Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

Holy AMAZING, Batman!

If you're looking for a simple dessert that is both sweet and salty, I've found your kryptonite.  Or your salvation.  I guess it depends on which comic we're reading because now I'm confused!  ;)

Ingredients:
2 C creamy peanut butter, divided
3/4 C butter, softened
2 C powdered sugar, divided
4 C broken pretzel twists, divided,
2 C semi sweet chocolate chips, divided
Directions:
1. Line a 9"x13" baking pan with foil and a little overlay.  Lightly spray with a non-stick cooking spray.
2. Beat 1 1/4 C peanut butter in and butter in a large bowl until creamy.  Gradually beat in 1 C powdered sugar.
3. Stir in remaining 1 C of powdered sugar, 3 C of pretzel pieces, and 1/2 C of chocolate chips.  Press evenly into prepared baking pan.

4. Microwave remaining 1 1/2 C chocolate chips and 3/4 C peanut butter on medium, uncovered, in a microwave safe bowl for 45 seconds.  Stir. If necessary, return for 10-15 second intervals until completely melted.
5. Spread chocolate peanut butter evenly over pb/pretzel/powdered sugar layer.
6. Top with remaining pretzel pieces, pressing down gently into the chocolate layer.
7. Refrigerate at least three hours, or until firm.  Lift out of pan and peel off foil, then cut and serve.

French Onion Mac & Cheese Bites

This recipe has me so excited.  I LOVE mac and cheese in ways that probably shouldn't be considered normal.

(But, if you haven't noticed how 'not normal' I am by now, is this really going to burst that bubble for you??  Probably not...)

I love the idea of individual serving sizes and cups, it keeps people from getting too grabby.  I might have overcooked some of these, so don't mind the dark hues, just note that the taste is fabulous and take it from there!

Ingredients:
1 T butter
1 T flour
1/2 C cold milk
3/4 C shredded Gruyere
2 T diced onions, lightly sauteed
1 C macaroni
freshly ground black pepper to taste
chives for garnish (optional)

Directions:
1. In a pot of salted, boiling water, cook the macaroni until al dente and drain.
2. Heat butter over medium low heat in a sauce pan.  When bubbly, whisk in flour and combine into a thick paste.  Turn heat to low and continue to whisk until roux is cooked, not brown.
3. When the roux looks slightly grainy, add the cold milk and whisk.  As the milk heats up, any lumps will disappear.  Continue to stir over medium low heat until sauce is bubbly and thick.
4. Stir in 1/2 C of shredded Gruyere and onions, then season with pepper to taste.
5. Fold in macaroni into the cheese sauce.  Spoon into lightly greased mini muffin pan and compress to help maintain muffin shape.  Top with remaining gruyere and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until tops are nicely browned.
6. Let muffins cool before removing.  Garnish with snips of chives and enjoy!

Two Easy Apps

Here are two quick appetizer ideas that I worked with for our last party...

1. Hummus served on bell peppers.

I used both plain and sun dried tomato hummus, and piped them onto chopped pepper pieces.

Great for presentation and made my buffet line move quickly since people could just grab and go.

2. Beeting Heart Skewers

This was nice because it was easy to make and I love using beets for the color they give.

Ingredients:
8 oz fresh goat cheese, at room temperature
2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper
8 oz baby beets, peeled and steamed, divided into 36 pieces
14 oz whole hearts of palm
36, 4" skewers

Directions:
1. Mix together the cheese, rosemary, and pepper.  Roll into 36 balls, approximately 3/4" big
2. Place goat cheese, beet piece, and heart of palm on each skewer
3. Arrange/serve as desired.

Hot Caprese Dip

The best part about making a hot Caprese dip is that it's so easy, and it combines everything you like about a Caprese salad in a nice, warm dip.

The problem?  Tomatoes are so juicy and it's just not a terribly pretty dish.  Also?  It's so cheesy (not necessarily always a bad thing) that it's difficult to serve without making a mess.

It is still super flavorful, though, and it's a nice change.  I might still prefer doing the skewers, though, just because it serves up more neatly.

Ingredients:
10 oz fresh mozzarella, chopped into cubes
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and juiced
3 T freshly chopped basil, plus more for garnish

Directions:
1. Preheat over tne 375
2. Combine all ingredients into your dish
3. Bake for 14 minutes, then broil for 3 to make a nice bubbly golden top.
4. Serve immediately with crostini or toast

Sausage Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

I LOVE jalapeno poppers.  The problem?  I don't have a lot of patience to make them.  There's something about washing the cut peppers and the capsaicin fumes that try to choke me out that just makes it not so much fun.  So I try to find other ways to make poppers.

And then, my gorgeous cousin made these poppers for me and I knew that there was no going back.

EVER.

Seriously.  They're that amazing!

Ingredients:
1 lb of ground sausage (any you prefer)
8 oz of cream cheese (softened)
2 C shredded four cheese blend, divided (I used the Mexican mix)
1 lb of jalapenos, halved and seeded
1 green onion, finely chopped

Now the prep work on this takes longer than I would normally like, but know that it is completely worth it and definitely worth the try.

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Brown sausage in a skillet.  Drain and cool (slightly)
3. Mix cream cheese, 1 C of cheese shreds, green onions, and sausage in a bowl.  The heat of the sausage helps to melt the cheesey goodness together.

*At this point, I paused.  I put everything in a zip lock bag and stored it over night.  I had already prepped the peppers and put them in their own bag as well.*

The best part about pausing a bit here, is that the cream cheese re-solidifies as it cools, which makes it easier to work with.  You can slice it and dice it which makes it easier to form in the peppers. You can work straight through at this point, I just had a lot to prep so this was a convenient place for me to stop. (and no, I didn't leave the oven on all night!)


4. Place your stuffing into your halved jalapeno pieces.

5. Place stuffed jalapenos on a lined cookie sheet (save yourself the clean up later).  Sprinkle with remaining 1 C of cheese shreds.

6. Bake for 20 minutes until lightly browned and bubbly.

Serve immediately.  Seriously, you might need to double up on this recipe.  It's best to make more than you think you'd need.  People will graze on these as long as they exist so be prepared.

Even people who don't like 'spicy' food will be attracted to this because the cream cheese helps to balance out the little heat from the jalapenos.

** Extra tip: Wear gloves through the cutting, cleaning, and stuffing process, even if this seems overkill.  Save yourself the embarrassment later when you wipe your eyes or something else and cause ridiculous burning sensations. **

Fall Munch Mix

Cause, you know, for kids!!  I found a similar recipe on Pinterest, but when I went shopping, I just became inspired by all of my choices.  Turns out you can really throw most anything in here and it'll probably taste okay.  I made two ginormous cauldrons of this mix, but here is the recipe for just one large cauldron...

Ingredients:
1/2 box of Kellogg's Krave cereal
1/2 box of Cinnamon Life cereal
1 large bag of caramel corn
1 large bag of kettle corn
1/2 bag pretzel sticks
1/2 bag mini pretzel twists
2 bags of 'autumn mix' candy pumpkins and candy corns
1 box of chocolate Teddy Grahams
2 king sized bags of M&Ms (plain)
2 king sized bags of Reese's Pieces (optional, dependent on allergies)

Directions: Mix together and serve!

Everyone (adults and kids) adored this mix.  It was the right combo of salty and sweet, and it saved me from serving other kid-friendly desserts and sweets (even though I did mini cupcake it up, per usual).

Fall Brie En Croute

Here's a super easy way to make a Brie en Croute that adds in all the goodies of our fall season.  It takes about 5 minutes to prep.

Ingredients:
1 can of crescent roll dough
8 oz wheel of Brie
1/3 C chopped pecans
1 T butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C dried cranberries
1/4 C brown sugar
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Soak cranberries in water for a minute or two to take the edge off, then drain and pat dry.
3. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter.  Stir in pecans and cinnamon, toasting for 3 minutes.
4. Roll out crescent dough on a cookie sheet.  Place Brie, toasted pecans, cranberries, and brown sugar on top.  Wrap crescent dough around the goodness.
5. Brush top and sides of dough with beaten egg.
6. Bake for 15-20, or until nicely baked and browned.