Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites

I wanted to serve chicken bites for our girl's night out gathering but wasn't sure how I wanted to make them. I made this up as I went along and they were delicious. I will be making them again!

Sorry for the bad cell shot!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites:

Chicken tenderloins
Asian Sesame dressing
Bacon
Toothpicks

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and place in a frying pan with a little bit of veggie oil. Pour Asian dressing (I use Ken's) over chicken and cook till almost done. Remove from heat and cool. Once cooled drain juice from pan and discard. Wrap chicken bites in bacon (1 strip will cover 2-3 bites) and place in pan. Return to heat and cook till bacon is crisp. Drain on paper towel. Place toothpicks in bites and serve.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This recipe has been floating around for quite a while and I decided to finally make it for my girl's night out. I don't have a link to this recipe but I'm sure you can Google it.

Sucky cell phone shot- taste better than it looks!

Buffalo Chicken Dip:

1 lb chicken, shredded (can use canned)
6oz hot sauce
8oz Ranch dressing
8oz blue cheese
160z cream cheese
8oz shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Turn crock pot on low and let simmer for a few hours, stir a few times.

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wrap

I can't wait to make these again! They were so easy to make and are a healthy snack/meal alternative. The spiciness of the sauce can be adjusted to your liking. I made it mild since I wasn't going to be the only one eating them.

Another crappy cell phone pic. Looks like a happy face though!

Asian Chicken Wraps:

• 8 oz skinless, boneless chicken thighs, ground (I used breast meat and diced it)
  
• 1/4 cup water chestnuts, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (I did not use)
  
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
  
• 1/4 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
• 1⁄2 tsp sugar
• freshly ground white pepper, to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 6 iceberg lettuce leaves, rinsed (careful not to break)
• 2 tbsp diced scallions

For the Spicy Hoisin Dipping Sauces:

• 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1/2 tsp chili sauce, I used Sriracha
• 1 tbsp warm water

Place mushrooms in hot water to soften a few minutes. Remove stems and chop fine. Combine soy sauces, oyster sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, rice wine, sugar, and pepper in a bowl. Combine chicken, softened mushrooms and water chestnuts into a bowl. Pour over chicken; toss. Let marinate for 15 minutes. Mix Spicy Hoisin Dipping Sauce ingredients in another bowl. Set aside. Heat remaining sesame oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Add garlic; cook until golden, about 10 seconds. Add chicken mixture; stir fry until browned, breaking the chicken up as it cooks, about 4-5 minutes.

To serve, spoon 1/4 cup of the chicken into each lettuce leaf. Garnish with scallions and a spoon a little Spicy Hoisin Dipping Sauce onto each one.

Cucumber Feta Bites

The original recipe (found here) called for the cucumber to be sliced into strips. I didn't have the right tool to do this so I cut them into rounds and topped it with the feta.
Crappy cell phone pic. They were so good!

Cucumber Feta Bites:

2 cucumbers
6 ounces crumbled feta
3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 tablespoons finely diced sundried tomatoes or red bell pepper
8 - 12 pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon roughly chopped dill or oregano
2 teaspoons lemon juice
pinch of pepper, or to taste

Directions:

Peel the skin off of the cucumbers and cut into rounds. Add the feta and yogurt to a medium bowl. Mash to combine using a fork. Add the bell pepper or sun dried tomatoes, olives, dill, lemon, and pepper to the bowl. Stir well to combine. In a bowl, mash the feta using a fork. Place 1 - 2 teaspoons of mixture on top of each round. If not serving immediately, chill until ready to serve.

Caprese Skewers

These were soooooooo good (I love basil) and only took a second to put together. I found the original recipe here.

Sorry for the poor quality of the cell phone pic!

Caprese Skewers:

Cherry tomatoes
Mozzarella (block or balls)
Fresh Basil leaves
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar

I took a basil leaf cube of mozzarella and a tomato and put a tooth pick through it. I placed them on a platter and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Tortilla Pinwheels

This appetizer is easy and delicious! I wouldn't change a thing, but next time I might add a little shredded chicken to the mix. The original recipe can be found here.
Sorry for the crappy pic. I left the good camera at home and had to use my cell phone.

Tortilla Pinwheels:

Ingredients

• 10 large flour tortillas
• 1 cup chopped veggies - I like used red and green bell peppers and onion
• 1.5 blocks cream cheese, softened
• 1 package dry ranch dressing mix
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

• Mix cream cheese with ranch mix and salsa
• Spread mixture onto tortilla; top with chopped veggies and cheddar cheese. Roll and place in a casserole dish and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.(I only did four)
  
• Chop off the end of each tortilla and discard (or eat as you go along...); chop tortilla into bite sized pieces and serve. Each tortilla should give you 6-8 pieces.

Thanksgiving Part One

First, a few images of my beautiful table. I have been collecting my china since I was a little girl. It is Adrienne by Noritake. It is discontinued so it is hard to find, and when you do find it it is expensive. A few good ebay finds have helped me almost complete my quest for a table setting for 12. I found gold rimed wine and beverage glasses from Ross. Each were a set of 12 for $10!

You can't tell but I bought mini leaf cookie cutters, spray painted them gold and used them for napkin rings. The silver was passed down to me from my grandmother. I had never polished silver before and never want to again! Mini pumpkins and gourds finished off my table decor.

I gave each of my guests a favor box with a home made cinnamon scented candle inside. The favors also doubled as a place card. A friend of mine teased me about this saying it was like I was planning a wedding. Well, I am a wedding planner!

A few more shots of my table. It was so long that we had to eat in the living room!

Ok, and now on to the food. As to not make this the longest post ever I will break it up into several posts. I am going to do the appetizer and salad first. Both were amazing.

Hot Artichoke Dip (from Allrecipes):

2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
1 tablespoon chopped pimento peppers

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish. Blend together the cheese, mayonnaise and whipping cream. Stir in the artichokes, green onions and pimentos. Mix well, and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.

Harvest Salad (from Allrecipes):

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 bunch spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons red raspberry jam (with seeds)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup walnut oil
freshly ground black pepper to taste
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Arrange walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in oven for 5 minutes, or until nuts begin to brown. In a large bowl, toss together the spinach, walnuts, cranberries, blue cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and red onion. In a small bowl, whisk together jam, vinegar, walnut oil, pepper, and salt. Pour over the salad just before serving, and toss to coat.