Salami Roll Ups

Ingredients:

1 pound thuringer (a type of salami—get sliced from deli counter)

cream cheese

dill pickles

toothpicks

Directions:

1. Spread a line of cream cheese down the center of the thuringer. Place a wedge of the dill pickle on the cream cheese. Roll and secure with a toothpick.

Rachel Ray's Cheese Fondue

Ingredients:

1 clove crushed garlic

1 ½ cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard—more if you want more spice/tang

½ cup apple juice or white wine

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup flavorful Swiss cheese (Gruyere or Emmenthaler)

Salt & Freshly ground pepper

Dipping stuff! Great with honey wheat pretzels, assorted vegetables, French bread cubes, and Granny Smith Apples.

Directions:

1. Rub the inside of a fondue pot with the crushed garlic clove and then discard.
2. Add chicken stock to the pot, whisk in the mustard, and then bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. While it’s coming to a boil, combine apple juice or wine and corn starch in a separate bowl and whisk until there are no more lumps. Once chicken stock has come to a boil add the white wine and corn starch mixture while wisking.
4. Bring that back to a boil, let it boil for 1 minute whisking constantly. Remove pot from heat and stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper, serve immediately.

Holy Guacamole

Ingredients:

1 medium ripe avocado, cubed

1 medium tomato chopped

2 tablespoons onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

juice from 1 lime

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl until smooth, serve immediately.

Cheesy Corn Bites

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese at room temperature

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

1 large egg

½ cup frozen corn kernels

48 scooped shaped tortilla chips

chopped chives or cilantro for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, pepper jack cheese, corn and egg.

3. Arrange chips on a large baking sheet and place 1 tablespoon of corn mixture in each.

4. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until filling sets.

5. Sprinkle corn bites with chives and serve warm.

Chex Party Mix

Ingredients:

6 Tablespoons margarine

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ teaspoons seasoning salt

¾ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

3 cups corn chex cereal

3 cups wheat chex cereal

1 cup mixed nuts

1 cup pretzels

you may substitute any cereal you like—mom always puts cheerios in hers

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 250 and melt margarine in a large roasting pan in the oven.

2. Stir in the seasonings.

3. Stir in the remaining ingredients until everything is evenly coated.

4. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

5. Spread on paper towels to cool

6. Store in Tupperware or large sandwich baggies—this will keep fresh for several weeks.

7 Layer Dip

Ingredients:

3 ripe avocados

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 cup sour cream

½ cup mayonnaise

1 packet taco seasoning

1 can refried beans

1 small can sliced olives

grated cheddar cheese

1 small can green chilies

chopped tomatoes

Tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Combine avocados, lemon juice, salt and pepper and mash until smooth. Set aside.

2. Combine sour cream, mayo and taco seasoning. Set aside.

3. Blend the can of refried beans to smooth them out and spread on a large plate.

4. Top beans with the first two layers.

5. Top with olives, green chilies, cheese, and tomatoes.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

I love artichoke dip of any kind, but I know it's made out of terrible things for our bodies (hello cream cheese!) Cooking Light has this recipe on their site that I've tried and is remarkably good, and a tiny bit healthier.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
• 1 (13.5-ounce) package baked tortilla chips (about 16 cups)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients (through spinach) in a large bowl; stir until well blended. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips.

Pizzettes with Gorgonzola, Tomato and Basil

I got this recipe from the Oprah show, it looks absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:

1 ball (12 oz) purchased pizza dough
5 oz gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
5 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Roll out pizza dough into 1/4 inch thick around.
3. Using a 2.5 inch cookie cutter, cut out 30 circles and arrange on a large baking sheet.
4. Sprinkle cheese over each circle of dough. Top with tomatoes, pressing them gently into the dough.
5. Bake about 10 minutes or until pizzas are golden brown.
6. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper.
7. Serve immediately.

Double Tomato Bruschetta

Ingredients:
6 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 French baguette
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven on broiler setting.
2. In a large bowl, combine the roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Cut the baguette into 3/4-inch slices. On a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly brown.
4. Divide the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices. Top the slices with mozzarella cheese.
5. Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.