Feta and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

These stuffed mushroom appetizers are the perfect party food. With their warm feta cheese and spinach stuffing, they'll be the highlight your party.

Ingredients
1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, defrosted and drained
1 (14-ounce) package large, stuffing-size mushrooms (approx. 9 mushrooms)
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for drizzling
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cooking Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
In a small frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 15 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the spinach, salt and pepper and cook until the spinach is heated through and the garlic is evenly distributed. Remove from heat. Allow spinach to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, combine the spinach with the feta. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and stuff each one with about 1 tablespoon of the mixture. Place the mushroom caps on the prepared baking sheet and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until mushrooms are soft and darker in color.

Pepper Jack Cheese Poppers

Great, fast and easy appetizer!

Ingredients
Vegetable oil for frying
1 cup water
4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups flour
3 eggs
1 cup freshly grated pepper jack cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking Instructions
Preheat oil on medium-high heat in a large deep skillet.
Combine water, butter and salt in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil and cook until the butter melts.
Add flour and stir until mixed thoroughly, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, and beat with a hand mixer. Stir in the cheeses.
Drop dough mixture into the oil by the spoonful; cook in batches until browned, about 3-4 minutes each batch.
Drain poppers on paper towels and serve warm.

Tips & Tricks
Provide guests with a dipping sauce such as a sweet red chili sauce, an orange marmalade, or marinara sauce, to complement these light cheese puffs.

Grilled Pound Cake Sandwiches with Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread & Raspberries

Ummmmm how amazing do these look???

Ingredients
8 slices pound cake 1/4-inch thick
1/4 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread, such as Nutella
1/2 pint raspberries
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Cooking Instructions
Heat grill to medium. On one side of two slices of pound cake spread about 1-1/2 teaspoons chocolate-hazelnut. Top one slice with one quarter of the raspberries and the second piece of pound cake, spread-side down. Brush butter on outside faces of the sandwiches. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Grill 1 minutes turning half-way through.

Substitution(s)
Use sliced bananas in place of the raspberries.

Make it Faster
If you are making these for a crowd, instead of slicing the pound cake vertically, slice it horizontally. Grill the long rectangular sandwiches and cut them after grilling.

Roasted Corn with Flavored Butters

Flavored butter recipes can be increased and used for tons of things -- steak, bread, pork chops, and lots of veggies.

Ingredients
4 ears corn, husked

Cumin-Lime Butter
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon freshly grated lime peel
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Roasted Charred-Tomato Butter
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon fire-roasted tomatoes, drained
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Browned Lemon-Parsley Butter
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

Cooking Instructions
Heat grill to medium-high. Mix each of the butters in small bowls.
Rinse corn and shake off excess water. Wrap each cob in heavy duty aluminum foil. Grill about 20 minutes, or until corn is tender, turning occasionally. Serve corn with flavored butters.

Tips & Tricks
If you don’t have time to get the butter to room temperature, just pop it into the microwave to soften.

Black Bean Dip

You can serve this with veggies or tortilla chips

Ingredients
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup salsa (hot, medium or mild)
1 clove garlic, chopped (optional)
2 tbsp. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
shredded Monterey jack or cheddar cheese (on the side)
assorted raw veggie dippers, such as celery, carrots, broccoli, peppers, cauliflower or whatever you like
tortilla chips for dipping

Cooking Instructions
In the container of a blender or food processor, combine the beans, salsa, garlic, mayonnaise, cilantro and salt. Blend, scraping down the side of the container once or twice, until not quite completely smooth. A little texture is nice.
Transfer dip to a serving bowl, sprinkle with shredded cheese and serve with veggies and tortilla chips.

YUMM!!!!

Garlic Fries

These would make a great addition to any summer meal, and its super easy!

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 large baking potatoes
1⁄2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cooking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Heat the garlic and oil together in a small saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Strain the garlic from the oil with a small mesh strainer. Set both garlic and oil aside.
Cut the potatoes into 1⁄4-inch-thick matchsticks. In a large bowl, toss together the oil, potatoes, and salt. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and spread the potatoes on it in a single layer. Bake until golden and crisp, about 35 minutes.
Remove the potatoes from the baking sheet with metal spatula. In a serving bowl, toss them with the parsley, reserved garlic, and salt to taste. Serve immediately.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Dipped Banana Pops

I know I have been on hiatus from this blog but guess what....I'm back! To kick off the first day of summer (its today!) I wanted to post a yummy easy to make frozen treat to cool you off on the many hot days to come. Enjoy!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Dipped Banana Pops

Ingredients:

• 3 bananas
• 1 cup chocolate-chips
• 2 tablespoons all-natural peanut butter

Materials:

• 9 wooden popsicle sticks
• parchment paper

1. Peel bananas and cut into three sections. Gently insert a popsicle stick into the center.
2. Place on a parchment paper lined tray and place in the freezer while you melt your chocolate.
3. Combine chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium (power 6-7) until melted. Stir with a spatula until smooth.
4. Pour melted chocolate into a tall, narrow glass or container. Remove bananas from freezer. Dip, one by one, into the chocolate, letting it ooze up the sides of the glass and coat the banana.
5. Place bananas on tray again and sprinkle with nuts, if desired. Freeze until solid.

To enjoy: remove from freezer and allow to sit at room temperature for about five minutes. Serve with a napkin.

Cola BBQ Sauce

BBQ season is here and what a fun personal touch to add to your summer entertaining! Make a batch of your own BBQ sauce, then just marniade, grill up and enjoy all season long!

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a generous pinch for the garlic
• 3 cups cola
• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 slightly heaping tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus additional for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, plus additional for seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Directions:

Smash the garlic cloves, sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt, and, with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear mixture to a coarse paste.

Stir garlic paste, the 1/4 teaspoon salt, cola, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire, chili powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, and allspice together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, stir in the lime juice, and season with black pepper and hot sauce, to taste.

Know-How: Barbecue sauces are all about balance: a sweet note offset by sour with a jolt of spice, all of which flourish in a cloud of smoke. There are lots of ways to work this magic-thick, thin, and in-between. Concocting a signature sauce is compulsory in some barbecue circles. Start with this basic riff and play with variations to suit your style.

Cute as a Button Headband

We haven't posted crafts lately so I thought I'd kick off some crafty inspiration with this adorable headband idea I found through oneprettything.com that was created by littlemissmomma.com. Such a fun, easy crafty accessory for summer!

Here's What you'll need:

Headband {great plain headbands @ Target}

Buttons of your choice

Glue gun and hot glue

Ribbon {similar color as buttons and thinner than button}
STEP ONE:

Glue down the first button in the center of your headband.

Working from the center button, continue gluing down your buttons.

STEP TWO:

Now that have finished gluing down your buttons we need to add the ribbon to keep the buttons and glue from sticking to your hair. I suggest using a ribbon in a similar color as your buttons. Also, make sure your ribbon is not wider than your buttons {you don't want the ribbon to show}.

And here you have it:

Cute as a Button Headband!

Lazy Mojito

Well Mojito season is upon us and as much as we all LOVE them they can be difficult and time consuming to make from home if you are entertaining. I found this simple recipe for what I like to think of as a Lazy Mojito that you can make in a big pitcher. Enjoy!

What You Need!

1 pkt. (makes 2 qt. drink) or 2 pkt. (makes 1 qt. drink each) CRYSTAL LIGHT Lemonade Flavor Drink Mix*

2-1/2 cups water

1/2 cup rum

6 mint sprigs

3 cups club soda

6 lime slices

Make It!

EMPTY contents of drink mix packet into large plastic or glass pitcher. Add water and rum; stir until drink mix is completely dissolved.

ADD mint. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

STIR in club soda. Serve over ice cubes in tall glasses. Add lime slice to each glass.