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Artichoke Cheese Dip

Recipe courtesy Helene Brown

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This was served by the Browns at the 2004 Progressive Holiday Party.

16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup artichoke hearts

1-2 teaspoons grated onion (optional)

Mix ingredients together.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or in lightly buttered slow cooker on high for 1 hour.

Hot Pizza Dip

Recipe courtesy Pampered Chef/Jenn Halter

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This recipe is a major hit for parties and for kids.  We made it for Hala’s Pampered Chef Party and many people have asked for the recipe.

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

¾ cup (3 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese

1 can (8 ounces) pizza sauce

¼ cup diced green bell pepper or pitted olives

1 Large Boboli Pizza Crust (warmed and cut into bite sized pieces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and seasoning; spread onto bottom of 8” (4 cups) (or 2x recipe for 8x8 pan, 3x recipe for 11x7 pan & 4x recipe for 9x13 pan) dish.

In a small bowl, combine mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.  Sprinkle half over cream cheese mixture.  Top with pizza sauce, spreading evenly.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese mixture.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.  Top with bell pepper. Serve with baguette slices:  preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Slice French bread into 24 slices (¼ inch thick).  Brush tops with olive oil.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Spicy Cheese Sausage Dip

Recipe courtesy Heather Skale

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1 package (roll) sausage

2 blocks cream cheese

1 can diced tomatoes with chilies

Brown sausage in a large skillet; drain grease.  Add cream cheese and tomatoes; cook until melted.  Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Baked Feta with Marinara

Recipe courtesy Cooking Light/Jenn

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1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, drained
1 (4-ounce) package crumbled feta cheese
32 (1/2-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut French bread baguette (about 1 pound), toasted or pita chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Sprinkle feta evenly into a 6-inch gratin dish or small shallow baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with tomato mixture. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Serve as a spread with bread slices or pita chips.

Best Ever Bean Dip

Recipe courtesy Jenn Halter

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16 ounces Velveeta cheese

1 large container salsa (Chachi’s Medium)

3 cans refried beans (mix black & pinto)

2 small cans diced green chilies (Ortega)

½ package Hot Taco seasoning (McCormick)

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot on low heat until cheese is melted completely (about 1-2 hours).  Serve with tortilla chips.

BACON WRAPPED WATER CHESTNUTS w/BBQ SAUCE

Recipe courtesy Dawn Shetzer

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This recipe is courtesy of Viki Kotsis.  Never had a potluck party without Viki’s BBQ chestnuts.  I can eat 20 so better make a bunch.  I usually make approximately 80 chestnuts:

6 to 8 cans of whole water chestnuts

1 bottle of barbecue sauce

3 packs bacon (keep it cold and it will cut better and wrap easier)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut bacon strips either in half or 3 sections (depends on how big the chestnuts are, you want the bacon to wrap around at least once).  Wrap each chestnut and place on cookie sheet with the end facing down so it won't unwrap (cover cookie sheet in foil because of the bacon grease - will be less messy). 

Bake in the oven for approximately 35-45 minutes or when bacon looks cooked (oven temperatures vary).  Place chestnuts on some paper towel to soak up the excess grease and drain bacon grease from the cookie sheet and remove foil.  Place chestnuts back on cookie sheet (recover with foil for easy clean up).

In a large measuring cup, pour in ½ of the b-b-q sauce and add a little hot water and mix it up.  You just want to thin the sauce a little bit so that it will be easier to put on the chestnuts. Using a teaspoon, pour/dab sauce onto each chestnut and bake for just a few minutes so that it kind of heats into the bacon (b-b-q sauce will burn quickly).

Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp

Recipe courtesy Alice Wang

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24 medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

½ pound prosciutto slices

1/3 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ cup Italian parsley, minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

8 wooden skewers soaked in water

Wrap each shrimp with a piece of prosciutto and place 3 on each skewer.  Toss skewers with the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, parsley and red pepper and let marinate for 30 minutes.  Grill just until done and serve.  Serves 8.

Sesame Chicken Drumettes
Recipe courtesy “Semi-Homemade w/ Sandra Lee”

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1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1½ tablespoons dry sherry
1½ tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1¼ pounds chicken drumettes (about 12)
1½ tablespoons barbecue sauce
1½ tablespoons honey
¼ teaspoon sesame oil

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine teriyaki sauce, sherry, and sesame seeds. Add chicken drumettes, turning to coat. Seal bag and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Using tongs, transfer drumettes to cookie sheet. Discard marinade. Bake until drumettes are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Mix barbecue sauce, honey, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Brush drumettes with half of sauce mixture and bake for 5 more minutes. Using clean tongs, turn drumettes over, brush other side with sauce mixture, and bake for 5 more minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Mediterranean Endive Spears

Recipe courtesy Dawn Shetzer

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I made these for my first Bunco with Green Endives.  They were a good substitute for salad, as each endive tasted like a mini salad.

½ cup Sun-Maid Natural Raisins
2 tablespoons orange or apple juice
8 ounces goat cheese softened, or cream cheese
¼ cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 clove minced garlic
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 heads Belgian endive
Basil sprigs for garnish

Combine raisins and juice. Cover and microwave on high power 45 seconds. Let stand 2 minutes.

Combine cheese, tomatoes, basil, garlic, and pepper flakes. Mix well. Stir in raisin mixture. Trim ends of endive and separate heads into spears.  Spread cheese mixture on endive spears.

Arrange spoke-fashion on serving platter.  Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 2 hours before serving. Garnish with basil sprigs. 

Recipe courtesy Jenn Halter

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I learned to make these from my roommate’s mother (Joan Rotondo) in college.  They are a major hit every time I make them (and that is A LOT)!

1 tube Pillsbury Grands Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

1½ cups heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 eggs

Dash cayenne pepper on each quiche

Suggested fillings:

Bacon & Cheese (Swiss or Cheddar)

Mushrooms & Cheese (Swiss or Cheddar)

Broccoli & Cheese

Chicken & Garlic

Spray mini-muffin tin and pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Chop/shred all filling ingredients and cook accordingly if necessary.  Example: cook bacon and crumble it into fine pieces; shred all cheeses; sauté chopped broccoli in butter, etc.

Open biscuit container and remove biscuits.  While dough is still cold pull apart each section into about 3 separate biscuit layers.  Do this with all biscuits. Press new smaller layer of biscuit in each mini-muffin tin all the way to the bottom but making sure biscuits come up sides.  If the layer is too thick or too big, pull some dough off and set aside (make a new layer(s) with discarded dough at the end).  Crimp tops of dough to form a pretty top.  Fill each mini-quiche with desired filling.  Do not overstuff.  Make sure there is room for a good amount of egg mixture.

Whisk together cream, nutmeg and eggs in a large bowl.  Using a turkey baster fill each mini-quiche almost to the top with egg mixture.  Be careful not to overflow.  Mixture should seep down around fillings.  Sprinkle a dash of cayenne pepper on each quiche.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.  Makes about 24 quiche.

Can be frozen and reheated.  To reheat: 375 degrees for 5-10 minutes.