Pumpkin Dip

This dip is good with nilla wafers, graham crackers, pretzels, and apples.  Use gluten free dippers if needed.


Pumpkin Dip

16 ounces canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
8 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese (set it out 10-20 min. to soften)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Powdered sugar to taste

In a food processor, mix the pumpkin, cream cheese and pumpkin pie spice until smooth. Add sugar to taste until desired sweetness is reached.

You could probably use a hand mixer or wooden spoon to mix this up as well...it will just be a little more work to get smooth.

Pull Apart Bacon Bread

Pull-Apart Bacon Bread is a great appetizer or snack. I like to have pizza sauce for dipping, or just spice up some tomato sauce. The small sized can is about the right size, as the bread has plenty of flavor on its own.

Pull-Apart Bacon Bread
12 slices bacon, diced
1 (1 pound) loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 (1 ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Pizza sauce for dipping

In a skillet, cook bacon over medium heat for 5 minutes or until partially cooked; drain on paper towels. Roll out dough to 1/2-in. thickness; brush with 1 tablespoon of oil. Cut into 1-in. pieces; place in a large bowl. Add the bacon, cheese, dressing mix and remaining oil; toss to coat. Arrange pieces in a 9-in. x 5-in. oval on a greased baking sheet, layering as needed. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cover with foil; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until golden brown.

Football Brunch

If you’re having company to watch an early football game, have brunch! Think of it as a “classier” version of kegs and eggs (because I am a classy lady…stop laughing)! Some of these recipes can be prepared the night before and popped in the oven in the morning so you can sleep in (if you're not too excited...I can always sleep in though). You can have the regular snacks available too…it’s after noon, so anything goes. Tell your guests to come hungry so they don’t eat a big breakfast. I was surprised at how well this went over last year when I made brunch for a game---beer and breakfast food go together just fine.

Brunch Ideas:French Toast Strata, recipe below
Breakfast Casserole, recipe below
Breakfast Cookies
Cut up Fruit, with or without fruit dip
Croissants or bagels
Bacon or sausage (everyone loves bacon)
Baked Ham and Cheese Omelet Roll

Snacks:
Honey Chipotle Almonds or Pecans
Spicy Pretzels
Caramel Apple Bars (these are delicious), click link for recipe

Beverages:
Coffee with Kahlua or Baileys
Bloody Mary’s
Mimosas (yay!)
Cherry Hammocks (cherry vodka and pink lemonade with a floating cherry – courtesy of S.T.)
Most importantly, beer…because on football Saturday or Sunday, it’s never too early to starting drinking.

French Toast Strata

1/3 cup SPLENDA or sugar
1 cup egg substitute or equivalent egg whites
2/3 cup skim milk
3/4 teaspoon imitation maple flavor* or 3 T. maple syrup
8 slices cinnamon-raisin bread
2 cups peeled apples, thinly sliced
1/4 cup low fat cream cheese
1 tablespoon SPLENDA or sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8X8-inch square cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Blend together 1/3 cup Splenda, egg substitute, milk and maple flavor in a medium bowl. Tear cinnamon raisin bread into pieces, approx. 1-2 inches each. Add bread and sliced apples into mixing bowl with other ingredients. Toss to coat bread. Pour bread mixture into prepared pan. Cut cream cheese into 8 chunks and place on top of strata. Blend remaining 1 Tbsp. Splenda Granulated and cinnamon together. Sprinkle over strata. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven 40-50 minutes, or until lightly browned and set. Serve with extra maple syrup.

Breakfast Casserole
6 slices bread, cubed
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb. link sausage, fried and cubed, or bacon or ground pork, browned
6 eggs, beaten
2 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
Hot sauce, optional

Beat milk and eggs, add salt and mustard (I add hot sauce now too). Butter a deep dish and layer bread, sausage, and cheese, three layers of each. Top with egg mixture. Let set in refrigerator overnight. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve with hot sauce.

Spicy Pretzels - Tailgate Food!

If you need something super-quick and super-easy for a tailgate or other party, these pretzels are excellent.

Spicy Pretzels

1/3 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic granules
1 (1 ounce) package dry ranch dressing mix
1-1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (less for tender tongues)
1 (16 ounce) bag pretzels (regular shape or sticks)

Mix everything except pretzels in a large bowl, glass is easier to clean after the oil. Dump pretzels in on top of the sauce (but try not to pour in all of the salt from the bottom of the bag). Stir until well coated and you get the spice mixture off the bottom of the bowl. They are ready to eat right away, but get better if they sit for alittle while to let the flavor absorb. Store in an airtight container.

Honey-Chipotle Pecans (or Almonds)

These are quite possibly my favorite way to eat almonds. The problem is, I can’t make these very often because I can’t. stop. eating them when they are around. People LOVE these…I take these to events when I am too busy (lazy) to make something more involved and people tend to like them more than anything else I’d bring (except maybe these, because they involve chocolate, and chocolate usually wins). They are super simple and quick to make, but you’ll want an hour or so to let them cool/dry when they are finished so they don’t stick together.
If you don’t have chipotle powder, get it SOON! World Market sells it with their bagged spices for around $1.00. Buy a reusable glass spice jar in their kitchen section for another dollar and you are all set (I cut the spice name from the spice package and tape it to the jar with clear tape). If you haven’t noticed, many of the recipes that I post have it as an ingredient. I may have an addiction…

Honey-Chipotle Pecans (or Almonds)

2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons dried chipotle powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups pecan halves (or almonds)
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325°F. In a skillet or pan, warm honey with chipotle powder and cinnamon over low heat, then add the nuts and stir to coat evenly. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and spread nuts evenly in a single layer on the sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes – you should start to be able to smell the nuttiness, but don’t let them burn. Allow to cool slightly (1 minute). While they are in the oven, combine sugar and salt in a mixing bowl large enough to hold and stir the nuts. Add the warm pecans or almonds and toss to coat evenly. Spread out on fresh sheet of waxed paper and let dry completely. Store in an airtight container.

These are a perfect fall/football snack.

Green Bean Snack

Green Bean Snack
Since I picked up my first quart of green beans at the Pearl Alley Farmer’s Market a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been “needing” to have crisp, cold green beans as an afternoon snack. These are very simple and I can prepare and package them in advance.

1 qt. green beans
Pepper
Sea salt
Lemon-Pepper Seasoning (I have a grinder of this from Trader Joes that costs $1.99)
Half a lemon

Bring enough water to a boil to cover beans while washing and snapping the stem ends off the beans. Once boiling, add the green beans and watch closely. You want them to remain bright green and crisp, so don’t overcook. After a couple of minutes, I’ll scoop one out and run under cold water and bite it to check to see if it’s “done” enough. This will be based on your preference, but don’t let them get soggy. While beans are boiling, I’ll fill a large enough bowl with ice water, so that when they are done, I can drain the beans and place them in the ice bath so that they stop cooking. Sometimes I need to change the water so that they cool down enough. When cooled, drain and squeeze the lemon over the beans and sprinkle with the desired amount of seasonings. I like mine heavily seasoned.

I divide between 3 containers and take in my lunch to snack on right from the fridge.

Cajun Deviled Eggs

Most people loved deviled eggs. Spicy people will love these! If your friends and family are very spicy, take addition cajun seasoning to sprinkle on top.

**If you are taking deviled eggs to a gathering and you don't have one of those fancy egg holders, after you slice the eggs, toss the yolk and other filling ingredients into a ziploc bag (squeeze to combine), put the egg halves together and place back into the egg carton. When you get to where you are going, place the eggs on a plate, snip off a corner of the ziploc bag and squeeze the filling into the halves.

Cajun Deviled Eggs
6 large, hard-cooked eggs, peeled
3 tablespoons mayonnaise (reduced fat works fine)
½ teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning, divided (check for gluten)
extra seasoning, paprika, or fresh parsley for sprinkling

Slice eggs in half lengthwise. Mix yolks, mayo, and seasoning in a bowl until well-combined. Pipe or spoon filling into egg whites. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours before serving. Place eggs on a serving platter and sprinkle with seasoning or parsley.

Pretzel Dip

My friend Ashlee gave this recipe to me after she brought it to a gathering, so I don't know where it came from. I do know that it was delicious.

Pretzel Dip

1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, dry
1 pkg (2.5 oz) real bacon bits
1 cup mild finely shredded cheddar cheese
16 oz. sour cream
3/4 teaspoon onion powder

Mix together and chill. Serve with pretzels and/or corn chips

Cinco de Mayo recipe - Salsa Roll-ups

This is an easy, relatively healthy appetizer that requires no cooking. You may want to double this recipe for more than 5 people. Change up the spices if you prefer (taco seasoning would be good) and add some finely chopped red pepper if you'd like. Serve "as is" or with salsa and/or guacamole.

Salsa Roll-Ups

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. salsa
4 Flour Tortillas (I used (3) 8 inch whole wheat tortillas)
1/2 cup Mexican Style 2% Milk Finely Shredded Four Cheese (or preferred cheese)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. chili powder

Mix cream cheese, salsa, and chili powder; spread onto tortillas. Top with cheese. ROll up tortillas tightly. Cut each crosswise into 5 slices.
**Make Ahead - Prepare roll-ups as directed, but do not cut into slices. Tightly wrap each roll-up in plastic wrap. Refrigerate up to 4 hours. Slice just before serving.

Protein Pancakes

I made these on Sunday because I was craving pancakes and had some cottage cheese to use up. They are pretty good (as long as you aren’t expecting typical pancakes). I topped 2 big ones with 2 crumbled slices of bacon and pure maple syrup, but I think they’d be good with peanut butter too. It made about 7 pancakes, but they are thin and probably aren’t intended to feed more than 2 people. If you eat a big breakfast, it may just be one meal. (Note: I calculated that the whole batch is 310 calories, 4 grams fat, and 34 grams protein using nutritiondata.com)

Protein Pancakes

1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal (uncooked) (check for gluten, used certified GF if allergic)
1/4 cup low-fat/FF cottage cheese (or 1 scoop vanilla protein powder instead)
4-6 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix together the oatmeal, cottage cheese, egg whites, vanilla extract, and cinnamon to make a batter (I used a blender, but it's probably not necessary). Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add the batter and cook over medium heat until both sides are lightly browned. Use your choice of toppings. The flavor isn’t sweet like typical pancakes. I could use these in place of bread/tortilla for a sandwich since the flavor is plain.