Cheese Balls and Chili Mayo Dip

While browsing Pinterest.com I found this recipe for Cheese Balls. They weren't exactly what I had expected but they were amazing none the less. The guys loved them so they must have been good. If I had any more than 3 people at the house there would have been a second batch made. This recipe allowed me to make exactly 24 1-inch balls. Enough rambling, here is the recipe.

For the Cheese Balls
8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (I used shredded)
1/4 cup finely diced sweet onion, like Vidalia
1 cup dry unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
vegetable oil for frying

For the Mayonnaise
1/4 cup mayonaise (I use Hellman's)
1 1/2 Tablespoons chili sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Tabasco to taste, optional (but good)
Ground cayenne pepper to taste, optional (but good)

For the Chili Mayonnaise

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chili sauce, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper.  Stir until smooth.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Mayonnaise can be made up to one day in advance.

For the Cheese Balls

In a medium bowl, combine the cheese, onion, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, and eggs until thoroughly mixed.  Roll the mixture into balls about 1-inch in diameter.  Place the balls on a wax or parchment paper lined cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to fry. The cheese balls can be prepared to this point up to three hours in advance. 

In heavy medium frying pan, heat 2 inches of oil to 375º F.  Carefully place four balls at a time in the hot oil.  (Adding too many balls at time will reduce the oil temperature).  After 30 seconds, gently nudge each ball with the side of a spoon/skimmer to loosen from the bottom.  Allow the balls to fry for another 1-1 1/2 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove the balls from the oil and drain on a paper towel lined plate or baking sheet.  Keep warm in a 200º F oven until ready to serve.

To serve, dip a cheese ball into the chili mayonnaise then dash it with a drop or two of Tabasco or cayenne pepper.  Enjoy! They are definitely not the healthiest thing you could put in your mouth but so worth it for a weekend cheat day!

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Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza

This is a follow up post from my last blog Homemade Garlic Parmesan Pepperoni Pizza

Tonight I tried BBQ Chicken Pizza... That was AMAZING! Here is what I did.

Ingredients
Pizza dough (check link above)
3 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped (makes enough for 2 pizzas)
Mozzarella cheese
BBQ Sauce
Ragu Roasted Garlic and Parmesan sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Olive Oil
Salt

Saute the Chicken in Olive Oil. Lightly Salt. When the Chicken is half-way done add a good amount of Worcestershire sauce and continue cooking until cooked. Let the Chicken rest on paper towels to absorb the remaining oil while you prepare the crust and other toppings.

In a small bowl add about 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce and about 1/8 cup of Garlic and Parmesan sauce. (You don't have to add the Garlic and Parmesan sauce but I liked it. Just add a little more BBQ sauce.) Set aside.

Roll out the Crust on a pizza stone. Spread your sauce and add cheese to your liking. Toss on half of the cooked Chicken and press evenly into the dough.

Cook for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

This one is definitely my favorite so far! Sorry for not having any pictures this time around, the pizza went too fast. It was gone before the second one came out. Definitely a hit!

Homemade Garlic Parmesan Pepperoni Pizza

I have always wondered about making homemade pizza. I've heard my family rave about my Grandmothers pizza that she used to make with her "Secret" recipe... that she no longer remembers. Go figure :\ I set out on the hunt for a pizza dough recipe and finally found one that seemed like it would be pretty good and had excellent ratings. The ratings were correct. That was the best pizza I have ever had! And... drum roll please... here is the recipe for the delicious pizza I made tonight!

Ingredients
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.

Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.

Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

The specific toppings I used on this pizza was Ragu's Garlic Parmesan sauce (pictured below) with shredded Mozzarella cheese and Pepperoni. I am not a fan of the tomato sauce on pizza because being the Mother of a 2 year old I've learned the hard way that tomato based products leads to some pretty wicked diaper changes. And not only that, it gives the pizza a much lighter taste that I find enjoyable.

Being a first time pizza maker I haven't experimented much but that will change in the near future! I'm thinking a BBQ Chicken Pizza! You will know what I decide to make because it will be posted. Keep checking back for updates!

Stuffed Mushrooms

I used this recipe for the first time tonight and it was Delicious! I found it on AllRecipes.com. I expected it to be a lot heavier but it was actually pretty light. Well enough of my rambling, try them for yourself!

Ingredients

• 12 whole fresh mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool. 


When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. 

Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

Delicious!!!

Easter Cupcakes!

This was a very time consuming dessert but it was well worth it! So prepare to set a day aside for these!

Ingredients
1 box of White cake mix (and needed ingredients)
2 cups Butter cream icing (approx)
50 Regular Tootsie rolls
1 bag of Flavored Tootsie rolls (Vanilla, Cherry)
1 pack of Starburst (Strawberry)
1 bag of SweetTart jelly beans
Green icing dye
Food coloring (I used 4 neon colors)
Black edible ink pen
Icing bag
Grass icing tip
Toothpick

Mix the cake mix according to the package directions. Pour the mixture evenly into 4 containers. Die each container a different color and mix until the color is consistent.

Spoon the first color evenly into 24 cupcake liners. Start with very small amounts until you know how far each color will take you. I would say about a tsp per cupcake per color. Continue will all colors.

Bake according to package directions. The results are awesome! You don't have to use all the colors, but I liked the added surprise :)

While the cupcakes are baking you can get the icing ready. You can either buy the icing already made or make your own. Either way, take about 2 cups of white icing and dye it green using icing dye. I use Wilton brand because Wilton is just awesome like that :) Once it is mixed well put all the icing in an icing bag with a grass tip and once the cupcakes are finished and cooled you can dab away until your cupcake is nice and green. Set them aside until later.

Now for all the prep work... rolling out the Tootsie rolls. I am giving you the instructions to make 12 bunny heads and 12 bunny butts. If you want all heads or all butts then you'll need to edit the instructions a bit.

For the Head:
You will need 24 balls using the entire Tootsie roll (chocolate ones). This will be the head. Set half of them aside for the butts. You only need 12 for the heads.

You will need to roll 24 cylinders using 1/3 of the Tootsie roll. These will be the ears. You can roll into balls but I find it easier to just flatten the cylinders into ears when it comes time to decorate.

You will need 48 cylinders using 1/4 of the Tootsie roll. These will be the front paws. Set half of them aside for the feet of the Butt version. You only need 24 to make the Heads.

Roll out a piece of Starburst for the pink in the ears (also used for feet on the the butt version). You will have to knead it a bit first to loosen it up. Afterwards just roll it out into a thin "worm." You want it to be a little thicker than a tooth pick and a little less than an inch long. You will need 24 of these.

Before you put this aside tear off tiny amounts to roll into 1mm balls. Once flattened these will be the nose. You will need 12. I switched half way through and made the noses out of the Cherry Tootsie rolls instead. They stood out a little more but I think I prefer the softer look of the Starburst better. Try them both out to see what you prefer.

Next take a Vanilla Tootsie roll and tear off enough to roll a ball 3mm in diameter. When you flatten these out later it will be used to define the nose portion of the face. You will need 12 of these.


For the Butts:
You should already have 12 large balls set aside from the heads. These will be the butts.

You should also already have 24 cylinders made using 1/4 the Tootsie roll that were set aside. These will be the feet.

Grab the Starburst that you rolled out earlier. We will be making some more. Make sure it is a little thicker than the width of a tooth pick. This time instead of cutting 1inch pieces we will be cutting half inch pieces. You will need 24 of these.

Finally, grab the Vanilla Tootsie rolls. Roll out 12 balls. Each should be about a centimeter in diameter. About the width of your pinky finger. These will be the tails.

After getting half way through making these I discovered it is a LOT easier if you refrigerate the large balls first. All 24 of them them. They tend to lose their form when you're adding the other parts to it. Refrigerating them keeps them harder longer. Only take them out 2 at a time if you use this technique. Otherwise they soften before you get to them.

For the Heads:

Lightly flatten out four 1inch pink "worms", and two small white balls.

Slightly wet the back of the flattened pink worms and stick them to the cylinder ears, flattening and shaping the cylinders into ears in the process. The bottom of the ears should be a little thinner and narrower than the top.

Shape 4 of the feet into long flat rectangles, allowing for one of the ends to be thicker and wider than the other. This will be the front end. Take a tooth pick and lightly press into the large end to make toe impressions. You should make 2 impressions, which will give the look of 3 toes.

Finally take out 2 refrigerated heads and attach one of the ears by pressing and carefully spreading the thinner portion of the ear to the back of the head. Repeat with the second ear. 

Next add the feet using the same technique.

Take the flattened white ball and place it on the face just above the feet and press lightly around the edges to make sure it won't come loose.

Grab one of the noses and press it on the white portion you just added. Now you're almost there!

Finally, grab the black edible ink pen and draw to black dots for eyes.

Repeat this until you have made 12 Bunny heads.

You're done with your first Tootsie roll bunny! Now add a dot if icing to the center of a cupcake and stick him in place and put him back in the fridge. I find if they sit out too long the ears get floppy if they were made too heavy. I kept mine refrigerated until I needed them.

For the Butts:

These are a lot easier than the heads. So these will go a lot quicker.

Lightly flatten out four of the half inch pink worms. 

Lightly wet the back side and stick it to one of the smaller cylinders, slightly flattening as you go. These feet shouldn't be as long as the others. So make these short. Make one end of the foot slightly wider than the other. This is the end with the toes. There is no need to add the toothpick indentions to these. Do this will all four worms.

Take out two of the refrigerated balls and place the feet on the top with the toes pointing down. Take one of the larger white balls you rolled out earlier and place at the heel of the feet. It's okay if it's not perfectly round anymore. I flatten the tip of my tails just a little on purpose. But it's a preference.

Finally, add a dot of green icing to the center of a cupcake and stick him on there. And you have now completed your first Bunny Butt! Congrats! Haha. Now keep going. You have plenty more to do!

Once all is finished take the jelly beans and place three different color beans on each cupcake for eggs. I use the SweetTart jelly beans because most of the others are either transparent or too large and makes the bunny look out of proportion. You can use what you like.

Monkey Bread

This is a fun and simple dessert. Some people use it for breakfast, either way works! This is what you need...

Ingredients:
4 8-count rolls of Pillsbury Biscuits
4 cups Sugar (more or less, depending)
3 sticks of Butter (more or less, depending)
Cinnamon
Cooking Spray
Bundt pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Start by cutting each biscuit into quarters.

Melt one stick of butter in a microwave safe bowl. In a separate bowl add approx 2 cups of sugar and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon. Mix well. Grease a bundt pan well with cooking spray and set to the side. Starting coating each biscuit quarter in butter, then in the sugar mixture, melting more butter as needed.

Place in the Bundt pan. Continue until all biscuits are coated and Bundt pan is full. Add more sugar and cinnamon as needed using 1 tablespoon of cinnamon per cup of sugar.

Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until dark brown.

Note: The last two times I made this according to these directions the biscuits didn't cook at the bottom and I ended up dumping them out onto a cooking sheet to finish baking. I didn't actually use a bundt pan but a similar pan and that may or may not have had something to do with it. Every recipe I find has the same baking temperature and time as this one, so the pan may be the problem. I will update this post once I figure out the error. Below is the pan you should use for this recipe.

Cake Pops

These are the most miraculous desserts around! At least I think so. They are so cute and very sweet. They are simple to make, just take a little time. If you try these get back to me and let me know how they turned out!

Ingredients:
1 Cake mix, cooked as directed, completely cooled
1 16oz can of Frosting
2 14oz bags of Wilton Candy Melts
Wax paper
Cookie Sheet
Lollipop sticks
2 Styrofoam blocks (2x18)
Sprinkles (optional)

Crumble the cake. Yes, crumble it. It works best if you take two pieces of cake and rub them together. If there are chunks left crumble them by hand. It needs to be a fine consistency. Once crumbled, add 3/4 the can of Frosting. Mix well. If you put too much icing it, it will be mush and won't stay on the stick. If you don't put enough then it won't hold the form of a ball. It takes practice but you will get it right. Roll the mixture into 1-1/2 inch balls and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. It should make 48 balls. Refrigerate for hours or freeze for 15 minutes. You don't want them frozen because when it melts it will ruin the candy coating. You just want it cooled. I don't recommend using the freezer. Prepping for this part a day in advance is what I would suggest.

Once cooled, microwave the melts as directed on the package. Don't microwave too much or it will ruin the candy. Heat and stir in 30 second intervals until completely melted. I recommend using a tall, narrow, microwave safe bowl so that the balls can be covered completely when dipped. Dip sticks into candy coating and then 1/4 of the way into the cake ball. Refrigerate until hardened. About 15 minutes. Reheat candy coating. Carefully hold the stick and dunk the cake ball into the candy and remove. Rotate the stick and gently tap your WRIST, not the stick to assist the excess candy coating to drip off. If you hit the stick it may cause too much vibration and knock the ball off. I've had it happen :) Turning the stick helps to evenly distribute the coating so one end isn't thicker than the other and it retains the ball shape. Once satisfied, immediately sprinkle or decorate as desired and punch it in a Styrofoam block to dry. I recommend pre-punching the holes with a stick before starting. It's a lot easier.