Spinach Dip

Appetizers are the life of a party! Great little snacks to serve before a meal, or go versatile, and only do appetizers as your whole dinner! Admit it... you've ordered an appetizer as a main meal more than once in a restaurant! I know I have.

I would love to hear what your favorite appetizer is!

I Love spinach dip. Love it. And, this family recipe is the best one I've ever had. There is just something so... craveable about smooth dip, with the crunch of water chestnuts and the soft flavor of spinach. Then, you pair it with sourdough bread...mmm...

This recipe takes literally 10-15 minutes to put together. The only time constraint is that you should make it a night before serving, or several hours before so that the flavors can blend.

Spinach Dip
The Double Dipped Life


1 round sourdough bread loaf
1 pkg frozen spinach
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 pkg dry Leek soup mix
1 can water chestnuts
2 green onions, chopped

Cook the spinach according to package directions.
While spinach is cooking, mix all the other ingredients (except for the bread of course!) in a large bowl.
Add the spinach.
Refrigerate overnight or for several hours.

Right before serving, cut a large hole in the bread to make it hollow. Preserve the insides: they will be used to dip into the dip!

Arrange on a platter and fill the bread with spinach dip.

Also great as a vegetable dip!

Baptism dinner recipes

On Tuesday, I posted about my son's baptism.  Afterward we had a wonderful dinner for our family and friends.  Today I wanted to share some of those recipes!

Appetizers

Since people were coming from the church, and I still had last minute dinner prep, I had some ready-to-serve appetizers that I was able to set out quickly. This kept the crowd happy until dinner was ready.

Fruit Salad with Cinnamon Chips by Double Dipped Life

I've made this before, but this time I used Strawberries, Blueberries, Kiwi, and Pineapple. I sprinkled sugar and lime juice, and served with Cinnamon Chips. I did not make the chips this time; I got lucky and found a brand at Costco. This dish was probably the most raved about dish the entire night! I love it when the easy dishes are so good!

The Best Cheeseball by MelsKitchenCafe

This recipe makes 4 cheeseballs, but I only needed 2. So, I cut the cream cheese and cheddar cheese in half. I then forgot that I was halving it, and added the full strength spices and seasonings. But, you know what? It was divine!  The first ball was eaten quickly, and I ate the 2nd one over the course of the next week! I will make it this way from now on!

With these, we served a veggie tray from Smith's, Stacey brand Pita chips (my new favorite), and crackers.

Dinner

For the main course, I served a Ham from Costo, Crockpot Mashed Potatoes, and a Salad.  The salad was a simple version of my Spinach Salad with Spiced Pecans, Apples, Feta, and Cranberries. I bought a Spring Salad mix, added cranberries, and pre-made toffee almonds (made for salads), feta, and used White Balsamic dressing. It was a hit!  I'm going to hold off on the recipe for the potatoes for another post! They were so good, they deserve their own spotlight! 

Dessert

Dessert was a cheesecake, also purchased from Costco, with an assortment of toppings. I also made Snickerdoodles for Tanner since they are his favorite! That recipe will be coming soon as well. I originally made the Graham Cracker Snickerdoodles, but discovered that recipe can NOT be doubled! 

What a great night! I enjoyed everyone's company, and loved having a party to cook for. Thanks to all of you who came!

Christmas Chocolate Bark Candy

Peppermint bark with Dark Chocolate. Eggnog Bark.

Chocolate Candy Bark is perfect for Christmas! There are so many variations to make, that you could probably make a new one every day!

What is bark? Chocolate Bark is a little like candy bars. Chocolatiers take melted chocolate, lay it out flat, and add toppings either mixed in, or on top. When the chocolate sets, you are left with a delightful treat!

Now, the pictures here are some of the variations that I used to make in my Candy Shop. I thought I would share with you how to make your own!

Apple Pie Bark

Mint Crunch on top; Dark chocolate Cherry on bottom!

Nutty Bark- White chocolate dyed orange for Halloween- and peanuts

Coconut

Before we get to the recipe, take a look at some of these other mouthwatering flavors!

*Pina Colada
White Chocolate, Pineapple, Coconut, and Macadamia Nuts

*Lemon Cream
White Chocolate, Lemon Zest, Lemon Flavor

*Caramel Apple
Chocolate, Caramel, Dried Apples, more chocolate!

*Chocolate Banana -Think Chunky Monkey!

*Pumpkin Pie Spiced Bark
White Chocolate with our Pumpkin Pie Spices mixed in

*Cookies and Cream
White Chocolate and Oreos

*S'mores Bark
Milk Chocolate, Marshmallow, Graham Crackers

*Toffee Crunch
Milk Chocolate, Toffee Pieces

*Fruit of any flavor, with or without nuts

*Spiced Pecan turtle
White Chocolate, Caramel, and Spiced Pecans

Chocolate Bark
*I used quality Guittard A'Peel chocolate in my shop. You can hunt some of this down, or just use chocolate chips!

1 cup chocolate chips- choose your flavor
Toppings of your choice!
Wax or parchment paper

Place the chips in a microwave safe bowl. melt at 50% power for 1 minute.
Stir.
Microwave again, at 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until the chips are melted.

Lay wax or parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

** If you want to mix in your toppings, do so now!

Spread melted chips (and mix ins) onto the wax paper; spreading evenly.

Add toppings while the chocolate is melted.

**If making a two chocolate layer bark, pour 1st chocolate and let harden before pouring the 2nd layer!

Let the chocolate sit until hardened, or place in refrigerator.

Break or cut into pieces and eat!


Now you've got yourself a fast and delicious holiday gift!

Cake Bites

Cake bites are all the rage right now. Why wouldn't they be? Tiny, heavenly bites of cake with frosting mixed right in...and dipped in creamy chocolate... mmm...

Plus, the flavors and matches that can be done are almost limitless. All you need is your favorite cake flavor, pair it with frosting, and pick your favorite chocolate!

My absolute favorite flavors are Coconut Cake Bites dipped in milk or dark chocolate. I also love Strawberry cream cheese with white chocolate and sprinkled with graham crackers... devil's food cake with chocolate frosting, dipped in milk chocolate... mmm... Spice cake with cream cheese frosting, and white chocolate... see what I mean? I could go on all day!

Now, mine aren't as fancy as some, but they taste just as good! The great thing about cake balls is that one cake mix and frosting makes dozens of balls.

The last thing Cake Balls are great for is that cake you made that just didn't come out right. It should still taste good, but maybe the top was a little burned... or it fell. Just cut off the burnt part, and turn that "oops" into a delight!

Cake Balls

1 cake mix or homemade cake mix
Ingredients to make cake
1 batch (jar) of frosting
Chocolate*
*I use Guittard A'Peel chocolates- you can use chocolate chips for easier access.

Bake cake as directed on package. Let cool.
When cakes are cool, break the cake into small pieces in a large bowl. Go ahead, have fun destroying your cake! Crumble it until all you have left are crumbs!

Mix the frosting into the cake. Only mix 1/2 at a time. If you add too much frosting, the cake balls will taste soggy. We don't want that!
Mix until the cake resembles dough!

Scoop the cake out in tablespoons, and form into a ball. Place on cookie sheet. You can put as many as will fit on the sheet. Don't waste any space!

Place cookie sheet in the fridge for an hour, or in the freezer for 20 minutes... or until you are ready to dip! I've left mine in the freezer overnight before. Just make sure you let them partially defrost (about an hour) before dipping.

Melt chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds.

With a large fork, dip the cake balls into the chocolate. Let the excess chocolate drip off, and place the cake ball onto wax paper.


If you would like to drizzle another chocolate flavor on top of the cake, or sprinkles, or coconut, or graham cracker crumbs, or... you get the idea...make sure you do it before the chocolate dries.

You can let the chocolate set on the counter, or put the cake back into the fridge/freezer.

Package in cello bags, or cute little boxes and give to your neighbors! Believe me, they will be begging for more!

Mexican Fiesta

I have the privilege, through my church, to be a part of a wonderful organization of women. My calling, or "job", in my church is to help organize meetings for the women every few months. Mostly they are service nights, craft nights, or other worthwhile activities.  Once a year, in the summer, we have a Social. It's just that. A time for all of the sisters to get together, relax, talk, and enjoy each other.  This year we decided to do a Mexican Fiesta, and I, of course, volunteered to do the food.

Let me show you what we ate!

We made 3 kinds of chicken: all in the crockpot. 

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Enchilada Chicken: Add Chicken to crockpot, pour sauce over, cook!

Add chicken to crockpot, add this SALT FREE herb mix from Kitchen Stories, and cook! This was the most popular!

We made a batch of plain, cooked hamburger- some of our ladies have allergies! We also made this wonderful Taco Meat recipe from Mels Kitchen Cafe.  Try it! You'll enjoy it!

For sides, I whipped up a batch of Balsamic Black Bean Salsa (my new favorite party recipe), Pioneer Women's Resturant Salsa, and a batch of Mom's Salsa for the mild folks.

What was really good though, was my Guacamole!  I think I got more compliments on that then on anything else.  I really wish I had a picture of this. Just imagine smooth, creamy guacamole. I didn't make my Perfect Guacamole because of the allergy issues. Plus, I figured I probably should make something a little less spicy.  Costco has really great Hass avocados right now. Use those!

Creamy Guacamole

Hass Avocados

Sour Cream

Lemon Juice

Salt

Pepper

Powered Garlic 

Mash the Avocados in a bowl to your desired consistency. I prefer this recipe nice and smooth. Add a large dollop of Sour Cream, and mix. 

Then, sprinkle the rest of the ingredients over the top of the guacamole. Mix in. Taste, and adjust seasonings as needed! 

Tip: Store guacamole in fridge. Place plastic wrap DIRECTLY on the surface of the guacamole to prevent it from turning brown too quickly! 

That's it! I made this again last week, but didn't get a picture... again! Hmmm... I'll just have to make it again... 

We had a great drink as well... recipe coming soon!

All in all, it was a terrific event! We had little party favors, and one of the ladies made a guitar pinata!

Cinnamon Fruit Dip

I made this dip for a Christmas Party. It is an excellent and EASY dip to make and eat with fruit. The problem I had was that the original recipe was way to sweet. It tasted like cinnamon cake frosting! I have cut down the sugar, so the fruit goodness can shine through!

Cinnamon Fruit Dip

8 oz cream cheese (only use regular for a smooth dip)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
3 tsp milk

Melt the cream cheese in microwave for 1 minute. Mix in the other ingredients, and stir to combine.

Serve with apple slices, bananas, or your favorite fruit!

Quick and Easy Appetizers - Garlic Naan Bread

"Naan" is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is very popular in South Asia, India, and the United Kingdom. Naan bread can be eaten plain, or topped with meats, cheeses, dips, or dipped into soups. The recipe can include spices or other add-ins. It is a very versatile bread.

I made this the first time for a family Christmas party. It was gone very quickly! My 7 yr old picky eater exclaimed "Mom, this bread is awesome... ohh... it's sooo good!"

That recommendation in itself has earned this flatbread a place of honor in my cookbook!

Garlic Naan Bread
Allrecipes.com

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teas)
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 TB milk
1 egg, beaten
2 teas salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for kneading
2 teas minced garlic (optional)
1/4 cup melted butter

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough.

Knead for 6-8 minutes (or use dough attachment), on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside. Let rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled; about 30 minutes.


During the 2nd rising, preheat grill to high heat. I used my pancake grill!

When dough has risen, roll balls out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until puffy and light brown. Brush uncooked side with melted butter, and turn over. Cook until browned, another 2-4 minutes.

Remove from grill, and continue until all of the Naan has been cooked.

Serve with soup, dip, or sandwich makings.

Punch Bowl Cake Trifle

This divine little recipe came to me a few years ago through the apartment management newsletter. I kept it until I had the perfect occasion to use it, and I try to make it for every large gathering. You see.... this recipe makes A LOT of food! So, it's the perfect party food!

You can buy plastic punch bowls at party stores for pretty cheap.

Punch Bowl Cake Trifle

1 8qt glass/plastic punch bowl
1 yellow cake mix, and ingredients to make cake
2 small pkg. 4oz instant vanilla pudding- make as directed
2 large cans of cherry pie filling
2 pkg (6oz each) shredded coconut
1 large can fruit cocktail, drained
1 large can pineapple tidbits, drained
2 cartons 8oz Cool Whip
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Make cake according to package directions. You need 2 layers. So, either do 2 round pans, or one 13x9 and cut it in half. It's all going to get cut up and jumbled anyway, so looks aren't important! Let cool.
Prepare instant pudding and refrigerate to set up.
Break 1 cake into pieces and place in bottom of punch bowl.

Add in layers: 1/2 of pudding, cherry pie filling, fruit cocktail, pineapple, nuts, coconut, cool whip.
Break the 2nd cake into pieces and add the other half of the ingredients, in the order listed above, Except I add the coconut after the cool whip so that it is on top! It looks prettier that way!
Garnish with nuts, cherries, coconut.
Refrigerate!

Check Mex Snowflake Candy

I first made this devilish snack in Jr. High Home Eco. I've been addicted to it ever since. Luckily, I don't often have the "need" to purchase the huge amount of Chex cereal this calls for, so I can keep my cravings at a minimum! But, if you want a great snack for a party, or for school, here it is!

You can use this snack in a Christmas theme by calling them "Snowflakes"!

Chex Mex Snowflake Candy

9 cups Chex (see, I told you it was a lot! Actually, it's a little less then a 14oz box)
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
Large Ziplock bag or huge bowl

Place the chex cereal in the ziplock or bowl. In a large bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter on high for 1 minute, stir. ontine stirring at 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until melted.
Add vanilla and stir.
Pour mixture over the cereal in the bag.
Shake until evenly coated.
Add powdered sugar to bag, and shake again.
Spread cereal out on wax paper and allow chocolate to set.

Eat by the handfuls!

12 days of Christmas... in Food!

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....

Cookies and

Pancakes,

Sweet Bread and

Party mix,

Cakes and

Popcorn...

and a secret treasured recipe!!

(hint... I used to sell it!)

Get your spatula ready! Yummy treats coming to count down to Christmas!

Scroll down to see all of the goodies!

Hawaiian Haystacks

One word... Yum!
Another word... Versatile!
Okay, another word... Dinner party!

Hawaiian Haystacks

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1-2 cups boned, cooked chicken

2 c or can of chicken broth
3 cups cooked rice
crispy Chinese noodles
pineapple chunks
tomato, chopped
Green peppers, chopped
Green onions, sliced
Coconut
Grated cheddar cheese
Slivered almonds

*Pick up a rotisserie chicken at your grocery store, and shred! Easy!

Combine soup, broth, and chicken, cook until warmed through. Put the rest of the ingredients in small bowls or arrange on a large platter. Let everyone build their own "haystacks"!

Dinner Party!

I co-hosted a wonderful dinner last week. We were supposed to have 3 women and their kids come, but only ended up with 1. It was a great night, and I have tons of yummy leftovers!

Here is my menu, plus links to the recipes! Enjoy!

The main course was a Minestrone soup made by the co-host. Sorry, I don't have her recipe! She also provided a yummy green salad.

For sides, I made:

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips - Also from OurBestBites.com. (Can you tell my new obsession?) This dish was absolutely fabulous. I did Strawberries, Mango, Kiwi, Pineapple, and Blueberries. Squirted some Lime juice, and added Sugar. The fruit was amazing on it's own, but eaten with the Cinnamon Chips brought it to a whole new level. Everyone took home leftovers, and I finished up the rest in about a day. A healthy and super yummy treat!

Pesto Alfredo with Roasted Vegetables- The original recipe was found on OurBestBites.com, but I will make it a different way next time! It was good, but needed a few more things.

Croissant Rolls- again, a little bit of a disappointment here. I wanted to make my Challah Bread, but for some reason, my bread maker didn't want to cooperate. It ended the cycle, and instead of a nicely risen bread, I had a pile of goop. :( So, I used the Croissant rolls in a can as a substitute.

Lemon Bars - The perfect "light" ending to a fall meal! I don't have a picture, but the recipe comes from my good friend, Bonnie.

White Chip Lemon Bars

Bonnie

1 1/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup white chips

2 eggs slightly beaten

The zest and juice from one lemon

Powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Stir together 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press mixture onto the bottom of 9-inch baking pan.

3. Bake 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; sprinkle with chips.

4. Stir together eggs, lemon juice, lemon peel, remaining 1/4 cup flour and remaining 3/4 cup sugar in medium bowl; carefully pour over chips and crust.

5. Bake 10 minutes or until set (you can touch center and it's springy). Cool in pan on wire rack; sift with powdered sugar when completely cool. Cut.

Cheesecake Chocolate Pudding. Okay, this desert was so easy, it was ridiculous. However, when I told the ladies it was "just" pudding, they laughed at me. It's all in the presentation folks!

How to make:
Pour 2 3/4 cup of COLD milk in a large bowl.
Mix in one dry box of Instant Chocolate pudding mix and 1 box of instant cheesecake pudding mix. Stir for 2 minutes, and pour into serving dish.
I used a large, shallow serving dish. When set, I sprinkled candied pecans on top! You can also do fruit, coconut, graham crackers, etc!
The cheesecake flavor was hard to distinguish, but you can do any flavor puddings together!

Lastly, we topped it off with cold Lemonade.

It was a terrific night of food and friendship.

What is your favorite party food?

Pesto Alfredo Pasta with Roasted Vegetables

I hosted a small dinner party last week. Thinking that it would be fun to try new recipes, I landed on my favorite food blog, OurBestBites.com. I found their recipe for "Creamy Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Mushrooms" and thought I'd give it a try.

I pretty much followed their recipe, except that I used my own Alfredo sauce recipe. The recipe I have for you here is their recipe, with my sauce and additions. When the salad was complete, I really felt that it needed some things other then just tomatoes and mushrooms.

The measurements on this weren't very accurate after I made my own sauce. So, I recommend, especially with the sauce, just adding a little at a time to the pasta until it is the consistency you like! The pasta will soak in the sauce, so more is better.

Pesto Alfredo Pasta with Roasted Vegetables

Alfredo Sauce
(Melt together: 1 cube butter, 1 cream cheese, 1 cup Parmesan, 3/4 cup milk, salt, pepper, basil, garlic)
Pesto - either homemade or store bought (10oz)
1 box of Farfalle/Bowtie pasta (16oz)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
Fresh Broccoli, cut into small bits.
Pine nuts or almonds, or walnuts.
Parmesan cheese
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Prepare the Alfredo Sauce. While that is cooking, boil water, add salt, and start the noodles cooking.

Placed sliced mushrooms, tomatoes, and broccoli on a foil-lined cookie sheet.
Drizzle with 3-4 T Olive Oil. Toss veggies until they are coated with the oil.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 12 minutes. The tomato skins will start to split when ready.

Toast the nuts. Place the nuts in a small pan on medium heat. Stir every few minutes. The nuts will start to get glossy, which means the oils are releasing. Remove when golden.

When your Alfredo sauce is done, add 1/3-1/2 cup of pesto and stir.

Drain noodles.

Put it all together! Mix in the sauce first, to the consistency you like. Save the extra sauce for serving time.
Mix in the veggies, and sprinkle the nuts and parmesan cheese on top.

For presentation: I discovered that after making and refrigerating, that the pasta appeared dry. If I had saved some sauce, I would have drizzled some extra on top, and then sprinkled the nuts and cheese.

This makes a great main or a side dish.