If your house is full of ribbons and presents to be wrapped and your heart says it's time to get together and share good things, then these snacks and a quick dessert can fill the bill when family and friends drop in and you need to feed them healthy things.
The first recipe is a spinach, artichoke dip that required ten minutes to prepare, 22' to bake.
Ingredients:
5 oz frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, squeezed dry in a colander
1 medium can/jar of artichokes. If in oil, drained.
1/2 C Mayo
1/2 C sour cream
3/4 C parmesan, grated
3/4 C mozzarella, shredded
2 cloves of garlic, minced fine
1/2 teaspoon of chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste.
Mix and bake in an ovenproof dish at 375F for 22'. Serve with toasted baquette slices or your favorite crackers.
Brie and Onion Marmalade Tarts. (Adapted from Relish Mag. Dec. 20010)
1 box frozen puff pastry
12 oz of brie
Red onion marmalade
Preheat oven to 400F
Cut pastry sheets into 24 squares. Place in muffin pans. Place a 1-inch piece of brie on top of pastry square and top with a teaspoon of jam.
Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Note: You can add other stuff once the tarts are cooled: crumbled bacon, a drizzle of balsamic, torn baby greens, etc.
Cranberry Nut Pie ( Adapted from Ocean Spray-Winsconsin Cranberry Board)
1 1/4 Cups of fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 C brown sugar
1/4 C chopped walnuts
1 egg
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C all purpose flour
1/3 C melted butter or margarine
Preheat oven to 325F. Butter a 9inch pie plate.
Layer cranberries on bottom of pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and nuts.
In a bowl, beat egg until thick; gradually add sugar, beating until thoroughly blended. Stir in flour and melted butter; blend well. Pour over cranberries.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Cut in wedges and serve with ice cream.
I tend to make a couple of batches, one for us, one for whatever occasion comes up. It is nice to pull out a pie from the freezer at a moment's notice.
ReplyDeleteThose all sound wonderful! I used to make a tart similar to your brie and onion one, but with brie and pesto instead. Now, since I avoid grains, I use crimini mushrooms with a very small cube of brie and a tad of pesto, and bake them for about 20 minutes as well. Very yummy, and a good primal treat!
ReplyDeleteSara, brilliant!
ReplyDeleteOh my, all three of these look scrumptious, but that Cranberry Nut Pie sounds fabulous! Thanks for the great recipes! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI saw the "Relish" recipe for the tarts and tried them. I used a caramelized onion and fig compote we picked up at winery and they were easy and very well received. I am going to try the artichoke dip...I usually buy the frozen one at Trader Joe's! I also like the stuffed mushroom idea from Sara!
ReplyDeleteOnion and figs, oh my! I can live on these things.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays, everyone.