Buffalo Chicken Dip {Tasty Appetizer}

When I think of dishes that can make or break a party the one dish that comes to mind is this amazing Crack Dip (or so it's called). You either love it or you hate it. And lucky for me, my friends love it! I first made it to bring to a girls night in at my friend Janelle's house. Within minutes of the dip coming out of the oven it was 1/2 way gone. And by the end of the night the pyrex baking dish was licked clean. No, seriously... every drop of dip was gone.

So I decided to make this dip for our Christmas dinner as an appetizer before the meal. It was a great hit with my husband's family so I've continued making it for other get togethers as well. This is definitely a great dish to bring when you need something hot and tasty. The next dip I'm eyeing is my friend Melissa's jalepeno popper dip. Yum!

Inspiration: Frank's Redhot

Buffalo Chicken Dip aka Crack Dip

• 8 ounce package low fat neufchatel cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup low fat ranch salad dressing
• 1/2 cup FRANK'S® REDHOT® Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
• 1 cup lite shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup reserved for topping
• 2 cups roasted chicken breast, shredded

Heat oven to 350°F. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth.

Mix in salad dressing, Frank's RedHot Sauce and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Stir in chicken.

Bake 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir. Top with cheddar cheese and broil on high for 1-2 minutes or until top is golden brown. Garnish as desired. Serve with crackers or vegetables (we love celery with this dip!).

Serves 6-8, doubling is recommended ;)

Corn Dog Muffin Bites {Guiltless 1 WW+ Appetizer}

When I chose what to make for the big game last weekend I knew one thing had to be on the list... these Pinterest inspired corn dog bites that I found over at Iowa Girl Eats. I don't know who pinned them first but it was love at first site! And it was a treat I was sure the kids would enjoy. Sure my son would peel off all of the corn bread and give it to his sister but both of them would enjoy these awesome, simple treats.

And I was right! These babies were a hit. And most of them were gone by the end of the first quarter. Luckily I made these in two batches so while one was being devoured the other was baking. Not that eating these cold would be bad. I wouldn't know anything about that though... That lone little doggy laying on the plate calling out my name after the game... YUM!

Inspired by Iowa Girl Eats

Corn Dog Muffin Bites

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup 1% low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 97% Fat Free Hebrew National hot dogs, cut into 1″ bites (6 pieces per dog)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine butter, applesauce and sugar in a bowl, and whisk to combine. Add eggs and whisk to incorporate. Add buttermilk and whisk to incorporate.

In a separate bowl, combine baking soda, cornmeal, flour, and salt, and stir to combine. Whisk into wet ingredients in two batches.

Spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick spray, and spoon 1 Tablespoon of batter into each mini muffin cup. Place one hot dog bite into the middle of each cup.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cornbread is golden brown. Cool in mini muffin tin for 5 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, and re-heat for 20-30 seconds before serving.

Makes 48 | 1 WW+ each

NI per muffin:
46 cals | 7g carbs | 1g fat | 2g protein | 0g fiber | 118g sodium

Italian Pasta Salad {4WW+ Appetizer}

I hosted a baby shower this past weekend (more recipes and pictures to come) and one of the dishes I made was this pasta salad. It was super easy to make and came together quickly. I love that I didn't have to use a packet or mix to put it together. Another bonus was that I had all of the ingredients on hand and didn't have to run to the store to buy anything. I'll definitely be making this again for those summer barbecues and picnics.  I just need to figure out what other spices to throw in to make it pop some more. Any ideas?

Inspiration: Brown Eyed Baker

Italian Pasta Salad

• 1 package Trader Joe's fusilli pasta, cooked and drained
• 3 ounces Hormel Pepperoni Minis
• 6 Kraft provolone slices, diced
• 5 ounces Frigo part skim mozzarella 
• 1 6 ounce can large black olives
• 1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained)
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried basil

For the Dressing:

• 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil

In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, pepperoni, cheese, olives, beans, tomatoes, parsley and basil.

To make the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, honey and salt. While whisking vigorously, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Once combined, pour over pasta mixture to coat and toss. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Serves 20 | 4 WW+ Points (1/2 cup)

Compound Perfection

I am always looking to put a little extra on the dinner table. Make something ordinary a little more. So I went a searching on the interwebs (well... really just in my Google reader) for some different items for Christmas dinner. I knew I saw a recipe for compound butter on Annie's Eats but couldn't remember how far back it was so with a little searching I found it.

This is so easy to do and really makes a difference. I used fresh herbs and I think you could definitely taste that. 1/2 of the butter was gone before we even started dinner since people were spreading it onto the bread sitting out on the table while we waited for the lasagna rolls to come out of the oven.

I highly recommend using this recipe or any other compound butter combo the next time you have bread or rolls on the table. Oh, and I tried to make the butter as pretty as Annie did but had no luck with my pastry bag skills. Gotta work on those... I just scooped it all out of the bag and plopped it into the dish. No one minded.

Source: Annie's Eats



Herb Compound Butter

• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1-2 cloves garlic, very finely minced
• 1 tbsp. fresh basil, finely minced
• 1 tsp. fresh dill, finely minced
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme, finely minced
• ½-¾ tsp. kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well with a spoon until combined and all ingredients are evenly incorporated. To serve, pipe butter into small serving dishes with a decorative pastry tip. Alternatively, place the butter mixture onto plastic wrap, form into a log, wrap tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve. Allow to come to room temperature before serving so it is spreadable.

Showers!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of hosting a bridal shower for my good friend Amanda. It was an afternoon filled with fun and laughter (what shower isn't?). I had a great time coming up with the menu and in the end kept it short and simple.

I made a few dishes and bought some store bought items to help out. Sometimes you can't do everything (especially at 9 months pregnant!).

We had three dips for the veggie tray:
Hummus (Trader Joes brand since I couldn't find tahini paste anywhere!)
Roasted Garlic & White Bean Dip
Tzatziki Dip

I got a few bags of the Mediterranean Supreme salad kit from the grocery store (sooo good! I highly recommend this salad).

I made three different kinds of sandwiches (I bought all the bread):
Tuna with Lemon Habanero Mayo and Watercress (the person helping me forgot the watercress in the fridge) on Ciabatta Bread
Ham and Turkey with Avocado Spread on French Rolls
Cucumber & Cream Cheese on Sourdough

And for dessert I made Lemon Cream Scones and had a local bakery drop off some cupcakes and an 8" round. One of the cupcake flavors (Midori Melon Mojito) was actually a recipe I stumbled upon on the I Heart Cuppycakes blog. I forwarded the recipe to the baker and she agreed to try it out. They were so good! I can't wait to make them myself.

I served hot tea, iced tea and water to drink because I didn't have the time at the end to make any punches (alcoholic or not) and not many complained :) Here are a few pictures:


From left to right: Hummus, Roasted Garlic Bean Dip & Tzatziki Dip


Tuna with Lemon Habanero Mayo


Lemon Cream Scones


Vanilla Cake with Raspberry Filling from Bella & Ava Bakery


Lemon Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting from Bella & Ava Bakery


Midori Melon Mojito Cupcakes from Ella & Ava Bakery


The whole display :) It was soo cute!

And last but not least...


The Bride-to-be with her mommy :)

Holy Guacamole!

Mmm... there's nothing better than a fresh avocado... wait, there is. Mix it with a few other ingredients and you have a tasty, healthy dip for chips and veggies.

With the very green basil sauce earlier in the week and this guac I guess I am going with a green theme :) A few weeks too late for St. Patrick's Day!

My girlfriend at work had picked some fresh avocados from her aunt's tree and brought a BOX of them into work for us to pick and choose. I went home with three (didn't want to be too greedy!) huge, very ripe avocados and knew I needed to make some fresh guac. I went to the local market to grab some fresh cilantro and jalepenos and as soon as I got home I went to work...

Source: My head

Guacamole

• 3 large avocados
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 jalepeno, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh salsa
• Salt and Pepper

Cut avocado in half. Using your knife gently tap the seed and twist out. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh of the avocado into a medium mixing bowl. Add all ingredients except for salsa and start to mash avocado with a fork until it's the consistency you want (I prefer a smooth guac).

Add salsa and stir in until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste (I recommend taking small samples as you add the S&P to get the correct taste). Serve with chips and/or veggies and enjoy!

Suggestion: If you plan on serving the guacamole later, I would suggest keeping one of the seeds in the guacamole so that it doesn't turn brown. The lemon juice will also help.

Great appetizers

While I didn't have a superbowl party, I drooled over all of the posts in the blogs that did have parties. I starred a few including one that I eventually tried when the craving hit. Well... a craving hit and I started to search through GR for something that I a) really wanted and b) had all the ingredients for. Well I was in luck. Not only did this recipe satisfy both requirements... it was also WW friendly! I spruced it up a bit and ended up with a great snack.

Source: The Foodie Fashionista

Loaded Potato Bites

• 6 baby red potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
• 1/4 packet Ranch dressing mix
  
• 4 slices Canadian bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cups fat-free shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice potatoes into coins. Place potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet. Chop up Canadian bacon into small bits. Top each coin with a bit of cheese and some bacon bits. Stir Ranch mix into sour cream and mix well; set aside. Bake for 15 minutes or until potatoes are done.

Serve with sour cream mix.

Serves 8, 2 WW points per serving