Pineapple Cheese Ball

We've had this cheese ball every Thanksgiving for the last few years. I love the flavor of the pineapple and bell pepper together. This one is decorated to look like a turkey with a little red bell pepper and crackers for feathers, but you can make this for any occasion. Red and green bell pepper together make a festive Christmas cheese ball. I buy the bag of finely chopped pecans called cookie pieces, or chips. The cheese ball is very soft, pretty much a cheese spread, so if it sits in the fridge for awhile before eating, you might need to reshape it a little.

Pineapple Cheese Ball
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, well drained (squeeze all the juice out)
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper, or mixture of green and red bell pepper
3 TBSPs finely chopped green onion
1 tsp seasoned salt, or to taste
2 cups chopped pecans, divided

1. Combine cream cheese, drained crushed pineapple, chopped bell pepper, chopped green onion, seasoned salt, and 1 cup chopped pecans. Chill in refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour.
2. Scoop cheese mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Pull the sides up over the cheese to form a ball and wrap it up. This makes one large cheese ball, or you can divide it up to make 2 smaller ones. Refrigerate overnight.
3. Just before serving roll cheese ball in remaining cup of pecans.
Serve with assorted crackers. Makes about 3 cups of cheese spread.

Ready to wrap up.

Going in the fridge.

Ready to serve.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving! I always take a picture of my food, and what better place to post it!

Turkey Cranberry Wreath

I hosted a Pampered Chef show last Saturday that was lots of fun! My friend (and Pampered Chef consultant), Memory, showed us how to make this yummy dish. It's another recipe that you can make with your leftover turkey. You could even use chicken. Arranging the crescent rolls can be a little tricky, but it turns out so pretty.

Turkey Cranberry Wreath
pampered chef
2 pkg refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 T honey Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
2 cups cooked turkey, chopped
1/2 cup celery, sliced
3 TBSPs fresh parsley, snipped
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
4 oz. Swiss cheese, shredded (1 cup)
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 egg white

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Unroll crescent dough into 16 triangles. With wide end of triangles toward the center, arrange 8 triangles in a circle on a pizza pan or stone. Corners of the wide ends will touch and points will extend 1 inch beyond the edge of the pan. Lay they remaining 8 triangles in the opposite direction with the points toward the center and the wide ends between the other 8. See picture below.
3. Combine mayo, mustard, pepper, turkey, celery, parsley, onion, cranberries, cheese, and nuts if desired. Mix well until combined. Spread turkey mixture in a ring around center of crescent rolls.
4. Fold over crescent dough alternating outside and inside points, tucking ends under. Brush with egg white. Bake 25-30 minutes.
Yields 10 servings. Per serving: 363 calories; 17 g protein; 24g fat; 20g carbohydrates; 521 mg sodium

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

I made a turkey a couple of months ago so I could try out some recipes to go along with it. With my leftovers, I made a pot pie. This is the chicken pot pie recipe posted on my blog, but I substituted 2 cups of leftover turkey pieces. It's a great way to use up your leftover turkey after Thanksgiving!

Dessert Idea - Cupcake in a Jar

My friend Kristy first introduced this idea to me a few months ago and I fell in love with it! It's a such a fun way to give someone a special treat. My kids took a couple of them to their teachers at the end of the school year, and I've also given a few to friends for birthdays. All you need is a pint sized jar, a cupcake or 2, and some frosting. The possibilities are endless!

This is 2 chocolate cupcakes (they were kinda squatty) with this peanut butter frosting in the middle and buttercream on top.

This one is a strawberry cupcake cut in half with strawberry frosting in the middle and buttercream on top.

Cheesy Stuffing Cups

With Thanksgiving coming up, I decided to give this recipe a try. My husband loves Stove Top stuffing. I have a problem with making and serving stuffing from a box. This recipe worked out perfectly! It's a box of stuffing with some add ins that make it extra tasty. I baked it in a muffin tin to make cute portions, but you could also just spread it in a baking dish.

Cheesy Stuffing Cups
adapted from kraftfoods.com
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups water
1 pkg (6 oz.) stuffing mix
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar, divided
1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Melt butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add celery; cook and stir 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Stir in water. Bring to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in stuffing mix, berries and nuts. Add 1 cup cheese and egg; mix lightly.
3. Spoon into 8 greased muffin cups, mounding mixture as necessary to use all the stuffing mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
4. Bake 10 min. or until stuffing cups are heated through and cheese is melted. (If you use a baking dish, bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through.)