Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip

I can only make this when we’re hosting a party because otherwise I would end up eating it all by  myself! And not only is this dip delicious, it’s soooo easy to make and requires ZERO cooking. Love it!

Ingredients.

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chip
• 1 box of graham crackers

Instructions.

1. Make sure the cream cheese and butter are both softened to room temperature.
2. Mix cream cheese and butter together until fluffy.
3. Add vanilla and sugar.
4. Mix in mini chocolate chips.
5. Use graham crackers to dip.

Yields 2 cups and if you can resist eating it all by yourself, it should serve 4-6.

ModPodge Marriage Certificate Monogram

I think this is such a neat way to make use of a marriage certificate! It seems quite simple and inexpensive too. I haven’t tried it yet and will post my own pictures once I do. But I can’t wait to work on this! If you’re not familiar with ModPodge, here’s a blog with all things ModPodge that’s quite helpful.

Supplies.

• Large wooden letter (first letter of your last name)
• Mod Podge gloss lustre
• A photocopy of your marriage certificate on warm beige cardstock (depending on the size of your wooden letter, you may want to blow up the photocopy and print it on a larger piece of cardstock)

Directions.

1. Trace the outline of your letter on your certificate photocopy where desired.
2. Cut the trace of the letter out of the photocopy.
3. Place it on top of the wooden letter to measure and size down if necessary.
4. Use the Mod Podge to glue the photocopy letter to the wooden letter.

Bacon-wrapped Green Bean Bundles

Ingredients.

• 2 cans of long green beans (can also use 1 pound of fresh green beans)
• Package of thick-cut bacon
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 clover of garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon of pepper

Bundle prep.

1. Take green beans out of can and put in bowl.
2. Season the green beans with a little bit of salt.
3. Cut the bacon strips in half.
4. Take 5 or 6 green beans and bundle them together.
5. Wrap the bacon strip around the bundle.
6. Place bundles seam-side down in a greased pan.

Sauce prep.

1. Heat a small saucepan over low heat.
2. Add butter, brown sugar and garlic.
3. Whisk until melted and combined.
4. Using a pastry brush, brush the mixture over top of each bundle.
5. Pour remaining mixture around the base of the bundles.
6. Sprinkle a little more brown sugar on top of every bundle.

Baking instructions.

1. Cover the bundles with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
2. Remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more, just until the bacon gets crispy.

Can make a nice side dish or stick toothpicks in each bundle and serve as an appetizer!

Easy-to-make Zucchini and Squash Bake

This is an extremely easy side dish to make and can be paired with so many things or eaten entirely by itself! I often pack up leftovers to eat for lunch. For extra flavor (and because I love cheese), I’ll pile on the Parmesan cheese! And other than that, this is also an extremely healthy dish. Enjoy!

Ingredients.

• 6 cups zucchini cut into large chunks or slices
• 6 cups yellow squash cut into large chunks or slices
• 2 tbsp olive oil plus extra for greasing pan
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• ½ cup (at least) shredded Parmesan cheese

Cooking Instructions.

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Grease roasting pan with olive oil
3. Chop/slice zucchini and yellow squash and put into large bowl.
4. Drizzle olive oil over squash. Mix with a large spoon until squash is evenly coated.
5. Sprinkle garlic powder, salt, and pepper over squash. Mix with a large spoon until squash is evenly coated.
6. Pour squash onto roasting pan and spread it out until it evenly covers the pan.
7. Bake 15-20 minutes stirring once until cooked through.
8. Either sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese when you stir after 7-10 minutes of baking, once it comes out of the oven and is piping hot, or both.

Devilishly Delicious Deviled Eggs

I’ve had deviled eggs from all sorts of places, but nothing has compared to this recipe that my mom whips up. I love them so much that anytime I have a planned visit home, she has a batch on standby waiting for me. This recipe creates deviled eggs that are sweeter than most but that’s what I love. They’re always a hit!

Ingredients.

• ½ cup Marzetti Original Slaw Dressing
• 12 eggs, hard-boiled and shelled
• ½ cup sweet pickle relish (does not have to be exactly ½ cup; do not drain)
• Paprika

Instructions.

1. Boil eggs
2. Drain water and let eggs cool (can remove them to another container)
3. Peel the eggs and slice in half.
4. Remove yolks and put in mixing bowl; set whites aside. Mix yolks well.
5. Slowly add the Marzetti dressing to yolks. Mix until smooth. Because you don’t want the mixture to get too runny, you will likely use a little less than the half cup.
6. Add the pickle relish and pickle relish juice in bit by bit until proper consistency (not runny, but not too thick).
7. Fill egg white shells with yolk mixture.
8. Sprinkle paprika on top if desired.

Roasted Tomatoes with Olive Oil

So I realized that none of my food posts up to this point regard what one would call healthy foods. I like to eat as healthy as I can and thought I’d share this healthy (but still yummy) recipe for roasted tomatoes.

Healthy-for-you sidenote: One of the most well-known tomato-eating benefits is its’ Lycopene content. Lycopene is an anti-oxidant that helps in the fight against cancerous cell formation as well as other kinds of health complications and diseases. Free radicals in the body can be flushed out with high levels of Lycopene. Something that I recently learned is that Lycopene is not a naturally produced element within the body and the human body requires sources of Lycopene in order to make use of this powerful anti-oxidant.

So eat up and enjoy some roasted tomatoes in olive oil!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. tomatoes (3-4 medium sized tomatoes or as many as will cover a baking sheet)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Cooking instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400F.
2. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Choose a sheet with sides, or make a “tray” with aluminum foil so that the tomato juices don’t run out into your oven.
3. Cut larger tomatoes into thick, sandwich-like slices and place on sheet. (If using baby tomatoes, place them directly on baking sheet.) Use enough tomatoes to cover the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Roast for 15-20 minutes, until tomatoes are tender and some are lightly browned. Roasting time will vary from batch to batch.
5. Scrape tomatoes into a bowl or platter (with sides) and add 2-3 more tablespoons of olive oil, as well as more salt and pepper, to taste.

Yummy with bread or fresh mozzarella cheese!

Time for a little Hanky Panky(s)

This is the best tailgating appetizer… There may not be any leftovers but there will be plenty of compliments!

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of party rye bread
• 1 lb. ground chuck
• 1 lb. hot sausage
• 1 lb. Velveeta cheese
• Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Cooking instructions:

1. Brown the ground chuck and hot sausage together; drain the grease.
2. Turn down the heat to low-medium and add in cheese (dicing up the cheese helps it melt in easier/quicker)
3. Stir ingredients together until cheese is fully melted.
4. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.
5. Place rye bread slices onto a baking sheet and spoon the cheese and meat onto the slices. A hefty spoonful on each should be plenty.
6. Turn on the oven broiler and wait a couple minutes for the oven to fully heat-up.
7. Place baking sheet in the oven for just a few minutes until the cheese bubbles and browns.

Note: Keep an eye on the Hanky Panky’s while they’re broiling. They can burn easily.

Corn and Wild Rice Soup with Smoked Sausage

My mother gave me this recipe. It’s one of my favorite dishes that she makes. Perfect for a crisp fall day… makes me think of home 🙂

Ingredients:

• 12 1/2 cups of chicken broth
• 1 1/4 cups or one package of wild rice (not instant)
• 6 1/4 cups of frozen corn kernels thawed
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 10 ounces of fully cooked smoked kielbasa cut into slices (or 1/2 inch cubes)
• 1 1/2 cups of half and half

Note: I do not like onions or cooked carrots but some recipes similar to this one include 3 carrots peeled and diced and 2 medium onions chopped.

Directions:

1. Bring 5 cups broth to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add wild rice and simmer until all liquid evaporates and rice is almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes.
2. Blend 3 3/4 cups of corn and 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth in a processor until thick, almost smooth puree forms. Heat vegetable oil in a heavy large dutch over medium high heat. Add sausage and saute until beginning to brown about 5 minutes. Add carrots and onions and stir 3 minutes. Add remaining 6 cups of chicken broth and bring soup to simmer. Reduce heat to a low simmer soup about 15 minutes.
3. Add cooked wild rice, corn puree and remaining 2/1/2 cups of corn to the soup. Cook until wild rice is very tender and flavors blend, about 15 minutes longer. Stir in half and half, mix in more chicken stock if you need to thin it. Season soup with salt and pepper.

Ugly dip but yummy taste

This is a simple, non-bake dip perfect for cookouts and tailgates. It’s called ugly dip because it just doesn’t look that pretty, but what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in taste.

Ingredients:

• 1 (11 ounce) can white shoe-peg corn, drained (Other options: 1. You can also use frozen corn in the steamable bags; after microwaving, let cool to room temperature. 2. You can also use corn on the cob. Cut the kernels off of about 2 ears (which is a little bit more than 11 ounces of corn) and cook with oil on medium heat about 10 min. or until softened. Let cool.)
• 1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (4 ounce) package crumbled feta cheese
• 1 small bunch green onion, chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup olive oil or canola oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• Salt, pepper to taste (Add garlic power to taste too if you prefer!)

Directions:

1. Combine corn, black beans, feta cheese and green onions.
2. Separately combine oil, sugar, vinegar, and salt and pepper (or other seasonings), and whisk together.
3. Combine dry ingredients with dressing and toss well. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. (Best if chilled for an hour or so).

What to do with this?

My husband bought me a beautiful, antique-looking set of the scales of justice for my birthday. I’ve wanted it forever!

The only problem is that it’s wayyyy bigger than we both thought. So my current challenge is how to create a space around the scales when it’s so big. If we had higher ceilings, I think it would fit our space better. But we’re in an old house with standard height ceilings, and the scales are more than two feet tall!

I shall follow-up with a ‘before’ picture of where I currently have them and then an ‘after’ picture once I figure out what to do with them.