Halloweenies with Mustard Dip

Besides being super cute mummies, these Lil' Smokies wrapped in crescent rolls would be an awesome appetizer at a Halloween party. Catrina Bowers found this at Pilsbury.com. I'm thinking Halloween lunch...

1 can (8 OZ) refrigerated crescent roll dough
44 cocktail-size smoked link sausage
1/2 C creamy Dijon mustard
1 tbsp dried oregano leaves


Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper. Roll dough sheet out to one large rectangle, cut vertically to make two 11x7" rectangles. Cut crosswise into total of 44 strips. Pat sausages dry. Wrap 1 strip of dough around each sausage to look like a little mummy; press firmly at each end to secure. Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart for even browning. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix mustard and oregano. Dot a small amount of mustard or catsup to make eyes {Trina used a baby medicine dropper for this, which worked out great}. Serve sausages warm with mustard dip.


I had made something similar for lunch a few days earlier with full sized hot dogs. Directions are pretty similar, but it took 1 can crescent dough to make about 6 hot dogs, 8 if you leave space between the wrapping. I made the eyes with a little ball of cheese.

Ham and Swiss Cheese Rolls

Joni Joiner gets a gold star for this one! It was delectable! I wish I had more elaborate words for it, but I'm at a loss! The small serving size made me feel better about having 2 or three or four... Swiss cheese on black forest ham with a 'secret' sauce on a sweet King's Hawaiian roll. I was anxious to get this recipe to recreate it. I think I'm going to try it with a slice of grilled pineapple.

1 pkg Rolls {King's Hawaiian is best}
1 pkg ham {again, black forest is what she used. What I'd recommend}
1 pkg Swiss cheese, thick or deli sliced
1 stick butter, softened
2 tsp mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, grated

Mix butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Slice the rolls in half and spread the sauce on one or both sides of the roll {She had it on one side so it wasn't too strong for us first timers, but I'm excited to try it on both sides.}. Add one piece of ham, folded in quarters. Cover with cheese and replace top of rolls. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 until cheese is melted.

Bagel Pizza Mummy's

Such a cute Halloween idea! Sheree Mowers couldn't just bring a tasty appetizer, she had to go and make it cute and festive! Such a fun snack or lunch idea, and, of course, super easy! Since it's so simple, you can make as much or as little as you want- that's also why there's not a specific ingredient list...

Small bagels, cut in half
Spaghetti sauce
Mozzarella cheese (String cheese works great for the horizontal lines)
Sliced olives

Spread spaghetti sauce over the bagels. Lay the cheese horizontally across the bagels. Position 2 olives as eyes on each bagel. Broil on low for a few minutes until warm and cheese is melted.

Fried Chicken

Real southern fried chicken from a real southerner! Joni Joiner has immediately endeared herself to everyone with her accent, openness and this recipe! She later disclosed that she totally made this up. It must just come standard in southern genes...

4 Chicken breasts

4-6 drumsticks

2 1/2 C flour

2/3 C buttermilk

2 eggs

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried marjoram

1/2 tsp ground sage

salt and pepper to taste

peanut oil for frying

Add the flour and all the spices to a large bowl. In a separate bowl, add the buttermilk and egg; beat slightly. Use a large skillet to heat oil to medium high(oil should be a half inch deep). When oil gets hot, take each piece of chicken and coat in the flour mixture then dip into the liquid mixture then once again in the flour. Carefully add to the oil. Continue with all pieces and fry each side for 20-25 minutes or until tender (usually 40-45 minutes total time). Cover with a lid while frying for more moist pieces.

Keep in mind she made this recipe up, so you can vary the spices to fit your taste. Or just trust the professional! ;) Also, she served this with a gravy, but I just realized that I haven't gotten it yet. I'll post it as a comment as soon as I do!

Ritz Chicken

I was surprised by a creamy extra umph when I tasted these homemade chicken nuggets. I have determined that I will never again dip chicken nuggets (or various other battered chicken recipes) in butter or egg again! Easy, delicious, and completely kid friendly! Thank you, Sheree Mowers! And thanks again for hosting!

1 lb chicken
1 C Parmesan
1 1/2 pkg Ritz crackers
1 C vanilla or plain yogurt
salt
pepper
seasoning

Cut chicken 1" or use chicken strips. Put yogurt in a pie pan. Smash crackers and mix with remaining ingredients in another pan. Coat chicken in yogurt, then in cracker mix. Place on a greased cookie sheet and cook at 350 degrees until chicken is done(about 10-15 minutes).

Healthy Open Face Chili Dogs

Healthy and Chili in the same title? Oh, yeah! After I had my daughter, I went on a healthy eating kick that lasted until about dessert time. Healthy desserts just aren't for me. I did, however, come upon this tasty recipe that is now one of my favs for BBQ season! The chili is chuck-full of tasty{and healthy} vegetables and these particular veggies have so much flavor, there's not all the unhealthy stuff to bugger it up. Plus, you can double the veggies when you're doing your chopping then freeze half of them so next time it's a simple pull it out and dump it in!

2 tsp canola oil

1 onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp chili powder

1 (15 oz) can of black beans, with liquid

2 tomatoes diced {I used a can of diced tomatoes}

Turkey hot dogs

hot dog buns{we were out so we used a piece of bread to two dogs and it was super good}

cheese

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and bell peppers and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chili powder. Cook until well blended, about 30 seconds. Add the black beans. Cook until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Cook until the chili thickens: 10-15 minutes.

Either grill the turkey dogs or cover in water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 4 minutes or until heated through.

Place the dogs onto a bun and top with 1/4 of the chili each and top with cheese. Broil for about 1 minute, until the cheese begins to melt. Serve hot.

Savory Crescent Chicken Bakes

I have roughly 13,000 different chicken bake recipes, but this is one of my favorites. Comes together easily and is so very tasty. I'll occasionally make it for lunch when Mac & Cheese gets old. The butter crescent roll outer shell covered in crunchy bread crumbs combined with the creamy filling with just the right kick give it such a good flavor and texture.

1 pkg cream cheese, softened
2 C cooked chicken {I used 1 can of chicken, rinsed.}
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives {I did about a tbsp of dehydrated}
1 tbsp chopped pimentos {optional}
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tbsp milk
1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough {I put just a little less filling in each and used almost 2 rolls}
1 tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1/2 C seasoned croutons, crushed {I had some Italian bread crumbs that were delicious}

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Stir in chicken, chives, pimientos, pepper and milk. Unroll dough and separate into 4 rectangles; firmly press along perforations to thoroughly seal.

Spoon 1/3-1/2 C chicken mixture onto center of each rectangle. Pull 4 corners of dough to center of chicken mixture; twist firmly and pinch edges to seal. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with croutons. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with additional chives, if desired.

I was making this for my family, so I had a couple bakes for the adults made just like the instructions, but then I pulled apart some crescent rolls into their pre-cut triangles and made little ones for the kids.

Egg Salad Sandwiches

This is what we'd eat for about a week after Easter, but I did NOT mind! I love hard boiled eggs and this is a great, easy way to use them.

6 hard boiled eggs
6 tbsp miracle whip
6 tsp sweet pickle relish

Peel the eggs, place them in a bowl and chop with a fork. Add remaining ingredients, stir together.

My husband doesn't even like miracle whip. At all. But he loves these sandwiches. They're great for lunch, though I usually will put the egg salad in a separate container for Matt to put on the bread when he's ready to eat, since he's not a fan of even slightly soggy bread.

Funny story- I only recently learned how to make a decent hard boiled egg. As in, the last year or two. For the first 4 or 5 years of our marriage our eggs were either under cooked or would stick to the shell like it was concrete. I could make 10 different kinds of cheesecake before I could boil an egg!! I still prefer to let Matt do it... my kryptonite. That and the grill.