Mini Quiches

Mini Quiches
makes 15 to 18

Crust: Good For Almost Everything Pie Dough - Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) very cold (frozen is fine) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces2
1/2 tablespoons very cold (frozen is even better) vegetable shortening, cut into 2 pieces
About 1/4 cup ice water

Quiche Mixture

1 1/2 cups of any combination of chopped cooked spinach, chopped cooked broccoli, chopped cooked artichoke hearts, chopped cooked bacon
4 eggs
1/8 cup feta cheese, crumbled,
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 dash paprika
a few sprinkles of your favorite herbs (thyme, basil, parsley, dill, etc.)

additional shredded cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top

Put the flour, sugar and salt into a food processor fitted with a metal blade; pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse only until the butter and shortening are cut into the flour. Don't overdo the mixing -- what you're aiming for is to have some pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley. Pulsing the machine on and off, gradually add about 6 tablespoons of the water if making a double crust, 3 tablespoons if making a singe crust -- add a little water and pulse once, add some more water, pulse again and keep going that way. Then use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour. If, after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn't look evenly moistened of form soft curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water as necessary, or even a few drops more, to get a dough that will stick together when pinched. Big pieces of butter are fine. Scrape the dough out of the work bowl and onto a work surface.

Roll out dough and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile mix the quiche mixture together in a medium bowl. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator. Use a 5 inch diameter round cutter to cut out 15 to 18 circles. Place dough in a greased muffin pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Fill each crust with the quiche mixture to the top edge of the crusts (about 2 Tbsp. in each). Place back in oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle additional cheese on top of each quiche. Place back in oven for one minute to melt cheese. Remove from oven and let cool. When cool use a plastic knife to cut around the edges of each quiche and remove from the muffin pan.

Bruschetta

In the first time in the history of the franchise the Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl!!! I wasn't planning to have a Super Bowl party this year but since my city's team will be playing I might need to have one. Besides I have some many tried and true snacks to fall back on.

Bruchetta

from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

8 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf French bread, toasted and sliced

Directions
In a bowl, toss together the tomatoes, basil, Parmesan cheese, and garlic. Mix in the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper. Serve on toasted bread slices.

Hummus

Hummus
from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

*I followed the advice of some of the reviewers and added 1/2 tsp sesame oil (to compensate for the sesame flavor you would normally get from Tahini) and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. I also roasted the garlic before adding it in to give it a less bitter flavor.

Directions

1. In a blender or food processor combine garbanzo beans, garlic, cumin, salt and olive oil. Blend on low speed, gradually adding reserved bean liquid, until desired consistency is achieved.

This is a delicious alternative to hummus with tahini. You can serve it with carrots, celery, cucumber, pita bread, pita chips, or crackers.

Special Cheese & Crackers

I got this idea while shopping at Costco. They were sampling their Raspberry Chipotle Sauce over cheese and crackers. It was so good. Your party guests will think you spent a lot of time preparing these but they are super simple. The flavor combination is delightful.



Raspberry Chipotle Cheese & Crackers

cream cheese
butter crackers such as Keebler Club Crackers
Fischer and Wieser Raspberry Chipotle Sauce *available at Costco

Allow cream cheese to soften at room temperature until it is spreadable. Spread cheese on individual crackers. Top with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce.

Raspberry Chipotle Meatballs

I went to a potluck Christmas party last night. I signed up to bring an appetizer so I could have some material to blog about for Snack Food Sunday this week. These meatballs were a huge hit. I wasn't very happy with the turkey meatballs though. Chase likes them but I thought the consistency was more like bread and they didn't stay together very well in the crockpot. I will go with beef meatballs or a different brand next time.



Raspberry Chipotle Meatballs

1 pkg (3 lbs) fully cooked turkey meatballs
1 jar Fischer & Wieser Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

*I purchased both of these items at Costco

Add meatballs and sauce to crockpot. Cook on high until meatballs and sauce are heated through (about 1 hour). Reduce temperature to low or warm while guests feast on the party buffet.

Little Smokies in Orange Sauce

Little Smokies in Orange Sauce
from Kraftfoods.com

1 pkg. (16 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Little Smokies

1-1/2 cups orange juice

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

HEAT Little Smokies as directed on package.

MIX remaining ingredients in small saucepan. Cook on medium heat 10 minutes or until sauce boils and thickens, stirring frequently.

PLACE Little Smokies in slow cooker or fondue pot set on low heat. Add sauce; stir gently. Cover with lid to keep warm until ready to serve.

Toasted Ravioli

When I was in grade school my parents told me that if I made straight A's then they would take me out to a restaurant of my choice. A little bribing didn't hurt anyone. lol! One of my favorite places to go was a small Italian restaurant in Houston called Pasta Lamonte's. They had the best toasted ravioli appetizer. I haven't been there in years but I still remember the toasted ravioli and I've tried many times to recreate it at home. Usually I am pretty successful.



Toasted Ravioli

12 frozen ravioli (flavor of your choice) *I used spinach and mozzarella this time but beef ravioli is one of my favorites for this method
1 egg, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 Tbsp. red pepper
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
vegetable oil for frying
Parmesan and herb blend for sprinkling
Marinara sauce for dipping

Heat oil in sauce pan over medium-low heat. Mix bread crumbs, red pepper, black pepper, and garlic salt to create a breading mixture. Coat each ravioli in egg and let the excess drip off. Then coat in breading mixture. Place 4 raviolis in the oil at a time and fry until light brown on each side (turning once half way through). Allow to cool on paper towels. Arrange on a plate with marinara sauce in the center.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This dip has gotten great reviews on several websites I frequent. I was somewhat disappointed because I was expecting it to be much better. It wasn't bad but I had very high expectations. If I did something wrong please let me know because I think this flavor combination has potential. One of the issues I had with setting this out on a party buffet was that many people thought it was cheese dip. They weren't expecting the heat shock that followed. Note to self: use label cards on the buffet spread.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
modified from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buffalo-Chicken-Dip/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup cooked chicken breast, chopped
  
• 1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup Ranch dressing
• 3/4 cup pepper sauce, such as Franks® Red Hot®

Serve with:

• 1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces
• baby carrots or carrot sticks
• butter crackers
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through.
3. Spread cream cheese on the bottom of an oven safe serving dish.
   
4. Add the chicken and hot sauce mixture over the cream cheese
5. Top with and ranch dressing.
   
6. Cook in the oven until warm and bubbling (about 15 minutes).
   
7. Stir to combine flavors.
   
8. Serve with celery sticks, carrots, and crackers.

Sweet & Spicy Meatballs

The combination of grape jelly and hot sauce sounds strange but it is actually very tasty. Several people asked me what was in the sauce and I think they were surprised too. These were a hit at the bunco party. I just need to remember to start these sooner or heat it in the oven first before putting in the crockpot to speed up the process.

Sweet & Spicy Meatballs

2 lb pkg pre-cooked meatballs
1 jar grape jelly
1/2 cup hot sauce

Heat in a crockpot on high for 2 hours or until meatballs are heated through. Reduce heat to low or warm until served.

Hot Bean Dip

I made this for a potluck I went to last night. It doesn't look great but it is actually very tasty and very easy.


Hot Bean Dip
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hot-Bean-Dip/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 (16 ounce) cans refried beans
• 1/2 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 5 drops hot pepper sauce
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Monterey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, blend the cream cheese and sour cream. Mix in the refried beans, taco seasoning, hot pepper sauce, parsley, green onions, 1/2 the Cheddar cheese and 1/2 the Monterey Jack cheese. Transfer the mixture to an 8x12 inch baking dish. Top with remaining Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses.
3. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, until cheese is slightly browned.

Broccoli Cheese Balls

I read several recipes for broccoli cheese balls but I ended up creating my own as I went along. These can be used as appetizers, a side dish, or even a vegetarian substitute for real meatballs. I love broccoli cheese soup so that was my inspiration for this creation. These broccoli balls would be a perfect side item or dipper for broccoli cheese soup. I thought the broccoli balls were kind of plain by themselves. They would be much better with some kind of dip or sauce. I also recommend adding some spices (i.e. Italian spices).


Broccoli Cheese Balls

2 cups bread crumbs (4 slices of bread)
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 egg

Place broccoli in a microwave safe dish. Cover with plastic wrap. Cook in the microwave until tender. Drain liquid. Add bread crumbs, cheese, and egg. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated into a dough. Form into individual 1 1/2 inch balls.

Toaster oven: Cover tray with aluminum foil. Spray foil with cooking spray. Place balls on foil about an inch apart. Bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Turn the balls over and bake for an additional 3 minutes.

Conventional oven: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray foil with cooking spray. Place balls on foil about an inch apart. Bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Turn the balls over and bake for an additional 3 minutes.