Brie & Raspberry Phyllo Cups

Three easy ingredients and you have yourself quite the festive appetizer. These bite size cups are perfect for a holiday get together or your New Year's eve party. Pop them in the oven for five minutes and voila! Not a fan of raspberries? Any other fruit would work as a topper or even a jelly or jam.

Source: Gimmesomeoven.com

You Will Need:

• 1 package (1.9 oz.) mini phyllo tart shells
• 6 oz. brie, rind removed
• 15 raspberries

Here We Go:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Place the tart shells on an ungreased baking sheet
• Measure 1 teaspoon brie, and carefully place it in a tart shell
• Top with one raspberry
• Repeat with remaining shells
• Bake for 5-8 minutes, or until brie is melted
• Serve immediately

Makes 15 cups
Happy Feasting!

Honey Roasted Cashews

The month of December makes me think of nuts. Whether they are spiced pecans, honey roasted peanuts, or just plain salted cashews people love giving the gift of nuts during the Christmas season. These honey roasted cashews are easy to make and you can double or even triple the batch to give to neighbors, family and friends. Serve these with  holiday cocktails and you are sure to have your crowd coming back for more!

Source: Simply Scratch

You Will Need:

• 1 lb. Cashews
• 2 tablespoons of Honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of real maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of Unsalted Butter
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons Sugar

Here We Go:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with tin foil
• Measure out all ingredients and combine the honey, syrup and butter
• Microwave until butter is melted {about 25-30 seconds}
• Then add salt, vanilla and cinnamon to the honey mixture and stir
• Place cashews in a medium size bowl, pour the honey mixture over the nuts and toss
• When coated spread on the prepared cookie sheet {forming a single layer} and bake for 6 minutes
• Remove from oven, toss again and place back in the oven for 6 more minutes
• Remove and pour into a clean bowl, toss with the 2 tablespoons of sugar and a little salt to taste and let cool, stirring occasionally
• When completely cool pour into a glass jar with an air-tight lid

  

Makes 4 Cups

Happy Feasting!

Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese

This spiced pumpkin cream cheese takes all of ten minutes to make and is the perfect topping for your morning bagel or toast. Every bite tastes like you are eating pumpkin pie. Ezra Pound Cake also suggested serving it as a dip with crackers or pretzels, saying that it really shines when paired with some salt.

Source: Ezra Pound Cake

You Will Need:

• 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened (Microwave for 15 seconds.)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, homemade or canned
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Here We Go:

• In a medium mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, pumpkin and sugar until smooth with wooden spoon or electric mixer
• Add the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

Makes 1 1/2 cups
Happy Feasting!

Feta & Sun-dried Tomato Dip

This four ingredient dip is perfect with pretzel chips or crackers and is a great quick appetizer option when you are crunched for time but still want to impress your guests. The feta and sun-dried tomatoes give this creamy dip a very rich flavor that makes it seem like you have spent hours in the kitchen instead of five minutes. I would make this at least a few hours in advance to give the flavors time to blend. I made this the morning that we were having some friends over and it was even better when we had the leftover dip the next day.

Source: Real Simple July 2011

You Will Need:

• 4 oz feta, crumbled
• 1 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste

Here We Go:

• In a bowl, mash together feta, greek yogurt and olive oil
• Mix in sun-dried tomatoes
• Season with salt and pepper and chill before serving

Makes 1 1/2 cups
Happy Feasting!

Pineapple Black Bean Salsa

Although summer is quickly coming to an end, at least we all have Labor day weekend to look forward to! Labor day weekend means good times with friends and family while munching on delicious food (well my Labor day weekend means this). This pineapple salsa is sure to be a crowd pleaser and is the perfect way to officially say goodbye to summer. Fresh pineapple, red onion, cilantro and black beans make this appetizer a true summer favorite.

Source: A Hint of Honey (Originally from The Nourishing Gourmet)

You Will Need:

• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 pineapple, cored, peeled, and diced
• 1 large bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped (to taste)
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 limes, juiced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Here We Go:

• In a large bowl, toss to combine black beans, pineapple, onion, garlic, lime juice, and jalapeno
• Stir in cilantro and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Refrigerate until ready to serve

Serves 8
Happy Feasting!

 

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Leave it to a significant other (men more than likely) to casually forget to tell you something. Something that might be as important as "Oh yeah, so we have this party to go to tonight and I said that we would bring an appetizer".

 

Key word = we

 

Well, most women know that we actually means you. Now, I know that there are some lucky ladies out there who have significant others who are wonderful cooks (you are very lucky)! I, on the other hand, was left to fend for myself. I wanted to make something that was relatively quick and was sure to be a crowd pleaser. I had remembered seeing a Spinach and Artichoke recipe on one of my favorite blogs, In Good Taste , and it seemed like a pretty solid appetizer with rave reviews. This dip definitely did not disappoint. I served it alongside Fritos Scoops and Pita Chips which seemed to be a success since there was nothing left to bring home!

You Will Need:

• 8 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 8 oz fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup far-free or reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 15-oz can artichoke hearts, rinsed and roughly quartered
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of excess moisture
• 1/2 cup parmigiana reggiano cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Here We Go:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Combine first six ingredients by hand using a wooden spoon or spatula
• Add 1/4 cup of parmigiana cheese and spread dip into a baking dish (I used 8x8)
• Top with the rest of the parmigiana
• Bake 40-45 minutes or until cheese on top is brown and bubbly
• Serve with crackers, french bread, Fritos Scoops or Pita Chips

Happy Feasting!

Guacamole



I am definitely one of those people who could eat guacamole on almost anything - chips, tortillas, crackers -all delicious! I was craving some guacamole with my chicken fajitas and about 10 minutes later I was dumping spoonfuls of this recipe on top of my dinner. I didn't have any cilantro on hand so I didn't end up adding it to this recipe. Nonetheless, I was very pleased with the results and might not put cilantro in my guacamole moving forward as I think cilantro can sometimes overpower the other flavors.

You Will Need:

• 1/2 cup diced onions
• 1 cup diced cherry tomatoes
• 2 avocados (feel to make sure they are fairly soft/ripe)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 lemon, halved

Here We Go:

• Dice onions and cherry tomatoes and put into medium sized bowl
• Peel avocados and remove pit
• Coarsely chop avocados and add to bowl
• Add salt, garlic powder and pepper
• Squeeze the juice from one lemon (be careful of seeds)
• Mix all ingredients together delicately as to not completely mash up the avocado (it should be somewhat chunky)


Serves 2-4
Happy Feasting!

Cowboy Caviar

It was seventy degrees on Friday night and we were headed over to a friends' house to grill out and enjoy the amazing weather. I wanted to bring an appetizer that was representative of the weather and the first thing that came to mind was cowboy caviar. I'm sure most of you have heard of this tried and true delicious dip and it is so simple that it can be done in a matter of minutes.

You Will Need:

• 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained
• 1 15 oz can of corn, drained
• 2 large plum tomatoes, diced
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 1/2 sweet onion, diced
• Lime juice from 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Here We Go:

• Mix together red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt , pepper, lime juice and garlic power in a small bowl, set aside
• Mix together black beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, avocado
• Pour liquid mixture over vegetables and toss
• Chill before serving
• Serve with Tostitos Scoops or Frtios Scoops



Not your same ole' Bruschetta

The bruschetta that we all know and love usually consists of tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil and a few other key ingredients. I had some leftover goat cheese in the fridge and decided that adding this to regular ole' bruschetta would probably make for a delicious combination. You will be happy to know that I was correct!

You Will Need:

• 1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 french baguette
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 4 fresh basil leaves, minced

Here We Go:
Turn oven broiler on (500 degrees F)
Quarter tomatoes and add to mixing bowl

Mix olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and basil in another small bowl

Pour olive oil mixture over tomatoes

Stir in goat cheese with wooden spoon

Put bowl in fridge to chill
Slice baguette into 1/4 inch rounds (roughly 10 slices)

Place on baking sheet and broil in oven until browned
Top with chilled bruschetta mixture

Makes Roughly 10 Bruschetta
Happy Feasting!