Pizza Pinwheels

Since I wanted to bring more to Thanksgiving dinner than just a dessert, my mom told me to bring an appetizer.  There were only only 8 of us at dinner, including my 2 uncles who always come each year.  I didn't really feel like spending too long in the kitchen making something, so I relied on a few things I had in my fridge/freezer already.  I didn't really use a specific recipe, but these are inspired by an appetizer that somebody brought to a party at Joel's cousin's house a few years ago.  Feel free to use anything as a filling. I think spinach artichoke dip may be the next one I try!

1 sheet Puff Pastry
1/2 cup Marinara Sauce
1/4 cup Pepperoni Slices
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese

Thaw out the puff pastry and spread sauce over the top of it.  Slice the pepperoni rounds into thin strips and sprinkle it over the top of the sauce.  Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Roll the puff pastry, jelly roll style, and slice into 14 slices, about 1/4 inch rounds.  Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and place each slice onto the sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Allow to cool before serving.

Spinach Dip

For Easter, I wanted to have something small to nibble on before we ate our dinner.  I had this dip recipe saved from Cook and Be Merry, and thought it would be worth a try.  I put this in a bowl, along with some cut up vegetables and some crackers, and by the end of the night, I was left with an empty bowl!

1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 1/2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Style Dressing Mix
1 (10 ounce) package Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry
1 (8 ounce) can Water Chestnuts, drained, dried, and chopped
1/2 cup Red Bell Pepper, diced

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.  Separate the clumps of spinach so that it is evenly distributed.  Chill until ready to serve.  Serve with raw vegetables, crackers, or bread.

French Onion Soup Stuffed Mushrooms

Merry Christmas!!  I hope that you all had a wonderful day visiting with family and friends.  

I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman and ever since I've been looking for an excuse to make them.  When my aunt asked me to bring something to Christmas Eve at my grandparents' house, I finally decided that I would bring these along with my ribbon jello (recipe to come).  I felt kind of bad suggesting these, since my aunt doesn't like mushrooms, but she actually sounded excited about them.  Her thought process was that my uncle loves them, and since she won't make them, he will be happy.  Good enough for me!  These mushrooms were great and they went so fast!

2 tablespoons Butter
2 large Onions, halved and sliced thin
1/4 cups Beef Broth
7 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
Splash of Red or White Wine
1/2 cup Gruyere or Swiss Cheese, grated
Kosher Salt
24 White or Crimini Mushrooms, washed and stems removed
Minced Parsley

In a medium skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat.  Add the onions and saute for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very soft.  Splash in the wine, broth, and Worcestershire.  Cook another 5 minutes, or until the liquid has cooked down.  Set aside.  Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in another large skillet over medium heat.  Throw in the mushrooms and toss for about 2 minutes, just to start the cooking process.  Sprinkle the mushrooms with salt.  Place the mushroom caps face down in a baking dish.  Heap the cavity with sauteed onions, then sprinkle with the cheese.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Turn on the broiler and broil for a couple of minutes, until the top of the cheese becomes brown and bubbly.  Sprinkle minced parsley over the top and serve.

Black Olive Tapenade

Last year at one of our sorority meetings, we did an appetizer recipe swap.  Everybody made an appetizer and brought along enough copies of the recipe to share with all of the members.  I walked away with a full belly and a folder full of new recipes to try.

Fast forward to present day.  We spent Thanksgiving dinner with my family, so to see Joel's family too, we invited his parents, aunt, uncle, and cousins over in the evening for drinks.  I wanted some food to nibble on, but given the feast that everybody had eaten earlier in the day, I kept it light and easy.  I bought some hummus, cut up some smoked Gouda, and made tapenade to serve with crackers.  I used a recipe that was in my appetizer folder from the sorority meeting over a year ago, submitted by a member named Rita.  She wrote that the recipe was inspired by Bobby Flay and Rachel Ray.  This was pretty good (except for the random pit that was still in one of the olives that almost broke Joel's tooth)!

1 1/2 cups Black Olives (I used pitted kalamata olives)
3 tablespoons Capers, drained (I omitted since we don't like the saltiness of them)
1-2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/4 cup Fresh Parsley
1/4 cup Olive Oil

Place the olives, capers, garlic, and parsley into the bowl of a food processor.  Slowly add oil and pulse to a coarse texture.  Add salt and pepper, to taste.  Store, tightly covered, in the fridge, for up to 2 weeks.  Serve at room temperature with bread or crackers.  Another suggestion for use: use as a sandwich spread or mixed with hot pasta.

Baked Egg Rolls

Yay for our new camera! We just bought ourselves a Nikon D3000 DSLR and have really been enjoying taking pictures of everything and anything to learn how to use it.

Onto the food... Tonight, we decided on a stir fry of sorts. To go along with it, we picked up a package of egg roll wrappers and thought that it would be fun to make baked egg rolls. We adapted the recipe that was on the back of the package.

1 teaspoon Ginger, minced

1/2 cup Bean Sprouts

1/3 cup Shredded Carrots

3 Scallions, sliced

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

8-10 Egg Roll Wrappers

In a bowl, combine the sprouts, carrots, scallions, and soy sauce. Place some filling into the middle of a wrapper, fold in the corners, and roll up the wrapper. Place the egg roll, seam side down, on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the egg rolls are browned. Serve with sweet and sour sauce for dipping.