November 5, 2011: Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball Recipe

My lovely DDIL is a creature of habit. Once she tastes a food she loves, she’ll ask you to make it over and over again. Such is the case with this dessert cheese ball that her mother, Lori, makes. It’s Tracy’s favorite and she asks her mom to make it for every party (what does she ask me to make for parties? Tortilla rollups).

Honestly, I’m glad she does because I love it, too! Here’s the recipe, which would make a nice pre-dinner sweet on Thanksgiving Day.

Lori made this cheese ball not in the shape of a ball - but it still tasted just as good!

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup (4 T.) butter, softened

1/4 t. Vanilla

3/4 cup Powdered sugar

2 T. Brown sugar

3/4 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans, optional (Tracy doesn’t like them so we eat our cheese ball without)

1 package honey graham cracker sticks

Beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add sugars until combined. Stir in chips and nuts. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours. Roll into a ball. To serve, place on a serving platter and surround with honey graham sticks for dipping.

Tip: For a festive presentation, add food coloring and shape the cheese into an appropriate holiday shape, such as an orange pumpkin for Halloween or Thanksgiving.

October 23, 2011: Mini Vanilla Cheesecakes Recipe

The other dessert recipe I made for our women’s tea yesterday were these little mini cheesecakes. I started out with a package of Vanilla Latte seasoning I’d bought at The Gingerbread Cottage in Pinetop on sale and created this recipe from there. 

Note: Normally I don’t share recipes that require some odd ingredient but I included this one because you can substitute ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla for the seasoning mix, if desired.

Mini Vanilla Cheesecakes

12 ounces cream cheese (1 ½ boxes), softened

2 eggs

1 package Old World Spices and Seasonings Company Vanilla Latte seasoning packet

32 vanilla wafers

Muffin cup liners

Heath bar toffee crunch bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using an electric or stand mixer, whip together cream cheese, eggs, and seasoning packet.

Line 2 muffin tins with 16 liners. Place 2 vanilla wafers in the bottom of each (use one whole and break the other into halves). Pour cream cheese mixture into each cup, filling almost to the top.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until cream cheese mixture is set.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with toffee bits. Note: If you can’t find a package of Heath bar toffee bits, simple crush one candy bar into tiny pieces.

Makes 16 mini cheesecakes

July 29, 2011: Sundried Tomato Artichoke Spread Recipe

One of my newest favorite foods is Triscuits, roasted garlic flavor. These are some of the yummiest crackers I’ve ever tasted! If you haven’t tried them yet rush out and buy a box!

Since I’m not a big traditional breakfast eater, I often have Triscuits and string cheese along with a smoothie in the morning. But I was out of string cheese and just about any other kind of cheese other than cream so I came up with this quick little recipe to top my crackers.

Sundried Tomato and Artichoke Spread

4 ounces cream cheese
1 T. sundried tomatoes (not oil-packed), minced
2 canned artichoke hearts, chopped
1 t. minced garlic
½ t. garlic salt

Combine all ingredients and mix together until smooth. Use as a spread for crackers or a dip for veggies.

May 30, 2011: Veggie Pizza Appetizer Recipe

This recipe is one I adapted from a recipe on a can of crescent roll dough, back when Pillsbury was offering a sheet of dough rather than the separated triangles. I thought it was great because crescent rolls are so good for making many different recipes, in particular appetizers. I’m not sure if Pillsbury just isn’t making this product anymore or whether it’s just my local grocery store that doesn’t carry it.

The good news is that this recipe can still be made with crescent rolls and it’s still a real crowd pleaser. I served these as an appetizer for my Memorial Day barbecue.

Tip: This veggie pizza looks especially appealing when you use a variety of colors for the vegetables. For something extra special, try using orange and yellow bell peppers, Heirloom or sweet grape tomatoes, pimientos, red onions, and carrot peels in addition to the traditionally green veggies.

Veggie Pizza

2 cans crescent rolls
1 8-ounce brick cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 package dry Ranch dressing seasoning mix
1 t. garlic salt
About ¼ cup chopped parsley or chiffonade fresh cilantro, sage, or basil (depending on what type of veggies you are using)
1 small head broccoli
½ bell pepper
½ cup onion
6 radishes, thinly sliced
Curls from 1 large carrot, peeled
Variety of fresh, seasonal vegetables of your choice (see note above)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Open the packages of crescent rolls and separate the two halves. Unroll the halves but don’t separate. Place the crescent rolls on a large, ungreased cookie sheet, abutting each other, to cover as much of the sheet as possible. Using your fingers, press the seams together. Use a rolling pin to spread the crescents out to a thin layer. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

In this photo, I've used 19 crescent rolls in order to best fit the cookie sheet.

Meanwhile, mix together the softened cream cheese, sour cream, ranch dressing mix, and garlic salt.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the warm crescent roll pastry.

Finally chop all vegetables. Sprinkle over the cream cheese-covered pastry. Top with herb chiffonade. Slice into 2 inch squares and refrigerate until cold.

Tip: For a variation, try using one cup this chipotle garlic ranch dressing recipe mixed with the cream cheese.

Makes ~18 squares.

March 25, 2011: Tortilla Rollups

Today is my grandson’s very first birthday! My precious little boy is having a birthday party tomorrow. I asked his mom what I could bring for munchies to serve before pizza and birthday cake and she said, without any hesitation whatsoever, “Tortilla roll-ups!”

I made them for her baby shower over a year ago (that’s when this photo was taken – wasn’t it cute the way everything was served in boy toys?) and she absolutely loved them. Of course if my dear daughter-in-law wants anything, she gets it! I think these tortilla roll-ups are second only to Grammy’s homemade dinner rolls when it comes to her favorites.

The recipe below is enough to make a big platter-full, like the one you see in the photo. Serve them with salsa (homemade is preferable but good old Pace picante sauce will work in a pinch).

Tortilla Rollups

2 packages flour tortillas, burrito size
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
1 can large black olives, diced
2 cans chopped mild green chiles (or about 3 fresh roasted green chiles, peeled, seeded, and chopped)
5 green onions, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 bunch cilantro, minced (optional)
2 t. cumin powder

1 t. salt (or to taste)
2 t. chili powder
1 t. black pepper

Mix the softened cream cheese with the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

To assemble, take one flour tortilla and spread it with about one-quarter cup of the cream cheese mixture; don’t make it too thin (they won’t be very tasty) or too thick (the filling will ooze out when you cut the tortilla). Shape into a log by tightly rolling the tortilla from one edge to the other. When you’ve used up all the cream cheese, cover the logs with plastic wrap and place them, seam side down, in the refrigerator for about an hour so that the filling hardens up slightly.

To serve: place each tortilla log on a cutting board and slice into one-inch thick slices. Arrange the horizontal slices (they should look like pinwheels) on a platter, around a bowl of salsa.

March 15, 2011: Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe

Another Sunday, another party!

Last weekend after church we celebrated one of our member’s 50th birthdays. It was a lot of fun but this was following on the heels of celebrating Pastor Tom’s 65th birthday and Valentine’s Day before that. Truth be told, I’m a bit partied out.

For this last celebration, I only had to bring a side dish (although I ultimately decided on an appetizer). This spinach artichoke dip was a real hit; nearly everyone asked me for the recipe. *I’m posting it here for all of you ladies who asked!

I originally got this recipe from a New Orleans site back in 2000. Although it was fine as is, I made some variations, mainly so I could put in my crock pot for heating while I was at church. Here is my slightly adjusted version for the crock pot.

This picture is what was left of the dip since I forgot to photograph my big, beautiful dish before everyone dug in. It was just enough for a snack after I added a little more shredded Monterey Jack cheese.


Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 cup green onions, finely chopped (about 4)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 stick butter
1 lb. fresh spinach
1 can water-packed artichoke hearts or artichoke quarters
8 oz. cream cheese
6 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 oz. sour cream
1 ½ t. Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes Tabasco (or more to taste)
1/3 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese, finely grated
1 ½ t. dried dill
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Turn your crock pot up to its highest heat setting. Add the butter. As it begins to melt, add the chopped onion and garlic. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften.

Tear the washed spinach into small pieces and add to the veggie mixture. Toss until it is coated with butter. Let it wilt for a few minutes before adding remaining ingredients (up to the Monterey Jack cheese).

Turn your crock pot to low and let it heat through. Before serving, top with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and let it melt; then serve in the crock pot. OR pour into a baking dish, top with cheese, and place it in a 350 degree oven for 5 – 10 minutes until bubbly.

Note: You can make this recipe in a saucepan, too. Just start at medium heat to melt the butter and cook the veggies. After you’ve mixed in all the ingredients, pour it into a baking dish, top with the Monterey Jack cheese, and heat at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.