggests butterflied but I didn't both with that)
1/2 cup cornstarch (I think you could do just fine with 1/4)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 egg whites (the recipe calls for 4 - totally not necessary)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (the recipe called for 2 1/2 but I thought that was a lot so I started with just 1 cup and was glad I did or else I would have wasted a lot. Unless you have big shrimp, you won't need that much)

1. Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel.

2. In a small bowl combine cornstarch, salt, pepper, and cayenne.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy.

4. In another bowl, place the coconut.

5. Coat the shrimp with the cornstarch and shake off any excess.

Dip into the egg white and then press into the coconut to get full coverage (Oops - I did it backwards with the first few and went egg, cornstarch then coconut. My bad.) Try to keep 1 hand dry, this will keep things a little cleaner (Alton is right - this sure was helpful!).

6. While the recipe instructs you to deep fry the shrimp, I decided to stick with baking it to avoid the use of the oil. I was kind of worried I wouldn't like it as much as I am not a fan of coconut but it worked great. If you wish to bake it like I did, place shrimp in a single layer on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 375 for 6 minutes. Turn shrimp and continue baking for another 6 minutes, until the coconut is crispy and the shrimp is done. I turned on the broiler for the last minute to really crisp it up.

I skipped the peanut sauce suggested in the recipe and served it with sweet and spicy thai sauce. The shrimp were definitely lighter than traditional coconut shrimp since they were baked rather than fried but the flavour was delicious and the texture of the coconut did not bother me at all. I will definitely be making this again!