Category Archives: Appetizers

Jul23

Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Bites

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Very fast and easy chicken recipe. Kid tested and approved! 🙂

Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Bites

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup honey mustard

1 teaspoon garlic salt

3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 lb chicken breast tenders (not breaded), cut into 1-2 inch pieces
Additional honey mustard, if desired
1 Heat oven to 400°F. Line cookie sheet with foil; spray foil or paper with cooking spray.
2 Melt the butter in a medium bowl.  Mix in honey mustard and garlic salt.
3 Place bread crumbs in large resealable plastic food-storage bag. Add chicken pieces to mustard mixture; stir to coat. Shake chicken pieces in bag of bread crumbs until coated. Place on cookie sheet. Discard any remaining honey mustard and bread crumbs.
4 Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until no longer pink in center. Serve with additional honey mustard or dipping sauce of your choice.
Modified from: Betty Crocker
Feb6

Crab Crescent Squares

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Another easy recipe using crescent rolls. 🙂
Cran Crescent Squares
Ingredients
  • 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
  • 8 oz real crab meat, cut into small pieces
  • 1 teaspoon Old Bay Garlic and Herb seasoning (I really just sprinkled it on without measuring)
  • 1 1/2cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • 1teaspoon parsley flakes
Directions
Heat oven to 375°F.
Unroll dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. Press to form 12×8-inch rectangle; firmly press perforations to seal.
Top dough with crab meat and remaining ingredients in order listed.
Bake for 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cut into squares.
Modified from: Pillsbury
Jul19

Ham and Cheese Crescent Roll Ups

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A super easy sandwich that kids can help make and love to eat!

Ham and Cheese Crescent Roll Ups

Ingredients

  • 1 can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
  • 8 thin slices cooked ham
  • 4 thin slices Cheddar cheese, each cut into 4 strips

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Separate dough into 8 triangles.  Place one slice of ham on each triangle; place 2 strips of cheese down the center of ham.  Roll up each crescent.  ( Typically, you start rolling from the wide end of the triangle but I started from the tip because it was easier to add a little more ham without worrying about making sure it all “fit” as I rolled them.)   Place rolls on an ungreased cookie sheet. (I accidentally greased mine but they turned out fine. 🙂 ) Bake 15 to 19 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

From: Pillsbury

Jul17

Chili’s Chicken Crispers with Honey Mustard Sauce

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Chicken crispers are Shania’s favorite thing to order at Chili’s- actually it’s ALL she will order.  I made these but didn’t mention that they were a copy cat recipe of Chili’s.  As soon as she saw them she said, “These look like the chicken crispers at Chili’s.” A few minutes later she tasted them and said, “They taste like them, too!”  This was exactly what I’d hoped for.  We all loved them.  I don’t eat honey mustard sauce (I use barbeque instead) but they said that the honey mustard tasted just like Chili’s as well.  Yay for another successful copycat recipe!

 

Honey Mustard Sauce Ingredients
2/3 Cup mayonnaise
1/4 Cup honey
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
Pinch paprika
Pinch salt

Batter Ingredients

1 egg, beaten
1/4 Cup whole milk
3/4 Cup chicken broth (Swanson)
1-1/2 Teaspoons salt
1/2 Teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Cup self-rising flour

6 to 10 cups shortening or vegetable oil (amount required by fryer)

10 chicken tenderloins
1/2 Cup flour

Honey Mustard Sauce Directions
Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill until needed.

Heat shortening or oil in fryer to 350 degrees F.

Batter Directions
Combine beaten egg, milk, chicken broth, salt and pepper in a medium
bowl. Whisk to dissolve salt. Whisk in 1 cup self-rising flour. Let batter sit for 5 minutes.

Coat chicken pieces with dry flour, then dip chicken into batter. Allow excess batter to drip off, then place battered chicken into the hot oil and fry for 7 to 9 minutes or until golden brown.

Do not overload fryer. Fry 3-4 pieces at a time.

Drain fried chicken strips on paper towels.
Serve with the honey mustard dressing on the side for dipping.

Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as an entree.

We had a slight problem of the chicken sticking to the fryer basket (I think due to the self rising flour) but they were still okay.  I will try making them on the stove next time to avoid this.

From: Meemo’s Kitchen

Jul17

Fried Pickles

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I blame the pregnancy for this one! That’s all I’m going to say….

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • One 16-ounce jar bread-and-butter pickle chips, drained

    • Directions

    1. In a wide, shallow dish, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, salt, paprika, cayenne and sugar. In another wide, shallow dish, lightly beat the eggs.
    2. Fill a large pot with enough oil to reach a depth of 2 inches and heat over medium-high heat until it registers 350° on a deep-fat thermometer. Working in batches, toss the pickles in the flour mixture, pressing to adhere. Shake off any excess flour, then toss gently in the eggs to coat. Coat with the flour mixture again. Shake off any excess flour, then add to the oil. Fry, turning occasionally after the pickles rise to the top, until browned, 8 to 9 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Serve immediately.

    From:  Rachael Ray Mag.com

    Jul7

    Cheese Garlic Biscuits

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    I made this recipe a few years ago and they turned out well but I forgot about them.  Recently, someone was talking about Red Lobster biscuits and this recipe is very similar to those so I was inspired to make them again and serve with italian sausage spaghetti.

    Cheese Garlic Biscuits

    Ingredients

    2 cups Original Bisquick® mix
    2/3 cup milk
    1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
    2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
    1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

    Directions

    Heat oven to 450ºF.
    Stir Bisquick mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms. Drop dough by 9 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
    Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir together butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.

    * Add more butter and/or garlic according to your preference.

    From: Betty Crocker

    Jun20

    Pigs in a Blanket

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    This recipe barely qualifies as cooking… all you do is wrap hot dogs in pre-made crescent roll dough.  But they were a big hit with the kids (and Scott!) and worth making instead of fixing frozen ones.  On the table in 15 minutes!

    Pigs in a Blanket

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    Ingredients

    • 1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
    • 4 hot dogs
    • ketchup
    • mustard

    Directions

    Preheat oven to 375 F. Separate dough into 8 triangles.

    Cut each hot dog in half crosswise. Place each hot-dog half on the wide end of the roll and roll it up. Space the hot-dog rolls evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

    Bake approximately 13-15 minutes until the rolls are brown and flaky. Let cool for a few minutes before serving with ketchup and/or mustard.

    From: Food Network

    Jun19

    Garlic Tomato Bruschetta

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    I was craving bruschetta and was tempted to go out and buy some from a restaurant.  But it’s so easy to make at home (not to mention cheaper) so I went ahead and made some myself.  I haven’t made it in a couple of years. I don’t know why! So good.

    Garlic Tomato Bruschetta

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    Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil ( or 3 teaspoons dried basil)
  • 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 medium tomatoes, diced
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (omitted)
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (addition) 
  • 1 loaf French bread

    • Directions

    In a bowl, combine oil, basil, garlic, salt, pepper and vinegar. Add tomatoes and toss gently. Sprinkle with cheese. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Bring to room temperature before serving. Cut bread into 24 slices; toast under broiler until lightly browned. Top with tomato mixture. Serve immediately. 

    Yield: 12 servings.

    From: Taste of Home

    Jun11

    Spicy Steak Quesadillas

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    This was my first time making steak quesadillas. I am always buying Scott frozen ones! He said they were very good and really seemed to enjoy them…. in spite of having already eaten them for lunch the day I decided to surprise him with these for dinner. 🙂

    Ingredients

    4 (12-inch) flour tortillas
    1/2 cup grated Cheddar, plus 1/4 cup
    8 ounces sirloin steak, grilled to desired doneness and thinly sliced
    1 to 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno
    1/4 cup salsa, plus more for serving
    Vegetable oil, for cooking
    Cilantro sprigs, for garnish

     Directions

    Lay out 2 of the flour tortillas on a flat surface. Top with 1/2 cup of the Cheddar, spreading evenly over the tortillas. Divide the steak among the tortillas and sprinkle with the desired amount of jalapeno. Top with salsa and remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Top with remaining tortillas and press to seal.

    Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan and lower the heat to medium. Cook until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat with the other quesadilla.

    Let cool for 5 minutes. Slice into 8 or 10 pieces. Garnish with salsa and cilantro sprigs.

    From: www.foodnetwork.com, Courtesy of Wolfgang Puck