Roasted Red Pepper Dip

This is another Best Bites and really really good stuff. Great for parties and munchies!

1 of roasted red peppers (about 1 c. chopped
3/4 cup mayo
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
2 T. minced onion
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 T. Dijon mustard
12 oz. pepper jack cheese-shredded

Preheat oven to 350. Blot all excess water from peppers really well. Dice. Combine mayo, cream cheese, onion, garlic and mustard. Add cheese and peppers.
Once this step is done, you can cover it and leave in fridge for 2-3 days- which is great!
Place in oven and bake 30-45 min. Remove when golden and bubbling. Serve hot with chunks of good french bread and cubes of good bagel or veggies.

Strawberry Bruschetta

I tried this recipe from Our Best Bites. You can add additional fruit such as kiwi, mango etc. I had strawberries on hand, so that's what I used. These are very very good, I fixed them as breakfast for company. These are especially wonderful when fruit is in full season...

Ingredients:
1 baguette of best quality french bread
1 1/2 cups diced strawberries (about 10)
1 med. mango and 3 kiwis or any other fruit

Orange Honey Creme Sauce:
4 T. melted butter
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 cup sour cream
3 T. honey
1 t. orange zest

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and slice bread into 1/2 inch pieces. Put on sheet pan in single layer and brush each with melted buter. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the tops. Bake 10-12 minutes. To make sauce combine all ingredients and put in fridge. If using several fruits, combine and top the bread with fruit. Drizzle with sauce and serve immediately.

Pumpkin Trifle

This has to be one of the easiest recipes and is totally amazing. I served these for a stake primary leadership dinner. You can make the trifle in a glass bowl or individually. I just used clear solo plastic cups for fast clean up. This is sinful and yummy. It reminds of England's sticky toffee pudding. It's deceivingly light tasting.

Ingredients:
1 loaf Pumpkin Bread- make or buy
1 quart heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
Caramel ice cream topping sauce
Toffee bits

Whip cold cream and add in 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar and 1 t. vanilla. Set aside. Create trifle by layering ingredients. Cube pumpkin bread and place half in bottom of dish or cups. Drizzle caramel sauce liberally over cubes. Sprinkle some toffee bits over bread and caramel. Spread a generous layer of whipping cream. Repeat and garnish as desired.

Stake Primary Leaderhip Dinner

November Dinner, lots of food and good company!

ShayLynn's Salad

My sister in law ShayLynn made this salad and I missed tasting it. Elise said it was her favorite. ShayLynn was nice enough to share the recipe and now we make it all the time. It's great with grilled chicken for dinner.

Salad:
1 -2 heads romaine- shredded
Grilled chicken or rotisserie
Sugar Almonds: Mix 1/2-1 cup sugar with 2 T. water. Stir in 8 oz. slivered almonds and toast in oven or in a pan.
1 pkg. bacon, cooked and broken
1 pkg. craisins
1-2 cups grated motz. cheese

Dressing:
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup sugar or splenda
1/2 cup oil
1/2 T. dry mustard
1 red onion- sliced or minced
S&P
Mix dressing and adjust sugar and vinegar and seasonings to taste. Add in onion. This recipe makes a lot, but it's easy to half. If you are like me, you can add more nuts etc.. too!

Meghan's Salad

I call this Meghan's salad, because she made it, I loved it, and she gave me her recipe! I make it a lot. Meghan is an amazing cook and always has killer salad recipes.

Salad:
Croutons
Lettuce-chopped
1 cup or more swiss cheese (I sometimes substitute Italian blend shredded cheese)
Toasted almonds- as much as you like, the more the better
1 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 pound bacon
1/3 cup freshly grated parm cheese
Throw everything together, add what you like. Even grilled chicken is good added to this.

Dressing:
1/4 - 3/4 olive oil
juice of fresh lemon
3 cloves of fresh garlic
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
dash of splenda or sugar (opt)

Hot Baked Cheese Dip

This is a fun and different hot dip. It has green chilies in it and bacon, which is always a good idea. I made this for Thankgiving and really loved it. It's good with sourdough bread cubes and crackers.

Ingredients:
8oz cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
16 oz. cheddar cheese, grated (sharp is best)
4 oz. chopped green chillis in the can
chopped green onion (to your taste)
1 c. chopped ham
1/2 lb. chopped bacon (I used turkey bacon-- I don't know why) ;)
1 round loaf hollowed out
bread cubes and crackers

Mix first seven ingredients together and put in hollowed bread. Bake at 350 uncovered for 1 hour. Serve with bread and crackers. Heat back up well the next day.