appetizer | Stephanie's Slice Of Life

Tag: appetizer
- Broccoli Christmas Tree
  
  Posted at 2:24 pm by StephMo
  
  Dec 9th
  
  Oh Broccoli Christmas tree, oh Broccoli Christmas tree, la la la la, la la la. I have been making this adorable vegetable tree on Christmas Eve for years. Since this year will be a little different and I probably won’t be making it, I decided to make it today! Why not, right?
  
  You can serve this with any dip you prefer or even dressing. While my husband would most likely be content chomping on these vegetables without any dip, most of us really only eat the vegetables so we can eat the dip. I sometimes serve it with a simple vegetable or ranch dip, or sometimes with a blue cheese dip (recipe below). Today I decided I was in the mood for blue cheese dip. When am I not in the mood for blue cheese honestly.
  
  For this little healthy holiday appetizer you only need four ingredients : broccoli, cauliflower, a yellow pepper, and cherry tomatoes. Simple, simple.
  
  Cut off the stems on the broccoli and the cauliflower. Save a little piece of the broccoli stalk to use as a stem for the tree.
  
  Start assembling the snow (cauliflower) on a large platter, and then start building the tree.
  
  Pop a few tomatoes on as ornaments. Use a star shaped cookie cutter with the yellow pepper to make the star. You can put more stars on the tree or on the platter, whatever you like.
  
  And that is it! So simple and so impressive right?
  
  Now for the best part, the recipe for the Blue Cheese Dip.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 cup crumbled blue cheese
  
  1/4 cup mayonnaise
  
  1/2 cup sour cream
  
  1 tbsp. milk
  
  1 tbsp. lemon juice
  
  dash of pepper to taste
  
  dash of garlic powder to taste
  
  1 tbsp. sliced scallions.
  
  Mix all of the ingredients together and chill. This dip will taste better once it has been chilled for a few hours.
  
  Serve alongside your pretty tree! Yum!
  
  Posted in Appetizers, Broccoli Christmas Tree, Holiday Treats, Recipes | Tagged appetizer, appetizer recipe, blue cheese dip, blue cheese dip recipe, broccoli christmas tree, broccoli tree, food blog, food blogger, holiday appetizer ideas, holiday appetizer recipe, holiday appetizers, stephanie's slice of life, vegetable tray and dip, vegetable tree
- Bacon Wrapped Scallops in a Dijon Maple Cream Sauce
  
  Posted at 5:39 pm by StephMo
  
  Dec 6th
  
  These were a Christmas Eve staple for many years until I became allergic to them. Such a bummer because they are absolutely delicious! The sauce is especially amazing. Scallops wrapped in bacon by itself are so good, but add the sauce and oh my! Super easy to make and so impressive. Trust me, you and your guests will love them!
  
  I wanted to share this recipe so I made them as a little treat for my family even though I couldn’t have any. Pretty sure they keep me around just for the food, and these scallops were gone in minutes. I wish these had looked a little nicer than they ended up looking, but the bacon just wasn’t cooperating. My son said “Mom, it doesn’t matter how they look, it matters how they taste and they taste so good”. So there’s that!
  
  To make this scrumptious appetizer you need:
  
  20 large sea scallops
  
  10 slices of bacon
  
  1 cup heavy cream
  
  2 tbsp. dijon mustard
  
  2 tbsp. maple syrup
  
  Cook the bacon on a baking sheet at 375 degrees until brown but not crispy. You don’t want the bacon too crispy so that it doesn’t break when you wrap them.
  
  While the bacon is cooking give the scallops a rinse and trim off the muscle. If you have never cleaned a scallop, it is the rough flap on the side of each one. These were very large and I cut some of them in half.
  
  When the bacon is cooked drain on a paper towel and let cool slightly.
  
  Wrap each scallop with half a slice of bacon and use a toothpick to hold it together. Place them on an un-greased cookie sheet.
  
  Bake at 400 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes. I went right in the middle at 9 minutes and they were perfectly cooked.
  
  When you put the scallops in the oven, start the sauce. Bring the cream to a boil and continue boiling for about 3-4 minutes. Add the dijon mustard and the maple syrup and continue boiling for another 3-4 minutes.
  
  Pour the sauce on a dish and top with the scallops. Yum, yum.
  
  Posted in Appetizers, Bacon Wrapped Scallops, Recipes | Tagged appetizer, appetizer recipe, bacon wrapped scallops, dijon maple cream sauce, food blog, food blogger, scallop recipe, scallops, scallops wrapped in bacon, stephanie's slice of life
- Chinese Stuffed Buns
  
  Posted at 6:45 pm by StephMo
  
  Oct 22nd
  
  I was digging through my old recipes and I came across this recipe that my mother used to make. These were something she always made for any type of gathering back in the 70’s and 80’s. She may have made them more recently than that, but I can’t remember having these for years.
  
  Since I remember loving them at the time as did everyone else, I thought I would reminisce a little and give them a try. The little piece of paper I have didn’t have many instructions so I am not exactly sure if the way I made them was the exact way my mother made them, and unfortunately I can’t ask her.
  
  The only biscuits I could find were Pillsbury Grands and I don’t believe those were around back in the day. If you can find the regular Pillsbury biscuits I think they would be better.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 pkg. biscuits
  
  1/2 lb. hamburg (or ground turkey)
  
  1 1/2 celery stalks, chopped
  
  1/4 cup onion, chopped
  
  1 tsp. garlic, minced
  
  1 tbsp. soy sauce
  
  1 tbsp. brown sugar
  
  1 tbsp. corn starch
  
  salt and pepper to taste
  
  In a frying pan over medium heat cook the hamburg (or turkey) until no longer pink. I used ground turkey. Drain any excess liquid and set the meat aside on a plate.
  
  Spray the pan with cooking spray and cook the celery, onion, and garlic until tender. There are no onions in mine because my son doesn’t like onions. I used a little onion powder, but onions would be best.
  
  Add the meat back into the pan along with all the remaining ingredients and combine well. Cook on low/medium heat for 5 minutes.
  
  Flatten the biscuits and make sure there are no holes and put a heaping tbsp. of the meat mixture in the center of each biscuit.
  
  Fold the sides over and seal.
  
  Put the biscuits rough side down onto a greased cookie sheet.
  
  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
  
  My mother used to serve these with mustard, which is what I did. Yummy!
  
  Posted in Appetizers, Chinese Stuffed Buns, Recipes | Tagged appetizer, appetizer recipe, biscuit recipes, chinese stuffed buns, food blog, food blogger, h'orderves, h'orderves recipe, old school recipes
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