Parmesan Bacon wrapped Dates

I was skeptical of this recipe at first, but when I went to my small group on Sunday I tried this and it was AMAZING! Its an odd combination, but it is SO yummy. Thanks for Krystal for providing this new christmas treat!

What you will need:

1 box of dates( make sure they are pitted)
Parmesiano Reggiano9 1/2 lb ( since this cheese is expensive you might want to pair it up with another cheese so it spreads more evenly ( I liked smoked gouda with it AMAZING! (
1 package of Bacon ( cut it in half , it conserves your bacon and makes your treat healthier)
Oven

Ok so what you do is Put your oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.

Place the pieces of cheese into each date,then wrap the bacon around each date, securing it with a wooden toothpick( I used cute ones, but regular toothpicks are ok. Arrange dates 1 inch apart in a shallow baking pan. ( I used a glass 13X9 pan)





Bake 5 minutes, then turn dates over with tongs and bake until bacon is crisp, 5 to 6 minutes more. Drain on a paper bag or parchment. Serve immediately & prepare for ecstacy in your mouth!

Chex Mix

Nothing says the Holidays like chex mix ! :)

ORIGINAL CHEX PARTY MIX

6 tablespoons butter or margarin
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
3 cups Corn Chex cereal (the last time I made this, I forgot to buy the corn chex, so I just doubled the rice chex...but, don't forget the wheat chex!)
3 cups Rice Chex cereal
3 cups Wheat Chex cereal
1 cup mixed nuts (I use only peanuts)
1 cup pretzels
1 cup garlic-flavor bite size bagel chips or regular size bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces

Heat oven to 250 degrees. Melt butter in large roasting pan in oven. Stir in seasonings. Gradually stir in remaining ingredients until evenly coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container. 12 cups snack.

Recommend: OH, YES! ;-)

Rice & Spice Stuffing Mix ( for a Sachet)

Ok I wasn't sure how to word this but this is an Amazing stuffing mix for a sachet!

Sometimes if I want my house to smell really nice I will simmer this mix on the stove ( minus the rice):)

What you need
1 small orange ( you only need the peel)
5-6 whole cloves
2 cups Rice
1 WHOLE nutmeg( hand ground)
4 sprinkles of cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Vanilla

This smells AMAZING and smells so nicely inside a sachet/hot/cold pad :)

I take a vegetable peeler to peel the orange- it creates long strips which I air dried overnight in the oven on a cookie sheet then added to the mix :)

Basically all you have to do is combine all the ingrediants together in a small bowl until they are evenly blended. I like to simmer all of the ingrediants in some water on the stove during the fall- it makes the house smell wonderful!

If you would like to see how to use this in a hot/cold pad holder or Sachet please click here It's pat of my 12 days of CRaftsmas series

New Years Eve- Crab Rangoon Dip

Every Year for New Years when I'm home my Mom and Stepdad and I used to pick a different country around the world to celebrate. Last year we did a Chinese New Year ( although it wasn't actually on New Years Eve- I had 2 work)
We had this amazing dip- it imitated the Crab Rangoons that they have at Chinswe Restaurants I LOVE!)



Ingrediants:
1 package neufchatel cheese
1 garlic clove
1 cup shredded cheese
3/4 cup sweet and sour sauce
1/2 package( 8 ounces) imitation crab ( or if you have money real crab- I prefer the imitation)
1 green onion
1/4 cup toasted almonds
Steps:
In small bowl combine cream cheese and garlic, add swiss cheese. Put sweet and sour sauce over cream cheese, put crab into mixture. Heat until cheese is melted
Serve with Wonton crips*
Note- make your own crisps byt taking wonton wrappers and baking them- what I did was take wonton wrappers and put them in mini muffin tins, then baked them with the dip inside ( so technically they were a wonton haha) or I served them with garlic bagel chips yummy!)

Chipped Beef Dip

Doesn't this look absolutely Divine?
When I worked at Catherine's we used to get together for a christmas party every December. One of my coworkers Janet, used to ALWAYS make this amazing dip- I love it because it is 3 things : yummy, cheap and easy to make. :) I servhed it with the falovred triscits ( I like the quatra formaggio triangle triscuits- you can use whatever you like. I think it gives it more flavor.

The ingrediants you need are
2 blocks of cream cheese ( I use neufchatel cheese)
1 jar ( I used the big jar , but you can use 2 little jars of dry beef)
1 small onion cut up
1 tablespoon dijon mustard ( I used grey poupon creamy style with white wine )
1/4 cup mayonaise
Basically all you are going to do is mix all the ingrediants together and form into a ball- refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight ( I did mine overnight)

Serve with crackers ( I like the triscuits especially the flavored crackers)

Serve and Enjoy! :)

What Dips do you like to have for Christmas?

Spiced Pickles from my Homeland!

It also could make a quick and easy Christmas gift for your friends and faimly :)

200 sm Pickles
1 qt Cider Vinegar
1 lb Sugar
2 oz Cloves, Whole
2 oz Mustard, Dry
2 oz Cinnamon
1 c Salt

the pickles in boiling water. Drain. Mix together the cinnamon and cloves. Place a layer of pickles in a crock and sprinkle with the spice mixture; repeat until crock is filled. Combine the sugar, salt, mustard and vinegar and bring to a boil and cook about 5 minutes. Pour brine over the pickles, filling the crock. (More brine may be needed, depending on size of pickles). Cover crock and let stand in a cold place. Source: Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book – Fine Old Recipes, Culinary Arts Press, 1936.


Ok so I got these AMAZING spiced pickles at a craft show Mom and I went to and I had to find out what you need to do to make them. Once I read this recipe , which is PA DUTCH I decided to look and see if there was a recipe I understood.
Brineing is the mixture of sugar and salt :)

I absolutely loved it and was surprised how easy it was to make! I got my containers and the dollar store and just used a regular canning lid to help preserve the flavor! It was a quick and easy project!

Oreo Truffles- Perfect for Christmas !

Ugh I picked the worst time of year to try to get in shape. Seriously. I LOVE cookies. and pumpkin pie. and New Years Eve food. ugh. I can do it though and so can you! I LOVE the OREO Truffles I had at a baby shower. They covered them in chocolate but I actually prefer them without choclate. Here is the super easy recipe! ( And it's somewhat healthier too!)

Ingrediants:
1 box/bag ( what do they call them now?) Oreo's of your choice ( I used Kroger Brand Mint Chocolate and double stuffed Golden Oreos)
1 block of Neufchatel Cheese ( its in the cream cheese section) softened
sprinkles/colored sugar for decoration

Step 1- Unbox oreos and place in food proccessor ( I put 1/2 in then pulverized - I mean mixed them. then added the other half and mixed them together :)

Step 2- Add Cream cheese once its softened ( i cut mine into 4 cubes and put them into the processor)
Step 3- Blend the oreo mixture until it is creamy ( mine was about 20 seconds in the processor)
Step 4- roll the oreos mixture into a small ball ( about the size of a gumball or small jawbreaker
Step 5- Place balls on cookie sheet and place in freezer overnight ( mine were a little soft so I had to freeze them
Step 6- Roll Balls into colored sugar, sprinkles or candy pearls for a pretty finish!
Step 7- Enjoy and EAT!

I truly think reducing the chocolate and making it with neufchatel cheese made it not only healthy but also figure friendlier!

What are you planning on making this Holiday Season?