Ham Pickle Roll-Ups

I was introduced to these wonderful appetizers at my old job, where several of my coworkers were obsessed with them! I've also had them at Psycho Suzi's and they were of course awesome there. They are a bit of a pain to make but they are so worth the work!

Ingredients:

Jar of firm pickles (I used Gedney)
8 oz. softened cream cheese
Deli Ham

Since the ham can easily tear while spreading on the cream cheese, it's best if you dry out the ham. When I did it, I place four slices of ham on a paper towel and used another paper towel to blot out the excess juices. Then I heated the cream cheese up a little bit in the microwave so it was extra soft. Carefully spread some cream cheese onto each slice of ham. Place a pickle on each slice and roll up. Immediately wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the wrapped roll-ups for at least an hour or overnight. When ready to serve, unwrap the rolls and slice them, carefully.

Mine were a little messy but I think I used ham that was too thin. Next time, I'll use a thicker cut of ham. I brought these to my family's xmas party and they were gone super quick! A success! Enjoy!




Ready to be rolled...




Carefully rolled up...




Rolled up and ready to sit in the refrigerator to be chilled.




All sliced and ready to go!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I received this recipe from my boss at work, who made it for a potluck for one of our staff meetings. It makes a lot and it is super spicy but it was really good. So I decided to make it for my family xmas party. And it seemed to be a hit..I had left overs but it wasn't that much. It can easily be halved, which I may do next time.

Ingredients:

16 oz Ranch dressing
1 bottle hot sauce (12 oz.)
2 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 cups Mozzarella cheese, divided
5 cups shredded cooked chicken.

Heat ranch dressing, hot sauce, cream cheese and 1 cup Mozzarella cheese in a saucepan. Make sure the cream cheese is really soft, otherwise, it can take a while to melt down-I was in a bit of a hurry when I made mine, so there were some chunks.

At this point, you can either place all the ingredients, including the chicken, into an oven safe dish or place it in a slow cooker, which is what I did. Top with the 2 cups of Mozzarella cheese and heat until melted.

Serve with taco chips or bread. Enjoy!

Yummy Food!

Sorry for the weird angle of the picture...my computer likes to flip things around every so often! I hosted book club at my apartment this past weekend and made lots of yummy recipes. Of course I took a picture of everything I made...doesn't it all look sooo good?! My friend brought the hummus and the ginger cookies but I made the rest..except for the grapes of course! :) The recipes of everything follows this blog...

Hoisin Cocktail Meatballs

I found this recipe in Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking magazine last year. I actually made these meatballs last year for Christmas but I forgot what they tasted like. And they are soooooo good! And super easy to make. And make great leftovers!

Ingredients:

Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp minced fresh gingerroot

Sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp minced fresh gingerroot

In a large bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well (with your hands!).

Shape into 32 meatballs. Place in a 13x9-in baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 20-25 min or until meat is no longer pink.


Meatballs ready to be baked...




Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients; heat through.

Sauce simmering on the stove...




Meatballs are done!




Serve the sauce over the meatballs. When I made these meatballs, after they were done cooking, I placed everything into my slow cooker and turned it to warm until I was ready to use them. It worked perfectly!

Enjoy!

Taco Roll-Ups

I've adapted this recipe from a version that my aunt makes sometimes. She uses black olives in hers and since I don't like black olives, I use green chiles.

Ingredients:

6 flour tortillas
1 small can green chiles
Taco seasoning
Fat-free cream cheese
Any kind of shredded cheese blend (I used Mexican)

Spread cream cheese onto a tortilla, sprinkle with Taco seasoning, cheese and chiles. Roll up and wrap in cellophane. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before slicing.




The 6 rolls wrapped in cellophane...




Slice the tortillas into pieces and serve...enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Spread

I found this recipe in an old Weight Watcher's magazine. I hosted book club at my place last weekend with the girls' and thought this would be a good dip to make...and it tasted pretty darn good!

Ingredients:

1 (7 oz.) bottle roasted red bell peppers, drained & finely chopped
1/3 cup tub-style light cream cheese
2 tsp bottled minced garlic
2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients, stirring well.




I served the dip with pita chips....

Cheesy Slow Cooker Chicken

I came across this recipe in the same book I found the cheese soup. I made this last night and it wasn't too bad. The chicken came out really moist and it was good over noodles. Here are the ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I only used 4)
Salt, black pepper and garlic powder to taste
2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed Cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Hot cooked pasta

Place 3 chicken breasts in slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Repeat with remaining 3 breasts and seasonings.

Seasoned chicken in the slow cooker...



Combine soups in medium bowl; pour over chicken.

Mixed up soups...




Soups covering the chicken...




Cover; cook on low 6-8 hours or until chicken is tender. I turned mine onto warm after about 6 1/2 hours until I was ready to eat it. You may need to stir it once or twice so the sides don't burn while cooking.

Done in the slow cooker...




Noodles I used...




Once again, I topped my chicken with dried parsley flakes..

Enjoy!