Pineapple Meatballs

 

Who doesn’t love a good meatball? Whether they’re served as a main dish or an appetizer, meatballs always seem to be crowd pleasers. I like them so well that, with the posting of this recipe, I will have an even dozen different varieties featured on this blog. These pineapple meatballs are unique in that pineapple is a key ingredient, making them tangy and delicious. I served these as a main dish on top of Hawaiian sticky rice with a side of peas, and it was a delicious meal. Pineapple Meatballs

For the Meatballs:

1 lb. ground chuck

½ c. plain bread crumbs

1 extra large egg

1 T. dried minced onions

1 t. hot sauce

¼ c. whole milk

½ t. salt

¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

 ¼ t. freshly grated nutmeg

 For the Sauce:

1 T. oil

1/3 c. finely chopped onion

½ green bell pepper, chopped

½ t. salt

1/3 c. ketchup

2 T. cider vinegar

½ t. cornstarch

1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple in syrup (reserve syrup)

 For the Meatballs:

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

 

Mix all meatball ingredients together in a large bowl. Form into small meatballs according to your size preference. Place meatballs on a foil or Silpat-lined balking sheet and bake for 40 minutes if large, or 20 minutes if small.

For the Sauce:

In a large skillet, heat oil. Add onion, green pepper, and salt. Cook until tender.  In a small bowl, combine ketchup and vinegar, mix well. Add to skillet. In another small bowl, whisk together reserved pineapple syrup and cornstarch. Add to skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until mixture thickens. Stir in crushed pineapple, and simmer for 3 minutes.

Add meatballs and cook until heated through.

Put into a serving bowl, garnish with green onions, and serve.

 Makes 10 large meatballs or 20 appetizer meatballs.

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Pretzel Dip

 

What I am about to say is going to be controversial, but I am not a pretzel person. Unless they are warm and right out of the oven, I always think they taste like rather dull pieces of bread. In fact, I think that I prefer dull pieces of bread. That said, I stumbled upon some pretzel crisps that I quite like, and thought would go well with this dip that I adapted from one I found online. The pretzels that I chose were sprinkled with that “everything” seasoning, and while they were very good on their own, they were fantastic with this dip. With Super Bowl coming up in a couple of weeks, you may give this some consideration. It helps to make it a day ahead to allow flavors to meld — an added bonus.  Pretzel Dip

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

⅓ c. heavy cream

⅓ c. Duke’s mayonnaise

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 t. Frank’s hot sauce

½ t. horseradish

½ t. Melissa’s minced garlic

3 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

1½ c. shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1 small Melissa’s shallot, minced

Parsley flakes, for garnish

 Place all ingredients EXCEPT the parsley flakes into a medium mixing bowl, and beat until well blended. Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to meld. Serve with Everything Pretzel Crisps.

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Juniper Baked Pimiento Cheese Dip

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If you are anything like me, i.e. someone who enjoys reading new recipes, then you are probably as eager as I am every Wednesday for the food section in the local paper, whether you read it digitally or a hard-copy. And, if, also like me, you are a fan of pimento cheese, have I got a recipe for you!

Juniper, a Southern Table and Bar, in downtown St. Louis offered up their recipe for this zippy, flavorful pimiento cheese that is baked. Like all pimiento cheese, it is easy to put together, and, as I always do, make it easy on myself by using Melissa’s Fire Roasted Sweet Bell Peppers rather than roasting my own (as they suggested in their recipe). One taste, and this quickly rose to my top five favorite pimiento cheeses, in a list that boasts more than two dozen varieties.

Here is my adaptation of their recipe. While this one is baked, it is just as good cold, and has as many uses as you can imagine, including being stuffed into celery, dolloped on top of a burger or hotdog, added to a steaming bowl of chili or tomato soup, or simply as the hot dip that it was intended. Juniper includes pickles among their dippers, as well as a type of bread that is similar to pita or to the Indian bread naan. Choose your favorites here. There is no end to the way that you can enjoy this.

Juniper Baked Pimiento Cheese Dip
Slightly adapted from the original in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Yield: 8 servings (as if!)

1 Melissa’s Fire Roasted Sweet Bell Pepper, minced
¼ pound yellow cheddar cheese
¼ pound white cheddar cheese
¼ cup Duke’s mayonnaise
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¾ teaspoon smoked paprika (no substitutions!)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Crystal hot sauce
1 tablespoon garlic-dill pickle juice
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons cornbread crumbs
2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley

The dip is baked and served in cast iron at Juniper, which helps it retain heat. You may use individual 6- or 8-ounce ramekins for this appetizer. Adjust the timing of the baking accordingly.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF, or 325ºF for glass pans.

Grate the cold cheddar cheeses using the large holes on a box grater or a food processor fitted with a grating disc. Toss the cheeses together in a mixing bowl. Add the diced red peppers and fold into the cheese.

In a separate mixing bowl, blend the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper. Stir the mix into the cheeses. Add hot sauce and pickle juice and stir to blend evenly. Taste. Add salt if needed.

 

Transfer the mixed dip into a 1-½ quart baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove and top with cornbread crumbs. Return to the oven and bake an additional 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly. Top with chopped parsley. Serve with assorted pickles, breads or crackers.

Jalapeño Popper Bread

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Earlier when I posted the recipe for Homemade Garlic Butter (that you all seemed to like, thanks for that), I told you that I was going to be using it in another recipe later in the week. True to my word, here it is! I cannot possibly describe how good this jalapeño popper bread is. It gives you all of the flavor of poppers, without the hassle of actually having to stuff those little peppers. Further, it is a wonderful spread on toast, and an incredibly good dip for apples. I have become positively obsessed with it, having enjoyed it with apples, every night for the past week as a snack. You might consider doubling, or even tripling this recipe. Yep, it’s that good.

Pair it with a bowl of Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup and you have one heck of a hearty and satisfying meal.

Jalapeño Popper Bread

1 loaf of French bread*
½ c. garlic butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sour cream
½ c. chopped Melissa’s Pickled Jalapeño Peppers
¼ t. kosher salt
1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper
2 c. grated Fontina cheese

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a pan with parchment paper or foil; set aside. Slice bread in half lengthwise and place, cut side up, on the pan. Spread both pieces with the softened garlic butter and bake for five minutes.

In a medium bowl, beat together remaining ingredients EXCEPT cheese. Remove the toasted bread from the oven and slather both pieces with the cream cheese mixture; top with grated Fontina cheese. Dot the top with slices of jalapeño, if desired. Return to the oven and bake an additional 8 to 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven, and let stand five minutes before slicing and serving.

*I make this in individual slices using a rustic bread, in this case, Pane Turano from Aldi.

Hot Jalapeño and Hearts of Palm Dip

National Dip Day isn’t until March 23rd, and there isn’t a National Hot Dip Day (Can you imagine?!), but I couldn’t wait to share this delicious hot dip with you. Perfect for the current tailgate season, and upcoming holiday season, it is flavorful, and spicy, and cheesy, and so delicious. It contains two of my new favorite ingredients, pickled jalapeños and hearts of palm, and works equally well as a hot dip with chips or crackers, as it does atop little rye rounds and run under the broiler. You have the option of making it as spicy or mild as you like by either removing the seeds and veins from the jalapeños, or just going crazy and leaving them in. My guess is that this isn’t a wildly used combination, so when you make this you will be unique among your friends. You must give this one a try.

Hot Jalapeño and Hearts of Palm Dip

1 14.5-oz. jar Melissa‘s Hearts of Palm
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup minced Melissa’s Pickled Jalapeños
½ cup chopped scallions
¼ cup sour cream
¾ cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chopped parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9” pie or quiche/tart pan with cooking spray; set aside.

Mix all ingredients EXCEPT parsley in a medium mixing bowl until creamy. Turn into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

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Need another hot dip to try? This Superior Pecan Spread has been a crowd-pleasing family favorite for decades. Even the kids love it!

This post is linked to:

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

What’s for Dinner Sunday

Over the Moon

Smells Good Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Celebrate Your Story

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Spinach Artichoke Dip Cheesy Bread

If, like me, you are a fan of both cheese garlic bread and spinach artichoke dip, then this recipe from Anna at Crunchy Creamy Sweet is soon going to be one of your favorites. I spent the weekend making salads of one kind or other, and figured I needed some cheesy garlic bread to go along with it. While a salad alone is certainly a meal, it doesn't seem quite complete without a roll or delicious piece of bread.

I cut this recipe in half, froze a portion of it, and have every confidence that it's going to reheat just fine. This strikes me as something that would be a meal in itself, or an excellent appetizer for your tailgating or (looking ahead) Super Bowl spread. Give it a try, but I warn you, it is addicting!

Spinach Artichoke Dip Cheesy Bread

Slightly adapted from crunchycreamysweet.com

1 loaf of Italian bread, split in half lengthwise
1/2 cup butter, softened
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
5 tablespoons sour cream
5 tablespoons mayo
114-ounce can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 package Ranch Dressing Mix
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
110-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, and water squeezed out
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together cream cheese, sour cream, and mayo. Stir in artichokes, spinach, ranch dressing mix, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup mozzarella (reserve the rest for topping). Mix until well combined.

Place bread, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Spread softened butter equally over the tops of each. Cover with a sheet of aluminum foil. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven, and top with a dip mix, spreading evenly to coat. Sprinkle the top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Return to oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.

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This post is linked to:

Full Plate Thursday

Grace at Home

Coffee and Conversation

Friday at the Fire Station
Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Create, Bake, Grow and Gather
Share Your Style

Simple Saturday Blog Hop

A Bouquet of Talent

Paula's No Rules Weekend Blog Party

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Baked Summer Sausage with Apricot Mustard Glaze

If you are anything like me, then you probably have difficulty resisting a sale. Recently I succumbed to a sale on smoked sausage. I like smoke sausage, I really do, but I don't think I need quite as much as I ended up with. As I was un-bagging my haul, I thought to myself, huh, what am I going to do with all of this smoked sausage? Naturally, a trip to the web was in order.

After stumbling upon and trying this Apricot and Mustard Glazed Smoked Sausage, I am now wondering if I bought enough. This is so good! Not only is it good, but it's very easy, and look how beautiful it appears on the plate. 

This would work well as a starter, appetizer, or hors d'oeuvre, as you see here, plated with a variety of Melissa's Muscato Grapes, and those addictingly delicious Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips from Wickedly Prime. It would also work well at an evening meal alongside a mound of coleslaw, and hot German potato salad. This is a true fall dish, sure to be a welcome addition to whatever spread you put out for your weekend football parties, or (thinking ahead) Super Bowl. Whenever, or however you serve it, you have to try this. You won't regret it.

Baked Summer Sausage with Apricot Mustard Glaze
From melaniecooks.com

1 12-ounce piece summer sausage
1/2 cup apricot jam*
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl combine apricot jam, mustard, and brown sugar; mix well.

Slice the summer sausage three quarters of the way through (accordion style) into 1/8 to ¼-inch slices, so the slices are connected at the bottom. Place the summer sausage onto the baking sheet, and brush with half of the glaze. Be sure to get glaze in between the slices by using a spoon to do so. Reserve the remaining glaze.

Put the summer sausage into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove from oven and brush with remaining glaze. At this point, the spaces between the slices should have opened up making it easier to get glaze between each. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve as you see fit. It can be reheated in the microwave, if needed.

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This post is linked to:

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
 Homestead Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Full Plate Thursday

Grace at Home

Coffee and Conversation

Friday at the Fire Station
Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Create, Bake, Grow and Gather

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Baked Pimiento Cheese Dip

If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you know about my obsession with pimiento cheese. With the weather turning cooler, I decided to heat things up a bit by making a warm pimento cheese dip. Oh my heaven, is this stuff good! To make things even better, I used, as dippers, toasted pieces of Pimiento Cheese Bread that I made. (The recipe for this is coming later in the week.) With football season upon us and the holidays ahead, this is a dip you are going to want to have in your repertoire.

Baked Pimiento Cheese Dip

1/2 pkg. cream cheese, 4 oz
1/2 cup Duke's mayonnaise
½ 7 oz-jar Melissa's Fire Roasted Sweet Red Bell Peppers, drained
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
1/2 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
Pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In work bowl of food processor, pulse cream cheese until smooth. Add mayonnaise, pulsing to mix. Add peppers pulsing until coarsely chopped. Add cheeses, hot sauce, Worcestershire, salt, sugar, and cayenne, pulsing until combined. Spoon mixture into prepared dish. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve warm with your choice of dippers.

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This post is linked to: Wow Us Wednesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Share Your Style, Coffee and Conversation, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Jalapeno Poppers with Mango Chutney Cream Cheese

Last week I showed you a simple table setting using a dough bowl and a pair of mangoes. After that I showed you what to do with those mangoes, namely turn them into a delicious exotic-tasting chutney. Today I'm going to tell you something you can do with that chutney, namely blend it into softened cream cheese and use it as a filling for jalapeño poppers. 

Jalapeño poppers are a popular appetizer, hors d'oeuvre, Super Bowl food, and easy snack. I don't know anyone who doesn't love these. Me? I thought they could use a little more taste rather than just plain cream cheese and a bacon wrapping, so I decided to take my 8-ounce brick of cream cheese and whip into it 1 to 2 tablespoons of mango chutney before filling the peppers. It was delicious! Not only did I use it to stuff jalapeño poppers, but I also used the leftover cream cheese to slather on top of a bagel the next morning for breakfast -- wonderful! 

If you ever thought about making chutney, but hesitated to do so, now is the time. You simply must make some, and then you need to try these jalapeño poppers. I wrapped each one with 1/2 a slice of bacon, but you may like more bacon, in which case, feel free to use a whole slice, whatever you're used to. If jalapeños are too hot for your tastes, substitute with shishitos or any other mild pepper. This is a delicious recipe that you definitely need to try. Your friends are going to love them, and they're going to wonder why your poppers are so much better than theirs. You have the secret, the addition of mango chutney.

 Jalapeño Poppers with Mango Chutney Cream Cheese

4 jalapeños, seeded and split
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1-2 tablespoons mango chutney 

4 slices bacon, split lengthwise

With a hand mixer, beat together cream cheese and chutney.  Fill jalapeño halves with cheese/chutney mixture, and wrap each with a half slice of bacon. Broil* 6-8 minutes until the bacon crisps. Cool 2-3 minutes and serve.

*If you prefer to bake your poppers, you may do so at 400°F for 30-45 minutes.

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This post is linked to: Celebrate Your Story, Wow Us Wednesday, Work It Wednesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday,  Thursday Favorite Things, Share Your Style, Coffee and Conversation, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else