Jen's Savoury Pumpkin Dip

Everyone will love this delicious and simple savory pumpkin dip -- perfect for all kinds of dipping!

PREP: 5 MINS TOTAL: 5 MINS

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (8 oz.) brick cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat cream cheese)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling!)
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 4-6 slices of bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3 Tablespoons Chili Sauce
• 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Stir all ingredients together using a wooden spoon or an electric mixer until combined.  Serve garnished with extra bacon and green onions if desired, or cover and refrigerate until use. It was definitely better the next day, and even better the day after that. 

Apple Nachos

3 granny smith apples (sliced)

3 red delicious apples (sliced)

1/2 cup chocolate caramel sauce (I used this recipe but when it didn't thicken up at all, I threw in some milk chocolate chips and stirred them in. You could easily used bought chocolate or caramel sauce)

2 tbsp slivered almonds

1 tbsp Epicure selections Vanilla sprinkles

1 tbsp Epicure selections Chocolate sprinkles

1 hand full of M&Ms (I used limited edition cherry ones)

Place apple slices on a platter. Pour on sauce and add desired toppings. Serve immediately to hungry blogger friends.

Sundried Tomato and Basil Naan Bread Pizza with Balsamic Drizzle

Ingredients:

2 pieces Naan Bread
1/2 cup of your favourite tomato sauce
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (the ones I used came in a jar packed in olive oil), cut into small pieces
1 pkg fresh mozzarella pearls (I bought this kind in the States)
5-6 fresh basil leaves, snipped into small slivers
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Top each naan bread with a thin layer of sauce. Sprinkle on sundried tomato pieces. Place mozzarella pearls evenly on top. Add fresh basil. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust starts to brown slightly. While the pizza is baking, heat vinegar over high heat stirring constantly until boiling. Keep stirring until vinegar starts to thicken. Drizzle on warm pizza when it comes out of the oven. Serve immediately.

Pear, Brie, and Fig Quesadillas

Ingredients:

1/2 wheel brie cheese

1 firm pear, cored and chopped (peeled if desired)

6-8 dried figs (I used mission figs bought in the produce section), chopped with scissors

2 flour tortillas

Directions: 

Place thin slices of brie cheese (leave rind on if desired) on 1 half of flour tortilla. Top with pear and fig pieces. Cover with additional thin brie cheese. Fold tortilla over and place in a frying pan at medium-low heat, cover and cook on one side until golden. Flip carefully and then cook on the other side. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut into wedges and serve. 

Caramelized Onion Hummus

Ingredients:

1large or 2 medium onions, diced
2 tbsp butter or margarine
brown sugar, to taste
4 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 (16 oz) can chick peas, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp tahini (make your own with this recipe!)
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tbsp sweet paprika

Directions: Heat butter or margarine in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and brown sugar and cook over medium heat until onions begin to turn golden and are translucent (about 10-15 minutes). Add garlic and cook for an additional few minutes, stirring often to prevent burning. Remove from hear and let cool.

In a blender combine remaining ingredients and blend well. Add a little more oil or water if the consistency is too stiff. Add cooled onion and garlic mixture to blender and blend until smooth. Allow to chill several hours to allow flavours to combine.

Serve with crackers, vegetables, or pita bread that is cut into wedges.

Pizza Rollups

Ingredients

2 (1/4 ounce) packages fast rising yeast

2 cups water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup canola oil

1/3 cup grated parmigiano cheese

6 cups flour (can use a mix of whole wheat and white)

Directions

In a medium bowl combine water, yeast, sugar, and salt. Let sit until foam appears on the top.

In the bowl of a stand up mixer combine the yeast mixture with the olive oil, canola oil, and 3 cups of the flour. With the whip attachment, beat for 10 minutes. Clean and remove the whip attachment. Add the remaining flour and cheese. With the dough hook attachment in place, slowly pulse the mixer on and off until the flour is incorporated. Continue kneading on medium speed for 10-12 minutes or until the dough is smooth and no longer clings to the sides of the mixer. If you need to add more flour, do so 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is no longer sticking to the sides. Transfer the dough to a large, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Place in a warm location and allow to rise for one hour or until doubled in size. Punch down dough and allow to rise a second time. After the second rise the dough is ready to be divided and rolled into 2 large rectangles. Sprinkle your favourite pizza toppings (we like chopped pepperoni and honey maple ham) on top of each rectangle, leaving about 2 inches on one long side for rolling up. Top with your favourite cheese (we like parmesan and mozzarella - and provolone if we have it) and Italian seasoning. Roll up like a cinnamon bun, cut with thread, and bake until golden. Serve with dipping sauces.

I like this one:

Favourite Marinara

• 
  
• 1 large can tomato sauce
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 4 bay leaves2 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 large onions, chopped finely
  Combine all ingredients and simmer over a slow boil for three hours. (I use my slow cooker!) Remove bay leaves before serving.

Whole Wheat Ham and Cheese Calzones

Ingredients

CRUST

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon molasses

FILLING

• 3 tablespoons boiling water
• 2 tablespoons bulgur (buy as much as you need from a bulk food store)
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce1 tsp oregano
• 1 cup diced deli ham (honey maple is my favourite!)
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. For the Crust: Measure the first 6 ingredients into a large bowl. Stir. Make small indentation in the middle.
2. Combine next 3 ingredients in small bowl. Add to middle of dry mixture. Stir until soft dough forms. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead 8-10 times.
3. For the Filling: Combine boiling water and bulgur in small heatproof bowl. Let stand for about 20 minutes until bulgur is softened.
4. Add remaining 3 ingredients. Stir. Divide into 8-12 equal portions.
5. Shape portions into balls. Roll out 1 portion to form an 3-4 inch diameter circle. Place about 3 tbsp of filling on half of circle, leaving 1 inch edge. Fold dough in half over filling.
   
   6. Press edges to seal.
   7. Carefully transfer to greased baking sheet. Poke with a fork in top two times to allow steam to escape.
   8. Repeat with remaining dough portions and filling. Bake in 425°F (220°C) oven for about 10-15 minutes until golden.
   9. Makes 8-12 calzones.
   10. To freeze: allow to cool completely and then transfer to a large labeled ziploc bag. To serve: microwave or bake until fully reheated.
   
   
   

Greek Spinach Pizza

• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 prebaked thin Italian bread shell crust (10 ounces)
• 2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped pitted Greek olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped sweet onion

In a small bowl, toss the spinach, oil and Italian seasoning. Place crust on an ungreased 12-in. pizza pan. Arrange spinach mixture over crust to within 1/2-in. of edge. Place tomatoes on top; sprinkle with the cheeses, olives and onion.

Bake at 450 F for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and edges are lightly browned.

Yield: 6-8 slices

* Instead of the Italian bread shell crust I just used a plain pizza crust. It definitely didn't need the whole 10 minutes until it was browned enough.

Pizza Surprise

This is oh so yummy! One of my favorite things to make for a party. Serve with crackers or raw vegetables.
- 8 oz package cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup chili sauce
- chopped tomato, peppers, green onions (as much as you like)
- shredded cheese to cover

Mix together cream cheese, sour cream, mayo. Spread onto pan/dish. Cover with chili sauce, then add tomatoes, peppers, green onions and shredded cheese.

Can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

Turkey Cheese Ball

Turkey Cheese Ball

• 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese
• 6 oz deli smoked turkey, finely chopped
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

DECORATIONS:

• 3 packages (3 oz each) cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons milk
• brown, orange and yellow paste food coloring
• 6 large oval crackers
• 1 large sweet red pepper
• 1 small yellow summer squash (i used a carrot for this decoration)
• 1 cup pecan halves
• assorted crackers

In a small bowl, beat the first six ingredients until combined. Shape into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.

In another bowl, beat cream cheese and milk until smooth. Divide among four small bowls. With food coloring, tint one bowl brown, one dark orange, and one light orange (using yellow and orange); leave one bowl plain.

Transfer each mixture to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of each bag. For turkey tail feathers, decorate the top halves of large oval crackers with tinted cream cheese.

Using the red pepper, form the turkey head and neck. For beak, cut a small triangle from summer squash (carrot); attach with cream cheese. Add eyes, using brown and plain cream cheese. Insert pecan halves and decorated crackers into cheese ball. Serve with assorted crackers.

Yield: 1 cheese ball (3 cups)

Editor's Note: This recipe was tested with Townhouse Oval Bistro crackers

*The editor is not me! I had an extremely difficult time finding oval crackers but did manage to find a small box of cracked pepper crackers at Sobeys. I made this for a Thanksgiving gathering and everyone absolutely loved it! It was a lot of fun to make too!

Igloo Cheese Ball

This adorable cheese ball was made by my sister-in-law Christine and her mom. Isn't it so cute?!!!

This is more of an idea than a recipe - just use your favorite cheese ball recipe and

form it into an igloo. The penguins are made from olives. Carrot pieces form the beak and feet. Slit the olives and pipe cream cheese in until a "white belly" appears.
Sprinkle the plate with coconut to make it look like snow. Cute, cute, cute!!

Onion Strings

I recently tried this recipe for the first time - wow! These are incredible. Thanks to Claudette for passing it along. ;)

Onion Strings

• 1 whole large onion
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 - 2 quarts canola oil
• black pepper to taste

Slice onion very thin. Put in shallow dish and soak onion rings in buttermilk for at least an hour. (If you don't have buttermilk add 2 tbsp vinegar to just under 2 cups of milk).

Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

Heat oil to 375. Put soaked onion rings in dry mixture in batches. Tap off excess flour on the side of bowl and plunge into hot oil. Fry for a few minutes and remove when golden brown.

Repeat until all onion rings have been fried.

*My family wents nuts for these. Even my three year old was eating them up. :)

**I skipped the cayenne pepper and seasoned the fried onion rings with seasoning salt. Mmmm...

Buffalo Chicken Nachos (www.franksredhot.com)

This recipe is credit of http://www.franksredhot.com/

I made these nachos the other day, so fantastic! If you have leftover roast chicken, or just want to use grilled chicken breast, delicious! Cut chicken in small diced cubes, gives more chicken pieces over the nachos, I did 2 layers of: taco, chicken, veggies, cheese - all baked on a stone.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey

1/2 cup any flavor FRANK'S® REDHOT® Cayenne Pepper Sauce (I used Frank's RedHot Buffalo Sauce)

1 (10 oz.) bag tortilla chips

2 cups shredded Cheddar or Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1.TOSS chicken with Frank's RedHot Sauce. (again, stressing cut chicken is small diced cubes, then mix with hot sauce)

2.Layer chicken mixture with chips and cheese in baking dish or on pizza pan. (veggies too)

3.BAKE at 350°F for 5 min. until hot and cheese melts. (I baked hotter and for 10-12 mins, depends on your oven I guess and if you like the chips a little crispier)

Tips

1.Variations: Add 1/2 cup of the following to nachos along with chicken: chopped bell peppers, sliced green onion, sliced black peppers or diced jalapeno peppers.

2.For a change of pace, substitute 2 cups diced shrimp.

BBQ Potato Skins

Thanks to my friend Claudette for sharing this tasty recipe. Not sure if it's more of an appetizer or an entree, but regardless it's delicious!

BBQ Potato Skins

Slice potatoes into rounds, 1/4 inch thick. Enough to fill a greased cookie sheet. Brush with oil and bake for 20 minutes at 450. Then slather with BBQ sauce (we like bullseye) and layer with chopped green onions, bacon bits and shredded cheese. Bake another 3-5 minutes to melt the cheese. Serve with sour cream. Absolutely delicious!!!

Apple Dip

It's hard to know what to call this dip. An appetizer? A dessert? It's on the sweet side - and so tasty.

Apple Dip

1 block cream cheese (250g)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together. Put in fridge for an hour. Serve with apples.
(Granny Smith seem to be the best with this!)

And yes, the apples cancel out the cream cheese. ;)

Italian Bread Wedges

This is a recipe I got from Home Ec. class in high school - it's been around a few years! This would probably be close to the top of the list of Devin's favorite foods. Great served as an appetizer or in place of garlic toast.
Italian Bread Wedges

Dough:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp instant yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt

This is the original dough recipe I used. Once I got my bread maker I switched to the pizza dough recipe that came with in the recipe book. Much softer dough!

Break maker recipe:

• 1 cup beer or water (I use water which is supposed to be crispier, but I still find it to be nice and soft).
• 1 tbsp butter/margarine
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups white flour
• 3 tsp instant yeast

Put in bread maker in order listed. Use dough setting. Makes two thin crusts or one thick crust (we like the thick crust).

Spread dough on greased pizza pan. Set oven at 450.

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/2 - 1/3 cup italian dressing
• parmesan cheese
• shredded cheddar or mozza cheese

Mix spices in a small bowl. Brush dressing evenly over dough. Sprinkle on spices and cheeses. Bake for about 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cut into wedges or strips.

I make this quite often, so I'll mix the spices in larger quantity and store in a big shaker. We like to eat it with honey dill sauce - bought is really good, but you can make your own by mixing about a half a cup of mayo with about a tbsp or two of liquid honey and adding dill.