Snacks and Dips

One of our favorite family things to do when our children were very young was "Snack Night". We would choose a movie to watch from our collection (or rent one), I would make 2-3 different kinds of snacks, and instead of dinner we would eat our favorite hot snacks!

Bacon-wrapped Hot Dog Bites

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Bacon-wrapped Hot Dog Bites photo

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 9 slices bacon, cut in half
  2. 6 weiners, cut into thirds
  3. 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  4. 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Heat oven to 400F. Wrap 1 bacon piece around each wiener piece; roll in combined sugar and pepper to evenly coat. Place seam side down on foil covered, rimmed baking sheet. Bake 22 to 24 minutes, or until bacon is crisp and golden brown, turning after 12 minutes.

Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Smokies

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INGREDIENTS:

  1. 1 Package of Bacon
  2. 1 Package of Mini Smokies
  3. 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
  4. 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
  5. Toothpicks

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. Cut Bacon into thirds. Wrap 1 piece of bacon around each mini smokie and secure with a toothpick. Combine cayenne pepper and brown sugar and roll each smokie in the mixture. (Note: They can be frozen at this point) Place on prepared pans and bake for 10 minutes. Flip smokies and cook an additional 10 minutes or until bacon is crispy. (Add an extra 5 minutes if baking from frozen).

Cheese n Ham Spirals

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Cheese and Ham Spirals photo

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 1 egg
  2. 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (1/2 of 17-1/4oz pkg), thawed
  3. 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
  4. 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne)
  5. 8 slices ham

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Beat egg and 1 Tbsp. water with wire whisk until blended; set aside. Unfold pastry on lightly floured surface. Roll into 14 x 10-inch rectangle; cut in half lengthwise. Brush both pastry halves lightly with some of the egg mixture.

Sprinkle 3 Tbsp. of the cheese and pepper evenly over 1 of the pastry pieces; cover with ham slices. Place remaining pastry piece, egg side down, over ham. Brush with additional egg mixture. Roll gently with rolling pin to seal.

Roll in jelly-roll fashion to make a 14-inch log. Cut into 24 equal slices. Place, cut side down, on parchment-covered baking sheet. Brush with remaining egg mixture; sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp. cheese. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 12 servings, 2 each.

Crescent Pepperoni Roll-Ups

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Crescent Pepperoni Roll-Ups photo

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
  2. 40 slices turkey pepperoni (regular pepperoni works just fine, however)
  3. 4 pieces of mozzarella string cheese, cut in half
  4. Garlic powder
  5. Pizza sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375.

Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 8 triangles. Place 5 slices of turkey pepperoni on each crescent roll. Top pepperoni with string cheese half and roll up. Sprinkle crescent rolls with garlic powder. Place rolls on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown (this was a little too long in my toaster oven). Serve with a side of warm pizza sauce.

Cucumber Bites Appetizers

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Cucumber Bites Appetizers photo

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 2 cucumbers
  2. 12 cherry tomatoes
  3. 4 oz. cream cheese softened
  4. 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
  5. 3 tbsp. light ranch
  6. 1 tbsp. frozen or fresh dill (I used dill weed)
  7. 1/4 tsp. garlic salt
  8. Black pepper for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

Wash, peel and slice cucumber into half inch slices. Create a little 'cup' by removing insides of the cucumber with a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon. Combine softened cream cheese, mayo, and ranch. Mix it well until smooth in texture. Add dill and garlic salt and mix just until combined. Place all the topping into a piping bag with a star attachment and pipe out about 3/4 tbsp. into each prepared cucumber. If the topping has a hard time sticking to the cucumber 'cup', pat the cucumber dry before piping with a paper towel to remove any juice. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and insert into each cucumber topping. Sprinkle with black pepper, serve and enjoy. These appetizers can be prepared several hours before serving, make sure to refrigerate until ready to serve

Dill Dip Bread Bowl

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No photo yet... :(

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 1 cup mayonnaise (I use 8oz. jar of Hellman's)
  2. 1 cup sour cream
  3. 2 tbsp. dill weed
  4. 1/2 tsp. Beaumonde

INSTRUCTIONS:
Mix above ingredients well. Flavor richens overnight.

Get a round bread loaf (preferred is dark rye, but we have used King's Hawaiian for quite a while now). Hollow out inside. Pour dip into center of bread bowl, arrange pieces of bread around bowl for serving.

Herbed Pizza Biscuits

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Herbed Pizza Biscuits photo

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 1 cup biscuit baking mix, such as Bisquick (I used 2, one was too sticky)
  2. 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
  3. 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  4. 24 thin sliced pepperoni

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, use a fork to thoroughly combine biscuit mix, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Pinch off about 2 tsp. dough, roll into a ball, and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat until all dough has been used. Top each ball of dough with a slice of pepperoni, press slightly to flatten. Bake until pepperoni is bubbly hot and biscuit is golden brown around the edges, about 10 minutes.

NOTE: Watch the time, as I have discovered the biscuits do NOT turn 'golden brown around the edges'!

Home Made Pizza Rolls

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Home Made Pizza Rolls photo

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 1 frozen, thin-crust pizza, your choice of topping
  2. Mozzarella cheese
  3. Italian seasoning

INSTRUCTIONS:

NOTE: Some frozen pizzas are NOT well suited for this - not enough shortening in the dough, etc. You may want to experiment with different types of thin crust pizza first to see how they will work for you!

Remove pizza from box, and allow to thaw completely (about an hour or more).

When pizza is thoroughly thawed, roll pizza into a log on a cutting board, slice about 1 inch thick; put slices onto cookie sheet. Top each slice with a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese and Italian seasoning. Preheat oven per pizza box instructions. Bake at prescribed temp for 10-12 minutes. Serve with a side of warmed pizza sauce, if desired.

Horseradish Deviled Eggs

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INGREDIENTS:

  1. 6 hard boiled eggs (see below for perfect hard-boiled eggs!)
  2. 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  3. 1 to 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
  4. 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
  5. 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
  6. 1/8 teaspoon salt
  7. Dash pepper
  8. Dash paprika

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks; set whites aside. In a bowl, mash the yolks. Add mayonnaise, horseradish, dill, mustard, salt and pepper; mix well. Pipe or spoon into egg whites (I put the mix into a sandwich bag and cut one corner off; squeeze the mix into each egg through the opening). Sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 1 dozen.

Recipe for Perfect Boiled Eggs

Place eggs into a saucepan and pour in cold water to cover; place over high heat. When the water just starts to simmer, turn off heat, cover pan with a lid, and let stand for 17 minutes. Don't peek.
Pour out the hot water and pour cold water over eggs. Drain and refill with cold water. Pour ice into the cold water; let stand until eggs are cool, about 20 minutes. Peel eggs under running water.

Nutrition facts: 1 serving (2 each) equals 146 calories, 13 grams fat (3 grams saturated fat), 215 milligrams cholesterol, 169 milligrams sodium, 1 gram carbohydrate, trace fiber, 6 grams protein.

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

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No photo yet... :(

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 1 box frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed to drain)
  2. 1 can (14oz) quartered artichoke heart, drained, chopped.
  3. 1/2 cup refrigerated Alfredo sauce ( from a 10-oz jar )
  4. 1/2 cup mayo
  5. 3/4 tsp garlic salt
  6. 1/4 tsp pepper
  7. 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese.

INSTRUCTIONS:
In a 1 to 1-1/2 - quart slow cooker mix all ingredients together. Cover and cook on low for 2-4 hrs. Serve with your favorite chips.

Meatball Bubble Biscuits

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Meatball Bubble Biscuits photo

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 1 can Pillsbury golden layers biscuits - each pulled into 2 layers
  2. 10 frozen fully cooked italian style meatballs - thawed and cut in half
  3. 2 sticks string cheese - cut each into 10 pieces
  4. 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
  5. 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
  6. 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  7. 1 cup marinara sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:
Heat oven to 375. Separate biscuits into 2 layers. Place 1 meatball half and one piece of cheese into each biscuit, wrap dough around it and seal edges. Place seam side down into 9 inch round cake pan. Sprinkle with parm cheese, garlic pwd. and italian seasoning. Bake 18-20 min or until golden brown. Serve warm with warm sauce.

Nutrition facts: It's probably not good for you, as these will make you FAAAT. You can eat, but swallowing them is not advised. As my dad used to say, "If it tastes good - spit it out!"

Pepperoni Cheese Pizza Bombs

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Pepperoni Cheese Pizza Bombs photo

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 2 pkgs. Crescent Roll dough (8 per pkg.)
  2. 3 sticks white string cheese, each cut into 8 pieces
  3. Homestyle Ragu Pasta Sauce Thick n Hearty (can use regular)
  4. 48 regular-size pepperoni
  5. Italian herb seasoning

Use a 24-count mini muffin tin

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat over to 350° F. Lightly grease each muffin cup with Crisco (or similar). Open crescent dough all the way flat, lay on cutting board. Press all seams together. Cut in half, then cut each piece in half, then cut those pieces in fourths in order to make 16 square-ish pieces of dough. Stretch each piece out to be a square, and lay each square over each muffin cup. Add 1/2 tsp. of Ragu to each square. Place one pepperoni into each muffin cup, then place one piece of cheese onto each pepperoni, then cover each piece of cheese with another pepperoni. Wrap each corner of the dough square over. Sprinkle each with italian herbs. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

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Pepperoni Pizza Puffs photo

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 3/4 cup flour
  2. 3/4 tsp. baking powder
  3. 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
  4. Pinch of salt (optional)
  5. Pinch of cayenne red pepper (optional)
  6. 3/4 cup of milk
  7. 1 egg, lightly beaten
  8. 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
  9. 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  10. 1 cup cubed pepperoni

NOTE: It really is necessary to have a 24-cup mini muffin pan. The non-stick kind makes life easy!

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the first 5 ingredients; whisk in milk and egg. Stir in mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter, divide it among the mini muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20-25 minutes.

NOTE: May also be served with warmed store-bought pizza sauce.

Pigs in Blankets

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No photo yet... :(

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 1 (10 oz.) can refrigerated flaky biscuits
  2. 2 (5.3 oz.) packages cocktail frankfurters
  3. Mustard

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Separate each biscuit into 2 thinner biscuits and then cut each in half to form 2 semicircles. Fold one semicircle around each cocktail frank, pressing the edges together to seal.

Place "pigs" seam-side down on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until frankfurters are heated through and biscuits are golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Serve with mustard for dipping.