Category: Appetizers and Snacks

Wow, it’s been a while – and a few Super Bowl snacks!

I promise, I never intended to take such a long break. But, the holidays kind of got in the way and then a vacation and then a sickness … and here we are! I hope that you all had the most fantastic holidays imaginable. Mine was great!

Every year is different – because every year, my daughters are older. Christmas with small children is very different than with adult (and almost adult) children. But, still magical none the less. One tradition that we’ve had since my girls were little is that I make them Christmas PJs every year. I’ve tried to stop doing it – but, they insist that I continue. That said, I thought that I would share a picture of their 2019 PJs. Rae Dunn inspired!

Now – onto a few snacks for the super bowl. To be fair, these were actually things that I made around the holidays – but, they work GREAT for a Super Bowl (or any) gathering.

The first is a sour cream dip that has to be one of my most favorite ‘snack’s ever. And, it is so simple! Just a few ingredients and you have one of the most delicious dips that you’ll ever taste. All you need is: 1 large container (I didn’t have a large container, so I used 1 1/2 of the normal sized containers) of sour cream (you can use fat free if you like, but full fat is definitely the most tasty!), 1 can of RoTel tomatoes and 1 packet of ranch dressing mix.

Just throw it all in a bowl (don’t drain your tomatoes), mix well – chill and serve with ruffles!

The second is something that we’ve been making for Christmas gatherings for as long as I can remember – but, also, great for a Super Bowl gathering. Again, just a few ingredients: 1 packet of flour tortillas, 1 container of whipped cream cheese (you can use regular cream cheese, but if you do, make sure that it sits out for a while to soften), deli ham slices and green onions.

All you do is lay out each tortilla, cover it with the cream cheese, lay ham on top and one green onion.

Roll them up as tight as possible. Put the rolled tortillas in the refrigerator for a couple hours.

After they have chilled for a while, just cut them into rounds and serve! Apologies that I don’t have a ‘final’ picture – I suspect we were running late to a family gathering, and I didn’t think to get the picture.

Well – those are a few of my options for a Super Bowl gathering! If you try any of them, I would love to hear about it!

And, despite the fact that I’ve been away, I have cooked some – and will be adding more recipes. I just have to get back into the swing of things! I hope to be back, regularly, soon!!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!!

by Michelle

Chocolate and Walnut Waffles

One of the kiddos wanted waffles for breakfast Sunday – so, waffles is what she got.

To make the waffles, we use the same batter as when we make pancakes – take a look at the post for my banana pancakes. For these waffles, just leave the bananas and cinnamon.

Then, just add in the amount of chocolate chips and walnuts you want (or any variation thereof) and you’re good to go. Cook the waffles in your waffle iron, per the instructions and serve with butter and syrup, if desired.

by Michelle

Easy Prosciutto Appetizers

I mentioned a few posts back that I like to keep puff pastry on hand. The kind I buy has two sheets in the package. I used one sheet to make these cinnamon rolls. The other sheet was used to make something delicious and savory!

I started by letting the pastry thaw out, until I could easily unfold it and roll it out a little bit. Once the pastry was ready, I decided on what I would use in my rolls – prosciutto, Swiss gruyere cheese and gouda cheese. I found these three ingredients at my local Aldi’s.

I started by layering on the prosciutto until the puff pastry was covered side to side, almost touching the edges.

I then sprinkled on the cheeses. I didn’t measure, but I would guess that I used between 1/4 – 1/3 cup of each cheese, give or take.

I then rolled the pastry up into somewhat of a log and then cut into 8 rolls. I then placed them on parchment paper, on a baking sheet.

They were baked in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes (until they were golden brown).

The flakiness of the pastry, coupled with the savory cheeses and prosciutto were a great combination.

These would make great appetizers for your holiday gathering (or even just a snack). They would also be great for brunch! They reheated nicely, as well.

by Michelle

‘Homemade’ Cinnamon Rolls

What’s not to love about cinnamon rolls?? We love them in our house – and we don’t mind popping open a store bought can of them, they are delicious. But, I decided that I wanted to make some myself. Now, I didn’t want to roll out dough – at least not this time – so I decided to use store bought puff pastry. So, I guess they are ‘semi-homemade’ – but, so delicious!!

Puff pastry is something that I’ve started keeping on hand – there is just so much that you can do with it. I started by letting the puff pastry thaw, until I could open it up (it comes folded in thirds) and roll it out just a bit.

Then I just sprinkled on brown sugar, cinnamon and a little bit of white sugar. I just eyeballed it and added as much as ‘looked right’ to me.

Then I rolled the pastry up, being sure to not let any of the sugar and cinnamon fall out, into kind of a log.

One sheet of pastry dough easily makes 8 cinnamon rolls. To ensure that I got the rolls the same size, I started by cutting the log in half, then cut the 2 halves into half again. Eight perfectly sized cinnamon rolls!

I put the rolls onto a baking pan (on parchment paper, for easier clean up).

I baked the rolls in the oven, at 400 degrees, for about 15 – 20 minutes (until the rolls are golden brown).

Cinnamon rolls aren’t complete without a glaze! While the rolls were baking, I made a simple glaze using confectioners sugar and heavy cream. Yum!

After the rolls were done, I slathered on the delicious glaze!

They are best served warm, right out of the oven, but even reheated (or even cold) – they are still good.

I’m thinking that these cinnamon rolls may be our Christmas morning breakfast!!

by Michelle

Smokey Jalapeno Wontons

I’ve talked about the Alouette Smokey Jalapeno cheese before – I used it when I made shrimp and grits, using it. This stuff is good!

I was looking for something quick, and kind of snacky (Is that a word? If it isn’t, it should be!), for lunch. I decided to use some of the wontons I had on hand and I had just picked up some of the Alouette Smokey Jalapeno cheese – it seemed like a match made in heaven.

I was just making these for me, for lunch – but, they would make a perfect appetizer, if you wanted to make a bunch of them. I decided to make 6 wontons (but accidentally took 7 out of the pack – 7 it is!).

I put about a tsp of the cheese in each wonton.

I wasn’t quite sure how to close them up – the first one, I just folded over into a triangle, but wasn’t quite sold on it. Then I decided to pinch the corners together, kind of like crab rangoon appetizers that I’ve had at Chinese restaurants. To close them up, just put a little bit of water where I was punching the wontons together.

I could have fried them – but, I decided to do them in the oven. In order to make them a little crispy, I did spray them with avocado spray.

I baked them in a 400 degree oven, for 15 minutes, on parchment paper. They were perfectly crispy!

Even the bottom of them were browned, since my avocado spray went on a little heavier than intended and I made sure to rub the wontons on the overspray – getting avocado oil on the bottom.

This was super easy – and now I want to do it with different Alouette cheeses!!

by Michelle