Warm apps!!

So we had cookbook club tonight - and it was APP NIGHT!!  Dobes first cookbook club - YAY!!  :)  I'm always looking for some good warm apps, so we tried mostly those - but one yummy cold dip too!!  (Got most of these apps from Our Best Bites - and one from Tiff's blog, which I think was from Rachel Ray)  I put comments next to each app recipe below - try them out and let me know how you like them!!

                     Bacon Wrapped Cocktail Sausages

These were my FAVORITE!!  I always think pre-cooking bacon is such a pain, so not only was this SUPER easy but it tastes AMAZING!!  So yeah - probably not the most healthy app, but let's be honest....who makes apps to have a "healthy meal" :) 

Ingredients:
14oz package little smokies
12 oz package lean bacon
3/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 325 - and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut the slab of bacon into thirds.  Wrap 1/3 of each slice of bacon around each sausage and secure with a toothpick and place on baking sheet.  Sprinkle brown sugar over sausages and bake at 325 for 45 minutes (or until bacon has cooked and is starting to brown.)

You can also place them in a slow cooker on low - easy way to serve them at a party!!

Chicken Bacon Stuffed Pizza Rolls

So we thought you could pretty much stuff these bad boys with pretty much ANYTHING!!  These were really good - but we thought they were a tad too doughy....SO our "add on" was to eat with mariana sauce - added so much to the pizza part!!

Ingredients:
1 roll refrigerated pizza dough
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
2 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
4oz sharp cheddar cheese (I used 75% sharp cheddar and 25% mozzarella)
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
about 1 cup shredded, cooked chicken
3/4 cup mayo
3/4 cup milk

First take 1 teaspoon of your ranch dressing mix and combine it with 1 1/2 tablespoon parmesan cheese.  Set aside.  Combing the remaining ranch mix with 3/4 cup mayo and 3/4 cup milk and place in fridge to chill.

Preheat oven 400 degrees.  Unroll the pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Pat or roll dough so it's about 12x8.  You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it.  Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square.  Then lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings.  Grabbing the corners and squeezing the seams shut sorta worked....Then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan. (you could also use a muffin pan and put a couple in each one...might be easier to seperate them out to serve)  Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan-ranch mixture.  Cook for about 10 minutes - and cook until they are lightly golden on top.  Serve them warm with a side of the ranch dipping sauce.

The other great thing is that these are freezable!  Before baking, flash freeze individually, or together right in a disposable foile pan.  Bake from frozen until golden brown.

Cheesy Roasted Red Pepper Dip

So this is soooo not healthy - and we actually preferred this dip NOT baked....it actually baked all the fat/oil so it got really oily and almost not appetizing....we used a baster to take out all the oil!  We thought it would be pretty amazing cold, or just heated up a little in the microwave.

Ingredients:
7oz jar roasted red peppers ( about 1 cup diced)
4 cup grated pepper jack cheese (3/4 lb)
8oz low fat cream cheese
3/4 cup low fat mayo
2 tablespoon minced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
baguette or crackers

Preheat oven to 350.  Remove peppers from jar and blot excess water with paper towels.  Them dice em up!

In a bowl, soften cream cheese in microwave so it will be easier to stir.  Add in mayo, onion, garlic, and dijon.  Stir to combine and then add in grated cheese and the diced peppers.  Place in 8x8 dish.  At this point you can pop in the fridge if you're going to cook it later and you can even make it a couple days ahead of time.  Place in oven and cook for 30-45 minutes.  It will start to bubble and brown on outside edge, and you want it to be bubbly all the way through to the center.  It will be nice and golden brown on top, especially around the edges.  Otherwise, it tastes super good cold too!!  Serve with baguette....or crackers :)

Greek Spinach Dip

So this was an awful pic sorry.....and this was our only COLD app - and it actually was a healthier alternative to spinach/artichoke dip.  It was pretty good - but we also thought it could use a little more kick.  Thought it would be good with a little cayenne pepper....or a suggestion was to whisk 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon pomegranate juice in a bowl and drizzle that over the dip.

Ingredients:
2 (7oz) containers of Greek yogurt (plain)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped dried dill
2 chopped garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
**whisk the above ingredients together in a large bowl**
10oz frozen spinach (cooked and squeezed dry)
**stir in cooked, dried spinach into mix above**

Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.  I also added a little honey to make it sweeter and take away the tang of greek yogurt.  Served with triscuits.

Brie Bites

These were SUPER yummy!!  I think most of us preferred the raspberry - but we thought you could also put honey on top too!!  And Dobie had a good idea of adding crushed walnuts too....yum :)

Ingredients:

2 packages of mini phyllo shells

8oz brie cheese, double cream

raspberry, apricot, honey preserves

Preheat the oven to 350.  Place the mini shells on a baking sheet (also thought muffin pan to keep them from falling over) coated with cooking spray.  Carefully cut the rind of the brie - cut the brie into 1/2 inch cubes and put one into each shell.  Top each brie bite with preserves.  Bake in oven for 6-7 minutes or until the brie has melted and the phyllo shells are golden brown.  Enjoy!!