Happy Appetizing

I am way past due on a blog post, so I have a ton of appetizer recipes to share. A friend from high school just asked for appetizer ideas for a wine night she was having and since I already typed these up for her in an email, I decided why not post for GrabaFork. I hope you enjoy these appetizers because who doesn't like a good appetizer?

Artichoke Dip  Serves: 6

2 (14oz) cans artichoke hearts, drained

1 cup Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic, minced

Dash Tabasco pepper sauce

Chop the artichokes and mix with remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly 30-45 minutes. I prefer to mix this together and let sit overnight in fridge. Bake before serving. I serve this with pita chips or baked baguette slices.

Blue Cheese and Date Cream Cheese Spread  Serves: 10-12

3 (8oz) pkg cream cheese

4 oz blue cheese

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 (8oz) pkg dates, chopped

1 cup pecans, toasted

Preheat oven to 300 and toast pecans 3-4 minutes. Mix cream cheese, blue cheese, cheddar cheese and chopped dates together. You may make this as a spread or make into one large or 2 small cheese balls, roll in pecans, otherwise sprinkle nuts on top for spread. This can be made 2 days ahead. Do not roll in nuts or sprinkle on top until the day you are serving. I’ve served this with water crackers and the honey Wheatables crackers. I personally am not a huge fan of blue cheese, but the flavor combos here are really good-creamy, crunchy, salty and sweet J If you make this into 2 cheese balls, you could wrap one well and freeze for a future get-together, since you only need a serving for 5-6.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

Click the link above for the recipe. My cousin has made these, but she used a 3 inch circle so the recipe made 8 tartlets instead of 4 tarts. They were very yummy and great for a wine night we had. You can get puff pastry dough in the freezer section.

Naan Veggie Pizzas

Click the link above for the recipe. Obviously, you don’t have to get whole foods brand of these ingredients, but the idea is yummy! You don’t have to grill them either. Saute the chopped veggies in a skillet then bake the pizzas maybe 10 minutes. Instead of eggplant, I would use mushrooms probably instead; very tasty.

Another Naan Veggie Pizza

Very easy.

Patrizio’s Bruschetta (from the North Texas Restaurant) Serves: 6-8

1 loaf baguette

2 garlic cloves, chopped

½ cup olive oil

½ cup butter (1 stick)

3 tomatoes, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

½ cup chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Slice the bread diagonally into 1 inch slices. Sauté 2 garlic cloves in 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the butter and heat until butter melts.  Spread on the bread slices and place on a cookie sheet.

Combine the tomatoes, 6 garlic cloves, basil and remaining olive oil in a large bowl and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Broil the bread slices for 4 minutes or until light brown. WATCH CLOSELY. Remove from the broiler and adjust oven to 400 degrees. Top the bread slices with the tomato mixtures and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 5 minutes.

Hot Crab Dip Serves: 6-8

1 (6oz) can crab meat

8 oz cream cheese

2 Tbs Hellmann’s mayonnaise

2 dashes lemon juice

¼ onion, chopped

½ cup chopped fresh Italian or flat-leaf parsley

1 (2oz) package sliced almonds, toasted*

Paprika, to sprinkle on top

Lemon wedges

Combine the crab meat with the cream cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice and onion in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into a 6x6 or similar baking dish. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Top with parsley and almonds. Garnish with paprika and lemon wedges on the side. Serve hot with crackers.

*an easy way to toast any kind of nut, is to put them on a large plate and microwave in 2 minute increments, stirring after each 2 minutes until browned.

Baked Brie with Brown Sugar and Almonds  Serves: 8-10

1 (8oz) round of Brie Cheese

½ cup sliced almonds

¼ cup brown sugar

Cut off and discard the top rind of the cheese. Place the cheese cut side up in a heat-proof serving dish. Mix the almonds and brown sugar in a bowl and sprinkle on top of the cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Serve with toasted baguette slices, sliced apples or crackers. Variation-you could also use 3 Tablespoons raspberry jam instead of the brown sugar. Spread the jam on the cheese and top with the almonds before baking.

Pesto Baked Brie with Sun-dried tomatoes Serves: 8-10

1 (8oz) round of Brie Cheese

1/3 cup prepared or homemade pesto

1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Cut off and discard the top rind of cheese. Place the cheese cut side up in a heat-proof serving dish. Spoon on the pesto and top with the sun-dried tomatoes. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-12 minutes. Serve with toasted baguette slices, pita chips or crackers.

Happy Appetizing!! ;)

Kristen

Cook Once, Eat Twice...Chicken and Summer Vegetables

Cook Once
Grilled Chicken and Summer Vegetables
Serves 4 with 2 chicken breasts leftover

For the Chicken:
2 Tbs vinegar, try balsamic, red wine or apple cider (you could also try lemon juice instead)
3 tsp dried herbs, try thyme, oregano, rosemary, or dried Italian herbs
2 cloves garlic minced fine or 1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 yellow or red onion minced fine or 1 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup olive oil, or try grapeseed or safflower oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
6 (4 oz each) chicken breasts

For the Vegetables:
2-3 zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch-thick slices
2-3 yellow squash, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch-thick slices
1 red or sweet onion, cut into 1/2 inch-thick slices
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1 inch-wide strips
1 small eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch-thick slices
2 Tbs olive oil
salt
pepper
garlic powder

1. Put all chicken ingredients in a gallon ziplock bag. Refrigerate 1 hour at least or up to 12 hours. You could also freeze the chicken with the marinade and then thaw overnight when ready.
2. Brush sliced vegetables with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
3. Remove chicken breasts from bag and grill 4-6 minutes per side on med-high depending on thickness. Grill vegetables alongside 3-5 minutes per side. Enjoy with a baked potato.

Eat Twice
Grilled Chicken and Summer Vegetable Pasta Bowls
8 oz whole wheat pasta; farfalle, rotini, penne or macaroni
1 Tbs olive oil*
1 pint grape tomatoes*
2 leftover chicken breasts from recipe above, cut into cubes
all leftover vegetables from recipe above, chopped
1 Tbs pesto, homemade or store bought (i have a nut-free recipe under "Freeze for the future" blog post)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta according to package directions.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in grape tomatoes. Cover with lid and simmer 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until most grape tomatoes pop and soften. When 10 minutes is almost up, you can help along the process by smashing some of the tomatoes with the back of a large spoon. Stir in chicken, vegetables, pesto and half of the cheese. Cook 2 minutes to warm the chicken.
3. Drain pasta reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Put pasta back in large pot with the stove off. Pour the sauce mixture over pasta. Stir well to coat the noodles. If mixture seems dry, stir in some of the pasta water. Divide into 4 bowls and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

* For an even quicker variation (or if you're not a tomato fan), omit step 2. Put cut up chicken and vegetables in a covered microwave safe container and heat 2 minutes. After you drain the pasta, stir in the pesto, cheese and chicken and vegetable mixture. Increase pesto to 2 Tbs. If you want a less intense flavor, keep the pesto to 1 Tbs.

Freeze for the Future

My friend Lindsey L needs some freezer meal ideas to help prepare for baby on the way. The freezer can be a wonderful tool to use in the kitchen. A lot of people think its a hassle, but who wouldn't want to have some quick things to grab to have dinner ready in 20 minutes??

I will purposely buy double the ingredients for soups, gumbos, stews ,etc. Then I will make a HUGE batch and freeze extras in quart glass jars or large plastic containers. Make sure you don't freeze soups containing rice or pasta. It comes out mushy and absorbs all the liquid. Some things I always make extra to put in the freezer are brown rice, spaghetti meat sauce, casseroles and chilis or stews.

When I make brown rice for dinner, I make the real kind. You can follow the package directions to cook the rice on the stove. Do 2 cups brown rice to 5 cups of water. Simmer 50 minutes. Take off the heat and let sit 10 minutes. To make it easier or to free up the stove, I spray an 8x8 casserole dish with cooking spray. Throw in the rice and water (with usually a minced garlic clove and a 1/2 tsp salt) cover with foil and bake at 375 for 1 hour. Viola, makes 7 servings of rice. Use what you need for dinner then freeze the rest in freezer quart size bags. Lay flat in the freezer for easy stacking. Will warm up in the microwave in about 2 minutes. Pick up or roast your own chicken and heat up a green veggie for a great healthy dinner.

Sometimes I make my own spaghetti sauce, but lately I have been buying jars of it. I like to use light bulk sausage in my spaghetti instead of hamburger. It has sooo much more flavor. My grandma likes half hamburger, half sausage in hers, but if you haven't tried spaghetti with sausage, please do so! I will brown up a few pounds of meat (sausage, hamburger, turkey or even ground chicken) with a diced onion. Sometimes I throw in a grated carrot or grated zucchini, diced bell pepper, sliced mushrooms, black olives, or baby spinach. I've even stirred in 1/2 cup pumpkin puree without anyone even noticing. Pour in about 28 oz sauce, whether its crushed tomatoes or jarred spaghetti sauce, per pound of meat. I usually drain one can (per pound of meat) of diced tomatoes and throw that in too. Let simmer 10-20 minutes. Add a teaspoon or two of dried Italian seasoning per pound of meat if using crushed tomatoes. Pour into glass quart jars. Cool and then freeze. These can be thawed overnight in the refrigerator and warmed up for dinner or cooked in the microwave on 50% power for about 8 minutes until you can pour it into a sauce pan and warm thoroughly. Boil noodles and open a bag of salad for a very fast dinner.

Another good idea is to freeze pesto. We have nut allergies in my house, so I have to make my own. I will make a huge batch and freeze the leftovers in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, I pop out the cubes and store in a quart size freezer bag ready to top a variety of things.

Nut-free Pesto
4 cups fresh basil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, roast if you want a milder flavor
few pinches of salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine basil, cheese, garlic and a few pinches of salt in food processor. While running, pour in the olive oil. Pulse until a smooth paste forms.

Serving Ideas for pesto:
- Spread on a sandwich instead of mayo.

- Spread it on any thin cut of meat or fish, then coat with bread crumbs and bake or saute.

- Mix with extra olive oil or mayonnaise to make a salad dressing. It is especially good on pasta salads.

- Stir into rice, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes or hot vegetables.

- Toss with hot cooked pasta and the heat will bring out the flavours of the basil, garlic, and cheese. To make a vegetarian meal, add a drained can of white or cannelini beans to the pasta.

- Drizzle over grilled meats or vegetables.

-put a spoonful over tomato soup, potato soup, or vegetable soup like minestrone for extra flavor.

Grilled Flank Steak courtesy of The Frozen Gourmet cookbook by Kathi Lipp
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb flank steak

1. Prepare: Mix all the above ingredients and pour over the flank steak in a gallon freezer bag.
2. Freeze: Double bag the flank steak. Freeze lying down.
3. Serve: Defrost in refrigerator overnight. Grill steak on hot grill 5-10 minutes per side. Slice thinly across the grain. Serves 4.

Flank steak is an affordable, very lean cut, which benefits from quick cooking. Since it does not have extensive marbling, cooking to medium rare or medium, and slicing thinly against the grain, will result in the most tender texture.

Serve on top of rice and steamed broccoli for a fast dinner. This also can be used as fajita meat or sliced and put on top of a salad. Or try these smothered steak sandwiches from Clean Eating.

Chicken Manicotti courtesy of The Frozen Gourmet cookbook by Kathi Lipp
3 cups cooked chicken breasts, shredded
2 cups low fat Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping.
1 tsp dried Parsley
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups tomato or pasta sauce
14 Manicotti shells, par boiled, still slightly firm

1. Prepare: Mix chicken, both cheese, spices and eggs. Cover the bottom of your pan with tomato sauce. Stuff the manicotti shells with the chicken mixture and place in pan, sides touching. Cover with remaining sauce.
2. Freeze: cover pan with foil and freeze
3. Serve: thaw overnight in refrigerator. Sprinkle Manicotti with extra parmesan. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.
I would double this and make 2 at a time. Use one the day you make it, and freeze the other for later use.

Paula Deen's Taco Soup- the BEST taco soup I have found by a mile. This makes sooo much and its one of our favorite freezer meals. I have made it with ground turkey and its just as good. Usually I add an extra can of beans. I've even used only 1 lb of meat with 2 extra cans of beans.

Please feel free to leave any of your freezer tips by clicking on comments below.