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!

Thai Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray's Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients (serves 4)
*1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
* 1/2 lb. of shrimp
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
* 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (use less if you're not a fan of the hot stuff)
* 1/4 cup honey
* 2 iceberg lettuce heads, cut into quarters and leaves gently removed to make the lettuce cups
* 1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts, chopped (OPTIONAL)
* Juice of 1 lime
* 1 handful basil, chopped (OPTIONAL)

Directions:
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with one turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon.
Add the shrimp and cook until almost done.
Add in the red pepper and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add in the chili sauce and honey and simmer to reduce it and coat the chicken.
To serve, lay the lettuce leaves on a platter, then scoop some of the shrimp mixture onto each leaf.
Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts, lime juice and basil.

Baked Zucchini Sticks

Recipe from: Simply Made with Love
3 medium zucchini sliced into 3" x 1/2" sticks
1 large egg white (I used 1/4 cup of Egg Beaters)
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used Italian Panko bread crumbs)
2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese (OMITTED)
cooking spray
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt
fresh pepper

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, pour Egg Beaters and season with salt and pepper.
2. In a shallow bowl, place breadcrumbs, garlic powder and cheese and mix.
3. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
4. Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumb and cheese mixture.
5. Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer and spray more cooking spray on top.
6. Bake at 425° for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

*These were so yummy and so easy to make.

Rosemary Ranch Chicken Marinade

Recipe from: West Sac Honey

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup ranch dressing
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons salt (only used 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon white sugar, or to taste (Omitted)
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

I marinated the chicken overnight and grilled the chicken the next day. It was phenomenal! The meat was tender and had a great flavor. We will definitely use this marinade again!