A Fruity Twist on Rolls and Butter

Being a very picky eater when I was young always made holiday dinners with the family a challenge. Often times, the only thing I knew for certain that I would eat was whatever rolls were being served.  Thanksgiving was turkey, rolls, some cut veggies and a scoop of this or that to be polite. Rolls helped me stomach ham at Easter as I don't hate it but I don't love it either.I could just pretend it was a mini ham sandwich! But, I digress. I picked the following recipe as another opportunity to add some produce to the meal. The apple is a sweet and tasty surprise!

Apple Biscuits

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter, cut in small pieces       2 c. self rising flour        1 tbsp. sugar           pinch of salt
1 apple, chopped                              1 egg, beaten                2 tbsp. molasses     5 tbsp. milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
3. Sift flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
4. Rub in the butter with your fingers until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
5. Stir chopped apple into mixture until just combined.
6. Mix together beaten egg, molasses and milk. 
7. Add to dry ingredients to form a soft dough.
8. Roll dough to 3/4 inch thick.
9. Cut out 8 biscuits.
10. Arrange on baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.
11. Transfer to cooling rack.

Tomorrow's recipe will give you a break in labor - it's a crock pot recipe that you can set to go early in the day and forget about it.

As always, have fun!

Grab Your Dip in Bite Size Pieces

Do you often struggle when you make a dip, wondering what you should serve with it? Bread? Crackers? Vegetables? Chips? Well here's a thought ... why not build your dip and your "dipping stick" together so that it's just one easy bite at a time? 

I'm sure at some point you've had a monkey bread. This is a different spin on that ... rather than a sweet breakfast bread, this recipe is a savory appetizer that you can serve at any dinner party or even just as a standalone munchie on a Sunday afternoon. And, just think, you could even dip it in some of that homemade tomato sauce that you made and froze so many months ago. It's the gift that keeps on giving!

Spinach Dip Pull Aparts

Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened              2 minced garlic cloves        1/4 tsp. pepper
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry                1/2 c. mozzarella
1/4 c. parmesan cheese                       1/4 c. mayo                         2 tubes buttermilk biscuits

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, garlic and pepper.
3. Stir in spinach, cheeses and mayo.
4. Separate biscuit dough.
5. Cut each biscuit in half horizontally.
6. Wrap each half around 1 tbsp. of spinach mixture, pinching to seal and form a ball.
7. Layer in a greased 10 inch fluted tube pan.
8. Bake 45-50 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Cool in pan 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate.
10. Serve warm with marinara sauce if desired.

As always, have fun!

Super Bowl Jalapeno Popper Pulls

I'm sure you have heard of monkey bread, that sweet and sticky bread pieces baked with cinnamon. How about a version of that bread that is savory and not sweet? A bread that tastes just like a delicious jalapeno popper? Well here it is!

Ingredients:

2 cans of biscuits     8 oz cream cheese     2 tbsp jalapeno juice     1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c. diced jalapenos     3 tbsp. bacon bits     1 c. your favorite shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Chop biscuits and layer in a bundt pan.
2. Mix cream cheese, jalapeno juice and garlic powder.
3. Spread on biscuits.
4. Sprinkle jalapenos and bacon bits.
5. Continue layers until full and top with shredded cheese.
6. Bake at 350 for however long the biscuit container suggests.

This dish is best served warm. Get it prepped before game time and then you can put it in the oven whenever a timeout hits right. You can spice it up or down based on your preference. I use pepper jack cheese to add to the flavor. I know lots of people say carbs should be eliminated but I just can't resist them!

As always, have fun!