Potato Crisps(NO Fat!)

Hello all! I had another little computer issue, but nothing bad, I'm just not a computer whiz and couldn't figure it out for the life of me.   I'm back though, and ready to share some more delicious recipes!

We all like potato chips now and then right??  Some like them more often then others, but what if we could make them at home, fairly quickly, and without the FAT?! Alright I know you are listening now. 

I had a craving for potato chips the other day, but knew if I went to the store and bought a bag, it would mean bad news.  I'd most likely eat more than the serving size...by a lot, so I decided to make my own at home!  With these not having any fat added to them and potatoes are VERY low in fat(if any at all) anyways, makes these potato crisps FAT FREE!  Can't get any better than that, can it?  My Dad is a lover of potato chips, and kettle cooked potato chips, he was a little leery about trying these, and seeing if they compare, let me just say he asked me for a BIG bag of them! These are THAT good, and if you cook them long enough they resemble Kettle Cooked potato chips almost to the T, but without all the fat!  Try these!



Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Mmmm...garlic cheese biscuits-that's all I need to say right?!  How about I add that these biscuits taste darn close to the delicious melt in your mouth biscuits you get at Red Lobster...nuff said now.  Who doesn't go to Red Lobster just for the biscuits??? They have some pretty good other food too, but man oh man they are good, and these are so close it's not even funny.  Now I can stay home, whip these up, sit on the couch and have my biscuits for dinner...ha just kidding, but that's what I want to do.  These are unbelievably simple too!  I shared(surprisingly:)) these with my family, and they all LOVED them!  Huge hit.  I bet these would even be great at a Super Bowl party!  These definitely don't fall on the healthy side, but it's alright once in awhile, so go ahead, whip these out, and thank me later. :)

By the way, if you have leftovers, store them in a Ziploc bag, or container-throw them back in the oven before serving, and they will crisp back up on the outside, and be amazing.

Say it with me "OH MY GOODNESS!"

Simple Guacamole

Guacamole is a dip made from Avocados, and is originally from Mexico.  It is delicious, and can be made so many different ways.  You can use it as a dip, a topping, a spread(great on sandwiches) or even my mock BLT(BTA wrap) which by the way is made with an avocado cream(with sour cream) which is amazing!  A very popular way to make Guacamole is by adding tomatoes.  We don't do that around here.  When I eat Guacamole, I want a big mouthful of Avocado, and that is what I want to taste the most.  Plus my Husband has sort of sworn off tomatoes for a little while-no idea why, but that is alright with me, for NOW.  If you are looking for a great tasting, quick guacamole, try this out.  It's our favorite!

MmmMMM good!

Plus this goes into my mock version of Qboba's burrito...stay tuned!

Sausage Balls

Good Morning friends! I hope you had a GREAT weekend!  I did! We finally picked out the family Christmas tree, I know, we are slackin' big time!  My family always picks it out together, and this year it took a little longer to all have the same schedule, but we got it!  I can't wait to help decorate it!  Anyone else out there finally get their tree this weekend?? I wish I could see all the lovely decorated trees out there.  It is so interesting how everyone decorates them, with all the fun ornaments.  I love the ornaments with sentimental value. :)  My parent's have many ornaments from when my brothers and I were little kids and made ornaments in school.  They have dates on them too, so fun!  I hope to carry on some sort of tradition with ornaments when I have kids that have grown and have their own tree.
Anyways... speaking of Christmas and getting together with family, my friend and I made these great Sausage Balls that would be perfect for an appetizer while decorating your Christmas tree.  These are SO easy to make, require very little ingredients, and taste awesome.  Whip these babies out for the Holidays and everyone will love them. Plus it's always fun to snack with our fingers right?? Enjoy!



Sausage Balls

Simple and delicious!

Roasted Green Beans with Parmesan Cheese

Why would green beans be so hard for me to figure out how I wanted to prepare them?? I have no idea, but I had these green beans in my refrigerator for quite awhile, while I thought and thought about how to cook them.  FINALLY(just before they were going bad) I found a recipe!  I am SO glad I roasted these because they turned out so delicious!  This is truly my new favorite way to cook fresh green beans!  You definitely have to try these!!

Roasted Green Beans with Parmesan Cheese

Delish!

Ham and Pickled Asparagus Wraps

It's finally time to share a family favorite appetizer!  Like I said before I am required to bring these wraps to every get together we have, especially Thanksgiving. We have yet to get tired of them, and I am sure we never will.  They are SO good.  Perfect combination.  If you make these, be sure to make plenty because they will go fast!  I have a secret ingredient that I tried a while ago.  I made half of a normal batch, and half with the secret ingredient, and the secret ingredient blew the standard out of the water! It disappeared quickly, and everyone decided it was the new way to go, so I have been making it that way ever since!  I'll show you how to make it, and let you in on the secret ingredient!

Ham and Pickled Asparagus Wraps

Please excuse these dark photos.  We made these wraps at 10pm! Don't let these dark photos skew your perception on how delicious these are!  :)

Cheesy Cauliflower Pancakes

I had a head of cauliflower in my refrigerator, and I wondered what I was going to make with it.  I announced to my husband that cauliflower was going to be involved with dinner is some way.  He immediately thought of Cauliflower Pancakes, what a good idea.  I have made them once before, and he loved them.  They are the same concept as potato pancakes.  These are so simple, and a perfect side to any dinner.  If you like potato pancakes you should try these! 

Cheesy Cauliflower Pancakes

So cheesy and delicious!

Cheese and Jalapeno Corn Bread Muffins

 There is a Barbecue joint in Washington that my Husband and I used to eat at that has amazing corn bread muffins.  There isn't anything special about them, but they are just soft, and a perfectly sweet crust on top.  Mmmm they are good.  I need to experiment with corn bread more because I am sure they would be pretty easy to duplicate.  The muffins I made last night were AMAZING but in their own way.  Cheesy and a little hint of jalapeno, just enough for flavor.  They are perfect, unless you are looking for a sweet corn bread.  My inspiration to make these came from A Cozy Kitchen's blog, and you can find her recipe here, On My Radar #1  She makes her corn bread in a cast iron skillet(which I don't have yet...BOO!)  which I'm sure would be awesome.  I decided to follow the recipe on the back of the Albers Corn Meal box, and add in cheese and a jalapeno.  Delish!  I ate two, one after another, before dinner, they were that good!  Try these, you will love them!

Cheese and Jalapeno Corn Bread Muffins



MmmMmmm!

Chili Cheese Dip

Whenever my family has a get together it always involves food, and you can pretty much bet this Chili Cheese Dip will attend.  It has been in the family for quite some time now, and I really don't know who came up with it, but we all LOVE it!  It is another awesome dip for football parties, and it so simple to make.  If you make it, it may end up being a staple at your gatherings! From my family to yours! 
We always make this dip in the crock pot because it slowly melts all the cheese, and keeps it warm through the entire party.  You can make it on the stove top though, and that is what I did this time because I made this at my friend's house, and we didn't need a large batch, and the stove top is quite a bit faster.  You can do either way, but I will continue to use the crock pot. :)

This dip is so creamy, and delicious! My favorite chip to dip in this are Fritos Corn Chip Scoops! MmmMmm!

Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Football Season is upon us, and what does that mean?! Hmm...it means FOOD! Or does is mean FOOTBALL???  Truth is, I don't watch much football anymore, and I think I need to at least pretend I do, so I can go to all the parties with the yummy food!  OR, I can use it as an excuse to just make it at home?!  Yep, okay, I feel better now.  I talked myself right into it. 
My husband is a HUGE chips and dip fan.  I swear he would eat that for every meal.  He is simple though, with his favorite being chips and salsa.  I on the other hand love the creamy dips(go figure) the most.  He LOVES them too, but they take more work then chips and salsa where it's "fridge to face" :) That is how he rolls in the cooking department. Chips and salsa are by far the healthier choice, which is my main reason I very seldom bake creamy dips.  BUT it's FOOTBALL season, so I have an excuse! ;)

Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip

I'm sorry I don't have any "prettier" photos of the final product.  I made this at my friend's house for our dinner get together, and we were all ready to dig in once this came out of the oven! I even had to tell one of them "hands off!" until I snapped a picture. :) 

Broccoli Potato Cheese Soup

Yesterday I had a real craving for some sort of broccoli cheese soup, and I needed to have it ASAP. :)  I have only made it once in my life, but have eaten it from restaurants.  I looked all over the Internet to get a basic idea on how to do it.  It seemed simple enough, so off to the grocery store I went, and picked up a couple things I needed.  I whipped out my own version, and boy was it tasty!!! It is so good and creamy without using processed cheese, or half and half.  Which means it is better for you, and not as fattening.  If you like broccoli cheese soup, you really have to try this! This is for sure my new favorite!

Broccoli Potato Cheese Soup

Oh my this is GOOD!

Pumpkin Butter

PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN! Can you tell what is on my mind?! I can't get enough of that stuff!  I made this amazing pumpkin butter last year, and I just fell in love with it.  It is SO easy, and you can put it on/in anything! It makes a good size batch, so you can experiment with it.  I have a few more recipes with it that I want to try.  It's been a rainy day here today, and what is better than staying inside and cooking up a batch of this wonderful  pumpkin butter.  It makes your house smell amazing.  You HAVE to try this!

Pumpkin Butter

And don't be ashamed to have a spoonful or two right out of the pan! :)

Grilled Zucchini Roll Ups

A few weeks ago while grocery shopping at Safeway, I browsed through the free recipe cards they have in the produce section, and I ran into a recipe for Grilled Zucchini Roll Ups that looked delicious!  I snagged the card, and got all the ingredients to make them.  I made them the other night, and they turned out yummy.  I made them at my parent's house to share with them and my husband.  They all loved them, and they were perfect as an appetizer before dinner.  I didn't want to start the barbecue to grill them because they only take about 5 minutes to grill and the barbecue my parents have is charcoal, so instead I took my little George Forman grill with me.  It was a great idea grilling them with the George, but next time I make them I will use my bigger George Forman grill because it took way too long grilling the zucchini and red peppers.  If you have an indoor grill that would be the ideal way to do this, but if not you can use the George Forman grill too.  Also, my Mom didn't have a vegetable slicer, so I had to cut the veggies with a knife, and I ended up losing quite a bit, because I am not perfect, and my slicing skills didn't work out the best, but I did take a picture of the best way I found to cut a zucchini lengthwise to get the best slices.  If you are looking for a yummy appetizer for dinner or any get together, these would be a great dish to make.  They are very good, and if you have the right tools, and grill, they are simple to make, and fun to eat.

Grilled Zucchini Roll Ups

Don't they look pretty?! So appealing to the eye and the stomach!