Chicken Caprese

Recipe from: Keeping Up with the Joneses via Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
2 6- to 8-ounce chicken cutlets, pounded thin
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (eyeball it)
1 vine-ripened tomato, cut into thick slices
1 ball fresh mozzarella, cut into thick slices
24 leaves fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Pre-heat an outdoor or indoor grill to medium-high heat
2. Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Drizzle with EVOO and balsamic, and place on grill. Cook for 2-3 minutes each side. There shouldn’t be any pink in center of breast. Take off the grill and place on 2 separate dinner plates.

3. Top with tomato and mozzarella slices, and garnish with basil, a drizzle of EVOO and salt and pepper.

*Recipe yields 2 servings

Chocolate Autumn Cupcakes

Recipe from: Keeping Up with the Joneses

Ingredients:
Devil's Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup butterscotch morsels
milk chocolate frosting

Directions:
1. Make cupcakes according to ingredients on the box.
2. While cupcakes are baking, melt chocolate and butterscotch morsels.
3. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and draw an 8 inch square (just so you know how much area you need to cover).
4. Alternate spoonfuls of each over the square.
5. Then use the back of the spoon to swirl it together.
6. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until it's like firm bark. Set it out for about 10 minutes so it will soften some.
7. Use small cookie cutters to carefully press out cute little shapes!
8. Ice cupcakes.
9. Place the cut out chocolate/butterscotch pieces on top of the cupcake.

Hot & Spicy Corn Dip

Recipe from Natasha at A Day in the Life

Ingredients:
2 cups Frozen corn, thawed, well drained
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Neufchatel Cheese, softened (I substituted cream cheese)
1 cup Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese
1 can Rotel
1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
1 box Wheat Thins/Triscuit Crackers

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F
Mix all ingredients except chili powder and crackers until well blended
Spread into 9-inch pie plate
Sprinkle with chili powder
Bake for 20-25 min. or until golden brown and bubbly
Serve hot with the crackers

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Recipe from Natasha at A Day in the Life

Ingredients
1 pkg. (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup crumbled shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Ranch salad dressing
2 12.5 oz cans Swanson Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained
1/2 cup FRANK'S RedHot sauce (or any hot sauce)
Celery, chips, and/or crackers

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F
Stir cream cheese in a pie plate with a fork or whisk until it's smooth
Stir in the dressing, pepper sauce, and cheese; stir in the chicken
Bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling
Serve with vegetables and/or chips and crackers for dipping

Baked Crab Rangoon

Recipe from Kendall at Keeping Up with the Joneses

Ingredients:
1 can (6 oz) white crabmeat, drained
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 Tbsp soy sauce
Garlic powder, to taste
Salt and pepper
Won ton wrappers
Sweet and sour sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease mini muffin tins (24 or 36)
2. Place wontons into muffin cups and bake for 5-7 minutes or until starting to brown.
3. Meanwhile, combine the crabmeat, cream cheese, 2 thinly sliced green onions, mayo, soy sauce, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.
4. Fill the pre-baked wontons with the crabmeat mixture.
5. Bake for 3-5 minutes or until warmed through.
6. Garnish with more green onions, if desired. Serve with sweet and sour sauce.

Total Time: 35-40 minutes
Serves: 24 or 36 appetizers

Triple Chocolate Fruit Pizza

Recipe from Kendall at Keeping Up with the Joneses

Ingredients:
1 (18 oz) package of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
2 (1 oz) squares of white chocolate (for baking) (Omitted)
2 tablespoons milk
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup thawed, frozen whipped topping
12-16 strawberries, hulled, cut in half
1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, well drained
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels (Omitted)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape cookie dough into a ball and place in center of baking stone. Roll dough to a 12 inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are set. (Cookie will be soft. Do not overbake.) Remove from oven; coll 10 minutes. Carefully loosen cookie from baking stone using serrated bread knife; cool completely on baking stone.

2. Place white chocolate and milk in small micro-safe bowl. Microwave on high 1 minute; stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Microwave an additional 10-20 minutes seconds if necessary. Cool slightly. In classic batter bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar; mix well. Gradually stir in white chocolate mixture; mix until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over cookie.

3. Arrange strawberries and mandarin oranges over cream cheese mixture. Place chocolate morsels and vegetable oil in small micro-safe bowl; microwave uncovered, on high 30 seconds or until chocolate is melted and smooth. Drizle over fruit. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Cut into wedges.

Total Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes (including cool time and refrig. time)
Serves: 16 slices

Cajun Shrimp and Gouda Grits

Recipe from: Kendall at Keeping up with the Joneses

Ingredients:

3 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 heavy whipping cream
1 cup quick-cooking grits
4 oz smoked Gouda cheese
Ground white pepper (optional)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium green bell pepper
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with green pepper, celery and onion
1 can (15 oz) tomato puree
1 1/4 lb large cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined, remove the tails
1/2 cup snipped fresh parsley

Directions:

1) Grits
Place broth and whipping cream in large, micro-safe dish and microwave, covered on high 3-5 minutes or until hot. Add grits, cover, and microwave on high 4-5 minutes or until thickened. Grate cheese into the grits and stir until cheese is melted. Add some ground white pepper, if you like. Set aside and cover to keep warm.

2) Shrimp
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat 1-3 minutes. Chop the green bell pepper. Add to the pan with the pressed garlic and Cajun seasoning. Cook 2-3 minutes or until bell pepper is tender. Add canned tomatoes, puree and shrimp, cook 1-2 minutes or until heated through. I tasted it and added some extra Tony C's seasoning to give it some more flavor.

3) Serve
Put grits on plates and top with shrimp mixture. Garnish with parsley and enjoy!