Snowman Cheese ball

Tis the season! :)

MS and I celebrated the upcoming holidays with some friends recently; and I saw the cutest snowman cheese ball idea on pinterest - that I just had to make! I combined two different recipes that I found and the result was absolutely delishness - I will definitely be making this again during the holidays, it was fantastic!

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup of shredded Monterey jack cheese
1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup chopped slivered almonds
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
dash of salt, couple dashes of pepper
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
carrot and peppercorns to garnish

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Divide the mixture into 3 different sized balls - shape and kneed into smooth balls and then coat with Parmesan cheese. Arrange on a serving tray to resemble a snowman; I used toothpicks to help the stability from ball to ball.

Add your carrot piece for the nose, and peppercorns for the eyes - and voila! :)

Enjoy!

Cookie Dough Dip

The name says it all, no?
The perfect thing about this recipe is that there are no eggs; it has the cookie dough goodness without the raw egg - or any egg at all for that matter. I had heard of this recipe previously, and have wanted to try it for quite some time; but without actually trying it myself I wasn't really sold on the fact that it could be that good. But then a few weeks ago, I attended my sister-in-law's stagette and had the opportunity to try it - and have been waiting ever since for an occasion to make it on my own, it was THAT good! :) My friends proved me right as well, everyone commented on how delicious it was and asked what it was made from - so, ladies, without further ado...

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
8 oz of cream cheese
1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup skor bits

Directions:

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over medium heat - stirring as it dissolves. Remove this mixture from the heat and add the vanilla extract - set aside until cool.

In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and the confectioner's sugar for one minute.

Once the butter mixture is cooled - slowly add it to the cheese/sugar mixture and beat again until blended.

Add your chocolate chips and skor bits - mix well and then refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

Serve with your favourite small cookie - honey flavoured teddy grahams and animal crackers work well!

Enjoy!

Mosaic Dip

This is a Moxie's restaurant copycat recipe. It is SO good!! Hubby and I are both huge fans of this dip and order it whenever we have a date at Moxie's, so we decided to try making it at home!

The Shopping List:
1 tomato, chopped up (or a half a container cherry tomatoes)
2 garlic cloves, crushed (I use jarred)
1/4 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup goat cheese (or a bit more if you LOVE it the way we do!)

Mix the tomatoes, garlic, onion and pinch of salt in a small baking dish (8x8 or a bit smaller). Make sure you finely chop each ingredient. That's your first layer. Set aside.

Add the olive oil to a frying pan and cook mushrooms about 5-10 minutes or until tender. Add the soy sauce. Turn off your stove and add the cream cheese.

Spread the mushroom mixture on top of the tomato mixture. Top with the goat cheese (crumble on top)

Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for about 15 minute. Remove and serve with warm naan bread or pita.

Makes 2-4 servings

Nacho Dip with Cucumber ?

Mmm....Nacho Dip! :) This is a very basic recipe; and you've probably had something similar before. I was a tad weery about the lettuce and cucumber in this recipe; however, it adds something refreshing - and the cucumbers are quite delicious. I usually go for the warm dips; but this is a great cold dip!

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cocktail sauce
1 cup medium salsa
3/4 cup diced green onion
3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1 tomato chopped
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cucumber, thinly sliced

Blend with an electric hand mixer, blender, food processor, whatever you’ve got, but mix thoroughly - cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise. Spread the mixture evenly in the bottom of a medium serving dish.

In individual layers, top the mixture with cocktail sauce, mild salsa, diced green onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, chopped tomato, shredded Cheddar cheese and shredded lettuce.


Arrange cucumber slices around the edge of the serving dish. Chill in the refrigerator at least 2 hours before serving.

Garlic Dip - enjoyed with Sweet Potatoe Fries

I'm completely addicted to Sweet Potatoe Fries right now; and have been looking for the perfect homeade dip that could be served with them. This one is fairly good; and quite easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Put the ingredients in a small bowl, combine and stir. You can top it with a little paprika; or chilli powder to add to it's presentation. :)


I haven't found a recipe to perfect the Sweet Potatoe Fries; they always seem a bit soggy, but once I do I will post one for sure! I have one to try that involves egg whites and flour...will keep you posted!