Holiday Appetizer Wreath

Another recipe from Mandy's December Book Club.
Recipe found here: http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/holiday-appetizer-wreath/4919df64-ea10-4e3c-976a-e626d5d21548


Ingredients:

6 slices bacon

1/2 cup chive-and-onion cream cheese spread (from 8-oz container)

2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

2 cups Green Giant Select® frozen broccoli florets (from 14-oz bag), thawed, finely chopped and patted dry with paper towel

1/3 cup diced red bell pepper

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon sesame seed

Fresh rosemary, if desired

Directions:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Cook bacon as desired until crisp. Drain on paper towel; crumble bacon and set aside.
• Unroll both cans of dough; separate into 16 triangles. On ungreased large cookie sheet, arrange triangles with shortest sides toward center, overlapping in wreath shape and leaving 4-inch round circle open in center (see diagram). Crescent dough points may overlap edge of cookie sheet. Press overlapping dough to flatten.
• Spread cream cheese spread on dough to within 1 inch of points. In small bowl, mix crumbled bacon, broccoli and bell pepper; spoon onto widest part of dough. Pull end points of triangles over broccoli mixture and tuck under dough to form ring (filling will be visible). Carefully brush dough with beaten egg; sprinkle with sesame seed.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. With broad spatula, carefully loosen wreath from cookie sheet; slide onto serving platter. Garnish with fresh rosemary. Serve warm. Store in refrigerator.

Note -- I made ahead of time, placed on parchment paper on serving platter.  Once I was ready to bake it, I slid wreath on parchment paper onto a pizza stone.  After it was baked, I easily transferred it back to the platter using a spatula off the parchment paper.

Sausage Balls and Dip

These were at the December Book Club at Mandy's house...
Recipe here: http://www.food.com/recipe/sausage-balls-46078

Sausage Ball Ingredients:
1 lb bulk sausage
1 (10 ounce) package sharp cheddar cheese (grated)
2 cups Bisquick baking mix

Directions:
1 Allow cheese and sausage to reach room temperature (very important -- it's really difficult to mix ingredients if they aren't room temp)

2 Place in mixing bowl with Bisquick and blend until smooth. (I blended by hand, but original recipe said to use a hand-held electric mixer to incorporate ingredients).
3 NOTE: Mixture will be quite dry.
4 Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
5 Spray well with vegetable oil spray.
6 Press/roll mixture into 1 inch balls by hand (I used a cookie scooper to get consistent portions); place on cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.
7 Bake in 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
8 Drain on paper toweling.
9 Serve warm with dip.

Dip Ingredients:

1/2 cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ

1/2 cup Orange Marmalade

Mix, heat and serve.

WW: Italian Meatballs

Next time we won't make these with the onions, just sub onion powder (for the picky kiddies).  Otherwise, they were a hit!

Also, we opted for italian seasoning (had on-hand) and chicken broth, per the options below.

2 WW points per serving; 4 meatballs per serving.

Ingredients

	1 1/2 tsp regular butter
	1 1/2 tsp olive oil
	1 large uncooked onion(s), minced
	1 pound(s) uncooked lean ground beef
	1 large egg(s), beaten
	1 Tbsp fresh parsley, fresh, finely minced (or 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning)
	3/4 tsp table salt
	1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
	1/4 cup(s) canned beef broth, or chicken broth
	1/4 cup(s) white wine

Instructions

• In a large skillet, melt butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions; cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to caramelize, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove onions to a large mixing bowl and add beef, egg, parsley (or Italian seasoning), salt and red pepper flakes; mix well to combine. With damp hands, roll forty-eight 1/2-inch meatballs.
• Place same skillet over medium-low heat. Add meatballs, broth and wine; simmer until cooked through, gently turning meatballs once during cooking, about 20 minutes. Yields 4 meatballs per serving.

Spinach Bites

We discovered something called a Spinach Brownie while we were in Ohio for a wedding and wine touring around Ashtabula and Geneva. I stole the idea and tweaked it a bit to make these spinach bites (just omit the bacon if you want vegetarian):

1 small package frozen spinach (thawed and drained well)
1 cup low fat Bisquick
3 eggs
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup red onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded provolone
1/2 cup cooked bacon chopped (I used cherry wood smoked bacon from the Farmer's Market)

Mix spinach, onion, eggs, milk, butter, provolone and bacon (reserve a little of the cheese and bacon to sprinkle on top).
Add Bisquick and slowly combine the ingredients
Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish
Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean - add the reserved cheese and bacon after 15-20 minutes

Carmelized Onion & Apple Tart

Puffed Pastry
2-3 large sweet onions
1-2 medium sized apples (I use Granny Smith's)
Fresh or dried thyme
Olive Oil
1 tbsp butter
Fontina cheese, shredded

This makes enough for two tart (two sheets of puffed pastry per box).

Slice onions and had to a saute pan with olive oil in butter. Cook over medium heat, add salt and pepper to your liking. Peel and thinly slice the apples (same size as the onions) and add to the pan. Add thyme (use more if using fresh). Saute until golden (about 45 minutes). I typically make the mixture ahead of time and keep in the fridge until I'm ready to bake.

Thaw the sheets of puffed pastry (just a few minutes) and roll out to flatten on a baking sheet. Spread the onion and apple mixture over the puffed pastry and sprinkle the shredded fontina over the top. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until evenly golden brown. I cut in bit size squares to serve.