Corn Nuggets

As I am writing this my tummy is growling. I spent the day going through my old laptop and finding recipes I had collected. Being that I am originally from up north I had never eaten these before. Then I had moved to Jacksonville. Oh the foods I ate and loved! One BBQ place we went to alot had these as their appetizer. Oh so good with ranch dressing. Yes you have to freeze these. DO NOT skip this step!! That's how they stay together when you fry them. Gives these a try and tell me how they came out.

CORN NUGGETS
Ingredients:
1 (11 ounce) can creamed corn
1 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg white
2 tablespoons milk
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups vegetable oil for deep frying
Directions:
In a medium bowl, stir together the creamed corn and drained whole kernel corn. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and coat with vegetable oil or cooking spray. Drop spoonfuls of the corn mixture onto the sheet, and freeze until firm, about 3 hours. Heat one inch of oil to 350 degrees F in a large deep skillet, or fill a deep-fryer with oil as directed by the manufacturer. Mix together the cornmeal, flour, egg white, milk, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Dip frozen corn nuggets in the batter, and quickly fry in hot oil until golden brown. Remove to paper towels to drain.

Chicken Parmeatballs

I have made and eaten several different kinds of party meatballs. Either with sausage or beef. Never chicken though. So here is a recipe I hope you will enjoy and make for your next party that you plan. These taste just like Chicken Parmesan!

CHICKEN PARMEATBALLS

1 pound of ground chicken meat ( you could use turkey )
3/4 cup of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 cloves of garlic crushed or pressed
1 small onion finely grated
2 tablespoons plus 1 cup of marinara sauce ( you can make your own or store bought )
1/2 tablespoon of dried Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley
2 tablespoons of fresh chopped basil
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1 large egg beaten
1 cup of shredded Italian blend cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set the 1 cup of marinade and the shredded cheese aside for now. In a large bowl mix the other ingredients together but do not over mix the meat mixture. Then scoop out enough mixture to make a small meatball. Rough a tablespoon size. You can use a tablespoon scoop if you have one. Put your meatballs on the baking sheet and bake for 16-18 mins till light brown. Take the meatballs out. Set your oven to broil. Drizzle the 2 tablespoons of marinara over each meatball and a little bit of the shredded cheese. Put back under the broiler. Broil for 2-3 mins till cheese is melted then serve with marinara. Enjoy these yummy meatballs!!!

Makes about 48 meatballs.

Popovers

I went to a wonderful place for a Christmas luncheon with my mom and a few of her friends from work. The place was decorate so beautifully for the holidays. One of the first things they brought out was these wonderful popovers. My mom has told me many times that one of her grandmother's favorite holiday recipe that she made was popovers. She would put chicken salad in them or Lobster Newberg. Here is her recipe for just the popovers that my Mom has handed down to me. Miss you great Granny!



                                                                    Popovers


3 Tbls of butter
2 large eggs
1 cup of milk which should be lukewarm
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp of kosher salt

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Brush some of the melted butter over a muffin tin. Put the tin in the oven for 5 mins. Meanwhile mix the eggs in until they are a light yellow. add the milk until blended then the salt and flour. Pour the batter in the muffin tinsand return to the oven to bake for 30 mins or till golden brown. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DURING THIS TIME! Serve with just butter. These are so good you can't just eat one.

Sausage Balls

                                               

                                                        A little twist on a classic recipe.



1 lb of hot sausage uncooked. ( you can also use mild instead if you don't care for hot )
8 oz of cream cheese softened
1 1/4 cup of Bisquick
4 oz of shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 400F. Mix ingredients till well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls and place onto a baking pan that has been sprayed. Bake for about 20-25 mins or until balls are golden brown. Serve with one of your favorite dips ( ranch, honey mustard, bbq sauce etc..) These can also be frozen uncooked just added about 10 mins to the baking time or thaw in your frig.

Spicy Buffalo Meatballs

Game day is almost upon us! I consider it a holiday. Even though its on a Sunday. Holidays I tend to get so busy I neglect my blog. I think most people do the same thing. But I had come across some great party recipes I had stashed over the years. And plus I have fallen in love with Frank's Hot Sauce. I even put it in my potato salad lol.


                                                            

Spicy Buffalo-Style Meatballs

1 package (about 18 ounces) fully-cooked beef meatballs
2 to 3 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon honey
Prepared blue cheese dressing
Prepared ranch dressing
Celery sticks

1. Cook meatballs according to package direction.
2. Meanwhile, combine hot pepper sauce, butter and honey in large bowl; mix well. Add meatballs; stir to coat. Serve with toothpicks and dressings with celery sticks, as desired.

Makes about 36 appetizers.

Easy Salsa

I have made a few salsa recipes over the years and some call for blanching the tomatoes and others are just too time consuming. I am such a fan of cilantro. With this recipe I always add more to it lol. This is very easy and taste really good. A quick throw together when you have unexpected company and need something to nibble on. Or you're just craving some salsa.

4 cans of petite diced tomatoes ( 14 1/2 ounces each )
2 medium onions diced small
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro minced
1 or 2 seeded jalapenos minced
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp or more of crushed garlic

Combine everything in a large bowl and then cover and chill for 2 or more hours. Serve with tortilla chips.

Bacon Chicken Quesadillas

I decided to go with something easy and delicious to make and looked in my frig and pantry and had all these ingredients. These were actually quite good with the biscuits than the tortillas. I will be posting a simple recipe for regular chicken quesadillas made with tortillas soon.These were good with some tortilla soup we had leftover from a local mexican restaurant we went to. 

INGREDIENTS

1

container (8 oz) sour cream

4

green onions, thinly sliced (4 tablespoons)

1

package (1 oz) ranch dip mix

1

cup chunky-style salsa

1/4

cup Smucker’s® Peach Preserves

3

tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1/4

lb sliced roasted chicken (from deli), chopped

3/4

cup shredded Mexican cheese blend or crumbled queso blanco cheese (3 oz)

8

slices precooked bacon, chopped

1

can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits)

DIRECTIONS

1In small bowl, mix sour cream, 1 sliced green onion and 1 tablespoon of the ranch dip mix. In another small bowl, mix salsa, preserves and 1 tablespoon of the cilantro.2Heat closed medium-size contact grill for 5 minutes; spray grill plates with Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix chicken, cheese, bacon and remaining green onions, cilantro and ranch dip mix.3Separate dough into 8 biscuits; press or roll each into 5-inch round. Place 1/4 cup chicken mixture on one side of each biscuit round. Fold biscuit over filling; press edges to seal.4Place biscuits, two at a time, on grill; close grill. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Cut each quesadilla into 3 wedges. Serve with sour cream and salsa mixtures.
If you dont have a grill you can use a waffle iron or even a regular frying pan and then put a cast iron pan on top to press..make sure the bottom of the cast iron is sprayed also.

Pumpkin Pie Dip

Falls is here and hopefully here in Florida it will start getting cooler. But there are folk in other places that are enjoying their cool weather. Pumpkins are coming and so are apples. If you have gone apple picking this will be a good sweet appetizer to use with your apples.

Pumpkin Pie Dip

• 15 oz can pumpkin
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or more to taste)
• 6 oz fat free Greek yogurt 
• 8 oz cool whip
• cut up apples to dip 

Mix pumpkin with brown sugar, vanilla and spices, blend well. Mix in yogurt. Fold in cool whip and chill in refrigerator until ready to eat. Server with sliced apples and crackers.
Makes about 6 cups.

Pizza Pinwheels

This was my first time working with puff pastry. I don't know why it took me this long to finally make something using it in a recipe. But I figured I would make something really easy. And now I bring you Pizza Pinwheels! There is actually no measuring because you add what you want. This time I added already made pizza sauce in a jar and ham and pineapple and cheese. That's it. And it is so easy you can have your little kitchen helpers help you on this one.
First lay out the puff pastry to thaw. After it has thawed spread your pizza sauce over the sheets. its better not to use alot of the sauce but enough to cover the dough. Then sprinkle with the ham, pineapple chucks and cheese. You can use anything you want here as long as the meat you choose is cooked first. Next you will roll these up like logs and cut them into rounds. Also use a serrated knife like a bread knife which makes it easier to slice and you won't squish the pastry. Line a baking pan with baking paper as the cheese will ooze out and get stuck to your pan and what a hassle to clean burnt on cheese.Place each round face up on the tray and bake at 350 for 10 to 15 mins. until the pastry is golden brown.

Charleston Cheese Dip

Gotta love the cheese...oh wait...bacon too? Yummy! One of my dear friends served this at a get together and I got the recipe from her and tweaked it to our taste. Isn't that what your supposed to do lol? 

Charleston Cheese Dip

• 1/2 cup real mayonnaise
• 1 (8oz) package regular cream cheese, softened
• 1  cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2  cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
• 2  green onions, finely chopped
• Dash of cayenne pepper ( optional )
• 8  Ritz crackers, crushed
• 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, Monterrey jack cheese, green onions and cayenne pepper until well blended. Transfer the mixture to a small baking dish and spread even in the dish.  An aluminum  pie plate works perfectly.
3. Top mixture with cracker crumbs and bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and top with the bacon. Serve immediately with corn chips, bagel chips or crackers. And make sure you use real mayo not that other stuff....ewwww... I loved it with crackers!

Pickle Roll Ups

This is an appetizer I have been making since the 90s...it is sooo good. Super Bowl is coming up and these would be perfect.

Ingredients

1	8 oz container of cream cheese softned
8 lg	dill pickles
2 pkg	deli meat ( ham, or roast beef ) 4oz each

Directions

Dry pickles off. You can use small dill pickles instead. The portions will just be smaller.

Spread a layer of cream cheese on a slice of meat.

Wrap the meat around the pickle. If the pickles are really large then use 2 slices of meat.

Slice and arrange on a platter with toothpicks.

Greek Cucumber Dip or Tzatziki

There is a cute little Greek place in Port Jefferson that me and my Mom have gone to a few times. We always get this wonderful dip with their homemade pita chips.

Ingredients:

2 cucumbers, peeled & seeded
1 pint of plain Greek yogurt, or thoroughly drained plain yogurt
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbsp.  golden Balsamic Vinegar
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp.  Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 clove of garlic, minced
2 tsp. fresh, minced dill
Pepper to taste

Directions:

Grate cucumber and toss with salt. Drain as much juice from cucumber as possible using a cheesecloth or towel.
In a large bowl, mix yogurt and grated cucumber; combine with sour cream, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and dill. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve chilled.

Brown Sugar Lil' Smokies

Instead of the usual smokies in the crockpot I gave these a try and boy were they good. A little piece of smokie heaven on a toothpick.

Brown Sugar Smokies
Ingredients

    * 1 (16 ounce) package little smokie sausages
    * 1 pound bacon
    * 1 cup brown sugar, or to taste

Directions

   1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
   2. Cut bacon into thirds and wrap each strip around a little sausage. Place the wrapped sausages on wooden skewers, several to a skewer. Arrange the skewers on a baking sheet and sprinkle them liberally with brown sugar.
   3. Bake until bacon is crisp and the brown sugar melted.

Yes just 3 ingredients!  Could life be any simpler?