Appetizers

Fall Harvest Popcorn

Leah Short — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 17:30:10 +0000

I’ve said many times before on this blog how I love “weird” combinations of food. If there’s an odd ingredient in a dish, I want to make it. I’m fascinated by ingredients I would never think to put together and how they usually end up working in a dish. Luckily my friend Carol is this way too and when she flipped through my Food Network magazine, she was drawn to their Name This Dish recipe. It’s popcorn with a savory twist mixed with pecans, cranberries, and apple chips. I’ve taken the liberty to name it Fall Harvest Popcorn, since I’m never as creative as the folks that win those naming contests. I’ll keep you posted on the winning name. This snack combination is perfect since it’s savory and sweet. No more vicious circles of snacking, just pure gluttony!

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Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Leah Short — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 15:36:55 +0000

A few days ago I got back from visiting my friends Carol and Mike, who just had a baby girl! I couldn’t wait to meet her! You may remember my visit to their house last year. I knew with a 2-month-old in the house that we’d be hanging out at home mostly. This was ok with me because I knew Carol would be down with making some goodies in the kitchen. We found these Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms in the latest issue of Food Network magazine. There were several variations, but these sounded so good with all the cheese and fennel. These hearty appetizers would also be great for watching the game later that night!

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Cream Cheese Stuffed Apricots

Leah Short — Thu, 04 Sep 2014 12:10:20 +0000

Let me set the scene. You see a recipe you want to make, you buy all the ingredients, you make the recipe, you have a ton of random ingredients left over. This is my life. My pantry is filled with recipe ingredient leftovers. Items I wouldn’t normally buy, so if the recipe doesn’t use all of it, there it sits. Remember those awesome Double Decker Apricot Turkey Sandwiches? Yeah, guess who has bags of dried apricots leftover? Enter Cream Cheese Stuffed Apricots! Not something I would have normally made, but I’m glad I did. These little bites would be a perfect addition to any cheese plate and definitely something different.

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Peanut Butter & Banana Wraps

Leah Short — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 14:47:32 +0000

Today’s post is brought to you by the letter R and the number 2. Ha! I don’t have kids or nieces/nephews, or any young uns for that matter, but it doesn’t stop me from making awesome kid snacks…because they taste so darn yummy! I’ve been making these Peanut Butter & Banana Wraps for years. They are so good, even though it’s the simplest idea for a snack or dessert. They take no time to make and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand already. Full of different textures, one of these wraps will satisfy your craving for something sweet. They’re on the messy side, but I think that’s the sign of a good treat.

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Dark Chocolate Blueberry Clusters

Leah Short — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 14:11:53 +0000

Occasionally a recipe comes along and you lose your mind. Three ingredients mixed together in these Dark Chocolate Blueberry Clusters and I went bonkers. I could not keep my hand out of the bowl and devoured this entire recipe in a matter of hours. I say hours instead of minutes because I did muster up just a teeny, tiny bit of self-control. Mostly due to having to save some to photograph. Thank goodness they’re somewhat healthy or I’d be in bad shape, literally. If you’ve got a mean sweet tooth like I do, you’re going to enjoy this treat and not feel a damn bit of guilt about it!

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Whiskey Barbecue Bacon

Leah Short — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 20:20:00 +0000

Oh bacon, can it get any better? Yes, yes it can! Coat strips of bacon in whiskey, brown sugar, and spices to make a quick barbecue sauce, and you have a bacon masterpiece folks. I was thumbing through the bacon issue from Food Network magazine a few months ago and instantly stopped when I saw all the ways to spice up already fabulous bacon. They had about six or so different varieties, but I gravitated toward the boozy one, plus I had all the ingredients on hand. Whiskey Barbecue Bacon did not disappoint and now I’m going to be flavoring bacon like crazy!

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Tex-Mex Pimento Cheese Dip

Leah Short — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 16:21:05 +0000

Let me first apologize to anyone (like myself) that is trying to eat healthier/lighter now that the holidays are over. I have tons of food from the holiday feasting to catch you up on, so my next several posts aren’t going to be anywhere close to figure-friendly. I’m especially looking at you, Tex-Mex Pimento Cheese Dip! I took this to a Favorite Things party and it was a success. It’s cheesy, it’s greasy, and absolutely addicting. Thighs, look out!

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Fire Cracker Snack Mix

Leah Short — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 14:32:01 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I love to snack. Some of the best meals I’ve had are made entirely of snacks. Dips, chips, spreads, cheese, crackers. I love snacking! I pinned a recipe for saltines with this fiery mixture on it, but thought I could make it easier to eat using oyster crackers. Then I combined that idea with another snacking recipe and Fire Cracker Snack Mix was born! It’s crunchy, salty, savory, and spicy. Perfect for game day or mindless eating on the couch watching some trashy TV!

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Tzatziki Sauce

Leah Short — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:33:37 +0000

I’m not sure I’ve ever discussed on this blog that I don’t like melon, and I mean anything melon. No watermelon, no canteloupe, and especially no honeydew. Even that Midori stuff gives me the heebie jeebies. I have no explanation for it and what makes it even more weird is that I ate watermelon and canteloupe as a kid. No clue what happened. Cucumbers also fall into this category. They are very melony, if you will. I want to like them, they look so good and fresh. What I’ve discovered about cucumbers is I may not like them by themselves or in huge chunks, but I will totally devour them sliced very thin on a sandwich (like this chicken salad or this Mediterranean sandwich) or diced very small in this Tzatziki Sauce! I had four cucumbers that I needed to use and a big tub of hummus that was about to expire. So you see how my mind went to homemade tzatziki sauce.

So, how’s it taste?

I wasn’t expecting much. I’d had tzatziki sauce many times before and liked it, but it’s just sauce, right? Wrong! Holy mother of freshness did this homemade version blow my mind. You probably already have all the ingredients on hand, which recipes like that make me do a happy dance. It’s fresh, tangy, and just a bit of bite from the garlic. You can grate your garlic if you prefer, but I liked it in this sauce minced. I diced the cucumber very fine, and it was perfect for a dipping sauce. And dip I did!

I polished off this entire batch in two separate stints of me standing in the kitchen, hovered over the bowl, shoveling it in on pita wedges as fast as I could. I have no shame. Eight servings, schmeight servings. You know what else is really freakin’ delicious? Take your pita wedge, first dip it in hummus, then dip that in the tzatziki! You can thank me later.

Tzatziki Sauce

by Liz DellaCroce of The Lemon Bowl
makes 8 (1/2 cup) servings
per serving: 42 calories, 0.1g fat, 4.1g carbs, 0.2g fiber, 6.3g protein

Ingredients:

2 cups plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
2 cups cucumber, very small dice
1/2 cup fresh dill, minced (or 2 tbsp. dried)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined. Taste for seasoning and add more of any ingredient to adjust to your liking. (I added a tad more salt to mine.)

2. Serve immediately with pita wedges or store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

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No Bake Oatmeal Bites

Leah Short — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:35:48 +0000

Ok, let’s all admit we pin things to Pinterest and may never actually get around to making them. I have recipes I pinned forever ago and they’ve just never made it to reality. Not these No Bake Oatmeal Bites. I had the ingredients on hand (which is rare) and made them hours after pinning them. They have all the ingredients I love in a snack: peanut butter, coconut, chocolate chips, but with a (sort of) healthy twist.

So, how’s it taste?

Oh. My. Gosh. Stop reading this and make these. Crazy, crazy good. Remember those unbaked fudge cookies that everyone eats? They’re similar to that, but way better. I liked the different textures of the ingredients, especially the crunchy chia seeds. I put (sort of) healthy above because they really aren’t to me. I know they’re full of the good for you fats and such, but they are pretty high in calorie count per bite…and they’re so insanely good that I had no problem devouring several at a time. So, healthy kind of went out the window with these for me. I also renamed them from energy bites. They didn’t give me a boost of energy, but probably because I sat on my couch eating them like bon bons. Since they are more like dessert to me, I thought a rename was fitting.

You can really play around with the ingredients and make it your own. I used crunchy peanut butter, but you could use smooth or another type of butter. This recipe comes from Gimme Some Oven and there’s a few flavor variations that sound just as scrumptious that I’m dying to try. I’m already brainstorming about a white chocolate chip-cranberry or butterscotch-walnut version! These are great for grab and go, but you’ve been warned of their highly addictive power!

No Bake Oatmeal Bites

by Gimme Some Oven
makes about 15-20 bites, depending on size

Ingredients:

1 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup coconut flakes (toasted if you prefer)
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1/2 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
1 tbsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until combined.

2. Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour, so mixture is easier to work with.

3. Roll into balls in whatever size you prefer. I found it's easier to knead a scoop for a bit and then roll into a ball. If you find the mixture becomes difficult to roll into a ball and won't stick together, rinse your hands with water and try again.

4. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. You can store them in the refrigerator or at room temperature. I found I enjoyed them both cold and at room temperature.

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