Tisheena’s Stuffed Mushrooms
I made these for the first time at my Daughter’s wedding. The recipe came from my other daughter. You can adjust the amounts of ingredients to suit your taste. I just made them again yesterday, and although they were good, I felt they had too much bacon. The mixture that you make to stuff the mushrooms doubles as an EXCELLENT Cracker spread! You will have quite a bit left over, so don’t waste it! This is a good starting point:
1 – 12 oz. Package Bacon
1 – 16 oz. Package Whole Mushrooms
2 – 8 oz. Packages Cream Cheese
Cut the bacon into small pieces (I use my kitchen scissors) and fry until crispy. Drain on a paper towel. Wash mushrooms and pull the stems out and set aside for use in the stuffing. Place the mushroom caps upside down on a cookie sheet (spray a little cooking spray if it isn’t non-stick) and put in the oven on 300 for about 15 to 20 minutes. This will release some of the water in the mushrooms. Finely chop or process* the mushroom stems and sauté’ in a couple Tablespoons of butter, Margarine, or I use some of the bacon grease and just do them in the same pan. In the meantime, place the cream cheese in a big bowl and add the bacon bits. After sautéing the chopped mushroom stems for a few minutes, dump them in the bowl. Now, stir it all up until it is blended and all the cream cheese lumps are out. Spoon about a cup of the filling into a baggie, the snip off the corner and squeeze it into the mushroom caps. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until heated through. Now, grab a cracker and eat some of that yummy filling while you wait!
*This little gadget will save you tons of time in the kitchen. Remember, TIME is MONEY, so if you save time you are saving money. I use mine to chop onions, nuts, make cracker crumbs (instead of buying bread crumbs) I use the wand to make tomato puree out of whole canned tomatoes. I just stick it straight in the can. (The whole tomatoes are better because they are cheaper, require less processing and if you want to dice them you can.) I also use it to make milkshakes and to blend gravy and soup right in the pan. Anyway, when I find something good, I always try to share. My husband bought me a similar one at Wal-mart, but I couldn't find the exact one. Click on the picture to see more. If you decide to get one, remember, Wal-mart has FREE site to store shipping.
Aunt Jean’s Chili Cheese Dip
Although just about everyone I know makes this dip now, and I have even seen a commercial on TV for it, I have to Credit my Aunt Jean for the recipe. You see, she taught me how to make it when I was 17 and that was almost 31 years ago!
1 – 8 oz. Package of Cream Cheese
1 – Can Chili WITHOUT BEANS
1 – 8 oz. Package Shredded Cheddar
Spread the cream cheese in the bottom of a pyrex dish. Now, spread the chili on top of that & then the cheddar. Bake at 350 until cheese bubbles. Serve with Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips.
Sausage Balls
1 – 16 oz Roll Breakfast Sausage
1 – 8 oz. Package cheddar cheese (Shredded or block to shred at home, whichever is cheaper)
1 – Cup Bisquick (or store brand biscuit & baking mix)
Put ingredients in a big bowl. With freshly washed hands, mix together well. Roll into walnut size balls and bake on a non-stick jelly roll pan at 350 for about 20 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking time.
NOTE: If you don't have a non-stick pan, you can use cooking spray or non-stick aluminum foil to line the pan.
Barbeque Meatballs
I made these at my Daughter’s request at her wedding. They went so fast, I never even got to try one, so they must be good!
1 – Bag Frozen Italian Meatballs
1 – Jar Grape Jelly
1 – Bottle Barbeque Sauce
(I used the store brand on all of the ingredients.)
Mix the Barbeque sauce & Grape Jelly together in the slow cooker. Add the meatballs & toss. Cook for about an hour or so, until heated through.
Sausage & Peppers Here's a Super-Easy Crowd Pleaser. I grew up in Chicago & worked in a lot of Italian restaurants. Italian sausage is like Bologna up there! This is just one of the ways I like to prepare it. I brought this to family Gatherings down here in TN and always put Italian bread right next to it for people to make sandwiches, but no one knew to make a sandwich! Anyway, now when I make it I just cut the sausages into quarters and tell everyone it's an appetizer. Regardless, There's never any left to take back home! You can multiply this recipe according to how many people you are making it for. If I just make it at home, I use 1 lb of sausage, 1 green pepper and one 15 oz. can of tomato sauce.
Bake 1 lb of Italian sausage in a pyrex dish for about an hour (or til brown) at 350 degrees, turning over half way through. If you are going to have sandwiches, just leave the sausages whole and serve with Italian bread or panini rolls. (1 Lb. usually=5 links). If you want to serve it as an appetizer, cut each link into bite size pieces. Now, slice up the green pepper and add it to the sausage, pour the can of tomato sauce over the top, cover with aluminum foil and return to the oven til the peppers get soft. NOTE: The longer you cook it, the more tender the sausage gets.
So, how easy was that? I promise, you will get a lot of compliments on this dish. Of course, I never pay full price for the sausage, I wait for it to go on sale, then I buy a few and freeze them. $3.19 a lb. is reasonable.
