Eating Cardinals

December 31, 2013

Tex Mex Mini Chili Chicken Cups

Tex Mex Mini Chili Chicken Cups

1 ½ pounds premium Young n’ Tender Brand boneless, skinless split chicken breasts

1 cup Ranch dressing or sour cream

¼ teaspoon each salt, and Spice Islands pepper or to tastre

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

2 tablespoons Spice Islands Chili Con Carne Seasoning (Chili seasoning blend ) If unavailable substitute 4 teaspoons chili powder and 2 teaspoons paprika

1 package (24 count) Won Ton Wrappers

1 cup finely chopped red or green bell pepper or combination

*Optional toppings: salsa, sour cream, guacamole.

Place chicken in single layer saucepan, add water to cover. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer and poach chicken for 20 minutes. Drain, cool slightly and chop chicken or shred with a fork. Mix with dressing and season with salt and pepper, set aside. Combine cheese and chili seasoning, set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Place one wonton wrapper in each muffin cup. Bake for 5 minutes(until lightly brown). Remove from oven and cool. Spoon a generous tablespoon of chicken filling into each wonton cup, sprinkle with cheese mixture and then bell pepper. Return to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes or until heated and cheese is melted. Serve salsa, sour cream, guacamole separately as toppings, if desired. Makes 24. Mini muffin pans dan be used to serve bite-sized servings.

Janet Wachsler served at Charleston

December 31, 2013

Shrimp Bites

Shrimp Bites

8-oz. shrimp (cooked, deveined and chopped

¾ cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese

¼ teaspoon hot sauce

2 pkgs (30) phyllo cups

Mix all ingredients (except phyllo cups) together. Use a teaspoon to fill cups with shrimp mixture. Fill only to the top of the cups or they will overflow. Bake at 400 degrees until bubbly.

Gina Tiedemann at Christmas Brunch at Joanna’s

December 31, 2013

Gorilla Bread

Gorilla Bread

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 stick butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 (8-oz) package cream cheese

2 (12-oz) cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count)

1 ½ cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/3 of the nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 of nuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.

Gina Tiedemann served at Kim’s Lake House

December 31, 2013

Hot Mexican-Style Spinach Dip

Hot Mexican-Style Spinach Dip

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium tomatoes, chopped (or canned, diced tomatoes)

2 tablespoons chopped canned jalapeno pepper

1 (10-0z) package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained

1 cup half-and-half

2 cups (8-oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 (8-0z) package cream cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes

2 (2.2 oz) cans sliced ripe olives, drained

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook onion in oil in medium skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, 4 minutes or until onion is tender. Add tomato and jalapeno pepper; cook 2 minutes. Transfer mixture to large bowl; add spinach and remaining ingredients, stirring well. Spoon mixture int a large greased 2-quart baking dish. Bake, uncovered at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Kim Deutsch

December 31, 2013December 31, 2013

Broccoli Bacon Salad

Broccoli Bacon Salad

1 Bunch Broccoli (tops & some stems) chopped in small pieces
1/2 head cauliflower (tops) chopped in small pieces
1 lb. bacon cooked and crumbled
2-3 oz. cans of pecan pieces (fresh is best and I’ve also used walnuts)
1/2 large purple onion chopped in small pieces
3-4 stalks celery chopped in small pieces
3/4 jar of Marzetti’s cole slaw dressing
1 8oz. pkg. of shredded cheddar cheese (I use sharp cheddar)
Chop everything into small pieces (as indicated above) and toss with dressing
chill.
Serve as side dish or in pita bread.

Hints: If you want to take it to a party it is easier to chop and mix everything and put in ziploc bag for transpor and chill the jar
of Marzetti’s then mix when ready to serve. Also, chop the bacon first then fry it like ground hamburger (it’s sooo much easier and quicker)

Terri Hull

December 31, 2013

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes

2 or 3 pounds ground beef

1 large diced onion

4 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 or 2 bottles chile sauce (Heinz is good)

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef and strain off fat. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer ½ to 1 hour; the longer the better.

Nancy Perkins

December 31, 2013

Sweet Potato Angel Biscuits

Sweet Potato Angel Biscuits

3 cups canned mashed sweet potatoes (27 oz can)

3 packages active dry yeast

¾ cup warm water (105 – 115 degrees)

7 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ cups sugar

1 tablespoons baking powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 ½ cups shortening

Combine warm water and yeast. IN a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles crumbs. Add sweet potatoes and yeast mixture. Stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 5 minutes. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl. Turn once to grease top. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Roll dough out to ½ inch thickness. Cut with a 2-inch round cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Cover and allow biscuits to rise in a warm place for 20minutes or until double. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. To serve: split and stuff with ham or ham filling. To make ham filling grind ham into pieces and add pickle relish and mayonnaise.

Julie Murphy served at Christmas Brunch at Joanna’s

December 31, 2013

Cheese Ring

Cheese Ring

1 pound finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

1 small finely chopped onion

1 cup chopped pecans

Black pepper to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

Strawberry preserves

Mix all ingredients (except preserves) together. Mold into desired shape. A ring mold works well. I don’t have one, so I line a bundt pan with plastic wrap and spray the wrap with Pam. Press mixture into mold and chill until firm. Remove cheese mixture from mold and invert on a serving platter. Fill middle of ring with strawberry preserves. Serve with crackers of your choice.

Gina Tiedemann served at Christmas Brunch at Joanna’s

December 13, 2013December 31, 2013

Kim’s Kocktails

Kim’s Kocktails

Nifty Fifty Cosmo

1 ½ ounce Absolut Citron (or any other citrus vodka)

¾ ounce Triple Sec

Freshly squeezed lime juice (1/2 lime)

½ teaspoon simple syrup (recipe to follow)

1 teaspoon cranberry juice

Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Combine all ingredients and shake for 30 seconds. Strain into martini glass. Add cherry, lemon twist or orange slice (Gotta have your fruit!!)

Cardinal Delight

2 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream (chilled)

2 oz Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur (chilled)

Combine ingredients in shaker with ice (shaken not stirred)

Strain into chilled martini glass.

Simple Syrup

1 part water

2 parts sugar

Bring sugar and water to a simmer in small saucepan stirring until sugar is dissolved. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Cool completely before using. Easy to make in advance, keeps up to 3 months in covered container in refrigerator.

Kim served at ANY function!

December 13, 2013December 13, 2013

Best Ever Sugar Cookies

Best Ever Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 egg

1 ½ teaspoons milk

2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together butter and sugar; add egg and milk. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to egg mixture. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Julie Murphy with Olivia Murphy