from Maylene - to make for Brubaker Christmas Eve Dinner 2017


Smoky Bacon Bites

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lb. bacon, chopped into small pieces

1 large onion, finely chopped

Pepper

Flour, for dusting

1 sheet puff pastry dough, defrosted

1 6 oz. container herb garlic cheese (like Boursin)

1 C Swiss cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat with about 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Once hot, add bacon and cook stirring every now and then, until crispy—about 5 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, remove bacon and drain on a plate. 

Remove all but 2 Tbsp of the fat from skillet, return skillet to heat and add the chopped onion and cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes.  Remove onions from heat, and combine them with the bacon and season with pepper and let cool.

Lay the pastry dough out on a non-stick baking sheet (or line a baking sheet with parchment paper).  Spread the Boursin cheese evenly over the dough then top with bacon-onion mixture and sprinkle with swiss cheese.

Place in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Let cool, and cut into 1 ½ inch squares.  Serve slightly warm. 

Stephanie's Cheeseball Recipe

My friend Steph brought this cheeseball to young women's tonight. The girls had requested cheese and crackers. It was so yummy.
Modified from a recipe on Mel's Kitchen. Makes 2 cheeseballs.

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 3/4 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian Spices
• 1 teaspoons dried parsley
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped for rolling

1. Place finely chopped pecans in a shallow dish and set aside. In a large bowl (or in the kitchen aide or blender), mix the cream cheese until smooth. Add the cheddar cheese and mix until just combined. Lightly sprinkle all the seasonings and sauces over the cheese mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.
2. With lightly greased hands, portion the cheese mixture in half and roll each section into a round ball. Coat in pecans. The easiest way to do this is to hold the cheeseball in one hand and scoop up the pecans and press them onto the cheeseball with the other, turning the cheeseball as you go and letting the excess pecans fall back into the dish (this also helps the pecans to go a little further). Cover each cheeseball in saran wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Avocado Salsa Cup

6 (11 inch) flour tortillas
1 TBS vegetable oi
2 small plum tomatoes
2 small avocados
2 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
2 TBS garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream

Step one: preheat oven to 350
Step two: trim tortillas to 6 inch squares, cut each square into quarters for a total of 24, 3 inch squares
Step three: brush both sides of each tortillas with oil and press square into a mini-muffin pan
Step four: bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp
Step five: for the filling: dice tomatoes, dice avocados, chop cilantro, press garlic and add sour cream