Snack Attack

I would definitely be okay with living off of appetizers.
Everything tastes better when it's mini and made into a dip anyway, right?

Which leads me to the reason for this post: Spinach and Artichoke Dip and Jalapeño Poppers.

Before I get into the recipes, I have a confession to make...
Although I made these for us to enjoy on Superbowl Sunday, we didn't actually watch the Superbowl, per se... whoops. In my defense, the food is the best part anyway and we had a lot of shows on the DVR to catch up on! I know, I know...next year for sure.

Whatever the occasion, both of these recipes are sure to please and easy to make!

For the Jalapeño Poppers, you will need:

- WHOLE jalapeños (as many as you want, I had 6 wish made 12 poppers)
-cream cheese
-bread crumbs

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Wearing gloves, cut the top (stem) off each jalapeño and then cut each in half lengthwise. Next, filled each half with cream cheese and rolled them in breadcrumbs. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes. That's it!

Warning: These turned out too spicy for me to eat more than one :( but the BF loved them! It depends on how spicy the jalapeños you buy are, but you may want to try this with a slightly milder pepper if you're a wuss like me.


For the Spinach and Artichoke Dip, you will need:

-1 8oz. container of cream cheese
-1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
-1/2 block of sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 oz.) + another 1/4 of the block (about 2 oz.)
-1/2 tsp. black pepper
-1 tsp. garlic powder
1 can of artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
-1 cup of packed frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients in a bowl (except the extra 2 oz. of cheese - that's for the top). Spread the mixture in a pie pan or other shallow baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake for about 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips, pita chips, or crackers.

Side Note: We basically ate this entire dish of dip in one sitting...it's that good. Also we're gluttons for snack foods. 

HOMEMADE MOZZARELLA STICKS (and bread crumbs)

I KNOW. I can't believe it either. WHY have I never made mozzarella sticks at home before!? So many wasted years...

I don't particularly like "string cheese" or any processed cheese for that matter, but let me tell you, breaded and fried? AMAZING.

We happened upon some such cheese this week, and since I didn't want to eat it cold, I fried it up.

Frying goodness

We also didn't buy bread crumbs this week, because Trader Joe's only had organic, and that seemed a little crazy (and overpriced) for us. SO, we made that too! The BF toasted a loaf of bread in the oven, then I broke off pieces, put them in the food processor and pulsed for about a minute until it was crumbs. I didn't add any spices, I'll just add those when I cook.

The bread, before it was crumbs

AND THEN, I made the mozz sticks...

I cut the "string cheese" sticks in half, dipped them in milk, then rolled them in my bread crumb mixture (below), then in the milk AGAIN (yes again) then in the bread crumb mixture again.
Next, I fried them for about a minute on each side, in a small amount of olive oil, on medium heat. They're done when they start to 'unfirm' and look a little melty.

Here are the ingredients for the breading. It made about 10 mozzarella sticks.
~4 heaping TBS. breadcrumbs
~2 heaping TBS. flour
~1 heaping TBS. cornstarch (my secret ingredient for frying)
~ a pinch each of garlic powder, oregano, basil and parmesan


I INSIST you make these next time you happen to have string cheese in your house. I also won't tell anyone if you buy it just to make mozzarella sticks. It's totally worth it.



I wish I hadn't eaten them all so fast...

Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Granola Bars

I have been wanting to try to make my own granola bars for a while now, but haven't been able to find a recipe I liked. This one is a mix of a few I found on the interwebs.

Forgot to take a "before" picture, but here they are in the oven! 

Ingredients: 
2 tablespoons (softened) unsalted butter
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
2-1/4 cups rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins (or other dried fruit of your choosing)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 13x9 (or similar size) pan with olive oil or cooking spray.
Combine the butter, applesauce, brown sugar, honey, vanilla and flour by hand or with a hand mixer (I have a lovely purple hand mixer I use every chance I get).
Add the baking soda, rolled oats and cinnamon. Mix again.
Stir in the raisin with a wooden spoon.
Pour mixture into the pan and spread evenly with the  wooden spoon.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until edges are brown and top is golden. (see photos).

How freaking delicious do these look!? This is right out of the oven, pre-cutting. 

I'm glad I finally got around to making these! They came out so good and we're ridiculously easy to make. The whole thing probably took about 10 minutes, including clean up (but not baking time). I let them cool for about 30 minutes before I cut them into bars, and wrapped them up for easy breakfast grabbing.

Give them a try and let me know what you think!

Mallory :)