It’s almost the new year. Seriously, where has the time gone?! We have some really low key plans for tonight. Play games. Eat food. Hang out. Try to make it to midnight.

Here are a few of our favorite appetizers just in case you needed some last minute ideas! Enjoy!

BBQ Meatballs

Crack Bread

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Stromboli

Ham and Cheese Sliders

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

– Jill

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I just have to say our hearts our heavy today and we’re thinking and praying for all the victims, families, and friends over in Newton, CT. We spent the weekend praying and just hugging our kids extra tight.

These meatballs are so good. SO good! I know I say that about everything, but this time it is 100% completely true.

This meatball recipe comes from my Aunt Tammy. She’s been making them since forever and I finally got the recipe from her a few years ago and have been making them ever since.

BBQ Meatballs

recipe from my Aunt Tammy

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 lb Jimmy Dean Spicy Sausage (I used ground turkey and they were still really good!)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1- 18 oz. bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with a nonstick spray.
2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and then form into little balls. I usually get about 30-40 meatballs out of this recipe depending on how big I make them.
3. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until done.
4. Put  meatballs on a paper towel-lined plate for a good 5 minutes to drain all the grease off.
5. Put a couple tablespoons of BBQ sauce on the bottom of your crock pot. Put meatballs in crock pot topping them with BBQ sauce. Keep crock pot on low or warm until ready to serve. You can also mix them up a few times to make sure the sauce doesn’t burn to the sides of the crock pot, but I don’t like to mess with them too much.
6. Enjoy!

– Jill

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With the start of football season upon us I thought it would be fun to have a post dedicated to football foods. Doing this has made me really hungry.

Buffalo Chicken Dip– best thing ever. Seriously. I will be making this soon.

Crack Bread– they don’t call it “crack” bread for nothing!

Buffalo Chicken Bites– these are so good!! I really, really love them.

Stromboli– perfect to feed a large crowd. And this tastes wonderful!

Tebow Cupcakes– these were really fun to make, and they tasted really good. You can obviously do whatever color for your team that you want.

Ham and Cheese Sliders– these were on the web everywhere last year, and for good reason. They are fantastic! Perfect for a football party!

Crockpot BBQ Beer Chicken– a yummy and easy dinner.

Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars– so, yeah, these are the best things ever. Seriously. Delish!

Crunchy Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Oatmeal Squares– these are definitely one of my favorite “healthy” treats.

Rosemary and Garlic Slow-Roasted Almonds– easy, and a great snack.

So, that’s what I have for you. I could probably add some cookies, too, but that could be a whole other post.

– Jill

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Day 4 of the challenge. So far, it’s been easy. We have a ton of stuff to eat including a tub of ice cream. Needless to say, Reinman and I had ice cream sundaes last night and it might have the been the best thing ever.

A friend of mine gave us a bunch of veggies from her garden, which was very nice of her especially since the only thing that’s been growing in my garden are herbs (and one red pepper, and a tiny watermelon).

When thinking about what to make with all these veggies the first thing that popped into my head was Ratatouille. It was something new to me, and since Ratatouille is my favorite Pixar movie it really was an easy decision.

Ratatouille was a bit of a pain to make, what with mandolining all those veggies, but the end result was so worth it. The veggies still  had some of their crispness, and the Italian seasonings I used gave the dish almost a spaghetti taste. It was very good, and I will be making it again.

So, what to make with Ratatouille? French bread, of course! And this was probably the best bread I have ever made!!!!

Seriously best bread ever. I will be making this again. Probably tomorrow. The outside was crispy, and the middle was chewy. Perfect.

I should also mention that this French Bread was very easy to make. So, you really should give it a try.

Today on my list to make, to try, is homemade hamburger buns. Wish me luck! Last time I attempted them all I got were hard, round rocks. Blah.

Ratatouille and French Bread

Ratatouille recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen and French Bread recipe adapted from Food.com

Ratatouille:

Ingredients:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp onion powder (or 1/2 onion finely chopped)
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 2 T olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp italian seasoning, divided
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 small yellow squash
• 1 long red pepper
• 1 long yellow pepper
• 1 green pepper
• (I also was going to add an eggplant, but it had gone bad– so if you have that go ahead and add it)
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Put tomato puree into the bottom of an oval baking dish (I used a 2 & 1/2 qt dish). Drop in the minced garlic, onion, 1 T olive oil, 1/2 tsp italian seasoning, and season the sauce with salt and pepper.
3. Trim the ends of the zucchini and squash. As carefully as you can, trim the ends off the peppers, and take out the core, making sure to leave the edges intact.
4. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, cut the zucchini, squash, and peppers into very thing thin slices, about 1/16-inch thick.
5. On top of the tomato sauce, arrange the veggies from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a little bit of each surface is visible, alternating the vegetables.
6. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil on top, along with more salt and pepper, and sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top of all of that.
7. Cover the dish with a piece of parchment paper that’s cut to fit the inside.
8. Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling up around the veggies, and you can see the veggies are done but not totally limp. I think I baked mine around 45 minutes.
9. Enjoy immediately!

French Bread
(makes enough for two loaves)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups warm water
• 1 T yeast
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 5-5 1/2 cups bread flour

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water and sugar in a large bowl. Allow yeast to proof or foam, about 10 minutes.
2. Add oil, salt, and 3 cups of flour; beat for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in 2 cups of flour to make a stiff dough.
4. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
5. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour.
6. Punch down and divide in half.
7. Shape dough into two long, slender loaves.
8. Put parchment paper on a large baking sheet, and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves on pan and cut three large gashes on top of each loaf.
9. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
10. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. You can spray water on the loaves while baking to get a really crispy crust. (I did this twice.)
11. Enjoy!

– Jill

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Pizza+Scones=Perfection!

These scones are full of mini pepperoni, cheddar cheese, and mozzarella cheese. With these, you have yourself a portable pizza-like concoction. Pretty much perfect, I say.

We had these for lunch with a salad and some fruit, but I think these would be nice as a side or appetizer, and they are perfect dipped in some pizza sauce.

Pepperoni Pizza Scones

recipe slightly adapted from Lauren’s Latest

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 T sugar
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/3 cup butter, cold
• 1 & 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 4 oz. package mini turkey pepperoni
• 1 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix all your dry ingredients together. Grate in cold cheese, and then mix until you have a coarse, crumbly mixture.
3. Stir in pepperoni and cheeses.
4. Stir in milk until everything is moistened.
5. Put dough on a lightly floured surface, and knead a few times. Then pat your dough down in a circle until it’s about 1 & 1/2-inchs thick. Transfer dough to lined baking sheet, and cut into 8 wedges.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
7. Serve with pizza sauce, and enjoy!

– the Jilb

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I made this dip for the birthday party last week, and it was a huge hit. I probably should have doubled the recipe. Next time I make this, I’ll definitely do that.

This dip has crunchy bacon, chives, lots of cheese, and sour cream. You really can’t beat that combination. This went perfect with some chips or I bet it would even taste good with some waffle fries.

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

recipe from My Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 16-oz sour cream
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup fresh chives, chopped
• 2 tsp hot sauce (I forgot to add this in, but I bet it would be good!)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, add all your ingredients and mix until well-combined. This is best kept in the fridge until you eat it.
2. Enjoy!

– the Jilb

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The first time I made these were way back in November when the Baby had her first birthday. They were a huge hit, and went very fast so I’ve been meaning to blog about them, but only got to it now. Time sure goes by fast!

These were a little time consuming to make, but easy. I’m coming to realize that I really enjoy spending time in the kitchen, and eating making things. This recipe was right up my alley. The kids loved them, and so did we!

These would be great for a party, for a snack, or for us in this case, for dinner! They’re best eaten right after they’re baked, but you can always reheat them if needed and they’re still pretty tasty.

And they go great dipped in mustard!

Ham and Cheese Pretzel Bites

recipe slightly adapted from Emily Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
• 2 T + 1 tsp packed brown sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup warm tap water
• 1 cup warm skim milk
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 & 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (or you could do all white whole wheat flour if you wanted)
• 3 oz finely diced deli ham
• 2 oz sharp cheddar cheese
• 6 c water
• 4 tsp baking soda
• 3 T butter, melted
• kosher salt, to taste
• olive oil or cooking spray

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast and 1 tsp brown sugar. Let sit for about 7 minutes or until mixture is foamy. If it doesn’t foam, that means your yeast isn’t activated and you’ll have to start over (which is really no biggy).
2. In a small bowl, pour your warm milk over the remaining 2 T of brown sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the milk mixture to the foamy yeast mixture, and then add your flour. Stir until combined.
3. On a well-floured surface knead your dough for a minute or two. Form dough into a ball and put in a large bowl that has been coated with cooking spray or olive oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit for 2 hours until your dough has doubled in size.
4. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
5. Split dough into 4 even-sized balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll out of the dough balls into a 12×4 inch rectangle, with the long side facing you. On the bottom third of the dough, sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese along with 1/4 of the ham. Starting with the side towards you (filled with ham and cheese), tightly roll dough over the filling into a tube shape and seal down edges. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces and then place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients. Let pieces sit, uncovered for about 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
7. In a medium pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and mix in the baking soda. Using a slotted spoon, add the pretzel bites a few at a time to the water. Boil for 20 seconds, flipping halfway through. Use the slotted spoon to drain excess water off and return pretzel bites back to the lined baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the pretzel bites.
8. Bake the boiled pretzel bites for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt, and enjoy!
9. If you want to reheat these, bake at 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until warm.

– the Jilb

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