Day 5~ Stuffed Mushrooms

In high school I had a date with a boy I was trying

so hard to impress.

Imagine my surprise when we went to Pizza Hut

and he being all manly had to order the pizza with ham and mushrooms.

I seriously froze in my chair,

I might as well have been on Fear Factor eating creepy crawly things~

yes, that's what I thought of mushrooms.

Well the only thing that date was good for is that it made me love mushrooms!

So here's my version of a couple of recipes I put together

that as my hubby puts it~are the most perfect stuffed mushrooms ever!

STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Olive oil or Pam vegetable spray

1 slice of white sandwich bread

2 T. butter

1 garlic clove

1/2 of one small onion finely diced

sprinkle of garlic powder

4 oz soft goat cheese

2 T. dried parsley

1/4 tsp. red-pepper flakes

coarse salt

approximately 16 golf ball size white button mushrooms

1.  Preheat your over to 400 degrees and lightly oil your baking sheet.

2.  Toast your white bread and crumble it into fine pieces~

can use a food processor to make it really fine.

Add a light sprinkle of garlic powder and salt.  Set aside.

3.  Remove mushroom stems and dice finely.

4.  In a medium saute pan cook butter, onions, mushroom stems and garlic.

Cook until tender. Add in the parsley flakes, red pepper flakes and season with salt to desired taste.

5.  Add onion, garlic and mushroom stem mixture to goat cheese. 

6.  Spoon filling into each mushroom and press the top of the mushroom with cheese mixture into the breadcrumbs.  Place on baking sheet and bake until mushrooms are tender and lightly browned approximately 15-20 minutes.

They are so yummy and cheesy with a kick from the red pepper flakes! 

Too good to pass up!

Enjoy!



Day 4~ Cranberry Salsa

Okay so this one sounds weird but it is seriously delicious!

My wonderful friend Carrie is one of the best cooks I've ever met. 

 She brought this over for us as a sweet Christmas treat
 and I admit I was skeptical and then I devoured most of it.....

Yup, "Lay off, man, I'm STARVING! [ pause ] Diet starts Monday!"

Sorry couldn't resist a bit of Chris Farley!

CRANBERRY SALSA

3 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed, drained (pick out any bruised or mushy ones)

1/4 cup green onions

2 small jalapeno peppers (seeds & ribs removed...

if you like it hot leave in some seeds, I probably leave in 1/8 tsp seeds.)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1 T. very finely grated fresh ginger (can substitute 1/4 tsp. ground ginger)

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

2 8 oz. cubes Cream Cheese

Ritz Crackers

Place all the ingredients except the lemon juice and cream cheese

 into a food processor and mix until well chopped. 

Stir the lemon juice into the salsa. 

 Refrigerate for a few hours before serving to marry the flavors. 

There is enough salsa for 2 cubes of cream cheese. 

Serve by placing one of the softened cream cheese cubes on a

serving plate then pour 1/2 the salsa over the top. 

Have plenty of Ritz crackers on hand for dipping!

I actually put everything in the food processor and

I added the salt which can be omitted. 

The salt really helps bring out the flavors though.

You want the consistency to be really fine~

It's so good so enjoy!

Candace and I were busy in the kitchen this afternoon making a few more

recipes to share, so stay tuned to see what's next!

Day 3 ~ Brazilian Limeade & Cucumber Crackers

It's day # 3 trying out appetizer recipes for New Year's Eve.  

I found this recipe in our Church cookbook, but it actually comes from my very talented neighbor, Heather.

She has great taste in everything from food to decor. There are several  of Heather's appetizers in the book, so I couldn't help sharing another one of her recipes, Cucumber Crackers.

Here's what you will need for the Brazilian Limeade:

Sugar, sweetened condensed milk, limes, water, and ice. 

Brazilian Limeade

 2 limes

1/2 c. sugar

3 T. sweetened condensed milk

3 c. water

Ice

Directions

Wash limes, cut off ends and slice into eight wedges.  Place limes in a blender with sugar, sweetened condensed milk, water, and ice.  Blend in an electric blender, pulsing 5 times.  Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove rinds.  Serve over ice. 

This drink was so yummy. My kids loved it! The sweetened condensed milk added an interesting taste. 

 Be sure to use a fine strainer, or you will be choking on chunks of lime. 

Heather's cucumber crackers were delicious too. 

 I like that it's light to eat along with some of the rich appetizers.

 The Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese also has a kick to it.

Cucumber Crackers

Ritz Crackers

Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese

Cucumber, sliced

Mrs. Dash original

Directions:

Spread cream cheese onto cracker.

Top with a cucumber slice and sprinkle with Mrs. Dash.

How EASY is that? Simple and delicious!

She has a couple more in the cookbook, I just might have to share. 

 Thanks Heather!

Nicole has another great appetizer to share tomorrow!

 

Day 2: Cheesy Corn Dip

This yummy recipe comes from

my sister-in-law Autumn.

Now that they are on the west coast

her and her little family have made the trek up to Idaho

for New Year's for the last couple of years.

My poor hubby has the misfortune of a December 31st birthday

so it has always made his day to have someone actually want

to come celebrate it with him

and cook him some good food!

Autumn comes ready to go

with almost a dozen tasty things to make up

that not only suffice for New Year's Eve

but for many days to follow.

This recipe is by far one of my favorites

and I've made it A LOT throughout the year

plus my picky eater daughter will gobble it up!

Cheesy Corn Dip

(No we are not sponsored by Walmart,

I simply went there today to check out the after Christmas clearance

and got my cooking supplies.):)

1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained

1 can corn, drained

1 can hominy, drained

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

A  handful of finely chopped fresh cilantro

Salt/pepper to taste

1 8 oz package cream cheese

2 cups shredded Mexican style cheese

Mix all together, place in dish and bake until bubbly and hot in a 375 degree oven.

Serve with chips and salsa for extra kick!.

If you can't find Rotel tomatoes, any can of stewed tomatoes with chilies will work.

I admit I was a little nervous of the hominy too!

I had never tasted it before but it adds such a fun texture to the dip

I know you'll fall in love like I did!

Wet Your Appetite ~ Caramel Dip

Now that Christmas is over we are looking forward to celebrating New Years!

Every day this week we'll be sharing recipes of our favorite appetizers

that we love to do up for New Year's Eve and Day!

We promise that each one is super easy and absolutely delish!

First up is a yummy and super easy caramel dip made from sweetened condensed milk. 

Our sister-in-law from Texas just delighted us last week with this scrumptious treat.

Just take a can of sweetened condensed milk

and heat it in a pot of water over medium low heat for about 2 hours.

If you're up north it will take 2 hours but down in Texas it

takes about an hour. :)

Make sure to turn the can over every ten minutes so it cooks evenly.
(please excuse the gross BBQ'd tongs:))

Let it cool before you open it and then serve with sliced apples

or over ice cream, or anything else your heart desires!

Yummy and easy!
**We came across warnings that the can could possibly explode using the boiling in the can method. If you are worried...please use the double boiler method.  Open can, pour milk into glass dish, set dish over pan of boiling water, stir until thickened.**

Stay tuned tomorrow to see what's next!



Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding

Alright, we took one bite of this

deliciousness and just about died.

I'm not a huge fan of bananas and I admit I was

a little skeptical to try it, but I totally trusted our brother

when he said we had to try this.

All he had to say is that it was Paula Dean's recipe.

It was so wonderfully creamy, smooth,

and downright wicked....that we've

been dreaming up other varieties of flavor combinations to try! 

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding

2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies

6 to 8 bananas, sliced

2 cups milk

1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding (our brother used banana pudding)

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

Directions

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.

In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe courtesy of Food Network! 

 Our brother said they've tried it with coconut cream,

a strawberry lemon combination,

and next we'll have to try something with chocolate!

YUM!!!!

We've had so much fun playing together as a family

and it was super hard to see them go this morning!

This week we are hoping to finish off some of the finishing details

for Candace's master bedroom.

We'll be hanging all the curtains and hopefully getting those bedside tables

painted so we can show you our IKEA hack!

Happy Baking!

A Korean Feast!

This week our older brother is visiting with his family and we've been

completely distracted enjoying them!

Every time we all get together we have 

to have a Korean Feast!

Our family has a love of Korean food since our 

family lived there for 3 years.

Here are two of our all time favorites that are definite crowd pleasers!

This is a Korean BBQ at it's finest!

First up is Bulgogi

2 1/2 pounds of tender beef sirloin sliced super thin

2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil

3/4 cup Soy Sauce

2 1/2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Seeds

1 Teaspoons Black Pepper

1 Teaspoons Salt

6 Green Onions Diced

1 Large Yellow Onion

6 Cloves Garlic Minced

We usually have the butcher in the meat department slice the meat thinly.

Mix together and let marinate at least 4 hours or overnight.

You can fry it up in a pan or for best results

use grilling pans on the grill!

Our other favorite is 

Yaki- Mandu!

(or as we know it, Korean Egg Rolls!)

Yaki-Mandu

3/4 lb Hamburger (pre-cooked)

3/4 lb Ground Pork (pre-cooked)

1 Zucchini finely grated

3 Eggs

1 Carrot finely grated

2 Garlic Cloves Minced

1 Small Bunch Bean Sprouts

4 Green Onions finely sliced

1/2 Yellow Onion Finely diced

1/2 Head Cabbage finely shredded

1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds

1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil

2 Teaspoons Salt

1/4 Teaspoons Black Pepper

2 packages Won Ton Wrappers

Make sure all veggies are finely diced

and we always pre-cook the meat.

It's a group effort to make these little guys!

You only want to add about tablespoon of filling into the wonton wrapper

and then fold in half, sealing the edges with a bit of water to make them stick.

Fry in a pan of hot oil till golden brown.

Serve hot and with a dipping sauce of 1/2 cup Soy Sauce and 1/2 cup Vinegar.

Don't forget to add the Kimchi! A spicy, hot, marinated cabbage.

It's a must have, but it's not for the weak!

If you've never tried Korean food

you won't want to miss these two yummy recipes!

 Next we'll share the most divine recipe for your sweet tooth

that our brother shared with us! You won't want to miss this one!