Travelling Fondue

A legend in my family.

1 loaf sour dough bread
Sliced Monterey Jack & Swiss cheeses
2 c. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. beaumonde seasoning
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1. Slice sour dough bread criss-crossing cuts, but not through the bottom of the loaf.
2. Cut cheese into approximately 1” fingers, stuff cheeses into bread between cuts.
3. Mix butter, seasoning, lemon juice and Dijon mustard. Pour over top of bread.
4. Wrap the loaf in foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Pull apart to eat.

Karen's Spinach and Artichoke Dip

A friend of mine brought this to a potluck, I loved it so I wrote down the directions on a sticky note, so the measurements are not exact, just do what you think sounds right. It’s really good.

1 box frozen spinach, cooked and drained
2 cans unmarinated artichoke hearts, chopped
½ c. mayonnaise
½ c. sour cream
1 c. parmesan cheese
1 c. shredded pepper jack cheese

1. Heat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients except the pepper jack cheese. Spread in a greased pie plate, sprinkle with the pepper jack cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

Jerk Chicken Nachos

6 cups tortilla chips
3 c. diced or shredded cooked chicken
2 c. (8 oz) shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend
2 Tbsp. Jamaican jerk rub, divided
1 small yellow or red bell pepper or combination of the two
1 lime
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh cilantro
¼ tsp. sour cream and 1 tsp. additional Jamaican Jerk rub (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Arrange tortilla chips in a slightly overlapping layer on baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, cheese and 1 Tbsp. of the rub; mix gently. Sprinkle chicken mixture evenly over tortilla chips. Bake 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted; remove from oven.
3. Meanwhile, dice bell pepper. Cut and juice lime into a small mixing bowl; add bell pepper and remaining rub and mix well.
4. Spoon bell pepper mixture over nachos; sprinkle evenly with cilantro. If desired, combine sour cream and additional rub in resealable plastic bag; trim corner to allow sour cream to flow through. Pipe sour cream mixture over nachos. Garnish with lime slices, if desired.

Yield: 12 servings

Fantastic Artichoke Dip

As the name implies, this really is fantastic—not for one who is watching their calories, but oh, so worth every single one you put in your mouth.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
12 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c. mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 onion, finely minced
2 jars artichoke hearts.

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Drain artichokes well and tear them apart with your fingers.
2. Combine all other ingredients and mash (a potato masher works perfectly).
3. Bake in an uncovered dish for approximately 30 minutes or until bubbly.
4. Serve hot with toasted baguette slices, pita chips, or Triscuit crackers. Yum!

Coconut Shrimp

Almost as good as you’ll find in a restaurant

Dipping Sauce:
½ c. orange marmalade
4 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Peanut oil for frying
½ c. flour
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
2/3 c. water
2 c. shredded sweetened coconut
½ c. bread crumbs
1 lbs. medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1. For dipping sauce: Add all dipping sauce ingredients to a pot on a low temperature. Heat for 10 minutes, making sure you stir ingredients every few minutes.
2. In a large pot, heat 2 inch of the peanut oil to 325°.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the water and whisk until smooth. Let the batter stand for 15 minutes.
4. In a wide, shallow bowl, toss the coconut and bread crumbs together.
5. Put the shrimp into the batter. Remove the shrimp, 1 at a time, and dredge in the coconut mixture, pressing to help the coconut adhere. Fry the shrimp in batches in the hot oil for 1 to 2 minutes or until brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Serve the shrimp with the dipping sauce.

Caramel Snack Mix

Better than most other snack mix recipes I’ve found, it makes a lot, store in a resealable plastic bag.

½ c. butter
¾ c. white corn syrup
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. sliced almonds
1 (12 oz) package crispy corn and rice cereal

1. Preheat oven to 275°. Spray a large roasting pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium-sized microwave safe bowl, mix butter, white corn syrup and brown sugar. Place the mixture in the microwave and cook 2 minutes, or until butter melts.
3. Place the cereal, pecans, and almonds into the prepared roasting pan. Pour the melted butter mixture over the cereal and nuts and mix gently until the cereal and nuts are coated.
4. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
5. As snack mix is cooling, be sure to continue to stir so that the mix will not harden in one big lump.

Yield: 15 to 20 servings

Butterfly Cheese Sandwiches

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. milk
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. onion powder
12 slices white bread
12 slices cheddar cheese
22 pitted, ripe olives

1. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, milk, garlic and onion powders. Set aside 3 Tbsp. of this mixture.
2. Using a butterfly shaped cookie cutter, cut the white bread and the cheddar into butterfly shape. Spread cream cheese mixture over each slice of bread and top with a slice of the cheddar.
3. Cut 12 olives in half, lengthwise; place 2 halves, cut side down in the center of each sandwich for the body, cut remaining olives into slices; place two on each wing. Set olive ends aside.
4. Cut a small whole in the center of a pastry or large plastic bag; insert star tip. Fill bag with reserved cream cheese mixture. Pipe a star on each olive slice; pipe 2 stars on front of the head olive for eyes. Cut olive ends into small pieces; place on eyes.
5. Refrigerate until serving.

Ladybug Appetizers

2 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. sour cream
Black paste food coloring
½ tsp. snipped fresh chives
1/8 tsp. garlic salt
1/8 tsp. minced fresh parsley
36 butter-flavored crackers
18 cherry tomatoes, quartered
18 large pitted ripe olives
72 fresh chive pieces (about 1 ½ inches long)

1. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and the sour cream, mix until smooth. Remove 1 Tbsp. to a resealable sandwich bag, mix in the black food coloring and set aside.
2. To the remaining cream cheese mixture, add the ½ tsp. chives, garlic salt, and parsely. Mix well.
3. Spread 1 teaspoon of the non-colored cream cheese mixture onto each cracker. Arrange two of the tomato quarters on top of the cream cheese to look like ladybug wings, 1 olive (hole facing up) for the head, with two chive sprigs coming out of the top of the olive for antennae.
4. Snip a tiny hole in the corner of the plastic bag with the black cream cheese mixture and pipe a very small amount of the mixture into spots to make the black dots of the ladybug.
5. Refrigerate until serving.

Reuben Party Spread

This makes a LOT so I would cut it in half and also make sure the ham is well chopped, my chunks were too big. Pretty fatty but tasty if you happen to like Reubens, which I do.

Reuben Party Spread

1 lbs. fully cooked ham, chopped
4 c. (1 lbs) shredded Swiss cheese
1 can (8 oz) sauerkraut, drained
½ c. Thousand Island salad dressing
Rye bread

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the ham, cheese, sauerkraut and salad dressing.
Cover and microwave on high for 1 to 1 ½ minutes or until cheese is melted, stirring once.
Serve on rye bread.

Yield: 6 cups

3 in 1 Italian Dip

This was fine. I think my standards are too high, I have a recipe for atrichoke dip that is REALLY good, and this just doesn't measure up. But like I said, it was fine.

3-in-1 Italian Dip

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 pkg. (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
½ c. oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, drained, chopped
1 c. marinated artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
1 c. jarred roasted red bell peppers, drained, sliced

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix cream cheese, mozzarella, mayo and garlic in medium bowl until blended.
Spoon into 9” pie plate or casserole dish.
Bake 10 minutes. Stir. Arrange tomatoes, artichokes and peppers on top of cheese mixture in 3 separate sections. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Serve with crackers (Wheat Thins or Triscuits).

Yield: 12 servings

Tex Mex Won Tons

These were also, just okay. I think it's a good concept but a little bland upon execution.

Tex-Mex Won Tons

½ lbs. ground beef
¼ c. chopped onion
2 Tbsp. chopped green pepper
½ of a 15-ounce can refried beans
¼ c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp. catsup
1 ½ tsp. chili powder
¼ tsp. ground cumin
4 dozen won ton skins
Cooking oil or shortening for deep frying
Taco sauce

For filling: in a large skillet cook, ground beef, onion, and green pepper till meat is brown and vegetables are tender. Drain off fat. Stir beans, cheese, catsup, chili powder and cumin into meat mixture; mix well.
Place wonton skin with one point toward you. Spoon a generous teaspoon of meat mixture onto center of skin. Fold bottom point of skin over filling; tuck point under filling. Fold side corners over, forming an envelope shape. Roll up toward remaining corner; moisten point and press to seal. Repeat with remaining wonton skins and filling.
Fry, a few at a time in deep hot fat (375˚) about 1 minute per side. Use a slotted spoon to remove won tons. Drain. Serve warm with taco sauce.

Yield: 48 won tons

These can be frozen. To reheat: loosely cover the appetizers and heat in a 350˚ oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

Spinach and Cheese Cups

These were okay, nothing to write a song about.

Spinach and Cheese Cups

2 (2.1 oz) packages frozen mini Fillo shells
1/3 c. frozen, chopped spinach (thawed, and squeezed dry and loosely packed)
½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ c. parmesan cheese
¼ c. ricotta cheese
¼ c. sun dried tomatoes, drained
2 Tbsp. chopped prosciutto
¼ tsp. garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 375˚ and place fillo shells on a large, flat baking sheet.
2. Stir together remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and spoon into the shells.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and tops are lightly browned.

Yield 30 cups

Crab Cakes with Lime Sauce

The Italian dressing made them a bit salty to me, so I would decrease that by half. Also, I had to add more crushed crackers since they were way to wet to hold together with just half the crushed crackers. The lime sauce was really very good.

Crab Cakes with Lime Sauce

1 medium lime
1 c. mayonnaise
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 cans (6 oz each) crabmeat, drained, flaked
24 finely crushed Ritz crackers, divided
2 Tbsp. chopped green onion
¼ c. sour cream

Grate the peel and squeeze the juice from the lime. Mix half of the lime juice, ½ c. of the mayo, salad dressing mix and mustard in medium bowl until well blended. Add crabmeat, ½ c. of the cracker crumbs and onion; mix lightly.
Shape into 16 (1/2 inch thick) patties; coat with remaining cracker crumbs.
Cook patties, in batches, in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 2 minutes on each side or until browned on both sides and heated through. Meanwhile, mix remaining ½ c. mayo, remaining lime juice, lime peel and sour cream until well blended.
Serve with crab cakes.

Yield: 16 servings

Apricot Glazed Coconut Chicken Bites

These were good, I think the bake time is a bit excessive as they turned out kind of dry. If I made them again I would only bake them 15 minutes initially then maybe 5-8 minutes on the last baking.

Apricot-Glazed Coconut-Chicken Bites

½ c. sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 ½ c. baking mix
2/3 c. flaked coconut
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. paprika
1 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1” pieces
¼ c. margarine or butter, melted

Glaze:
½ c. apricot spreadable fruit
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. white vinegar

Heat oven to 425˚. Mix milk and Dijon mustard. Mix baking mix, coconut, salt and paprika. Dip chicken into milk mixture, then coat with baking mix.
Pour 2 Tbsp. of the melted margarine in jelly roll pan (15 ½ X 10 ½ X 1 inch). Place coated chicken in pan. Drizzle remaining margarine over chicken.
Bake uncovered 20 minutes. Make Apricot glaze (mix all ingredients until blended). Turn chicken; brush with glaze. Bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink in center and glaze is bubbly. Serve with hot mustard if desired.

Yield: About 3 dozen appetizers

Appetizer Meatballs

I would decrease the amount of oats by half or use breadcrumbs instead, and I would increase the amount of sauce by half again. I also added more garlic powder, because I like garlic and a squirt of grainy mustard since I had it in the refrigerator, needing to be used, and a generous dose of cayenne. These were very tangy. 5 stars!

Appetizer Meatballs

2 lbs. ground beef
1 lbs. pork sausage
1 (5oz) can evaporated milk
½ tsp. ground pepper
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
½ c. chopped onions
2 c. old-fashioned oats

Sauce:
2 c. catsup
1 ½ c. brown sugar
1 tsp. liquid smoke
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ c. chopped onions

1. Mix all meatball ingredients together; shape into small 1” diameter balls.
2. Place in baking pan in single layer.
3. Combine sauce ingredients and pour over meatballs.
4. Bake at 350˚ for 1 hour