2013 Calendar

(Rita, sorry for the mixup on May, let me know if you would like April or October instead).

**Meet and Eat meets on the third Monday of the month"**

January - Sanna - Easy to transport (ideas for when you need to take a meal to a friend)

February - Amy - Pinterest (you got the recipe from Pinterest)

March - Heather - Cheese (your recipe just has to have a type of cheese as an ingredient)

April - TBD - 5 ingredients or less (enough said)

May - Katie-  Drinks OR Color (half of the group to bring a drink recipe to share (alcohol or non) OR a recipe that contains or is the color that the host pics)

June - Jessica - cake (cupcake, birthday cake, coffee cake, cake pops, etc)

July - Kathy - International (Mexican, Chinese, Thai, or whatever ethnic flair you want to bring)

August - Kietra - Peanut Butter OR Chocolate (your recipe must contain at least one of these ingredients but does not have to have both)

September - Tracy - One pot night (You can only use one pan/pot to make your dish in but don't worry utensils don't count) or Side Dish

October - TBD - Vegetarian (a vegetarian would need to be able to eat your dish)

November - Linda - Movie Snacks (searching for something to munch on while watching a movie, come try some out in the Nelson's movie room!)

December - Night Out at Place TBD by Group to have fun and plan the next year

Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese at room temp

1/2 (1/2 ounce) package hidden valley ranch dressing mix (dry)
1 cup cheddar cheese
5-6 pieces of crumbled bacon
1 tbsp. chopped green onion or chives (optional)
1 tbsp. Sour Cream (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together, then turn it out and shape  it into the carrot shape.

 

Carrot Shaped Veggie Pizzas (makes 8)
Ingredients:
a dusting of flour
1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (8 rolls)*
8 ounce tub Philadelphia Veggie Cream Cheese
1 1/2 cups finely chopped carrots
1/2 of a head of broccoli
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream, whole milk, or egg white

Instructions:

 

Dust a cutting board with flour. Unroll the crescent rolls. Separate them at the perforations. Use a pizza wheel or knife to cut the crescent rolls into carrot shapes. Take the excess dough and cut it into three pieces**. Brush the top edge of the crescent roll carrot with cream, milk, or egg white. Press one end of each of the three excess dough pieces onto the top edge of the crescent roll carrot creating the green leafy part of the carrot.

**I would skip this part and just use the top edge of the carrot shape for the top. They fell and broke off.

So that the carrots don't stick to the parchment paper, sprinkle a light dusting of flour over the area that was brushed with the cream, milk, or egg white. Turn the carrots over and place on your lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Bake crescent roll carrots for 7-10 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool completely. Equally divide the veggie cream cheese and spread it on top of each carrot. Sprinkle finely chopped carrots over the triangle part of the carrot then add broccoli to the top.

 

Your carrots are ready to serve. You can cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to two days. If you want some variety, use orange bell peppers in place of the carrots, and any green leafy vegetable in place of the broccoli.

No bake, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients

• 3 cups corn flakes, crushed (note, I used lightly crushed Crispix as that's what I had on hand)
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter (I used natural peanut butter)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup white corn syrup
• 6 ounces chocolate chips

Directions

1. Heat peanut butter, sugar and corn syrup over low heat to melt. Stir in cereal.
2. Pat into a 8x8 lightly greased pan. (I line my pan with foil and then lightly spray it. When it is time to cut them, the foil lifts right out.).
3. Melt chocolate chips over low heat or in the microwave and spread over top. Cool until firm.

Donut Muffins

Donut Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup white sugar 1/4 cup margarine, melted 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup all-purpose flour   1/4 cup margarine, melted 1/2 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 24 mini-muffin cups.
2.	Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup margarine, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Stir in the milk, then mix in the baking powder and flour until just combined. Fill the prepared mini muffin cups about half full.
3.	Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
4.	While muffins are baking, place 1/4 cup of melted margarine in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of sugar with the cinnamon. Remove muffins from their cups, dip each muffin in the melted margarine, and roll in the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Let cool and serve. Note: My pan only made 20 muffins.

Cranberry Blue Cheese Appetizers

1 Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust (from a box)
1 container (8 oz) chive and onion cream cheese spread
1 egg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (2 oz)
1/3 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, if desired

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 16 mini muffin cups with cooking spray. Unroll pie crust onto work surface. Using 2 1/2-inch round cutter, cut 16 rounds from crust. Place 1 crust round in each muffin cup, pressing down gently to form cup.
2. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese spread, salt, pepper and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Divide mixture evenly among muffin cups, about 1 teaspoon each. Top each evenly with blue cheese.
3. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove cups from pan. Garnish each mini cheesecake with 1/2 teaspoon cranberry sauce and 1 walnut piece.

These mini cheesecakes can be served warm or cold. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator. If you wish to serve them warm, they can be reheated in the microwave for about 30 seconds at a time until warm.

Cheesy Baked Quinoa
1 c. quinoa
2 c. chicken broth
4 oz. (1/2 block) cream cheese
1 & 1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
1-2 t. onion powder
salt & pepper to taste
any seasonings (i.e. italian seasoning, garlic, herbs, etc.), optional

In a saucepan, combine quinoa and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients, reserving 1 c. of the sharp cheddar. Spread into a baking dish (or 4 individual s)Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

 

Salty Caramel Oat Bars

makes approx 60 bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cups finely crushed pretzels
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk, minus 1/2 cup
• 1 (11oz) bag of caramels, unwrapped
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped cashews
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt

How to Make

1. Preheat the oven to 350°
2. Line a 15x10x1 inch pan with foil and grease.
3. With your electric mixer beat butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla until incorporated.
4. On low speed add in your pretzels and flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix in your oats.
5. Set aside 1 cup of your batter.
6. Press remaining batter into prepared pan.
7. In medium saucepan combine your caramels and sweetened condensed milk over medium heat until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth.
8. Pour caramel on oat batter. Sprinkle the cashews, chocolate chips and remaining oat batter on top.
9. Sprinkle your coarse sea salt evenly over top.
10. Bake for 20 minutes until top starts to golden.
11. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
12. When cool lift bars from pan with foil and cut.  Very sticky!

Taco Pinwheels 

Pinterest Recipe from Linda Nelson

• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup picante sauce
• 1 can (4-1/2 ounces) chopped ripe olives, drained
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1 tablespoon onion soup mix
• 8 flour tortillas (10 inches), room temperature

Directions

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth; stir in the cheddar cheese, picante sauce, olives, taco seasoning and soup mix.
• Spread over tortillas; roll up jelly-roll style. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, cut into 1-in. pieces. Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen.

Strawberry Upside Down Cake Pinterest Recipe

Strawberry Upside Down Cake (pinterest)

 

Ingredients

1 (18 ounce) package yellow cake mix, batter prepared as directed on package
2 cups crushed strawberries
1 package Strawberry Jello (6 oz)
3 Cups Mini Marshmallows

 Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F
Spread crushed strawberries on the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking pan.
Evenly sprinkle strawberries with the dry jello powder, and top with mini marshmallows.
Prepare the cake mix by the directions on the box and spread evenly over the marshmallows & strawberries.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes.
Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the pan to loosen the sides, and turn the cake out onto a serving tray.

Store cake in the refrigerator.

Gluten Free

Use a gluten free cake mix for a gluten free version. Keep in mind that gluten free cake mixes are typically smaller, so it may take 2.
Dairy Free
Use a dairy free cake mix and preparation.
Notes
You can make this in a bundt pan. Just adjust the recipe to use only 2 cups of mini marshmallows.
If using frozen strawberries, defrost first.
I recommend using plain frozen strawberries instead of strawberries with sauce