Menu Ideas

A Meatball Lover’s Sandwich .. Or Appetizer

I recently made some “game food” for my husband and some of his pals. He said I’ve been cooking A LOT lately so he wanted to make it easy on me by ordering pizza and having me make just a few items to give his gathering that Homemade Love touch. I made some fresh chocolate chip cookies, mini cheesecakes and these meatballs. I did them appetizer-style and served them in a crock pot alongside some party rolls for mini sandwiches. We skipped the cheese and didn’t miss it because the sauce is DDD (drop dead delicious!!) You can make the full sandwich recipe for a hearty lunch or dinner. This is another one of those recipes that the men love.

Meatball Lover’s Sandwiches

Ultimate New Year’s Eve Party Menu

If you haven’t firmed up your New Year’s Eve menu yet, here are some ideas. I personally love all these items and so do my guests.

Goat Cheese log rolled in chopped cranberries, nuts, cinnamon and drizzled with honey.

Sliced pears, grapes, candied nuts and pomegranate seeds

Basket of assorted pita, bagel and sweet potato chips chips

Sweet Sausage Meatballs

Cranberry Salsa with Sweet Potato Chips

Easy Bacon Tomato Dip

Turkey Minis

Mozzarella Basil Puffs

Key Lime Pie

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bon Bons

Cucumber Martini

Flirtini

Brewed Russian Tea

Orange Balls and Chocolate Bon Bons Take Center Stage in Candy Land

What could be better than holiday cookies? Cookies AND candy! A tired dish makes for an attractive way to offer a variety of items at holiday gatherings. For gift giving, I use pretty holiday muffin cup liners to separate the different confections in a basket or tin. You can also wrap the different items in clear treat bags tied with a ribbon and place them in a holiday mold or loaf pan. Don’t forget a little label to tell the recipients what they’re about to enjoy. I also label all the food served at holiday parties. It sure saves the host from repeating the food names over and over. Here are two of my favorite confections that just fly off the serving plates!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bon Bons

Nana’s Orange Balls

Two winners for your cookie tray- Oatmeal Toffee and Chocolate-Cherry Thumbprints.

Cookies are so much fun to make, share and eat! Over the years, I’ve discovered a few cookie concoctions that make it onto the cookie tray year after year. These two are always big hits.

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

Tip: You can make these cookies a little bigger if you want, just watch the baking time. Might take a little longer. Also, if you want a perfect cookie roll the dough into a ball instead of dropping from a spoon. Cookies scoops are also a good option. I am also a believer in parchment paper over cooking spray. I think the bottoms burn less with parchment. Also, if you really don’t like your cookies to get too crispy or the bottoms dark at all, bake them on a stone. Cooks and colors evenly. Cookies on stones may take a minute or two longer to bake.

Chocolate Cherry Nut Thumbprints

One of my favorite new holiday recipes… Cranberry Salsa!

I am coming up for air from the holidays and going through all the recipes of things I cooked.. filing some back in my “favorites” place, updating some ingredients, adding in a few new faves to the files and even tossing out a few recipes I’m just not in love with anymore. I served this Cranberry Salsa with Sweet Potato Chips at a party this year and it was one of the first appetizers to get devoured. It’s such an interesting combination of flavors and a new way to serve this traditional holiday ingredient. It keeps great in the fridge for up to a week. This version is adapted from the 2012 Christmas with Southern Living book. (Love that book series!) Enjoy!

Cranberry Salsa with Sweet Potato Chips

Embracing the Leftovers

My goal this week has been to come up with tasty ways to use leftovers. In addition to the previous post, here are a few more ideas for you.

-PIzza! I purchased a whole wheat pizza dough ball from Harris Teeter for 99 cents. Spread it out on a pan misted with cooking spray. Brush the crust with olive oil. Top with pizza sauce and your choice of leftover cheese, veggies and/or meats. For the pizza in the photo, I grated together three small blocks of leftover cheese (cheddar, gouda, parmesan) plus a few slices of plain old American cheese squares. Then, I layered sliced tomatoes, baby spinach leaves, canned artichokes, sliced mushrooms, sliced red onion, a little seasoned salt and a sprinkle of Italian herbs. Bake it at 450 for 10-12 minutes and you’ve got yourself a restaurant quality pizza! I also made one of these with some cooked country sausage sprinkled on top to appease the meat-loving guys in the house. Have fun using different combinations of toppings. The good news is a little leftover THIS plus a little leftover THAT equals a delicious pizza topping.

For another night, I used up my broccoli and some leftover steak pieces I had in the freezer. Here’s a great recipe I found for Beef and Broccoli from Taste of Home.

Lastly, leftover canned veggies, chicken and rice come together for a delicious Chicken & Veggie Fried Brown Rice. My husband said it was better than our usual take-out!

Take the leftover challenge and share your culinary creations with me.

Dinner Salad Night

If your fridge looks like mine, there are small bits of cheese, random veggie pouches and meat packets hanging around looking for something to do. Well once a week or so, I put them in the spotlight. Dinner Salad night! I usually go by the store and get really fresh greens to pair with whatever ingredients I might have on hand. I like to start with a bed of organic salad greens like green leaf, baby romaine, spring mix or spinach. Then top with chopped vegetables, some kind of protein (poultry, beef, tuna, pork), maybe a chopped egg, something salty or spicy (olives, Jalapenos, pickles, sun dried tomatoes), a little something sweet (dried cranberries, apples, pears, candied walnuts), chopped fresh herbs (any kind will do), cheese and a sprinkle of seasoned salt. Be sure you have at least one crunchy element in the salad for extra satisfaction. You can add croutons, nuts, leftover Chinese noodles, or sunflower seeds. My son sprinkles on Goldfish! Pick any dressing you like or keep it simple with vinegar and oil. You can layer the ingredients on top of each other (salad bar style) or present them in separate little rows like a Cobb salad. Add a bread basket and you have a man-sized dinner. I go heavy on the protein ingredients to keep everyone full for the evening. Now go diving in that fridge and whip up a delicious salad!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Napa Salad
Smoked turkey slices, julienned
Spring Mix and Baby Spinach
Red onions, diced
Crispy bacon, crumbled
Baby bella mushrooms, sliced
Tomatoes, chopped
Toasted pecans
Sun-dried cranberries
Gorgonzola crumbles

-Mix together in quantities of your choice. Be sure to wash and spin or dry greens so salad isn’t soggy. I like a balsamic vinaigrette dressing with this or balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Renea’s Green Salad with Chicken
Green leaf lettuce
Grilled chicken strips
Apple, finely chopped
Sundried tomatoes in olive oil, chopped
Dried cranberries
Toasted almonds or sugared pecans
Crumbled feta cheese
Sunflower seeds to sprinkle on top

-Toss with balsamic vinegar or raspberry vinaigrette

Bring on Autumn with Roasted Butternut Squash

A cool, drizzly autumnish day like today makes me crave certain foods. One of those is roasted butternut squash. Maybe it’s the simultaneously sweet and savory flavor of this decadent vegetable recipe that makes it one of my favorites. I think you’ll get hooked like I have! The shape of the squash can be a little intimidating to peel, but it’s easier if you microwave it for a couple minutes first to soften and use a very sharp knife or peeler. I have also chopped the thing in half and used the flat end as a sturdy base to stand it on while peeling down the sides with a knife, like peeling a pineapple. You can also put a towel underneath the squash to prevent slipping while peeling. I promise it’s worth it! And you can’t get this flavor from anything other than fresh squash. A time-saver is to chop the squash ahead of time and put in the fridge until you’re ready to roast. Let me know what you think.

Roasted Butternut Squash

A couple of Easy Weeknight dinner ideas.. Chicken Parmigiana and Steak & Cheese Subs

Here are two of my go-to’s during a busy week. Good, basic food that everyone in your family will most likely devour.

Chicken Parmigiana – what makes this so easy and tasty? Shake ‘N Bake is the breading! I serve over spaghetti with garlic toast. Remember to drain spaghetti well before serving. A plate full of watery sauce run-off is not very appealing. Conversely, don’t let drained spaghetti sit too long before adding to sauce. You’ll get spaghetti glue!

Steak and Cheese Subs The secret to this delicious sandwich is the thinly-sliced London broil. I use an electric knife to slice it diagonally. You can also freeze it a little to make slicing easier.

Most requested recipes… Lasagna and Key Lime Pie

My husband says I’ve ruined quite a few restaurant menu items for him over the years. Two of those are Lasagna and Key Lime Pie. He never orders either because he says he likes mine better. He may just be trying to score points on the homefront, but he really does love these two recipes. When I entertain our extended family, these items are often on the request list. I usually make extra lasagna because folks like to take some home to heat up later. It also freezes wonderfully! So here you go! Two of our all-time faves.

Lasagna