Green Drink For St. Patrick's Day .. !!

Green Soda Drink - Serves 2

½ cup packed fresh mint leaves 

1 tbsp. lime juice (approximately 1 small lime)

2 tsp. honey

2 c. sparkling or seltzer water

Ice

1. Pour the first 4 ingredients into a pitcher and crush with a spoon to break mint apart and             dissolve honey in the sparkling water.
2. Pour in 2 glasses with ice.

Sweet-'n'-Salty Honey Cheese Spread

Sweet-'n'-Salty Honey Cheese Spread is ready in only 10 minutes, perfect for last-minute company. A generous drizzle of the sticky sweetener is the finishing touch. Serve with assorted crackers.Transform a simple log of goat cheese into an impressive party appetizer by rolling the log of cheese in sunflower seeds and drizzling with honey.  Serve with fresh berries and crackers.

Ingredients : 

• 1 (10.5-oz.) goat cheese log
• 1/2 cup roasted, salted sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 pt. fresh raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries
• Garnish: fresh mint leaves
• Assorted crackers      

 Preparation

Press or roll goat cheese log in sunflower seeds, thoroughly covering cheese, including ends. Arrange cheese on a serving platter with any remaining sunflower seeds. Drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with berries. Garnish, if desired. Serve immediately with assorted crackers.

  Note: Nutritional analysis includes raspberries.

Cheese Ring with Strawberry Preserves

Make this appetizer your go-to crowd pleaser. Charmingly retro, the cheese ring is dressed up with sweet strawberry preserves that pair perfectly with the sharp Cheddar cheese.

 Ingredients 

• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 (8-oz.) blocks sharp Cheddar cheese, finely grated* $
• 1/2 cup strawberry preserves
• Assorted crackers
• Garnishes: chopped toasted pecans, fresh strawberries, strawberry flowers 

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Cool 15 minutes.
2. Stir together mayonnaise and next 2 ingredients. Stir in pecans and cheese.
3. Spoon mixture into a plastic wrap-lined 4-cup ring mold with a 2 1/2-inch center. Cover and chill 2 hours.
4. Unmold cheese ring onto a serving platter. Discard plastic wrap. Fill center of ring with preserves. Serve with crackers. Garnish, if desired.

  *Sharp white Cheddar cheese may be substituted.
    
Four Swaps for Strawberry Preserves. Serve any of these mixtures with Ashley's Cheese Ring for a new take on a classic. You can prep and chill up to four days ahead.

Variations

Mint-Pepper Jelly: Stir together 1/2 cup pepper jelly and 1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh mint.

Basil-Blackberry Preserves: Stir together 1/2 cup blackberry preserves and 1 1/2 to 2 tsp. chopped fresh basil.

Rosemary-Pear Preserves: Stir together 1/2 cup pear preserves and 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary.

Balsamic-Strawberry Preserves: Bring 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 18 to 20 minutes or until reduced to about 2 Tbsp. Let cool 10 minutes. Stir in 1 cup strawberry preserves. 

Tiny Tomato Tarts

Start your party off right with this easy quick and delicious finger food.With all the flavor of a traditional tomato pie, these Tiny Tomato Tarts will be a hit at your party!

 Ingredients

• 1/2 (14.1-oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts 
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes 
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
  2/3 cup mayonnaise
  1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1/4 cup (1 oz.) freshly shredded Cheddar cheese 
• 1/4 cup (1 oz.) freshly shredded mozzarella cheese 
• Garnish: fresh basil leaves

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Unroll piecrust on a lightly floured surface; roll into a 12-inch circle. Cut into 24 rounds using a 2-inch scalloped-edge round cutter. Press rounds into bottoms of ungreased miniature muffin cups. (Dough will come slightly up sides, forming a cup.) Prick bottom of dough once with a fork.
2. Bake at 425° for 4 to 5 minutes or until set. Cool in pans on a wire rack 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
3. Meanwhile, drain tomatoes well, pressing between paper towels. Combine tomatoes and chopped basil in a small bowl; season with desired amount of salt and pepper. Stir together mayonnaise and next 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Divide tomato mixture among pastry shells, and top with mayonnaise mixture.
4. Bake at 350° for 18 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately. Garnish, if desired.

Note: To make ahead, bake and cool pastry shells as directed in Steps 1 and 2. Remove from muffin pans, and store in an airtight container up to 3 days. Return pastry shells to muffin pans, and fill and bake as directed.

Chopped Salad Appetizer Shells

Ingredients :

8 ounces Jumbo pasta shells ( about 24 )

Salad :

4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
3/4 cup chopped peeled cucumber
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup onion
* you can add any other vegetable you want like spinach, green pepper, zucchini, beet etc..

 Dressing :

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon mixed Italian herbs
1/8 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook shells in plenty of boiling water according to package directions, being careful not to overcook them. Rinse in cold water; set aside. (For advance prep tip, see note at end).
2. Chop all salad ingredients, making sure you have all the pieces quite small so that you can easily stuff the salad into the shells.
3. Make dressing; pour over salad and toss lightly. Add salt and pepper if desired.
4. Stuff salad into cooled shells (now you will understand why you chopped the ingredients into small pieces!).
5. Refrigerate up to 4 hours before serving.

Advance preparation tip : "The day before, cook the shells, rinsed them in cool water, separated them and let them cool. Then, put them in a zip-lock, chopped everything for the salad part and put it in a zip-lock, without the dressing. The next day, mixed the dressing into the salad and stuffed the shells. Worked like a dream."

Taco Cupcakes

I am very excited to share my first post of recipes. I always look / search for easy, quick and tasty recipes... Today I am going to share a very quick Mexican dish, TACO CUPCAKES...
you can say it taco bite too..you can make this dish in 20 -25 mins. and believe me it tastes very delicious and yummy.

Whether you're entertaining a crowd or just making dinner for two, these are pretty to look at , but even better to eat. this is easy and always a big hit at my get together..It's worth trying and goes good as a appetizer. Happy cooking !!

Ingredients

• 1 (1.25 ounce) package of Old El Paso taco seasoning mix
• 36 wonton wrappers
• 1 (16 ounce) can Old El Paso vegetable refried beans
• 36 tortilla chips
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• optional toppings: sour cream, diced tomatoes, cilantro, onion

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray 18 muffin cups with cooking spray. 
2. Add the taco seasoning mix  in to refried beans.
3. Place one wonton wrapper in the bottom of each muffin cup. Layer about 1 Tbsp of refried beans on top of each wonton. Crush one tortilla chip on top of the beans and 1 Tbsp of shredded cheese. Repeat the layers again with a wonton wrapper, refried beans, tortilla chips and cheese. 
4. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Remove cupcakes from tin and top with your favorite taco toppings (i.e. sour cream, diced tomatoes, onion, or cilantro) 

Enjoy Cooking...!!!