Easy Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip

Here's another recipe that my friend, Barbie, shared with me. It's a Kraft recipe but B always has a way of finding all these fabulous recipes.

This is one of my hubby's favorite appetizers. It's so easy to whip together if you have unexpected company that stops by. Use mild buffalo sauce if you don't want it too spicy or use hot buffalo sauce if you are more daring!



Easy Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip
Source: Kraft

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, cubed
1 1/2 c. finely chopped cooked chicken
1/2 c. blue cheese dressing
1/2 c. buffalo wing sauce
2 stalks celery, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients in medium microwaveable bowl.

Microwave on high 5 minutes, or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is heated through, stirring after 3 minutes.

Serve hot with Wheat Thins crackers, tortilla chips or celery sticks.

*If you have extra time on your hands, you can bake it instead of using the microwave. Either way will taste great!

Pretty Little Brownie Bites

Aren't these A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E!!!!

I check The Pioneer Woman's website every morning to see what her latest creation is. As soon as I saw these I wanted to make them. They just looked so fun!!!! The Pioneer Woman ranks right up there with Paula Deen on my list of favorite chefs.

Check out her website for step-by-step pictures of making these little brownie bites. You can use a box brownie mix if your time is limited. The best part is decorating! Drenching them in the chocolate sauce and then topping them with anything and everything you can find in your pantry. My 3 year old even got a kick out of helping me find things to top them with. I used M&M's, slivered almonds, halved pecans, graham cracker crumbs, a mini Oreo, butterscotch and chocolate chips, marshmallows, Whoppers, sprinkles, sugar, and even toasted sunflower seeds (that was Carson's idea)! Your options are endless!



Pretty Little Brownie Bites
Source: The Pioneer Woman

4 whole 1-oz. Squares Unsweetened Chocolate, Melted And Cooled
2 sticks Butter, Softened (but Not Room Temperature)
2 c. Sugar
4 whole Large Eggs
3 t. Vanilla Extract
1-¼ c. Flour
1 c. Milk Chocolate Chips
1 c. Semi-sweet Chocolate Chunks

ICING/GLAZE
8 whole 1-ounce Squares Semi-sweet Chocolate, Chopped
1 c. Cream, Heated
2 T. Light Corn Syrup
2 t. Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

For brownies, melt 4 ounces chocolate and set aside for 15 to 30 minutes, allowing to cool. Chocolate should not be warm! Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs two at a time. With mixer on low, drizzle in cooled chocolate. Mix until just combined. Add flour and mix until just combined. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and mix for five more seconds. Add chocolate chips and chocolate chunks and mix for just a few seconds on low, until they’re incorporated. Generously grease and flour mini-muffin pan. Scoop generous teaspoons of batter into each tin. (We don’t want the brownies to have muffin tops; try to get them to stay under the top of the tin.) Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until set. Remove pans and invert on a cooling rack. Allow brownie bites to cool completely.

To make the icing, mix cream with corn syrup and heat in a microwave safe container for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Add chopped chocolate to a separate bowl. Add vanilla to warm cream mixture, then pour over chopped chocolate. Stir until chocolate totally melts and mixture is smooth. Add brownie bites face down in the icing. Dunk to submerge, and spoon icing over the top to thoroughly coat. Remove with a fork, tapping the fork on the side of the bowl several times quickly in order to get the excess to drain between the tines. Carefully set on a baking mat or sheet of waxed paper.

Decorate as you wish! Chopped nuts, candies, sprinkles, sea salt…the world is your oyster!



*Make sure you don't fill the mini muffin tins too full. What we’re trying to avoid here is a big muffin top; you want the tops to remain below the surface of the tins.

Zucchini Cookies

My mom shared this recipe with me the other day and now I am sharing it with all of you. This will probably be the last zucchini recipe I post this year.

These cookies are good but not super sweet and dense like the average cookie. They are light and fluffy. They almost taste like a piece of zucchini bread with chocolate chips, only in the shape of a cookie. Very fun to snack on.

Zucchini Cookies
Source: Mom

1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. quaker oats
1 c. zucchini,peeled and shredded
1 c. chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients and drop by spoonful onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Cheesy Zucchini

I went to my parents' house this past weekend. You know what that means......MORE ZUCCHINI!!!!

Zucchini and tomatoes are my favorite two vegetables in the world. I don't think I could ever eat too much of either one. So here's another zucchini recipe for you. It's another one of my grandma's recipes and makes a wonderful side dish.



Cheesy Zucchini
Source: Grandma H.

4 medium zucchinis, peeled and grated
1 t. salt
4 T. butter
1/4 c. green onions, thinly sliced (I didn't have any on hand, so I substituted a small yellow onion)
1 T. fresh basil (I used dried basil leaves)
1/2 c. Velveeta cheese

Grate 4 medium zucchinis. Sprinkle with 1 t. salt. Let stand 5 minutes. Drain, pressing out as much liquid as possible.
Heat 4 T. butter in skillet. Add 1/4 c. thinly sliced green onions. Cook and stir 1 minute. Add zucchini. Stir and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Quickly stir in 1 T. chopped fresh basil and 1/2 c. cubed Velveeta cheese.

Chocolate Chip Blonde Brownies

Here's a really good dessert recipe that I made over Labor Day weekend. It's my aunt's recipe and I've made it many times.

*The recipe makes more brownies than what you see in the picture. After the picture was taken, I then added the 2nd layer of brownies on top. Plenty to go around! :)

Chocolate Chip Blonde Brownies
Source: Aunt Jenny

2/3 c. butter
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 T. water
2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 c. chocolate chips

Melt butter then add brown sugar. Mix together and let cool slightly. Add the eggs, vanilla, and water. In a separate bowl mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Stir everything together and spread in a greased pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Cucumber Tomato Salad

We took my brother-in-law and his family to see the Ann Arbor farmer's market. We ended up coming home with raspberries, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, and 3 different kinds of cherry tomatoes. My sister-in-law made this dish to go with our Churrasco Steak dinner and it was delicious (and healthy too)! There's nothing better than veggies that are grown fresh from our local farmers.

Notice the dark red cherry tomatoes. That was the first time I had ever seen anything like it. They, along with the traditional yellow and red cherry tomatoes were so good. I just love popping them straight into my mouth!



Tomato, Onion, and Cucumber Salad
Source: www.foodnetwork.com

5 medium plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise (We used cherry tomatoes)
1/4 red onion, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
1-2 cucumbers, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
A generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, about 2 T.
2 splashes red wine vinegar
Coarse salt and black pepper

Dress the tomatoes, onions, and cucumber with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Let stand while you prepare dinner, about 20 minutes. Re-toss and serve salad with crusty bread for mopping up juices and oil.

Best Party Sangria Recipe

What a fun Labor Day Weekend it has been so far! My brother-in-law and his family are in town visiting us and I wanted to make my famous Churrasco Cubano Cuban Skirt Steak for them. What's the best drink to serve with a meal like this? SANGRIA!!! This recipe was fabulous. It got lots of compliments and my husband loves it!



Best Party Sangria Recipe
Source: www.wine.about.com

1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
1 Lemon cut into wedges
1 Orange cut into wedges
1 Lime cut into wedges
2 T. sugar
Splash of orange juice or lemonade
1 c. of raspberries or strawberries
1 small can of diced pineapples (with juice)
3 c. ginger ale
1 c. club soda

Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and pineapple then add sugar and orange juice. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale, club soda, berries and ice just before serving. If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice. However, remember that the best Sangrias are chilled around 24 hours in the frig. - allowing the flavors to really marinate into each other.

Here's a picture of the Sangria marinating before I added the ginger ale, club soda, and raspberries.