They say the best time to celebrate is whenever you can. So we certainly did our part in that commitment this week by celebrating the courageous move of a sweet friend, our 31st wedding anniversary, and, of course, SHARK WEEK!!
Sausage Balls with Dipping Sauce
Our sweet Chloe is heading to Arcadia University! Chloe is a former theatre student of ours, a good friend of Kaylee's, and a brilliantly talented young woman. This Fall she will attend school in Pennsylvania and major in Theatre. Although we will miss her tremendously, we are so proud of how hard she has worked to put herself through school and reach this goal. We were so excited to be a part of her going away party! The sausage balls and dipping sauce are one of our go-to recipes and are also a crowd favorite!
Ingredients:
Sausage Balls
2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
2 1/2 cups shredded Fiesta or Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 lb. hot sausage
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 to 4 pickled jalapeno slices, finely chopped (can substitute 6 to 8 drops of Hot Sauce)
Dipping Sauce
1 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
To make dipping sauce: In small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and mustard. Refrigerate until sausage balls are ready to serve.
In a large bowl, knead together all of the sausage ball ingredients until well blended.
Use a cookie scoop to make 1 1/4 inch balls and place on prepared baking sheets.
Bake until golden brown, about 18 to 20 minutes.
Set sausage balls on paper towels to drain off extra grease.
Yields: 50 to 60 sausage balls
This week we celebrated our 31st anniversary with a special meal of some of our very favorite recipes. We love it so much, we often serve it at our family Christmas celebration. The chicken puff recipe came from a cookbook we purchased on her honeymoon in Charleston. Since that time we make sure to get a cookbook (or a couple more if we can find them) on every trip.
Crescent Chicken Puffs
We serve these as either an appetizer or as a full size entree.
Ingredients:
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
4 to 5 green onions, chopped (only using the green of the onion)
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 to 3 Tbsp. of heaping chopped pimento
3 Tbsp. milk
salt and pepper to taste
2 - 8-ounce package of crescent rolls
3/4 cup seasoned croutons, crushed (optional)
Directions:
Blend melted butter and cream cheese until mixed.
Add in cubed chicken and continue until blended.
Add in pimento, milk, green onion, salt and pepper. Refrigerated chicken mixture for one hour or more.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Divide crescent dough into rectangles. For entree size put 1/4 of chicken mixture in the center of each rectangle. Take up the four sides of each rectangle and seal.
Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with crushed croutons.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
Yields: 16 regular size chicken puffs or 32 appetizer size chicken puffs
Spinach Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
Salad
Fresh spinach
1/2 to 1 cup sliced mushrooms
10 to 12 strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup pecans
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 of purple onion, thinly sliced
Dressing
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. bacon juice
3/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
Directions:
Prepare salad in layers (spinach, mushrooms, strawberries, purple onion, bacon, pecans). Add ingredients of dressing in small pot over medium heat. Bring dressing to a boil. Let cool before mixing with salad.
Caramelized Bacon Wrapped Green Beans
Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed
10 to 12 bacon strips, cut in half
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup pecans
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Place beans in a large pot and cover beans with water. Season green beans with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes until beans are tender.
Remove beans from water and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
Take 6 to 8 green beans and wrap with a slice of bacon. Place in a pyrex baking dish with bacon seam down. Continue making bundles until baking dish is full.
Sprinkle pecans over bundles and add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix together brown sugar, mustard and garlic. Spoon mixture over bundles.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until bacon and green beans are caramelized.
Lily and Layla LOVE to doo-doos (as in "Baby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo")! So of course Lolli and Pop had to celebrate Shark Week with these scrumptious chocolate chip cupcakes!
Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup heavy cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
In another large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract, mix constantly in between.
Add dry ingredients into the mixture. Fold ingredients together until smooth. Do not over mix.
Add in chocolate chips to the mixture and fold in together.
Divide batter between the 12 cupcake liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 - 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from cupcake pan. Place cupcakes on a wire rack.
For the frosting, use a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together softened butter and powdered sugar on high speed for 3 to 5 minutes. Add cocoa powder and mix until combined. Using a small spatula scrape down sides if needed. Add heavy cream and beat until is everything is incorporated.
When the cupcakes are completely cool, frost with Chocolate Buttercream.
Yields: 12 Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
We hope you enjoy this week's recipes and that you take time to celebrate whenever you can!
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