Appetizers...

We had our Appetizer and Beverage Recipe Exchange this week. If you missed it, you missed some GOOD food!!! I love appetizers, especially during the holidays. Thanks to our exchange I'll have some new ones to try out.

Here are a few of the recipes that came...Sorry I forgot to photograph most of them. I guess I got busy talking and eating :)

Stuffed Mushrooms

(Heidi Petersen)

4 oz cream cheese, softened

12 oz Hot Jimmy Dean sausage

3 green onions, thinly sliced

50 mushrooms

Clean mushrooms and remove stems.

Brown sausage and green onions. Mix with cream cheese.

Fill sausage mixture into mushrooms.

Bake at 350˚ for 15 minutes

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

(Jan Petersen)

4-5 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup tahini

2/3 cup lemon juice

2 teaspoons roasted garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

5 oz. roasted red peppers

Place olive oil and tahini into food processor and blend until smooth. Add lemon juice, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and blend until evenly distributed. Add the beans a cup at a time to ensure smooth texture. Blend until mixture is creamy. If it seems too dry add more olive oil by teaspoons until it reaches the desired texture. Add peppers and pulse until well distributed. Refrigerate 1-2 hours before serving; taste best if allowed to sit 4-6 hours.

Tapenade

(Christina Peterson)

1 jar kalamata olives
1 can black olives
4 garlic cloves
2 tsp fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
1/4 c olive oil

Blend in food processor and serve with crusty bread.

Cheese Ball
(Rhonda Shurtleff)
8 oz. pkg cream cheese (softened)
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 jar Kraft Roka Blue cheese spread
seasonings to taste (garlic powder, parsley, etc.)

Mix together & enjoy with crackers!

Cheesy Roasted Red Pepper Dip

(Ann Frederickson)
www.ourbestbites.com

7 oz. jar roasted red peppers
4 C. grated pepper jack cheese (3/4 lb)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 C. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. minced onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350. Remove peppers from jar and blot excess water with paper towels. You want to make sure they are dry so they don't add moisture to the dip. Then dice them up.

In a bowl add cream cheese, mayo, onion, garlic and mustard. Stir to combine and then add grated cheese and diced peppers. Place in an 8x8-ish dish (pie plate works). At this point you can either put this in the fridge and bake later or put it in your oven and bake it 30-45 minutes. You want it brown on the edges and bubbly all the way through the center.

If you're eating leftovers reheat in the oven. Apparently weird things happen in the microwave.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

(Natalie Cheney)

2 c. grated parmesan cheese

14 oz. can artichoke hearts

1 c. cream cheese

2 t. minced garlic

1 box frozen chopped spinach

2/3 c. sour cream

1/3 c. mayonnaise

Mix all ingredients together and bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes