Category — Appetizers

Halloween is over and that means . . . *queue foreboding music* the holidays are upon us.

I know what you are all saying “I can’t stand it!  Why does it have to start so early?!?  I just won’t do it!  Just say NO!”  I did go through a phase where I didn’t want to decorate and I didn’t want to succumb to the commercialism.

But, I’m over it now.  I love it, I want STUFF!  I want to buy stuff!  I want to give people stuff.  I want to bake stuff!!  Yeah!!!  Bring it on . . . and the older I get the more I love it.

I think part of the reason I used to dread the season is because it was a chance for me to showcase how crazy and out of control my life can become.  And, let’s face it, I never want anyone to know how just how nuts I can get.  But, I have a little secret about how to do it.  It’s hidden in a little black book.

Unlike some of the other little black books out there that house phone numbers and perhaps a discreet rating scale, this little black book houses my holiday budget, the list of stuff I’ve already bought, wish lists from the kids, and an envelope in the back for receipts.  I even keep my standard cookie list on the back cover (it never changes).  This has become an invaluable tool for me and my family.

I personally think everyone should a little black book, since it has helped me so much.  I don’t miss deadlines or forget that there is a class party next week.  I even make notes like this one “Don’t forget to NOT give Aunt Zelda a vase in 2008.  She commented I have given her a vase for the last 2 years in a row.”  Do you seriously think I’m going to remember that otherwise?  Not even.  Everyone thinks I’m a whiz at remembering this stuff (’cept for a certain family member who will remain unnamed, but that’s a different story) thanks to my handy-dandy black book.

I wish I could come help every one of you guys who struggle to get through the holidays.  In all seriousness, I know this is a really hard time of the year for lots of folks.  And, I’ve been there.  It wasn’t that long ago that I couldn’t stand to decorate the tree and when it came to holiday parties at the school the girls were lucky if I even remembered the party - you can forget about sending treat bags to pass out, or a cookie tray to share with the class.

And, I can’t fill out a black book for you, and I can’t bake cookies or help you wrap presents this year.  But, I can still help you.  I’m here for you, dear readers.  Truly.

Over the next couple of months, I’m going to try posting some easy and freezable or make-ahead dinners.  Sometimes they will use convenience items.  Please know that I try my hardest to avoid using these things in my cooking.  But, when you’re trying to crank out hand sewn stockings for 20 cousins - I suppose it’s o.k. to crack open a can of mushroom soup at dinner time.

l’ll also try to adjust my posting routine for you all and focus more on holiday appropriate type snacks and veggies.  Perhaps some fresh ideas will help revitalize your holiday mood - whether you’re taking something along to Aunt Betty’s Holiday party (just say NO to green bean casserole, folks) or you’ve got 5 of your closest friends dropping by for holiday card making, you’re going to need some ideas.  Hopefully I can help you “wow” them this year.

I’ve also had a request for my “Must Have” kitchen tools.  You know, so you can hit up Hubby or the kids for something you “Must Have” on your holiday wish list?

I’ve actually been working on this list for over a year.  It’s kind of hard to keep it under about a thousand-million things.  Then, a really smart friend suggested I just list the things I take on vacation with me and I realized that she was right.  Her suggestion has helped tremendously.  I’m hoping to get the list up in time for Black Friday (since I know you’ll all be shopping early this year, right?!)

What’s that you asked??  Hmm?

YES.  I take my kitchen tools on vacation with me.  I mean.  You know.  Only the really really can’t-live-without-them things.  I do a lot of cooking when I travel, you know?  So, what of it??!!  Anyhow,

Let’s get started, shall we?

The honest truth about this dip?  I don’t really care for it, and neither does Hubby.  Now don’t get your unders all in a bunch. I haven’t lost my mind just yet. The truth is, I just don’t care for kielbasa, and Hubby doesn’t really care for cream cheese (I think it’s illegal to dislike cream cheese, btw?!?).  Since this dip has both Kielbasa and cream cheese in, it it’s not our favorite.  But, it is beautiful on a platter, easy to make, and transports well.  It’s always a big hit (for people who like Kielbasa and cream cheese, that is.)  Oh!  And, it’s great for your diabetic and low-carbing friends - if they watch the bread intake.

First, I want to send you over to The Knead for Bread to make some Pumpernickel bread.  I LOVE this blog.  The pictures are fantastic, and the step by step directions make sure that everyone feels like they know exactly what they are doing when they go to make the recipes.  Well, anyhow, this recipe for Pumpernickel bread is perfect for today’s dip recipe.  The bread is easy to make and I adapted it to my bread machine without too much hassle.

If you don’t have time to make this bread, go ahead and buy a round pumpernickel (or other rye variety) loaf.  Serve the dip filled round with the pieces of bread removed from the center. You can also purchase one of those great little sliced party loafs to arrange around the outside of the bowl.  Looks great, and gives more uniform dip holders.

Lastly, if you’re taking this dip somewhere here’s another handy tip.  Put the dip inside a zippered bag.  When you get to the party, clip the corner of the bag off and squeeze the dip directly into the bowl.  Easy, fast, and no clean up!

Killer Kielbasa Dip

8 oz softened cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
8 ounces finely chopped kielbasa (I use turkey, with no casing/skin)
1/2 cup chopped green onion, divided (optional)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Whisk soft cream cheese, sour cream, milk, mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce.  Using a whisk and very soft cream cheese will help get rid of any lumps.

Add kielbasa, half of the green onion (if desired) and Parmesan cheese; stir.

Heat in the microwave about 3 or 4 minutes until bubbly and hot. Stir occasionally.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, cut into the top of your bread round, almost to the bottom, taking care not to cut through the bottom.

Carefully pull the cut bread from the round.  Use a spoon to scrape out the inside and make it hollow.

Cut the bread from the inside into cubes and arrange them on a platter to use for dipping.

Put dip inside of bread bowl and sprinkle with remaining onion before serving, if desired.

You can also serve this hot, the choice is yours!

[Saturday Sides is a weekly feature I run to help you combat the side dish blahs. Check here Saturdays to see what’s new and different you can add to your dinner table. Or, you can subscribe here so that you never miss a Saturday Sides Recipe.]

As far as I know there’s basically two kinds of people out there.

Those who love stuffing.

And

Those who do not love stuffing.

I personally do love stuffing. But, I understand if you do not. My daughter loves bread pudding. I do not. See how that works? Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

If you happen to be one of those folks who do not like stuffing, then you might try one of these previous favorite Saturday Sides and I’ll meet you right back here next week, o.k.?

Roasted Grape Tomatoes
Roadhouse Home Fries
Glazed Julienned Carrots

So, moving right along. Today I am offering a dish that I wasn’t sure I would love. I do like stuffing, but I’m not overly thrilled with the idea of stuffing a tomato. It probably comes from my long history of stuffed green pepper snubbing. I kept telling myself that even though stuffed tomatoes and stuffed green peppers look somewhat alike, stuffed tomatoes couldn’t possibly be that bad. Thankfully, I was able to overcome my hesitation . . . and I’m so glad I did because stuffed tomatoes are very delectable! Stuffed green peppers on the other hand? Yeah, I’m still not feeling the love there.

I was concerned that these would take a really long time to make, but I was able to crank them out in about 50 minutes, which is saying a lot because I am S-L-O-W. Add in the fact that I have to take a bunch of pictures and let’s just say turtles could run by me when I’m working in the kitchen. They take 30 minutes to bake, so twenty minutes of prep for me is really quite speedy.

The stuffing is made with onion, garlic, herbs and Parmesan and it is wonderfully fragrant and tasty. I had to use dried herbs because of the horrible selection at the market. Would someone PUH-LEASE write a letter to Hillary or Tina Fey or someone with some clout and ask her to do something about my lack of decent market selections because I keep writing letters and no one seems to be listening to me!

Nevertheless, even with my puny dried herbs, my mouth was still watering when today’s Saturday Side was cooking - OH! The smells coming from the kitchen! I can’t even imagine how wonderful they would be with fresh basil and parsley. (Please do let me know if you have the chance to try it that way.)

And.  Bonus!  These could be used not only as a side dish, but also as an appetizer.  You could stuff them, cover them and refrigerate until right before your guests arrive.  Then pull them out and bake them as people are arriving.  Cherry tomato size is natures’ way of saying “Snack Size!”

Well, here you go. These are a complete winner in my book.  I hope you love them!

Stuffed Tomatoes

Adapted from All You

2 large tomatoes
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup finely chooped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dry parsley, or 1 tablespoon fresh
1 teaspoon dry basil, or 1 tablespoon fresh
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg white, beaten

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Cut tomatoes in half and scrape out the insides. Set aside the tomato pulp. It’s easier to scrape out the insides if you cut around the inner rim of the tomato and I’ve found the best luck using my melon baller.

Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the inside of tomatoes, and set on a towel to drain.

Squish the pulp of the tomatoes through a sieve to create tomato juice. Discard the pulp and keep the juice.

Melt the butter and a splash of olive oil in a small pan over low heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in bread crumbs, herbs and cheese. Add the egg white and enough of the tomato juice to moisten the stuffing completely (I used about 2 tablespoons).

I used Aunt Millie’s bread for the this stuffing and it was great.  Any fresh bread will do fine!

Stuff the tomatoes evenly and place them in a small baking dish or pie plate. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven when the top of the stuffing is brown and crisp.

I want you all to meet someone.

This is Georgia, or George, for short. Georgia is our little old Japanese Chin that we got suckered into that we adopted from the rescue.

It went down a little like this.  I wanted a dog.  Hubby did not.  I really wanted a dog.  Being that I’m an only child, I refused to take no for an answer and I brought home Mesha.

This is Mesha.  I wanted her badly, but she didn’t really want me, she wanted Hubby.  And her big brown eyes won him over instantly.  So, Hubby got a dog, and I still wanted one.

Not too long after we adopted Mesha, a lady that works with the rescue called me and told me about Georgia.  She was shipped here from England as puppy, worked as a show dog for a while, then was “petted” out to the woman from the rescue.  According to the woman from the rescue, Georgia was getting older now and needed a family that was home more than she was.  I instantly agreed.  She sounded cool.  After all, she had history, had came here from England, was a show dog.  A real lapdog.  My lapdog.

If you’ve ever read my blog before you won’t be surprised to find out.  I. Was. Wrong.

Georgia waltzed into this house, walked over to Lilly and looked at her as if to say “Hey toots.  How about you and me hang out for a while?”  Now, Lilly had never really had much in the way of a friend before Georgia moved in.  Having Asperger’s Syndrome really makes it hard to make and keep friends.  But Georgia didn’t care about Asperger’s Syndrome.  She just knew that Lilly held her, and petted her, and was little just like she is (Georgia weighs about 4 1/2 pounds and Lilly weighs about 60) - before you knew it they were like Forrest and Jenny.  Peas and carrots.

Dang it!  I still had no dog.  *sigh*  Oh well.  Who am I to tell a dog who they belong to, right?

But, shortly after Georgia waltzed into our house I realized that I might have made a mistake.

First off, Georgia was ancient - as far as Japanese Chins go, that is.  Like old humans, old dogs don’t always make it where they’re headed when they have to go to the bathroom.  And, as Lilly likes to say “She’s deaf, and she can’t hear either.”  Apparently, she was born that way - and she really can not hear anything.  You can literally run over her tail with the vacuum cleaner and she won’t notice until her tail is stuck inside the thing.  Oh, and, she has a wry bite, which means - that cute little tongue always hangs out of her mouth.  Yeah, and it isn’t so cute when it’s all dried out and got fuzz balls stuck to it.

But, Lilly loved her and she loved Lilly.  So we kept her. What else could I do, really?

One of the things that I think is most hilarious about little deaf Georgia is that she loves, and I mean loves, cheese crackers.  It doesn’t matter where you are in the house, if you open a box of Cheese-Its that little deaf dog comes running.  I don’t know if Mesha gives her the heads up in Doggy sign-language or what, but that dog just knows when you open the box.  And, maybe because she’s deaf, she’ll often come running when you open other things too; like cereal, graham crackers, potato chips and pretzels.

We’ve had Georgia for four years now, and I’m happy to say she’s really had a wonderful, loving family here.  Sometimes, she drives me bonkers with all her idiosyncrasies, but she is a sweet and loving dog.  Her days here are certainly numbered, as she’s taken to having seizures every so often and sleeps more and more each day.  It will be hard on everyone when she passes, but our lives have been richly blessed by this little pint sized dog.

Yesterday, when I opened the bag of pretzels to make today’s snackies, she woke up and came trotting into the kitchen hoping for a cheese cracker.  I tossed her a pretzel, gave her a smile and said “George - I don’t know if dogs go to heaven, but if they do, I sure hope there’s a big Cheese-It there with your name on it.”

So, obviously, today I am going to tell you how to make my locally famous Ranch Pretzels.  No one really calls them that, but that’s what they are.  If you ask anyone around these parts about my pretzels they’ll say “Oh!  You mean the crack?!”  So, yes, we call them “Crack Pretzels” and just like those pesky potato chips - no one can eat just one.

This method works a little like the old party mix recipe.  You bake them at a very low temperature and stir every few minutes so that they don’t get stuck together or burn.  I like to make batches of these and my spicy pretzels to give away at Christmas time.  They are great to throw in bowls for parties with peanuts.  Setting a big bowl in the office break room or the teacher’s lounge will make you the number one recipe go-to person.  (Remember to send them to my site, please!!)

Ranch Pretzels (or Crack Pretzels)

1 Packet of ranch dressing mix, or use this recipe if you are sensitive to MSG
20 ounces of mini-twist pretzels
3/4 Cup of vegetable/canola oil
1 tablespoon of dill weed
1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
1/4 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

Preheat oven to 250.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper for easy clean up.

Gently pour pretzels into a large bowl and add remaining ingredients.  Stir very gently to mix well, being careful not to break pretzels into little pieces.

Pour pretzels onto the sheet pan and spread into an even layer.

Place pretzels into the oven and stir every five to six minutes, baking for a total of 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool.  Store in an air tight container (like they’ll last that long!  HA!)