Puffs of Heaven

Thank you Liz for the namesake : ) ...they did turn out quite yummy, not too spicy and melted in your mouth.... I wandered around Meijer's aimlessly on my way to Laurens for a girls evening...had no plan in mind until I saw the Garlic Butter Crescent rolls (mmmm thank you Pillsbury). Four ingredients later I had a plan...took 6 minutes to make and 10 minutes to bake. The leftover cream cheese mix was a perfect veggie/cracker dip too :)

Half a can of black beans

Roll of Garlic butter crescent rolls
Two jalapeños (de-seeded and chopped)
Block of cream cheese


Follow directions on crescent rolls, mix together cream cheese, black beans (drained) and chopped jalapenos. Lauren had a yummy Arizona mix for seasoning (onion powder, chili powder, garlic, salt) add a little sprinkle of season. I cut the crescent triangles into two or three pieces to make smaller puffs, but you can also use the whole roll. Stuff, seal and bake.

For extra yummy add to mix Mexican seasoning, fresh garlic, onions, black olives...like I said I had no plan and they still turned out well. In retrospect could have been stuffed with a lot more goodness.

ENJOY!

Bean Dip Galore

 No cookin' music today-head has too much going on!!!

This recipe is wonderful cold or warm. Because I used cream cheese, I decided to bake it. If you want a cold bean dip, I would recommend using light sour cream instead of cream cheese. I combined this recipe with B’s mama’s "Mari’s Mexican Bean Dip ‘El Especial." At the bottom you will see the differences in recipes. Both cheesy, warm and delicious. Mari makes her recipe half vegetarian for me, the other half has shredded chicken, which I have heard is quite excelente if you do dabble in meat eating.

You Will Need:

One Cup of Brown Rice/Two cups water

Five green onions-chopped

One can of vegetarian refried beans

One packet of guacamole seasoning (or your own creation-garlic powder, pepper, salt etc.)

One block of low fat cream cheese

One can of Rotel tomatoes (I used tomatoes with chili’s added)

One cup of spinach

One can of black olives

Half of a green pepper

½ cup of mozzarella cheese

½ cup of cheddar cheese

Cook the rice, until tender add green onion and mix well. While rice is simmering open can of beans and spread in a baking pan or flat dish. Spread rice mixture over beans and sprinkle with half a packet of guacamole seasoning. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on rice mixture

Put a layer of spinach over rice. Microwave or warm cream cheese until soft. In a separate bowl mix cream cheese and Rotel. Spread in an even layer over spinach.

Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of cream cheese mixture. Add your favorite toppings. I used black olives and green peppers. Onions, jalapenos, corn, cilantro would all be lovely, I was working with what I had in fridge.

At this point, you can decide to eat warm or cold. I tasted it both ways and it was mmmm mmmm good. Entirely up to you. Great in tacos and burritos as well!

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until cheese is melted. If you want a little crispy, put on broil for five minutes. Serve Warm

 

For Mari’s Bean dip: One can of Rotel tomatoes, One Bag of Mexican Cheese, Two Cans of refried Beans, One block of cream cheese. Follow the same directions above layering, beans, mixing cream cheese and Rotel and topping with a bag of shredded Mexican.

 

ENJOY!!!

Baked Brie with Mushrooms

 John Denver- Take Me Home radio 

I have to say I made this recipe a couple of weeks ago for Easter...hmmmm I guess that's more like three weeks ago...slacker!! I have been a bit un-motivated lately, but now that the sun is shining, things are slowly winding down at work...its time to take care of some recipes. 

This is a very flexible appetizer. I am not a fan of Brie with sweet fruit or syrup added...however if you are, you can substitute my salty for your sweet until your heart and sweet tooth are content.

I bought a wheel of Brie on sale at Meijer's for $6.99 (usually $10.00), I have found good deals at Sam's club as well. If you aren't a fan of mushrooms, you can make more a Mexican Brie, using Black beans, onion and green pepper. If you do want the sweet option, fill with your favorite fruit or jam.

Wheel of Brie ( I used President 16oz)

One sheet of Puff Pastry

Two cups of sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup of chopped onion

Fresh Pepper

Three Garlic cloves

One egg

Salt

Thaw Puff pastry as directed (generally two hours is enough), pre-heat oven as directed. Sautee your chopped mushrooms, onion and use a knife or garlic press to get your garlic into little bits. I love pepper, so I added about ten grinds of fresh pepper. Cook on low.

Take your Brie and slice in half length wise, generally a large bread knife works well.

Roll your puff pastry out, so that it is a large sheet. Take half of your Brie and lay cut side up on rolled out puff pastry. Take your sautéed mushrooms and onion and pile on top of brie, add more garlic or sprinkle salt at this point (optional).

Take other half of wheel and place on top of fixin's 

Carefully fold each corner of puff pastry over the wheel.  Take your egg (I used just the whites) and mix it. Lightly brush egg on top of folded puff pastry.

Bake until a golden brown on top. Wonderful with crackers, bread, or veggies. Best if served right away (On Easter I had to take to sister's house and bake some more, ended up a little bit soggier then usual and a bit more greasy)  

ENJOY!!! 

Baked Polenta- Wyclef Jean Radio

I love polenta...super easy, gluten free vegetarian option. You can use it as an appetizer, for breakfast with eggs or as a main meal piled high with veggies.  This recipe is the appetizer version. Polenta can be found at Meijer's usually in the pasta aisle. Less then four dollars for one roll or you can make your own at home. I have not tried the homemade version, but I imagine it is pretty simple and tastes like grits...mmmmmm mmmmm do I love some cheesy grits.  

One roll of Polenta sliced (about 20 pieces)

One cup of sliced mushrooms

Two roma tomatoes sliced

Rondele cheese (I used artichoke)

1/3 cup of feta cheese

1/3 cup of shredded parmesan

Salt and Pepper and garlic powder

Olive oil spray

Pre-heat oven to 350. To make my polenta less mushy I used a griddle, to crisp up a little prior to baking. You can do either way. If you do not have a griddle, you can use a skillet with a little bit of olive oil. Slice the polenta, one roll gave me about twenty pieces. Spray a skillet or pan with olive oil. Add the polenta and sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder. Repeat after flipping. After you have crisped your polenta to a nice golden yellow on either side. Lay on a cookie sheet.

Take a small amount of rondele cheese and add a small teaspoon side dollop to each polenta. Place one sliced roma tomato on top of the rondele cheese.

Add a sliced mushroom on top of tomato and sprinkle with feta and parmesan.  

 

 Bake at 350 for fifteen minutes. If you did not crisp your polenta before, you can bake at a higher temperature or broil for the last 5 minutes.  

ENJOY!!!

Green Pepper Puff Pastry Rolls

Prison Bound-Social Distortion

This is one of my favorite appetizers to make. I try to always have some puff pastry in my fridge to make yummy cheesy snackers. This method is quicker then doing individual biscuits, but it still yummy. You can also switch green pepper out for whatever your favorite veggie is. You can pack these little bites of warm goodness full of whatever your heart desires.


1 1/2 blocks of cream cheese.
1 diced green pepper (or your favorite veggie)
10 shakes of garlic powder
1/3 cup of shredded Swiss cheese
1/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of white chopped onion
Pepper and Salt
1/4 cup of egg whites


Pre-heat oven to 400. Make sure you have thawed your puff pastry for at least two hours prior to using. Package comes with two sheets, prior to thawing, put one sheet in zip lock bag and stick back in freezer if you aren't using right away. It does not freeze well once thawed. Add cream cheese to bowl, mix in green pepper, onion, garlic powder, as well as egg whites. Set aside.
Roll out one sheet of puff pastry, I don't have a roller, so I tossed and turned it until it was perfect size for my pan. Sprinkle parmesan and Swiss cheese on sheet of pastry. I added pepper and salt here as well.




Spread cream cheese mixture on puff pastry sheet, making sure to cover all areas.  

Starting closest to you, roll puff pastry, it will stretch as you roll it. Once rolled into a lovely cheese filled log, spray cookie sheet or parchment paper. Cut log into 1/2 inch wheels and lay cut side down on pan. Bake for 20 minutes, making sure not to burn bottoms. Mine were a little crispy here, but still turned out nice. My batch baked at least 20 rolls. This is the quicker version. Generally I cut individual squares and make pouches. Takes a little more time, but works well if you are adding extra veggies, like artichoke, spinach and asparagus. More recipes coming soon : )

ENJOY!!!

Jalapeno Poppers

 I Need a Dollar-Aloe Blacc

This is one of my favorite appetizers to make...actually favorite to eat. The jalapeno's can be a lil' bit tricky to get every seed out. This particular batch I left some seeds in to add some spice, however they were so spicy that I immediately gave myself the hiccups and my sister had a hot mouth for the rest of the evening. Soooo..with that being said. If you don't like kick.....LEAVE NO SEEDS untouched! Otherwise...leave a few and Enjoy!

If you are not a fan of jalapenos you can make this recipe using your favorite pepper or cherry tomato's.

One package of Neufchatel cream cheese (I bought 1/3 less fat)

9 large Jalapenos

1/4 cup of finely chopped white onion

1/3 cup of cheddar cheese

3 chopped garlic cloves

Salt and Pepper

Something crunchy for on top

(I used jalapeno crumbles that you would put on a salad, which could be why they were extra, extra spicy, you can use bread crumbs or potato chips as well)

Turn oven on to 375. In a bowl add cream cheese, its easier to work with if it is room temperature. You can set out on oven while you go to work on the jalapenos. Cut top of each jalapeno off and then cut length wise. Use a knife to remove all seeds from each side and rinse. Lay on paper towel to dry.

Take your cream cheese and add chopped white onion, cheddar cheese, chopped garlic cloves, 5ish grinds of black pepper and mix well.  Add this mixture to your dry jalapenos, sprinkle salt on top and add your favorite crunchy item.

Bake for 15 minutes.

I like to turn up the heat to 475 the last couple of minutes to get an extra crispy top.

ENJOY!! 

Old Chicago

 

5314 S. Westnedge Ave.

Portage, MI 49002

269-344-1111

http://www.oldchicago.com/locations/portage

Benny and I have been searching for a go to spot for Trivia, yummy food and drink specials. We tried Old Chicago on a Friday after work and it had all three : ) Their starters were all half off and drink specials included ALL draft beers and well liqueur's. Even though I  did get my butt beat in Trivia, still had a wonderful time. Service was great (we sat at the bar, but the manager checked on us, as well as two different bar tenders) Ended up being a cheap date for Benny, thanks to their awesome specials. We left very full! Next time we'll have to try the pizza!

Grilled Cheese Panini With Tomato Soup Dip $5.89        

Handmade ciabatta bread stuffed with five cheeses, layered with marinated cherry tomatoes, garlic sauce and black pepper. If you are craving a grilled cheese and tomato soup this is perfect! Couldn't beat the half off price of less than $3.00!! Warm and cheesy with lots of flavor. 

Artichoke Dip $8.09 

Artichoke hearts melted with cream cheese and our own spice blend. Served with fresh garlic bread and veggies. This appetizer came with garlic bread that would have been good on its own, but the dip made it perfect. Tons of veggies hiding underneath the bread too...green pepper, carrots, celery and cucumber made a vegetarian very happy. I like that the dip is made with cream cheese and not mayo as well, lots of garlic. mmmmmmmmmm mmmm good.  

Angry Orchard and Soft Parade with Trivia....Perfect~!

 

Avacado Bean Salad

 You Belong with Me-Taylor Swift

This yummy avocado salad, adds a little extra protein then typical guacamole. Love them beans! You can substitute northern beans for garbanzo, refried or navy beans. Add extra jalapenos for some more flavor. Perfect in quesadillas, on top of tacos, with chips or just plain.

2 firm avocados

1 cup of chopped cilantro

1 green onion chopped

1/2 cup of white onion

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup of green pepper

1 can of Great Northern Beans

2 jalapenos

1 tablespoon of garlic powder

3 shakes of salt

tablespoon of lime juice

Open can of beans and rinse in strainer, set aside. In a large bowl chop and add green onion, cilantro, white onion, celery, green pepper. Mix well. Add beans. Take two avocado's and chop lengthwise. Dice into small squares and add to bowl. Take two jalapenos and cut lengthwise. Carefully scrape seeds into garbage (make sure they do not touch your fingers, especially if you wear contacts..YOWSA! My friend Ali says put olive oil on your fingers to avoid the sting, I always forget until after). Dice jalapenos. and add to bowl. If you want some extra kick leave some of the seeds.  Add salt, lime juice, garlic powder. Mix well-I leave the seed in with the mixture to keep the color longer the lime juice helps with this as well.

Enjoy!

Shakespeare's Pub

241 E Kalamazoo Ave #100, Kalamazoo, MI 49007

(269) 488-7782

www.shakespearespub.com

"Oh, how I missed you"

I have not had Shake's nachos in over 8 months (trying to eat healthier??)...after having them again

I am wondering why it took me so long to order them...Ted (co-owner.. convinced me to try them again)

They came out hot, smelling wonderful.

I added olives and they were stacked high, layers of cheesy goodness, queso, tomato, purple onion

and a side of salsa and sour cream. If you want some extra kick ask for a side of their spicy buffalo

or add jalapenos.

I would not have been able to eat them all...well probably could have..but would not NEED to..

my sister helped me finish them off and we proceeded to finish our game of cards.

Saturday evening happy hour went from 6-9, we were able to get a good table, watch the

games, enjoy the food and good company.

Nachos

Golden tortilla with diced tomatoes, onions, lettuce, queso dip and shredded cheddar cheese.

 Served with a side of salsa and sour cream

small order $6.99 full order $8.99

‎

 

The Union

The Union

 125 S. Kalamazoo Mall, Kalamazoo, MI 49007

 269.384.6756

http://www.millenniumrestaurants.com/union/

This was the perfect date spot for my sister and I to have a delicious HALF OFF bloody Mary, yummy appetizers and watch the downtown Kalamazoo traffic on a Saturday. Our server Chyrs was wonderful, prompt and humorous. The manager also checked on us several times.  Lil 'sister and I split the salad and appetizer as well as a side of fries, we

were both full and happy. She failed to mention until after we ordered that The Union has her favorite Spinach and Artichoke dip...oh well...just an excuse to go back this weekend. Lots of vegetarian options!

ELECTRIC GOAT’S CHEESE

Baked goat’s cheese

served with tomato basil sauce and warm bread $6.95

Warm and cheesy, the goat cheese isn't too overpowering, and if you love bread this is perfect.

ROASTED ARTICHOKE SALAD

Roasted artichoke hearts, Peppers, tomato, kalamata olives, red onion, basil, and

feta cheese, dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegars $7.50

(Gluten Free)

I LOVE this salad. It does not come with Roman lettuce, we added it for a $1.50 extra.

 

The Hail Mary

(minus Beef Jerky vodka-substitute for green onion)

Half off specialty Bloody Mary's on Saturday until 4.

YUM

North 11

 North 11

5585 Gull Rd, Kalamazoo Township, MI 49048

(269) 381-8211

www.north11.com

Five Pepper Dip- $8.49

"A delicious blend of cream cheese, five peppers, garlic, onion, and cheese served with grilled flatbread." This was our first time trying this appetizer. It was creamy and cheesy, with a little kick that wasn't too spicy for B. I am not much of a bread fan, so next time I would order with tortilla chips. Perfect size appetizer to go with a filling Bloody Mary. Ben and I usually drink their Bloody Mary Martini's however wanted the real thing with less alcohol this time. Perfecto!

Main St. Pub (West Main)

Main St. Pub 

4514 W. Main, Kalamazoo, MI 49006

269-342-9710

www.mainstpub.com

Mushroom quesadilla with no cheese

My gram-cracker (AKA Gramma) orders this to avoid the cholesterol with the cheese, at first I was skeptical..."no cheese???" But this baby was packed full of flavor. Green onions, sautéed portabella mushrooms...equals mmmm mmmm good. 

Portabella Quesadilla $7.49

A grilled flour tortilla stuffed with shredded cheese, tomatoes and scallions. Served with sour cream and salsa.

Boca burger 

I ordered the veggie Boca burger with mozzarella cheese, sautéed onions and mushrooms, depending on my mood (and day of the week) I'll get a side of fries or a side salad. During the week much more likely to puck the healthier option. You can also switch up the bread if you aren't a fan of regular bun. I tried the sour dough. But still not a huge fan of bread so picked away at it. Still yummy. 

Create your own burger $6.99 extra for toppings

With all burgers you can substitute a boca burger, chicken breast or portabella cap. Served with onion, tomato and lettuce. 

Salsa

The Misfits Radio

1 Cup of cilantro

Three cloves of garlic

2 Garden tomatoes

1 Roma tomato

1/2 cup of red pepper

1 cup purple onion

teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/4 cup of water

1 can of Rotel with chili's (optional)

Put 3/4 cup of purple onion in food processor, with 3 cloves of garlic, water, 1 roma tomato and 1 garden tomato. Blend until a smooth liquid, put in mixing bowl.

Chop cilantro, remainder of tomato and onion. Add to mixing bowl. Add garlic powder and salt.

I use the Rotel when I don't want to mess with cutting jalapenos and to add more liquid. It can be poured directly into mix or blended in the food processor. Adds a nice kick!

ENJOY!

 

O Duffy's Pub

O'DUFFYS PUB

804 W Vine St, Kalamazoo, MI 49008

(269) 381-9771
www.oduffyspub.com/

Queso Fundido- Melted Chihuahua cheese served with Pico de Gallo and tortillas $7.99

This was our Valentines day appetizer...it was the perfect size, cheese was a little firm and gooey...really lovely flavors, spicy, but not too spicy for B. I probably could have eaten all four pieces of tortilla, but since he was paying I thought I should share, two tortillas each, was perfect with their  bloody mary.