Nutty Bacon Cheeseball: Friday Dec. 31, 2010

Good bye 2010........here we come 2011! Ready or not. My li'l brother Mikey is having a New Year's eve party. This recipe is worth repeating, one of our favorite. Found in a cookbook that came with my kitchen aid mixer:

Nutty Bacon Cheeseball

1 pkg. 8oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c milk
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar Cheese
2 c. shredded monterey jack cheese (I can only find this at Hy-Vee)
1/4 c. (1oz) blue cheese
1/4 c. finely minced green onions (white parts only)
1 jar (2 oz) diced pimiento
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 c. chopped pecans
salt and pepper
1/4 c. minced parsley
1 T. poppy seed

1. Place cream cheese in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and mix 1 minute. Scrape bowl. Speed 2, gradually add milk, mixing until well blended, about 1 minute. Scrape bowl. Add cheeses, onions, pimientos, half of bacon and half of pecans. Turn to speed 4 and beat until well blended, about 1 minute.

2. Season with salt & pepper.

3. Transfer half of mixture to lg. piece of plastic wrap. Form into ball: wrap tightly. Repeat with remaining mixture. Refrigerate at least 2 hrs until well chilled.

4. Combine remaining bacon, pecans, parsley & poppy seeds in pie plate or lg. dinner plate. Remove plastic wrap from each cheese ball: roll in bacon mixture until well coated. Wrap in clean plastic wrap & refrigerate until ready to use, up to 24 hrs.
Yield: 24 servings. each ball

Recipe Friday Dec. 31, 2010 Buffalo Chicken Dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip


1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 can (10 ounces) chunk white chicken, drained
1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (we use hot wing sauce)
1/2 cup ranch salad dressing
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
Tortilla chips

Spread cream cheese into an ungreased shallow 1-qt. baking dish. Layer with chicken,
buffalo wing sauce and ranch dressing. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at
350° for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Yield: about 2 cups.

Kitchen Aid is in the house!

I have been wanting a professional kitchen aid mixer for awhile now, one that will allow for LARGE batches of dough..........here it is in the color of choice! Thanks SANTA


Isaac got a kitchen aid for Christmas, too............an 'after market' that comes with a good background.....he knows exactly how much it has been used.......and how old it is! I gave him my old one, it still has a lifetime of use in it, have fun with it son.

Recipe Friday Dec. 24th. Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach-Artichoke Dip Easy/20 min

1) 8 oz cream cheese, softened
2) ½ cup sour cream
3) ½ cup mayonnaise
4) ½ cup parmesan cheese
5) 2 small cloves garlic, chopped
6) dash garlic salt
7) ½ teas. Accent (optional)
8) ½ cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
9) 1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, rinsed of oil and chopped
10) 1 to 2 cups Havarti cheese, grated or sliced
11) Milk or cream

In bowl, mix 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Add 8 and 9, mix. Add 11 to thin mixture (1/4 to 1/3 cup). Spread in 8 x 8 pan (glass if going to microwave). Top evenly with 10.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese melts or microwave 6 - 8 minutes. Serve with white corn tortilla chips or toasted baguette slices.

First tasted at Laslow's in Lincoln, then imitated. Got from a co-worker at a holiday pot luck at work. YUMMY

Almond Bark with a twist

I got this recipe from Bake at 350. That photo was bloglifted from Bake at 350 also. It was midnight before I got done, so the lighting was bad.

It is gorgeous! I sent it to work with hubby for all of his co-workers........also sent with the round pretzels that have Kisses melted in the center, peanut butter fudge, chocolate fudge and non-traditional peanut clusters. Merry Christmas!!!! feel free to click on the attached links.

Noah's Ark Collector

My sister in law and brother in law stopped tonight to drop off their gift to us this holiday season.

Scott is Steve's 1/2 brother, the most delightful person you'd ever meet in your life. He's not married until recently, he was striving for perfection and found it in Debbie.

I have collected Noah's arks for over 25 years, this is what they gifted me this year....the Noah's Ark Tree in the middle..........








Available at Sam's Club...who knew??

Creamy Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients

• 4 cups white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
• 1 (16 ounce) jar peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

No candy thermometer is required. Before you start timing the fudge, a rolling boil is required. This means that you are not able to stir the fudge to stop the boiling process. Once the candy is at that stage, then begin timing.

1. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. This fudge is creamy and flawless every time. For any fudge to be successful you must follow directions exactly as written. Candy is a persnickety thing, stirring at the wrong time will cause crystallization of the sugar granules. Ruining your recipe.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, brown sugar, butter and evaporated milk. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in marshmallow creme until well incorporated and melted. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth; spread in prepared pan. Let cool before cutting into squares.

I cut the fudge into squares, then seal in a large zip lock bag, placing it inside a rubbermaid container with a lid.