Appetizer Number Four - Lemonchick's Un-stuffed Jalapeno Popper Tartlets

 The Year of Appetizers

Appetizer #4 - Lemonchick's Un-stuffed Jalapeno Popper Tartlets

    Whoa, not really sure what I'll be making going forward, but I've had a bit of a hiatus from my blog, aka recipe diary. I am still committed to my Year of Appetizers. I had bariatric surgery in late April.  I had complications from the LapBand I'd had for 13 1/2 years, so had that removed and the Sleeve procedure in it's place.  So, I'll be trying to make healthier versions (especially for a while of recipes from my collection of cookbooks).  

    This recipe has evolved over the years. Years and years ago, a coworker used to bring stuffed jalapenos to work and they were yummy.  I started making them the way she made them, but then I tried making them differently and fast forward to now, where I just blend all the stuffed jalapeno popper ingredients together and fill mini Phyllo tart crusts. I love them and I hope you do also. 

     I'll give you basic ingredients and then you can modify how you like. For example, if you like more or less jalapeno or pineapple, just add more or less to your taste. Or if you don't like pineapple, leave that out. I've had a bit of extra filling before after filling two boxes of the Phyllo crusts, so I've used this filling on crackers and toast and I think it would be yummy on a bagel.

Ingredients:

1 8 oz block of cream cheese, softened

2-3 jalapenos, washed, seeded and diced (If you like spicy, you could definitely leave more seeds in)

1/4 to 1/2 cup crushed pineapple or pineapple chunks (If you use pineapple chunks, you'll have to dice up the chunks into tiny bits; also, you're going to drain the pineapple before measuring)

1/2 cup fresh, but cooled cooked bacon, finely diced (It is up to you how finely cooked you make the bacon, but I'd definitely make sure it is cooked; do not use raw)

1 or 2 1.9 oz packages of Athens brand Phyllo crusts (This is the brand I use; you can use whichever you like or make fresh)

Directions:

Bake Phyllo crusts according to package directions. You want them a bit crispy when you fill them.  Remove from the oven and cool. You can start mixing the ingredients while the Phyllo crusts are baking.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. I start with mashing the cream cheese, then add the diced jalapeno, followed by the bacon and pineapple. Make sure all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.   Using two spoons, fill the cooled crusts with your cream cheese filling and place on in a baking pan or on a baking sheet. Top with chunks of pineapple or thin, tiny slices of jalapeno. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.  Keep an eye on them and if the shells start getting too brown, you want to take them out. 

Lemonchick's Un-Stuffed Jalapeno Popper Tartlets
*Note - I believe this picture was taken before baking; due to my hiatus and having made these two months ago, I can't remember.

Appetizer #3 - Cheese Crackers

The Year of Appetizers 

Appetizer #3 - Cheese Crackers

    Published in 1991, this Whipping Up Something Good Cookbook was compiled by the Dallas School Food Service Association. Secretary, Jean Campbell from William Anderson Elementary, submitted this appetizer.  It took a little while to thoroughly mix up the ingredients and then to spread it on a cookie sheet, but it was worth it. These are yummy. Like Cheez-Its, only better, because these are homemade with butter and cheese. I would make these again. You could use them as crackers like the name suggests, or even use them in place of croutons on a salad (I've done that with Cheez-Its). 

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1 stick butter (4oz)

red chili pepper flakes or Italian seasoning (Optional for an extra touch of flavor)

Directions:

Thoroughly combine ingredients (The original recipe says just use your hands, but I used both my clean hands and a wooden spoon) and roll into a ball. Flatten on a greased cookie sheet (I forgot to grease the stoneware cookie sheet I used and with the cheese and butter in there, they turned out just fine). I actually ended up breaking up the ball into chunks spreading it out so it covered the sheet. It took some time, but it.  was kind of fun. I lightly scored the dough, before baking, so it would be easier to cut and I think it helped, but you could probably wait to cut until you take them out of the oven. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool and cut into squares. I made mine small, but cut whatever size you like. 

Cheese Crackers

Uncut Cheese Crackers

Carrot & Cabbage Noodles with Sweet Chili Sauce

 Carrot  & Cabbage Noodles with Sweet Chili Sauce

    This yummy recipe comes from the Thai Kitchen Cookbook - The Essential Guide To Thai Cooking copyrighted in 2000. If you're like me, trying to eat out less and you like Chinese and Thai food, you try and learn how to make it at home. This is a nice little cookbook and I look forward to trying more recipes. 

Ingredients: 

7oz rice noodles (stir-fry or thin)

3 tbsp peanut oil (I used canola oil, because the peanut oil I found was so expensive)

1 tbsp finely minced garlic

1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped (I used red shallots)

2 tsp brown sugar

1/2 cup carrots, coarsely grated (I had baby carrots and grating those was impossible; I thinly sliced them lengthwise and they were just fine)

1 cup green cabbage, coarsely chopped (I think I used a little more)

2 tbsp Thai Kitchen Spicy Thai Chili Sauce (I used a crispy chili pepper in oil)

2 tbsp soy sauce

Optional: Crushed peanuts

Optional: Cucumber, thinly cut like matchsticks (I did not use cucumber until I tried it with leftovers)

Optional: Thai Kitchen Sweet Red Chili Dipping Sauce (recipe from the book below)

    1 tbsp fresh red chili, minced (again, I used the crispy chili pepper in oil)

    1/2 cup rice vinegar

    1 tsp salt

    1 tbsp sugar

    1 tsp garlic, minced

Instructions For Noodles:

Bring two cups of water to boil. Turn off heat and place rice noodles into the hot water for three to five minutes or until the noodles are soft, and cooked through, but not mushy. Rinse with cold water for thirty seconds. Drain well and set aside. Heat oil on medium-high heat in a large wok or skillet. Add garlic and stir fry for one minute.  Add onion and brown sugar. Sit fry for two to three minutes until the onion is soft. Add carrots, cabbage, chili sauce/chilis and soy sauce. Stir fry for five minutes. Add the noodles, mixing well and stir fry for three to five more minutes.  Serve immediately with sweet red chili dipping sauce and crushed peanuts if desired. Serves three to four. 

Instructions For Sweet Red Chili Dipping Sauce:

Into a small pot, add all ingredients and stir constantly over low heat, until the mixture thickens to a syrupy consistency. I somehow didn't cook this sauce and served it cold. Although it was thin and not syrup-y, I really liked it, so try it without cooking if you like. 

Carrot & Cabbage Noodles with Sweet Chili Sauce

    

Butterscotch BonBons

 Butterscotch BonBons

    I wanted to make something sweet to take to work this week and this is what I tried.  The recipe is in 1959's The General Foods Kitchens Cookbook. The recipe uses butterscotch pudding mix, hence the name, but you could easily make these with chocolate or vanilla.  It does call for peanut butter and nuts (I used peanuts), so skip this recipe if you have a nut allergy.  I also added some generic Rice Krispies cereal, because I thought the mix was a little sticky. I liked how these turned out and everyone at work liked them. 

Ingredients: 

2 pkgs instant butterscotch pudding mix (the small box which is about 3 oz)

1 cup chopped dates or nuts (I used chopped peanuts)

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used smooth, since I was adding chopped peanuts)

1/2 cup light cream (I used half & half, which may be partly why the dough was so sticky)

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or 10 squares candy-making chocolate (Use chocolate bark like I did; you could do vanilla bark also)

1/2 cup Rice Krispies (brand or generic)

vegetable shortening

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips/chocolate bark/candy-making chocolate. Ensure all ingredients are well combined. After this step, I felt the dough was too sticky, so I stirred in 1/2 cup of generic Rice Krispies. Melt your chocolate chips/chocolate bark with a little bit of shortening to help with thinning the melted chocolate. You'll stir all the melted stuff together. Use a spoon to scoop out a bit of dough and roll into balls (1 inch or so). Dip carefully into chocolate, coating the ball and placing it gently on a tray with lightly greased (I used a spritz or so of cooking spray) parchment paper or waxed.  paper. When you've dipped all of the balls, place your tray in the refrigerator to set. When you're ready to serve, remove tray from the refrigerator and break off any little odd bits from the bottom of the balls. 

Enjoy!

Butterscotch BonBon

A bowl of balls (lol). Butterscotch BonBon balls.

Appetizer #2 - Amy's Crazy Corn Dip

The Year of Appetizers 

Appetizer #2 - Amy's Crazy Corn Dip

    This recipe is in The Women's Council of Realtors - Southwest Dallas and was submitted by Amy Deckert of First American Home Buyers Protection. There is no date, but I'd guess it's either in the 90's or early 2000's. It calls for white and yellow corn, but there's nothing wrong with using two white or two yellow (Like I did). Get as close to the size for the cans as you can. I liked this. Initially I ate the dip with crackers, but I also ended up enjoying it over rice and even by itself. *I actually made this two weeks ago, but just haven't been able to post until now.

Ingredients:

15 oz can white corn, drained

15 oz can yellow corn, drained

10 oz can Rotel, spicy or mild (I used a generic brand)

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder (I used 1 tsp)

1/2 tsp salt

one handful or as (much as you want, really) cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. Mix together the corn, Rotel with the seasonings and stir in the cream cheese. Make sure everything is well combined and stir in the cilantro. Pour into your baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with crackers, tortilla chips or even use it on top of rice like I did. 

Amy's Crazy Corn Dip

Appetizer #1 - Potpourri Cheese

 The Year of Appetizers

Number One: Potpourri Cheese

    This recipe is in my second printing copy of The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, published in 1963. All I can say is this definitely is a 1960's era dip.  The consistency I ended up with was like a Pimento Cheese. I didn't know what to expect over all, but I think it tasted fine and I was good with the consistency (I just kept mixing until I liked it).  I am hoping that it tastes good after sitting covered in the refrigerator. You know that some things just taste better after the flavors have had a chance to "settle"? I am curious to see how it tastes on Tuesday.  I made this for my church ladies group potluck on Tuesday, so I will report back on how they like it (or not) and if I like it better after the flavors have "settled".  The original recipe says you can keep this in covered jars and that it keeps for weeks.  I tried it out on some crackers. I'm not sure that I would make this again, but I am glad I tried it (that is the goal of this blog; to try out recipes from my collection of cookbooks). You may like it a bit more than I did.  My notes in italics. 

Ingredients:

12 oz beer

1 1/2 lb cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 lb crumbled blue cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

2 tbsp butter or margarine, softened

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp Tabasco (I didn't have Tabasco, so I used the hot sauce I had on hand)

crackers for serving

Directions:

Open beer and let stand. Mix cheeses, salt and mustard. Blend in butter, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco. Add beer slowly, with an electric hand mixer, until creamy. Store in a covered jar or dish. Makes about 5 cups. Serve as a dip with crackers or you could possibly use this as a sandwich spread. I am intrigued by the thought of making a grilled cheese sandwich using this in the middle.

The mixing did not go easily. After mixing the butter, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, cheeses, salt and mustard, I used my mixer, but I was making a mess, so I ended up using my potato masher to blend the ingredients a little better and then I used my hand mixer on medium to high until I was "happy" with the consistency. It is creamy, but with little chunky bits.  I think the consistency is a lot like that of Pimento Cheese. I tested this with butter crackers and it was fine. Even though this has not been my favorite recipe, you might like it! So, if you try it, let me know what you think.  

Potpourri Cheese 

Potpourri Cheese 

The Year of Pie

 The Year of Pie

    Well, this was a fun year. I discovered that I have problems with cream pies. Most of my cream pies didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped; it was the too soft consistency of the filling. I learned that I am still no better at pie crusts than I was at the beginning of the year, but I had fun trying. I made one pie (Peanut Pie) twice; once for the blog and once for my church ladies' group and found several that I really liked. I made both savory dinner pies and sweet dessert pies. I wanted a mix of flavors/fillings and crusts. I feel I succeeded with that goal. Most were pastry crusts, but there are a few graham cracker/cookie crusts. On tap for next year's blog theme is "Appetizers".  Follow along as I make at least two appetizers a month next year. It's going to be interesting!

My top five favorite pies in order are:

#1 - Chocolate Brownie Pie (Pie #24)

#2 - Bacon Cheese Pie (Pie #10)

#3 - Peanut Pie (Pie #1) 

#4 - Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie (Pie #14)

#5 - Pork and Tater Pie (Pie #3)

Honorable Mentions: Sweet Potato Praline Pie (Pie #20), Buttermilk Pie (Pie #2), To Die For Chocolate Chip Pie (Pie #7), Lemon Icebox Pie (Pie #19)