Favorite Foods of 2011

Homemade Alfredo

Looking back over 2011, we had many noteworthy (perhaps even pin-worthy) food posts. Oddly enough, one of my most viewed recipes was my alfredo. It was actually posted in 2010, but since it's obviously popular, so today I'm featuring it, as I take a look back at some of my favorite food posts from last year!

Hope you enjoy my picks!  Happy New Year! And I hope you'll join me as we discover more delicious recipes in 2012!

Read more »

Cheesy Potato Crisps

For New Year's Eve, I always love to serve appetizers.  I think of this recipe for Cheesy Potato Crisps as a meatless alternative to sausage balls.  They taste very similar to sausage balls and are a great appetizer for all ages. And they're very easy on the wallet too!  Serve these alone or alongside your favorite dips like ranch and honey mustard.
Read more »

Easy Holiday Food Ideas

If you still need some last minute ideas for your Christmas holiday menu, you've come to the right place.  Today I'm sharing some of our favorite holiday appetizers and sweets!


Read more »

Buffalo Chicken Dip

With football season in full swing, this week I've decided to share one of our favorite dips for football snacking.  I first made this dip for the 2008 Super Bowl, and at that time I served it cold.  It wasn't until the last couple of times I made it, that I decided to heat it in the microwave.  And I have to say that we enjoy it either way.  And you can also bake it in the oven if your prefer. So it's a very versatile and tasty treat, and it's also fast and convenient! Enjoy!

Read more »

Meatball Subs and Publix Italian Days Giveaway

Stir up authentic Italian flavors and bring your family together around the dinner table during Italian Days at Publix! Now you can share the taste of a home-cooked Italian meal in the comfort of your own kitchen without spending a fortune.

From February 17th through March 2nd, visit your local Publix to take advantage of the great savings on some of your favorite General Mills brands such as Progresso, Green Giant, Pillsbury, Muir Glen and Totino´s, and save $5 when you purchase 20 participating products.

While visiting Italian Days at Publix, you can also enter the Publix Italian Days Sweepstakes, sponsored by General Mills, for a chance to win one of four grand prizes of $10,000 worth of free groceries or one of 200 $100 Publix gift cards being given as prizes.

There are three easy ways to enter for a chance to win the Sweepstakes. Enter via phone, mail or at ClickCallMail.com - a convenient one-stop website, where you´ll also be able to download great coupon savings on some of your favorite General Mills brands and other great offers from Publix.

Here´s how it works:

Click - Stay up to date with the latest General Mills promotions happening at Publix by visiting ClickCallMail.com. Once you´re registered and logged in, you can participate in any current promotions.

Call - If you´d prefer to enter the sweepstakes and participate in other promotions via telephone, feel free to call the General Mills/Publix hotline, at 1.800.627.6059, and be sure to say that you want to enter the Publix Italian Days Sweepstakes. Please be sure to provide your complete contact information (Full name/address/zip code/phone #).

Mail - If you prefer to participate via mail-in entry, print and mail your complete contact information (Full Name/address/zip code/phone #) to P.O. Box 43425 Atlanta, GA 30336 and be sure to write "Publix Italian Days Sweepstakes" on the outside of the envelope.

Photo Credit

I absolutely love meatball subs! I found this yummy recipe for them at Pillsbury.com.  It features just a couple of the participating products featured in Publix Italian days. Give it a try!

Recipe for Italian Meatball Subs

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. bulk Italian pork sausage

1/4 cup Progresso® Plain Bread Crumbs

1 small onion, chopped

1 egg

1 (15-oz.) can pizza sauce

2 cans (11 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crusty French loaf

4 oz. (1 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions: Bake bread as directed on package. In medium bowl, combine ground beef, sausage, bread crumbs, onion and egg; mix well. Shape into 16 (1 1/2-inch) balls.

In medium skillet, cook meatballs over medium heat for 5 minutes or until browned, turning frequently. Drain. Add pizza sauce. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 12 to 15 minutes or until meatballs are thoroughly cooked.

Slice each loaf open, sandwich-style. Place 8 meatballs in each loaf. Spoon sauce over meatballs. Cut loaves in half to make four sandwiches. Sprinkle with cheese.

Win it! One Simply Sweet Home reader will a $25 Publix giftcard to help you buy the participating Italian Days products.

Mandatory Entry:  To win, you must be a follower of my blog. And leave a comment telling me what your favorite Italian food you like to serve to your family. Deadline: March 7

Extra Entries: Leave a comment for each.

-1 if you follow @SimplySweetHome on Twitter.

-1 if  you subscribe to Simply Sweet Home via email.

-1 if you like Simply Sweet Home on facebook.

-1 for subscribing to my RSS feeds through Feedburner.

-1 for sharing this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook. 

(Sample Tweet:  I want to win a $25 Publix giftcard!  http://bit.ly/gBihQs @SimplySweetHome )  (Limit one tweet entry per day.)

Disclosure: General Mills gave me one gift card to keep and one to giveaway, as part of the MyBlogSpark program. The opinions are my own. If you'd like sponsor a review or giveaway on my blog, please see my PR page for details.

Ham & Cheese Pinwheels

Hope you all had a lovely and joyous Christmas!  Now it's time to move on to 2011!  For New Year's Eve, I've always enjoyed having appetizers to snack on throughout the evening.  So this week, I'm sharing what is, perhaps, the easiest appetizer ever!

These ham & cheese pinwheels are a quick fix, and they'll look great next to your hot dips, hot wings, and veggie trays. Enjoy!

Recipe for Ham & Cheese Pinwheels

1 block cream cheese

several slices of ham

Directions: Place your cream cheese in the microwave for a few seconds to soften.  Spread onto ham slice with a knife.  (I use the thick slices that are rectangle shaped.)  Roll up the ham slice. Repeat until you've used all the cream cheese.  Chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.  Then take a sharp knife and cut your ham rolls into pin wheels.  Place on a tray and you're ready to serve!

Tips:

For larger (wider) pinwheels, spread the cream cheese on the ham.  Then stack 2 or 3 ham & cheese slices together before rolling.  Chill & then cut.

To add extra color and flavor to your pinwheels you may consider adding one or two of the following to your cream cheese spread:  shredded cheddar cheese, chives, pickle relish, red or green pepper, tomato, or even a colorful spice like basil or paprika.

Do you have an easy appetizer or snack that you like to make for the holidays? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Linking up this week to these parties.

Guest Post: Five Easy Kid-Friendly Treats

Today I have a guest post to share with you.  This is by Lela Lake for Food PR experts Sauce Communications.  Hope you enjoy it! 

If you are interested in writing a guest post for Simply Sweet Home, just email me, and I'll be happy to discuss it with you.

Trying to keep the kids away from manufactured snacks with little to no nutritional value at all is the challenge all parents face. Here are a few handy ideas for quick treats for kids that not only taste great but will give them the right stuff to grow on:

1) Filled Celery Sticks

image credit

Even though many kids are fussy about vegetables, celery tends to be a favorite, so use it wisely and keep plenty on hand for quick snacks. They can be filled with cream cheese (especially the fruit-flavored ones) peanut butter and topped with raisins, dried fruit or sprinkled with a cinnamon/sugar blend.

Also be sure there is always a glass of water in the fridge with a few cut celery and carrot spears ready to go so that they will (hopefully) be snatched up as a quick snack.

2) Fruit Kabobs

image credit

Slice any combination of firm fruit like apples, pineapple, peaches or strawberries and you can add blackberries, cherries or grapes just as they are.

Cut up some of your child's favorite cheese into little squares and place it between the fruit on a shish kebab sticks. For everyone's sake, do break off the sharp end of the stick before serving. You can whip up a light dipping sauce with yogurt, ginger, lemon, a dash of cinnamon and honey.

3) Peanut Butter and Fruit

image credit

Peanut butter has a way of combining beautifully with many fruits, and kids enjoy both so much that it just makes sense to put them together. Spread crackers with peanut butter and top with bananas for a wonderful quick snack. Or cut up a fresh apple and provide the dish of peanut butter to dip it in.

4) Southwestern Sushi

image credit

You can tailor-make this recipe with your child's favorite ingredients. The basic idea is to take a flour tortilla and cover one side with cream cheese. Add refried beans, cheese, sandwich meat or whatever fun leftovers you have, and roll the tortilla up tight and place in the fridge for an hour so.

Take out the chilled, filled tortilla and skewer with toothpicks about every 1 inch or so. Slice the tortilla between the toothpicks, remove the toothpicks and serve this handy finger food for a quick snack.

5) Deviled Eggs

image credit

It's not hard to get children to eat hard boiled eggs, and it is even more fun when the yolks have been removed and blended was some light flavorings like mayonnaise, mustard, paprika and black pepper. These can be stored in a sealed container in a refrigerator for quick after school snack.

I'll be sharing this post at some of these parties!

Disclosure:  This is NOT a paid post.   If you are interested in being a guest blogger on Simply Sweet Home, please contact me.

Friday Favorites - Week 22

Happy Friday everyone! Friday Favorites will be a little different this week.  I've been incredibly busy the last couple of weeks, cleaning out our outbuilding (& getting ready for a yardsale).  And then this week, I've also been helping my dad clean up at his house, because he's getting ready to sell it and move to a smaller place.  So with all this going on, I did not get a chance to visit all your posts. (I only managed to get around to about half of them, but I will try to catch up this next week!) 

Anyway, since I didn't get around to everyone, and since I worked 10 hours today and only just got home a couple of hours ago, I decided to share some some things that I found the other day when I was looking for recipes for my ice cream social post.  I've discovered that Betty Crocker has a ton of great snack ideas for kids.  And with summer here, and the new school year just around the corner, I had bookmarked a few things to share here for later. But since I didn't get around to all the Friday Favorites stuff, I've decided that later is going to be now!  So I hope you enjoy these fun (& easy!) snack ideas for kids!

 Cheerios Frozen Bananas

Fudgy Banana Pudding Pops

Indoor S'mores

Banana Nut Snack Bars

I look forward to seeing all you posts this week.  Please link up with me below!

-Jerri

Easy Onion Dip

Here's something easy for your summer parties & barbecues or just a quick snack.  When I was a kid I used to go over to my best friend Mark's house, and before any homework could get done, we'd have to have a snack!  And we often ate chips and dip made from onion soup mix.  Today I still like to use this recipe.  And I'll often divide it up and just make a small amount (1/2 cup or less) for me to have as a snack. It's very fast and convenient for whatever occasion you like.

Recipe for Easy Onion Dip

Ingredients:

1 envelope Onion Soup Mix (such as Lipton)

1 pint sour cream

Directions: Mix well.  Chill and serve with chips, crackers, or veggies. Makes 2 cups.

-Jerri

-----------------------------------

I'm posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family
Tip Me Tuesday is hosted by Tip Junkie
Tackle it Tuesday is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom
Sharing Ideas Wednesday is hosted by The Trendy Treehouse
Friday Food is hosted by Mom Trends
Friday Foodie is hosted by Designs by Gollum
Finer Things Friday is hosted by Amy's Finer Things
I'm Lovin It Fridays is hosted by Tidy Mom
Show off Your Stuff Thursday is hosted by Fireflies and Jellybeans

Ham & Cheese Crescents

I hope you all had a good Christmas! Now it's time to move on to New Year's. So how about some appetizers? Here's something easy you can make for the kids. (If they have something they like, then maybe they won't complain about the spinach dip and other adult apps!)

And speaking of New Year's, if anyone out there has a resolution to get organized and/or start meal planning, be sure to enter my 500th Post Giveaway. I'm giving away a membership to the Relish Menu Planning Website. It's the perfect tool to help you get your meals organized in 2010!

Recipe for Ham & Cheese Crescents:

Ingredients:

1-2 Can Crescent Rolls

About 3pieces of thin sliced ham for each roll

1/2 piece of cheese for each roll.

Directions: Place ham and cheese on crescent roll. (I like to put 1/2 the ham on, then add cheese, and then add the rest of the ham.) Then just roll them up, and bake as directed on the crescent roll package. (Sometimes I leave them in a little longer, about 2-3 minutes) Serve with dipping sauces if you desire. (Ranch or Honey Mustard is great!) Then just enjoy!

-Jerri

-----------------------------------

I'm posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family
DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land

Sausage Balls

Here's one my of my favorite party appetizers: Sausage Balls! I don't really eat sausage very often myself, but I can't ever get enough of these. They are so delicious, and they're so easy to make with only 3 ingredients!

In addition to the carnivals I participate in each week, I'll be posting a link to this post for the Holiday Food Fest at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free and for the Bloggy Progressive Dinner at Beauty and Bedlam. If you're stopping by from one of those events, be sure to leave me a comment so I can go visit you. I can't wait to see everyone's appetizers!

Recipe for Sausage Balls

Ingredients:
1 heaping cup of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 lb of hot or mild sausage
2 cups bisquick

Directions: Combine and shape into 1-inch balls. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes. (Can be frozen and baked as needed)

-----------------------------------

I'm posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
Ultimate Recipe is Swap is hosted by Life as Mom.
Friday Feasts is hosted by Momtrends.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family
Hooked on Fridays is hosted by Hooked on Houses

-Jerri

Mexican Wedding Cookies

To go along with our wedding and shower theme, this week's recipe is Mexican Wedding Cookies. This is an easy and quick cookie recipe, similar to short bread cookies. Serve them up for a party or a quick snack!

Recipe for Mexican Wedding Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, divided
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat butter, 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar and the vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour and pecans, beating on low speed after each addition until well blended.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place, 1-1/2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 14 to 15 min. or until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned. Cool 5 min. on baking sheets. Roll warm cookies in remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar until evenly coated; place on wire racks. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.

-Jerri



-----------------------------------

I'm posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Making A Happy Home Monday is hosted by As For Me and My House….
Make Something Monday is hosted by Go Graham Go! and Jolly Mom and Diana Rambles.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
I Am Blissfully Domestic is hosted by Blissfully Domestic.
Ultimate Recipe is Swap is hosted by Life as Mom.
Friday Feasts is hosted by Momtrends.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family
Hooked on Fridays is hosted by Hooked on Houses

Chicken Pockets

A couple of weeks ago I got to experiments and made some chicken pockets. These are very easy and quick to make, and they are very versatile and inexpensive. They makes a great snack or lunch time food for kids. And it would also be a great appetizer to serve at parties, or even a wedding or shower!

Along with the recipe, below you'll find some photos I took of the process, and below that you'll find my usual tips and suggestions for the recipe. I have a lot of great ideas for variations on this one. I'd love to hear your ideas for this as well!

Recipe for Chicken Pockets:
1 can crescent rolls
1 can chicken breast, drained
2-3 spoon fulls mayo (depends on how much mayo you like)

Directions: Pull crescents apart. There should be 8 triangles. Put two of the rolls together so that it makes a rectangle shape. Use your fingers to press the two rolls together. Repeat with the rest of the rolls. Mix up your mayo and chicken. Spoon out some of the chicken mixture onto the roll. (see pic below) Then roll the dough up into a pocket. Press the dough again with your fingers to make sure the pocket is sealed. Bake according to the instructions on the crescent roll package.

Notes: After placing the chicken mixture on the dough, I had a little bit of chicken mixture left. You may want to use all the chicken in your pockets, but if not then the chicken mixture is great by itself or on a salad or regular sandwich bread.

The rolls look kind of funny because I used off brand crescent rolls which taste great, but they don't always break away perfectly!

At least they looked better after baking!

Tips and Suggestions:
-To make these a little more flavorful or "grown up" if you will, you could try adding any of the following, a spoonful of poppy seeds, celery seed, or dill seed.
-Shredded cheese would add a lot to this as well. (Wish I had thought about it at the time, in fact!)
-You could also add a spoonful of pickle relish. (I love dill!) Or add a piece of chopped celery (yum!), or add a little chopped onion. And I think bacon bit would be delicious in this as well.
-And some people like to put chopped pecans in their chicken salad mixtures, as well as grapes or craisons. Personally it's not my cook of tea, but I know a lot of people would like this.
-Also, if you don't like mayonnaise, you use miracle whip, cream cheese, or a salad dressing of your choice. (I think ranch would be yummy!) And you could always use barbecue sauce or even buffalo sauce!
-Serving note/idea - The great thing about these is that if you have any leftover, they're great to reheat later. I personally ate 2 of these, and it was enough to fill me up for lunch. If you have small children, instead of doing the pockets with two crescents, I'd recommend doing single crescents, and roll them up like usual with the chicken mixture inside, to make a total of 8 roll-ups. This may also be a better option if you want to make these as a party food.

-Jerri



-----------------------------------

I'm posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Making A Happy Home Monday is hosted by As For Me and My House….
Make Something Monday is hosted by Go Graham Go! and Jolly Mom and Diana Rambles.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
I Am Blissfully Domestic is hosted by Blissfully Domestic.
Ultimate Recipe is Swap is hosted by Life as Mom.
Friday Feasts is hosted by Momtrends.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family
Hooked on Fridays is hosted by Hooked on Houses

Recipe of the Week: Black Bean Spirals

With the Super Bowl coming up here soon, I thought it would be a good time to post an appetizer. Last year one of the appetizers I made was Black Bean Spirals. Actually I did the recipe for the filling, and I used about half of it for the spirals, and I used the other half of the filling as a dip for nacho chips. You could also skip the step of cutting them into spirals and have black bean wraps (adding toppings if you so desire).

I really like these. I can't really think of a good way to describe them other than to say that they're just different. There very light compared to a lot of appetizers out there, which also makes them a great snack for summer time parties. And this is another great recipe that you can use as a base and then add other ingredients or serve it in a variety of ways.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

4 ounces of Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup of cheddar cheese

1/4 cup of sour cream

dash of salt (optional)

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed & drained.

3 flour tortillas

Directions:

-Mix cheeses, sour cream, and salt until well blended.

-Place beans in food processor and process till smooth. Add beans to the mixture and spread on tortillas.

-Roll up tortillas and chill for 30 minutes. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and serve.

-Optional: Garnish with pico de gallo or a little salsa, or serve salsa on the side for dipping.

I took these photos as I went through the process of making them:

This is the filling mixture...again, I LOVE this as a dip!

Spooned out on a tortilla.



Wrapped up.

The final product: Black Bean Spirals

Tips & Suggestions:

-Try adding shredded chicken to the filling mix....everything's better with chicken!

-The filling mix would be a great topping for tacos, taco salad, and other Mexican dishes.

-It could also be used for filling in finger sandwiches, pitas, and other bread items.

-----------------------------------

Please visit the following sites for more great recipes & other ideas:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Making A Happy Home Monday is hosted by As For Me and My House….
Kitchen Tip Tuesdays is hosted by Tammy's Recipes
Make Something Monday is hosted by Go Graham Go! and Jolly Mom
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Forever Wherever.

-Jerri

Works For Me Wednesday: Bagel-Fuls

If you are looking for a new snack to serve to your kids (or to yourself, for that matter) consider trying Bagel-fuls. Bagel-fuls are one of the latest products from Kraft. A box of 4 sells for around $2, and they come in the following flavors: Original, Strawberry, Cinnamon, Chive, and Whole Grain.

I’ve personally tried the Original flavor, and I liked them very much. You can eat them straight out of the fridge, or you can warm them in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Either way, it is great for a quick snack. I totally recommend this product to anyone who’s looking to save time in the morning or anyone who rushes off to work or other appointments and is tired of eating the same old quick breakfasts.

Over the years I’ve eaten a lot Nutri-grain bars, cereal bars, and other quick/instant breakfasts both at school, at the office, and at home, and I think Bagel-fuls are really good for a change. It is true that for just a little more money you can buy a bag of 6 or 8 bagels and a container of cream cheese and just make it yourself, but for a quick, convenient, mess-free, on-the-go snack, Bagel-fuls work just fine for me.

For more WFMW, visit Rocks in My Dryer.

-Jerri

Favorite Recipes of 2008

Last year I did a post, highlighting my favorite posts of 2007. This year I'm doing something a little different. I did a round up of some of my favorite recipe posts. After all, the recipes seem to get the most comments; plus, a lot of my other posts are seasonal in nature, but recipes are relevant for the entire year.

I can't really say that I have any *absolute* favorite recipes. Then again, does anyone really have a #1 favorite recipe or even a favorite recipe post? But I felt that all of these were worthy of a second look. Happy New Year!

Cakes & Pies

Slow Cooker Hot Fudge Cake

Mini Almond Bundt Cakes

Coconut Cream Cake


Egg Custard Pie

Easy Autumn Pear Cake

Other Desserts

Apple Crisp

Peanut Butter Balls

Cake Mix Cookies

Unbaked Caramel Cookie Bars

Cinnamon Muffins


Other Recipes

Crab Appetizer Napoleons

Fantasy Football Meatballs

Chicken Florentine

Bacon, Caesar, Mozzarella Panini

-Jerri