Tortilla Wrap Appetizers

I made these for a baby shower and then forgot to take a picture of them, so sorry no picture yet.  I will make them again soon though and then add a picture at that point.

2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Milk Recipe Original Ranch Salad Dressing Mix
2 green onions, minced
4 (12 inch) flour tortillas
1/2 c. diced red pepper
1/2 c. diced celery
1 can sliced black olives, drained

Mix first 3 ingredients. Spread on tortillas. Sprinkle on remaining ingredients. Then roll and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill at least 2 hours. Cut as thick as you like - 1/2 to 1 inch slices.

I got this recipe from Cooks.com.

Pecan Crusted Tilapia

Last night for dinner I tried a new recipe, and boy am I glad that I did.  I picked up some Tilapia from Kroger and it was the individually wrapped ones.  They were really easy to use.  I found this recipe a couple of months ago from "What's for Dinner?" and have been wanting to try it, but have been quite busy and kept forgetting to buy the fish.  So when I finally bought I now wish I had picked up the fish earlier because this dish is probably one of my favorites.  It had a great combination of flavors and I especially like the breading on this.  The pecans and buttermilk really add a great taste.  The other great thing is that the Tilapia is a very mild tasting fish and you can't even tell it is fish.  But if you don't like fish, try this breading with Chicken, I think it would be just as good. 

Prep: 5 min.  Cook:  6-10 min.

Servings: 4

 1/2 C dry breadcrumbs

2 T. finely chopped pecans

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 C low-fat buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

3 T. all-purpose flour

4 (6 oz) tilapia or red snapper fillets

1 T vegetable oil, divided

4 lemon wedges

• Combine Bread Crumbs, Pecans, Salt, Garlic Powder, and Pepper in a shallow dish.  
• Mix together Buttermilk and Hot Sauce in a separate small bowl.
• In another shallow dish add the flour.

• Coat each Fillet with flour, then dip in buttermilk mix, and then coat with the bread crumb mixture.
• Heat Oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Place the fillets in the oil and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

• Serve with Lemon Wedges.

 My Note:  This is a quite easy recipe to make.  I only used 1/2 of the hot sauce called for because I was afraid it was going to be too hot for my girls to eat, but I couldn't taste any type of kick so it might not be hot if all the hot sauce was added.   I also used Olive Oil instead of Vegetable Oil, and I had to use more than was called for.  The fish started to stick a little, so I just poured some more oil in.  I did serve with Lemon Slices, but the fish was so good that only one of my daughters put the lemon on her fish, the rest of us used the lemon in our water instead.

To see the post from "What's for Dinner?" and see her comments on this dish go over Here.

Cooking Tip of the Week!

To get more juice from a lemon when juicing it you have two options:

1.  You can microwave it on High for about 10-15 seconds before squeezing. 
2.  You can roll the lemon on it's side, pressing gently with your palm. 

Both of these will give you up to double the amount of juice you would get from a lemon just squeezing it.

Christmas Truffles

I know it is after Christmas, but honestly these truffles are good anytime of year and they are really easy too.

I got this recipe from a neighbor a couple of years ago.  She uses it a lot when she does catering parties and things and everyone always loves them.

Ingredients:

1 Package Oreos
1 Package Cream Cheese
Dipping Chocolate

Put Oreos in blender, a few cookies at a time, and blend until chopped small.  Then transfer to a medium bowl and add soften Cream Cheese.  Using a mixer, blend until smooth.  Roll into small balls and place on a pan covered with wax paper.  Put in the refrigerator or freezer, and let set until hardened.  Dip into dipping chocolate and let set until completely dry.  Refrigerate until ready to eat.

My Notes:  You can use any flavor of Oreos to add a little different flavor to the truffles.  We really like to use the mint Oreos.  Also, when chopping the Oreos in the blender, just chop them to your liking.  I like to do it so most of it is crumbs but there are a few chunks.  I think it makes it more fun and tastes better when eating.

Remember to put these in either the Fridge or Freezer after you make them, or the cream cheese in them will go bad.

You could also use this recipe to make the Bloodshot Brownies for Halloween!

I'm Back!!

Okay, I have been gone for a while.  Not really gone gone, just gone from this blog.  I really have missed taking pictures of everything I was making, posting my recipes and the new ones that I was trying, and I really regret not getting the holiday recipe contest on its way. 

I am not back and ready to Rock and Roll.  I probably won't be posting as often as I was before, but I do not want to go 3 months between posts again.

So I am sorry, that I haven't been keeping this up, I had some friends and family say they really missed seeing my posts and trying my recipes.  I am sorry to you all.  I don't really have an excuse as to why I haven't posted in a while, except to say, I just needed a break from the internet all together.

To get me going again though, I am asking you to email me your favorite recipe for me to try.  I am going to try a bunch on new recipes in the coming weeks.  I won't be trying a new one every day, but I would like to try a couple new ones per week.  If you have any that you love, email them over and I will cook them up and have my family to the taste testing.  Then I will let everyone know how it goes.