Easy and Inexpensive Appetizer

When you are going to a football party, you probably don't really care how healthy the food is...

Half a recipe of this dill, feta, and garlic cream cheese spread + 2 tubes of crescent rolls = 32 appetizers for about $6 total!

(might be slightly more expensive if you don't buy feta at Costco... you can sometimes get it at Aldi, though not in bulk)

Directions:
1. Make the spread (for half a recipe, I used a scant 1/4 t. garlic powder 1/3 T. dried dill)
2. Unroll the crescent roll dough.
3. Use a pizza cutter to slice the triangles in half, long-ways, to make long, skinny triangles.
4. Use a small spoon to place/spread the cream cheese spread on the triangles.
5. Rolls loosely and bake according to crescent roll directions.
6. Serve warm!

The aren't the prettiest because the filling oozes a little as they bake, but that's not important :)

Menu Plan 12/14/10

This past weekend I made two double batches of these Mom's Mint Christmas Brownies for my neighborhood cookie exchange.  They are the best when chilled!  (They contain very little flour, so I wonder if you could try to substitute a non-wheat flour, if needed...?)  PS - They also won the "Best All-Around Cookie" ribbon :)  Also made some of these Easy Shortbread Cookies for the church's children's program.  (These contain little sugar and no egg, so would be great for anyone with egg allergies.)

Breakfasts:
Feeling uninspired due to all the other baking going on...
Cereal with Milk
or maybe Baked Soaked Oatmeal with Milk
Oranges or Orange Juice

Lunches:
Homemade Hummus and Pita Chips
or PB&J Sandwiches
Carrots with Ranch
Cheese
Crispy Almonds
Pears, Bananas

Dinners:
Monday - Spaghetti Pie (doubled), Broccoli
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Beef Chimichangas, Sweet Corn
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Out to Eat
Saturday - Fish Sticks, Peas
Sunday - Chicken Pot Pie

Make for Parties:
Spinach Balls

Meal for Friend:
I am going in together on this with another friend who is providing the BBQ Brisket and Cheesy Potatoes.  I am making some easy Creamy Crockpot Corn and Swiss Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Take to church:
Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake, Sliced Oranges

Have a great week!

Strawberry Limeades

Ooh, I can taste these. Sour, sour. Love them. And they are simple. That's good. So hopefully you can deal with another non-precise recipe.

If you like strawberries, limes, or frozen margaritas, you might like these, too.

You need:

1 can frozen limeade

1 bag frozen strawberries (not the sweetened, juicy kind)

Make a mix some frozen limeade concentrate and some frozen strawberries in the blender with just a little water added. (Proportions may vary.) It will be super strong and sour. This is your "base". Then, refreeze it in ice cube trays.

Then, when I want a COLD, sour, fruity drink, I pop some of the frozen "base" back in the blender, add a little more water, and have it made (in the shade.) A quick-and-easy slushy, sour, fruity strawberry-limeade! Visit A-Latte-Talk's Foody Friday for more summer drink ideas!

Garage Sale and Black Bean Salsa

We had a garage sale with my sister-in-law’s family at their house yesterday. It was pretty successful – we had things super cheap. We figured “Let’s get rid of it so we have less to clean up and haul to the donation center!”

Anyways, I wanted to share a recipe with you. I made this and took it over for everyone to munch on as a snack since we were there all day. My sister-in-law asked if I would post the recipe…

Black Bean Salsa

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans white shoepeg corn, rinsed and drained
6 T. lime juice (I use more.)
6 T. olive oil (I was out so used canola.)
1 ½ t. cumin
½ c. chopped red onion
¼ - ½ c. chopped cilantro
½ t. salt
1 c. chopped tomatoes (Take the seeds and pulp out first.)

Combine everything except tomatoes.
Refrigerate overnight, and then add tomatoes the next day.
Serve with tortilla chips or eat as a side.

I first ate this in the teachers’ lounge a few years back and couldn’t get enough.
I hadn’t had anything like it since I had lived in Texas!