Easy Appetizers

Hey everyone! We've had a busy week over here at the Brown household! I'll be doing a baby update soon and share pictures from our visit with Jon's family. But until then here are two recipes for some easy and yummy appetizers, just in time for Easter!

I made these for Thanksgiving (when I was 4 weeks pregnant and didn't know yet by the way!) and everyone loved them!


Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Goat Cheese

What you need

- 16 oz cream cheese, softened
- 8 oz goat cheese, diced
- 4 oz monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 4 oz parmesan cheese, grated
- 16 oz artichoke hearts, chopped fine
- 2, 10 oz packages of chopped spinach, drained
(this isn't in the picture because I'm a dummy)
- all purpose seasoning








Directions

- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, reserving about 4 oz of the goat cheese and a little of the parmesan cheese

- Taste for seasoning and add whatever you like (If you want it to have a little kick you could add some cayenne pepper!)

- Spread mixture into a baking dish (I used a 4 quart dish) and top with remaining goat cheese and parmesan cheese

- Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and bubbling

- Serve with GF crackers and corn chips!

Bacon Wrapped Brown Sugar Smokies

This recipe is SO easy and delicious. The guys huddled around the plate until they were all gone! I don't have an ingredient or directions picture because they were BEGGING for these!

What you need (you can easily cut this recipe in half if you need to)

- 2 packages beef little smokie sausages
- 1 package nitrate free bacon, cut crosswise into thirds
- 1 1/2 C brown sugar (you won't use it all)
- 4 T chili powder (trust me)

Directions

- Mix together the brown sugar and chili powder in a bowl

- Wrap each sausage in a piece of bacon and secure with toothpick

- Roll each sausage bundle liberally in the brown sugar mixture

- Bake on a baking sheet (or broiler pan and rack) at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until bacon is slightly crispy

- Serve and watch them disappear!

Have a great Thursday everyone and a very happy Easter! Our SAVIOR is RISEN!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I love hummus! It is such an awesome snack and/or meal and can be eaten with practically anything. The other day at the store, garbanzo beans were on sale so I bought a bunch. I put them in salads a lot but had never tried to make my own hummus. I also had a couple of red peppers to use up so it seemed like a no brainer to experiment with them! What better way than to make my own hummus? This came out really delicious despite not having all the ingredients for a "proper" hummus and it is WAY cheaper than store bought. Do any of you have a favorite hummus recipe?

What you need

- 1 1/2 C garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 C roasted red peppers *see below*
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 T sesame oil (not pictured, sorry!)
- 2 T water
- Salt and pepper to taste








Roasted Red Pepper Instructions
Yes, they sell jars of already roasted red peppers but it's super easy to make your own!

- Rub each pepper with coconut or vegetable oil. Don't use olive oil because it will burn.

- Place peppers on a baking sheet and put under the broiler until they start to blister and blacken

- Carefully flip the peppers over and return to broiler until the other side blisters and starts to blacken

- Let the peppers cool completely before touching them! They will be very hot!

- Gently remove the stem, seeds and ribs and peel off the skin. It should remove very easily. Cut in half and make sure all the seeds and ribs are removed.

- And there you have it! Roasted red peppers!


Hummus Directions

- In a food processor, add the beans, peppers, garlic, cumin, cayenne, water, salt and pepper

- Put the top on and pulse the processor a few times just to get the ingredients combined. Stream in the olive oil and sesame oil until it reaches desired consistency. Taste to check seasonings and adjust if necessary.

- I served mine with GF crackers and topped the hummus with some paprika, parsley and feta cheese. This was my lunch today along with some fruit. Yum!

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Who doesn't love breaded and gooey mozzarella sticks? I've made homemade ones before with panko breadcrumbs and lightly frying them in oil. They were amazing. This time around, I substituted gluten free breadcrumbs and added some seasoning and parmesan cheese. Instead of frying them I baked them and they turned out well. They definitely weren't as good as the memory I have of the gluten-full ones, but they were good enough and pretty easy to make. The husband liked them too!

What you need (makes 24 sticks)

- 12 sticks mozzarella string cheese
- 2 T white rice flour
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 8 T gluten free breadcrumbs (I got Glutino)
- 3 T italian seasoning
- 2 T grated parmesan cheese
- cooking spray









Directions
- Cut the cheese sticks in half and place on a baking sheet. Freeze for about an hour.

- When the cheese sticks are frozen, assemble the dredging station

- Put the rice flour on a small plate, the egg in a bowl, and combine the breadcrumbs, italian seasoning and parmesan cheese in another bowl.

- Roll each stick in the rice flour

- Then the egg

- And finally the breadcrumb mixture

- Place on a foil lined baking sheet and put back in the freezer until ready to bake. The freezing is really important so that the cheese doesn't melt before the coating becomes crispy.

- When ready to bake preheat the oven to 400 degrees

- Spray the sticks with cooking spray

- Bake for 4-5 minutes, then flip, spray again with cooking spray and bake for another 4 minutes

- Serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

Spinach Dip

Hey everyone!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. My husband's brother and his wife came down from Charlotte for a visit this past weekend (such a blast!!) so I was a bit preoccupied! Today I have a really easy, simple and tasty appetizer recipe for you. I made this last night for our community group and I'm pretty sure everybody liked it! (The husband didn't taste this one because he's not a spinach fan) It's really versatile and you could easily add or omit things. I've found that it's pretty difficult to mess up spinach dip. Next time I think I will add artichoke hearts and some red pepper flakes for some heat. Bell peppers and sun dried tomatoes would be delightful as well!

I'll have Jon's favorite Jambalaya recipe up soon also so be sure to check back for that! Happy Thursday to you and yours!

What you need

- 2 boxes of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 5 oz cream cheese
- 1 C sour cream
- 1 1/2 C grated mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 C parmesan cheese (not pictured)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- splash of half & half (or milk)
- salt and pepper








Directions


- Preheat oven to 375

- In a small skillet, heat a bit of oil over medium heat

- Add chopped white onion and garlic and cook 3 minutes (or until translucent and fragrant)

- In a medium bowl, combine the spinach, onion and garlic, green onion, cream cheese, sour cream and half & half

- Mix together until combined

- Add in the cayenne pepper and a dash of salt and pepper (probably 1/4 tsp of each)

- Stir in 1 C of the mozzarella cheese and all of the parmesan

- Put the mixture in a buttered baking dish

- Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly

- While baking, conquer the mile high pile of dishes in your sink. Oh...maybe that's just me.

- Serve immediately with chips or crackers

*NOTE: For a lower fat version substitute low fat cream cheese and sour cream and use skim milk instead of the half and half.