St. Patrick's Day Potluck Idea

Hey all! I was going through some old pictures on my phone and saw this one and thought I should share. A couple years ago my work department was having a St. Patrick's Day potluck with awards for the most creative Irish/St. Patty's Day themed food.

I wanted to do something quick and simple but still fun and creative. I did a general Google images search for St. Patrick's Day for some inspiration and came across an Irish flag. I had appetizer style veggie pizza on my mind and decided to do an Irish play on that.

I didn't take pictures of the process because I did this before blogging but it's pretty self-explanatory and the pic of the end result should really be all you need. I used  a roll of crescent rolls and covered a cookie sheet with it, making sure to seal the seams well and baked it according to package directions to make my crust.

I made a spread with well-softened cream cheese and a packet of ranch dressing mix and slathered it over the cooled crust. I then took some mozzarella cheese and put it in a gallon sized Ziploc bag, added a few drops of green food coloring and shook it up to evenly coat the cheese.

Using cheddar, plain mozzarella and my green colored mozzarella, I made the stripes of the Irish flag on the top of my pizza. To add just a little something special, I used a few green pepper rings and little pieces of green peppers (for stems) to make shamrocks for the top of the pizza. Here is the end result:

The final result was adorable and I ended up winning first place in my department competition!

I made this with items I had on hand but this would be great with shredded carrots, cauliflower and broccoli or shredded lettuce. Really, as long as the colors work, you can use anything! I realize this flag is supposed to have the green on the left side but didn't realize that until much later. Anyway, nobody noticed :-)

I love St. Patrick's Day and made some great projects last year. First, there was my glittery Luck O' the Irish plaque. Then, I made a fun wreath with a rainbow and shamrocks. (I still love this wreath but think I'll change it up a bit this year. I really do love the area with the shamrocks and would like to do that to the whole thing.) Finally, it wouldn't be St. Patrick's Day in my house without some Corned Beef and Cabbage!

I don't know just how much I'll be doing as far as decorating and crafts go this year. I just have too much else going on. I'll be sure to keep you updated! What do you like to do for St. Patrick's Day? Is it your favorite holiday like it is mine?

Summer Pasta Salad

Around here, Summer seems to be the time for potlucks. Here is my go-to dish for all those Summer parties. Trust me, this is about the easiest thing you can make!

Here is what I use. A package of tri-color rotini, a bottle of Italian dressing (I find that Wishbone has the best flavor), a red onion, some tomatoes (I prefer cherry tomatoes but Roma are so much less expensive), black olives, pepperoni, cheese (feta or shredded Parmesan - not the shaker type) and cucumbers (not pictured).

Cook your noodles according to package directions. Rinse with COLD water until the noodles are actually cool.

Thinly slice the red onion.

Seed and chop the cucumber. I peel and halve it first.

Then halve it again lengthwise.

Then slice off the layer of seeds.

Viola.

Slice again lengthwise...

...cut into about 1/4 inch pieces.

If you're using cherry tomatoes, either halve or quarter them. Grape tomatoes I usually halve and roma tomatoes I dice into about 1/4 inch pieces.

Pepperoni...I am not a huge fan but it does give this salad great flavor. I've done it meatless and also used grilled chicken, diced ham or salami.

I like the vacuum package because I can cut it right in the package.

I peel the slices of pepperoni apart and add it to your bowl with all the other ingredients. I forgot to take a picture here of how I cut the olives but really, you can do what you like. I quarter them lengthwise, you can slice them or leave them whole...it really doesn't matter.

Add about 3/4 your bottle of dressing and mix well.

Add about 3/4 of your cheese and mix again. I like to let this sit overnight but really it only needs an hour or so. Right before serving, add the rest of your dressing to give it more "squish" and sprinkle remaining cheese over top of salad.

This really is a hit and so easy to make. I love that you can vary the recipe according to your taste. This would also be great with cubed ham, peas and cheddar cheese...hmmm. What other variations would you try? Do you have any go-to recipies like this? Share in the comments below!

Linking up to:

Little Brick Ranch

Knock-Off Bean Dip

Early last week one of my new favorite bloggers, Bianca at Little Brick Ranch, posted her recipe for black bean dip. I've been craving it like crazy since I saw her post and I was inspired by how easy it looked! Well, I decided to make it a little easier by using canned black beans (dried would have been better, I'm sure) and adding my own little touches. Aren't personal touches what make knock-offs so great?

I started with two cans black beans, drained and well-rinsed, and added three cloves garlic. You know I can't do anything without garlic! I added these to the food processor.

Bianca added cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. I didn't have any cayenne so I substituted Tabasco and because I used canned beans I decided to forgo the salt. I also added a little more cumin than she did because that's just how I roll :)

I added about a tablespoon of olive oil (really, I don't measure) and about a quarter cup of water and just let it go on high until it was about the right consistency.

I added a little more water as I went and just watched it until it looked right.

Viola! This actually lasted about a day because my daughter and husband loved it so much. Maybe I'll have to make some more in honor of Cinco de Mayo....

Seriously, this dip was so easy and so good. This will be a party staple for me from now on! Thank you SO MUCH to Bianca for posting your recipe!

Roasted Chickpeas

I'm not normally much of a snacker but I love to have a little something to keep in my desk at work just in case I miss my breakfast or lunch. A while back, my mom told me about these roasted chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) she had made and how good they were. I knew right away I had to try them!

I started with three cans of chickpeas, well-rinsed and drained.

I tossed them with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and seasoned to my liking. I used some seasoned salt, fresh ground pepper and dried dill this time but think maybe next time I would like to try some paprika. Really, you could use any seasonings you like here.

I used LOTS of dill...I'm all about the dill.

I spread them out in one layer on a lined pan and put them in an oven preheated to 375.

After about 40 minutes I took them out and tossed them so they will roast evenly.

I put them back in for another 40 minutes or so.

Let them cool well and store in an airtight container.

I'm sure they would be fine for a week or so but somehow they never seem to last that long. These are a great snack and super good for you. They are high in protein too so they help keep you full!

Tomorrow I'll be showing you another bean recipe I borrowed from another blogger. See you on Cinco de Mayo!

Linking up to:

Little Brick Ranch - Foodie Friday

Momtrends

We're Having a Party...

Well folks, it has been a crazy week in this house. Since the party last Saturday we took advantage of beautiful weather to work on some spray paint projects, I got pneumounia (again!) and we started our guest room/office re-do. This project is going to be big, people, and I am SO excited to have a designated place for crafting, sewing and blogging!

Anyway, I've been promising recipes and food shots from this party so here goes.

My first item was those yummy cheesy, bacony, oniony pastries in the bottom right.

I used crescent rolls, Swiss and cream cheese, green onions and a jar of bacon pieces. You could use bacon bits but I really like the bigger pieces.

I added the whole jar of bacon and some ground black pepper to my softened cream cheese.

I sliced a few bundles of the onions into the mix.

And added about a quarter cup or so of Swiss.

I mixed and mixed and mixed...

...and spread the mixture (somewhat flat) on to some plastic wrap.

Wrapped it up tightly and put it in the fridge overnight.

The next day I took my crescent rolls and made a sheet out of them. I just laid them out and overlapped the edges a little bit...

...and rolled it out. Pillsbury does make crescent roll sheets for this purpose but it is so much cheaper to just do it yourself.  I used four cans of the rolls - two for the bottom and two for the top.

I cut up the filling mixture from the day before and spread them evenly over the bottom crust.

...and draped the top crust over that.

I pressed the edges down and cut each individual piece out.

and formed them into balls with the top layer tucked under.

I brushed the tops with beaten egg whites so they would get nice and shiny, golden brown when they were done.

I baked these according to the package directions for plain crescents. They ended up staying in a bit longer, I just watched them and when they were brown and looked done, I took them out. These were such a big hit and were the only real request the birthday girl had. I love these!

Next, I decided to make a traditional tomato bruschetta topping.

I used about a half a large red onion, fresh basil, garlic, fresh tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.

In a glass (or other non-reactive material) 9x13 baking dish I diced my onion and about 3 or 4 cloves garlic

I was so thankful for the help I got from Princess Aurora and Prince Philip...

I seeded and chopped my tomatoes.

...added some coarsely chopped fresh basil.

I doused it in the balsamic and spread it out in the bottom of the pan. I refrigerated it overnight, stirring every few hours.

About an hour before serving I transferred it to a bowl using a slotted spoon to strain it a little bit. I garnished with a little more freshly chopped basil and viola - beautiful, yummy tomato bruschetta topping. This is one of my favorite all time appetizers - spoon it on some crostini (below) and it is low-fat and satisfying!  This also works so well for leftovers stirred into cooked angel hair with a sprinkling of fresh parmesean...love!

Next I decided to try a spin on a favorite appetizer, the ham-wrapped dill pickle.

I don't know why this picture won't let me rotate it. I tried everything I could think of and it kept going back to this orientation. Anyhow, these are the three ingredients - baby dills, deli sliced ham and cream cheese.

I chopped the pickles somewhat finely. This is why I used baby dills, they have fewer seeds and are a bit more firm.

I chopped the ham into similar sized pieces. I like to use the thicker sliced ham. Thinly sliced just doesn't add as much flavor to me. It is possible this is just in my head :)

I added ham and pickles to softened cream cheese, adding a little bit of pickle juice to thin it out a little more and make it easier to mix.

I refrigerated the mixture overnight and the next day transferred to a new bowl. I garnished with some freshly chopped pickles and ham and served with mini pretzels. I was thrilled with the end result and will be making this again for sure.

It wouldn't have been a party without some awesome spinach dip...

This is a favorite of so many people I know and so easy to make but still seems impressive (because so many people don't know how to make it!). The base recipe comes from the back of a packet of Knorr Vegetable Soup mix but I add coarsely ground black pepper and choped tomato. You need the soup mix, thawed frozen chopped spinach (you can use canned but it is nowhere near as good and too mushy), real mayo, sour cream, water chestnuts, green onions and fresh chopped tomato.

Mix the soup mix with half cups each of sour cream and mayo. Add chopped green onions (to taste - I like a lot) and fresh ground black pepper.

The recipe calls for a whole can of chopped water chestnuts but I have never used that much. I finely chop about a third of the can at most. (Sorry, another weird orientation)

I put my thawed spinach in a clean towel that I don't care about (because it stains) and squeeze it to get all the liquid out.

Add the spinach and some chopped tomatoes to the rest and mix well.

Refrigerate at least two hours. I prefer to make it a day ahead.

 

The next day I transferred it to a new bowl and garnished with freshly chopped tomatoes and green onions.  I served this with cubed French bread. I've seen this served in a bread bowl and sure, that is pretty but just not worth it to me.

The last thing I made was crostini. I sliced a french loaf on a bias and made two different types.

The one on top in the picture is spread with Caesar dressing and the bottom one is spread with garlic-infused olive oil.

I just popped them in the oven for five minutes or so after topping them just so they could get a little crunchy. The Caesar ones were a big hit. I got the idea from a local restaurant, this how they do it and I love it.

I served these with the tomato bruschetta topping and some roasted garlic cheese spread I talked about here.

It was a great night with good food, good friends, good drinks and good conversation. I can't wait to do it again!