Tag Archives: Appetizers

Jan8

Buffalo Chicken Bites

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Buffalo Chicken Bites

I found this recipe on a Rotel ad, I believe.  Last night, thinking about watching some football playoff games – gotta track who my boys will be playing next Sunday!  Anyway, this was just the ticket.  Really good and super easy.

I had never bought these phyllo shells before, but found them in the freezer section, precooked.  After filling, 15 minutes in the oven and they were ready to consume.  I did make one change as the original recipe didn’t have blue cheese in it, so that’s optional.  However, I figured buffalo sauce + blue cheese = yum!

Hope you enjoy as we did!

~Connie Kaye

Buffalo Chicken Bites

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Ingredients:

INGREDIENTS:
4 oz cream cheese
1 tbsp cayenne pepper sauce
1 can Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green chiles, drained well
Chopped cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
crumbled blue cheese, optional
2 boxes frozen mini shells

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Please cream cheese in microwave safe bowl with pepper sauce.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir until smooth.   Add drained tomatoes, chicken and shredded cheese.  Divide mixture between frozen shells, place in large shallow baking dish.  Bake 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

 

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Nov15

Candied Bourbon Pecans

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Candied Bourbon Pecans

My friend Heather recently gave me a Hy-Vee magazine that came to her in the mail (she’s an Aisles Online fan) and it has some cool appetizer recipes that I thought I might try.  The first contestant is these pecans….warning, the hubster decided we should smoke them, so the first round went in the trash.  Turns out you need to cook them a little lower than the oven temperature.  Round 2 also involved the pellet smoker but at a lower temp.  YUMMO!

I think they would be good in the oven as well, and one thing I might try for Round 3 is to toast the pecans in the oven a bit, then add the gooey, bourbony deliciousness. Check out the recipe below – might be great for holiday gifts!

Candied Bourbon Pecans

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Ingredients:

1/2 bourbon
2/3 C dark brown sugar
1/4 C butter
1 tbsp. finely grated ginger
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 1/2 C pecan halves
cinnamon sugar, optional
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or smoker to 225).  In a saucepan, bring bourbon, dark brown sugar, butter, ginger, salt and pepper to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes until thickened.

Stir in pecans.  Pour on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes until toasted.  If smoking, placed on foil vegetable-type rack (or we used screen from the hardware store) for about 30-40 minutes.  Toss occasionally.  Cool and toss with cinnamon sugar if desired.

Nov13

Yummy Crescent Roll Ups

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Yummy Crescent Roll Ups

The perfect recipe for tailgating or watching football – what can you not like about creme cheese, bacon, jalapenos?  I sure cannot think of anything!  Tried these a few weeks ago, and they did not last long at all.  Super easy, and you begin with crescent roll dough, preferably the full sheet, or if not, just seal the triangles to make a sheet.  Cover with a layer of whipped cream cheese to which you have added chopped jalapenos and crumbled cooked bacon.  Sprinkle with sharp shredded cheddar cheese, and roll, starting with the long end.  Cut with sharp knife, and you should have something similar to this:

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You’re about 15 minutes away from yummy.  Add shredded cheddar to the top, and bake at 375 degrees or until desired degree of brownness.   Enjoy, and grab one first before your “friends” get to them!

~Connie Kaye

Apr12

A little Mexican for your Tuesday

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Well, not a “real” mexican, but some mexican food.  🙂

Who doesn’t LOVE that white cheese dip that is typically available in restaurants?  Not sure anyone can turn that stuff down.  Here’s a simple recipe to make it at home!  Drizzle this over some quesadillas or chips, and you’ll be in heaven.

~Connie Kaye

Queso Blanco

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Ingredients:

1 C. Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 half of a small can chopped green chiles
1/4 C. heavy cream
1 tsp cumin
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

For a little more spice, you can add some finely chopped pickled or fresh jalapenos. Combine in small saucepan over low heat until cheese is melted and well blended.  Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn and keep warm until ready to serve

Dec27

Easy Cheese Ball

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cheeseball1_550A quick post as I’m cheering on the KANSAS CITY CHIEFS!!!!  Made this cheese ball last night and wanted to share.  It’s easy, quick and delicious.  And, it’s made with ingredients that  you typically have on hand.  Hope you enjoy as we do, and I’ll hopefully be making it for a post-season Chiefs game!!!

~Connie Kaye

Cheese Ball

  • Servings: depends
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Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup each mayo, melted margarine, sour cream
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tbsp minced onion
1 tbsp steak sauce

Chopped pecans

Mix the first 5 ingredients well.  Form into ball and chill.  Roll in chopped pecans before serving.  Best with Ritz crackers.

Dec6

Crab….avocado…got your attention yet?

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I had this appetizer as my meal a year or so ago at the Saltgrass Steak House while on a work trip in Westminster, Colorado. No words to describe how great it was.  Not sure why I got inspired this weekend to try it, but so glad I did.  I wanted to post with the holidays approaching, as it’s kind of “fancy” but super easy!!!

It’s this amazing stack of chopped avocado, pico de gallo and crab meat, served with tortilla chips or crackers.  I asked the waiter how they got it in this nice cylinder shape, and he said they used a piece of PVC pipe.  Not having that today, I improvised, chopping in half a cup that we brought home from the local sports bar.  Yep….FANCY —

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redneck cup chopped in half sitting on destination fancy white plate

I lightly sprayed the inside of the cup with cooking spray, placed on plate, and then stacked avocado, pico and crab, finishing it with a little chopped parsley.  My concern this entire time is that I might overpower the flavors, so that’s why no additional cilantro.  You truly could taste all flavors.  My wonderful neighbors invited us over for amazing ribs, so this was a great appetizer while the food finished on the smoker, and with a couple of brewskis and football!  (KANSAS CITY CHIEFS WIN BABY!!!)

crab stack

Hopefully you will enjoy as much as we did….it’s  super rich, and also, you can use imitation crabmeat.  I didn’t but it’s probably just as good (and cheaper)!!!

Happy holidays!

~Connie Kaye

Crab Avocado Stack

  • Servings: lots
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Ingredients:

3″ wide cylinder (PVC pipe, plastic cup or other device), as tall as you wish to go with the number of people you are serving

Crabmeat – imitation or real (I throw some crab legs in with seasoning and boil)

Pico de Gallo

Avocados – medium ripe work best so you can actually chop them up

Chop crab and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.  Chop avocados and season with salt and lemon juice to prevent browning.  I do all of it ahead of time and when ready to serve, put together.  Spray inside of object that you’re going to use to construct this beast with cooking spray, then place on plate, and layer away.  You can do it in any order, but I recommend avocados, pico and finish with crab.  Finish with chopped parsley and serve with tortilla chips.

Sep24

Guacamole Salsa

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Love avocados!  Love.  Love.  So I tried to replicate the delicious green stuff that my friend Heather made — I told her we needed a name for it, so she dubbed it “Guacamole Salsa”, maybe because of it’s consistency.  I first ate it at her house on smoked pork tacos.  Yum.  Anyway, I had never even BOUGHT a tomatillo but this was easy and really good.  And a good variation from regular guac.

I simply unhusked my little green friend:

tomatillo

quartered it, and threw it in the blender along with the other ingredients.  I stored it in a plastic container, but before putting the lid on, I laid plastic wrap directly on the top of the salsa then put the plastic lid on.  I’m assuming it might have gotten blechy colored green/brown if I hadn’t prevented air from getting to it.  I’m sharing my recipe below, and next is my hatch chile pork which I specifically made this for.  Try both but you’ll have to get your hatch chiles quick before they’re gone.  Quiz question:  Why are they called hatch chiles???  Click here if you’re not sure and are curious as I was.  Enjoy the beautiful fall weather, watch some football and baseball, and thanks for poppin a squat at my site!

~Connie Kaye

Guacamole Salsa

  • Servings: depends
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Ingredients:

1 medium tomatillo
2-3 medium avocados
1 clove minced garlic
juice of 1/2 lime, more if needed to taste
1/4 cup onion
1/4 cup cilantro

Throw all in blender or food processor until desired consistency.

 

Jul30

Anybody else crazy about avocados???

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Have you ever tried grilling them?  Well, I hadn’t and my biggest issue with an avocado is that I usually eat it before I can do anything with it!  However, you should give this a whirl.

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Finished product!

I halved my little green gems (they need to be pretty ripe but not mushy), removed the pit, and placed them upside down on a hot grill.  Move them around a little to get some good grill marks:

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grill marks galore!

I removed from the grill and dressed with a mixture of Mexican shredded cheese.  Place back on grill (cheese side up, of course), lower lid and let cheese melt.

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Before attacking these little morsels, I added a little salsa.  I was afraid that the salsa, etc., would overwhelm the flavor of the avocado — NOT!!  Oh soooo good!   Thanks for dropping by, and hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

~Connie Kaye

Grilled Avocados

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Ingredients

Avocados, halved and pitted
Shredded cheese (mexican blend or monterrey jack)
Salsa

Place avocados cut side down t get some grill marks, flip over, add cheese.  Place back on grill to let cheese melt.  Top with salsa and enjoy!

Jun26

Bacon Jalapeno Deviled Eggs

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You’ve probably determined by now that we like fairly spicy food.  So, when I ran across an idea to incorporate bacon and jala jala’s into deviled eggs, I thought the idea sounded fab!  And I try new things at strange times of the year – for example, I believe I first made these at Christmas.  I think most normal people make deviled eggs for picnics or in the summer –  not me!  I cook things when the mood strikes!  With the 4th of July festivities approaching quickly, I thought this would be a great time to share.

One trick that you already probably know, when boiling eggs, is once they have finished the process, place them in cold water.  This makes the egg shell much easier to remove.  I actually continue with the cold water and then promptly remove shells.

Mix all ingredients together, then stuff your eggs.  I also like to sprinkle a little paprika very lightly for color when all finished. Refrigerate until ready to eat.  Yum!

bacon deviledd eggs

Photo courtesy food.com

~Connie Kaye

Bacon Jalapeno Deviled Eggs

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Ingredients

  • 12 large eggs, hard boiled and peeled
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1½ tsp rice vinegar
  • ¾ tsp ground mustard
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
  • 6 pieces bacon, cooked, crisp

Cook eggs, peel, slice in half and remove yolks.  Combine all ingredients and stuff eggs.

Jun17

Chocolate Cracker Candy

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We actually call this Christmas Crack because I first made it in December, and it’s really good, and it’s on saltine crackers.  However, give these a whirl and your friend population will RISE!!!!  And if you don’t want to share, keep within the fam and everyone will totally enjoy it!  You can also customize with toppings, but I stick with toasted nuts.  I mean toasted pecans 🙂

I am sure you all have your favorite brand of saltine crackers, but we are cracker snobs, just as I shared that I’m a Hellman’s mayonnaise snob.  ZESTAS.  They are the total bomb.  I used to think that they are all the same, but at the Beene ranch, we consume Zestas.  (they really should sponsor me or something).

So back to the chocolate treats.  I don’t always toast the pecans when the recipe dictates, but in this case, I really do recommend it.  You get a much deeper, nutty flavor.  Just be super careful that you don’t burn them.

AlmondToffeeSaltineCrunch1

Oh so yummy, and you will never believe they are saltine crackers!

This pic shows the batch I made with almonds, but I actually favor pecans more.  However, you can use either and even experiment with other toppings.  (like peanut butter things…which I’m not a fan of, so I refuse to discuss it because this is MY blog) 🙂

I am really pumped up because all the kids will be in my casa this weekend, so I plan to make some for them to take home.  The votes are currently out to them as to what they want for their home cooked meal, so I don’t know what that looks like now.  However, I’ll probably brew up several favorites!  Enjoy!

~Connie Kaye

Chocolate Cracker Candy

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Ingredients:

35 (approx) saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 15 x 10 x 1″ pan with foil, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Arrange saltines in single layer on foil, keeping them as close together as possible.

In large heavy saucepan, melt butter and stir in brown sugar.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir until brown sugar is dissolved – about 3 to 4 minutes.  Spread evenly over crackers.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until bubbly.   Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips and allow to soften for a few minutes.  Spread over top with a spatula.  Sprinkle with pecans and allow to cool briefly.  Refrigerate, until set.  Break into pieces and store in airtight container.

To toast pecans:  Place chopped pecans on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally.