Michelle Gasparek’s Special Focaccia Parmesan Garlic Topping

1 cooked focaccia bread
4-6 T butter
1 small onion chopped
4-6 cloves of crushed garlic
¼ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup mayonnaise

Sautee garlic and onion in butter until onions are soft. Cool slightly before adding cheese and mayo. Stir into a thick paste. Spread generously over bread. Broil until topping gets lightly brownish and bubbly.

Slice and serve warm.

Ellen's Caramelized Onion Tart with Apples

Makes 2 tarts
Hands-On Time: 20m
Total Time: 55m

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
2 red apples (such as Braeburn or Gala), cut into small pieces
kosher salt and black pepper
2 sheets frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounce package), thawed
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream

Directions

Heat oven to 400º F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the apples, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until just tender, 2 minutes.
Place each sheet of pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Spread with the crème fraîche, leaving a ½-inch border. Top with the onion mixture and bake until the pastry is crisp and browned, 30 to 35 minutes. Cut into pieces before serving.

Artichoke Dip

- 1 (14oz) can artichoke hearts
- 1/2 c mayonnaise
- 3/4 c Italian cheese mix (with parmesean and mozzarella)
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- Salt, to taste

Drain artichokes, rinse well, and dice. Mix in mayo, cheese, and garlic.
Bake at 375 for 25-30 mins.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

By popular demand! :o)

- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or you can use 1 can of chicken breast - if canned chicken doesn't freak you out!)
- 2 8oz packages of cream cheese
- celery
- 6 oz Frank's red hot buffalo wing sauce
- 1 cup Ranch or Bleu Cheese Dressing

1. Cut off the top and bottom of two stalks of celery and dice, soften in microwave. (About 30 seconds should do it)
2. Soften cream cheese in microwave.
3. Stir ingredients together in a bowl and transfer to a pie plate.
4. Bake at 350 for 40 mins.

Serve with celery sticks and tortillas, crackers, or pita chips.

Armadillo Dip

This is one of those recipes I call 'guy food'. Not that women can't eat it and enjoy it. But usually it's the men who sit by the crock pot and practically shovel it in.

There are tons of types of things called armadillo dip. In fact, it was one of the features in Jackson, Mississippi's own Sweet Potato Queen's Big-ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner) (also available on Amazon.) I think their version is quite a bit different. This one comes from my friend, Donna who is from the south (where armadillos live) and has faithfully served this at many a dinner party to the great satisfaction of our male friends. She writes:

Here’s the recipe for the armadillo dip (also known as Spicy Beef Dip):

1 pound lean ground beef
½ Cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 8 ounce can (1 Cup) tomato sauce
1 tsp sugar
¼ Cup catsup
¾ teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
1/3 Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a 12-inch skillet cook beef, onion, and garlic until the beef is lightly browned and onion is tender. Drain fat.
Stir in tomato sauce, catsup, oregano, and sugar. Cover.
Simmer gently for 10 minutes. Spoon off excess fat.
Remove from heat and add cream cheese and Parmesan, stirring until melted.
Serve warm – a small crock pot is ideal – with Fritos Scoops.

Yields 3 Cups

(I made a double batch for our crowd. I really don't think there is anything very spicy about this. And I even added in a few other little things like: cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder. I think the above recipe is better than mine turned out.)

Garden Veggie Pizza Squares

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (1 ounce) package Ranch-style dressing mix
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Roll out crescent rolls onto a large non-stick baking sheet. Stretch and flatten to form a single rectangular shape on the baking sheet. Bake 11 to 13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Allow to cool.
3. Place cream cheese in a medium bowl. Mix cream cheese with 1/2 of the ranch dressing mix. Adjust the amount of dressing mix to taste. Spread the mixture over the cooled crust. Arrange carrots, red bell pepper, broccoli and green onions on top. Chill in the refrigerator approximately 1 hour. Cut into bite-size squares to serve.

Jan’s Guacamole

I know you all have been missing my guac. Here's remembering and missing you.

2 ripe avocados
juice of 1 fresh lemon
half a red onion, chopped very fine
1 large clove of fresh garlic, minced
2-3 Tablespoons ground cumin
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Scoop avocado into a bowl and add lemon juice. Mash with a fork or pastry cutter until thoroughly smashed. Add remaining ingredients and stir all together. Once mixed put one of the avocado pits back into the bowl to help the avocado retain its color. If possible, cover and let sit 15-30 minutes to let flavors blend. If doubling the recipe do not double the garlic. (It can overpower the other flavors.)

This is not an exact science. I usually do the whole thing by feel and never measure the amounts, so the above are all guesses. So if you think it would be better to increase or decrease some the spices, feel free to play with it. Enjoy!

Ellen's Sun Dried Tomato in Phyllo Dough

Recipe Ingredients

1 box Phyllo dough, thawed
Olive oil

Filling:
1 Tbs oil
1 C sliced onions
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 C crumble Feta cheese
1/4 C sliced ripe olives
2 oz. dried tomatoes, reconstituted and slivered
1 Tbs fresh chopped basil
1/2 C Mozzarella cheese
(Add grilled/boiled chicken cut in chunks if desired or for more substantial meal.)


Cooking Directions

Oil baking sheet. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix the filling ingredients.
Follow directions on the Phyllo dough box - layer 4-5 sheets, brushing each sheet with olive oil.
Spoon some (~1") filling onto prepared dough width wise leaving a bit of room at the ends.
Roll the dough tightly pinching the 2 ends to seal the dough.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until brown.
Cut into 3 pieces at a diagonal for easier serving

Bacon n Cheese Bites

2 can's refrigerated breadsticks (or crescent rolls)
1 pkg. cream cheese
1/2 of a red onion chopped
5 slices of crispy bacon
dash of Montreal Steak Seasoning to taste

Chop onion and place in bowl with cream cheese and microwave to soften. (about a minute)
Place bacon on plate, microwave for 4minutes. Remove from plate and use a paper towel to absorb remaining grease (It will be HOT!) Use kitchen shears to chop bacon and add it to the cheese mixture with the seasoning. Stir. Open the breadsticks and place on greased baking pan. There will be 8 long sticks. Cut in half to make 16. Spread 1/2 of cheese mixture over the top of the bread sticks. Roll up each of the 16 sticks (like cinnamon rolls). Repeat with second can. Bake at 350* for 10-12 mins til brown. (If using crescent rolls there are 2 large rectangles per can before separation. Spread cheese mixture over top and roll along the longer side. Slice into one inch rolls.)

Gorgonzola Stuffed Mushrooms

16 oz whole mushrooms
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2-4 oz Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
2 gloves fresh garlic, crushed
fresh sweet basil, finely chopped or snipped
salt to taste
butter or olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry mushrooms. Remove stems with a gentle rocking motion to create a well in the mushroom cap. Combine cheeses, garlic,basil and salt, mix well. Scoop cheese mixture into mushroom wells in generous portions. (There is still usually a little cheese mixture lift over.) Place mushrooms in deep dish baker as they are being filled. Dot with butter or spray with pure olive oil.
Bake 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees or until tops start to slightly color.
Serve warm!