Cheese Ball Bites

8 slices bacon

1 ½ oz (8 0z) blocks cream cheese, softened

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup freshly chopped chives

1/3 cup finely chopped pecans

18 pretzels sticks

1. In a large nonstick skillet, cook bacon until crispy, 8 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate, then finely chop. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic powder, and paprika and season with salt and pepper. Use a cookie scoop to form mixture into 18 small balls and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
3. In a shallow bowl, stir together bacon, chives, and pecans.
4. Roll balls in bacon-chive-pecan mixture, insert a pretzel stick into each, and let come to room, temperature 15 minutes before serving. (If not serving right away, loosely cover with plastic wrap and return to fridge.)

Easy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

Easy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

16 oz bacon diced (can also use ham, sausage, veggies, etc.)

1 onion, diced

8 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp hot sauce, optional

4 cups frozen hash browns, thawed

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

6 oz Swiss or Gruyere cheese, shredded

16 oz small curd cottage cheese, either 4% or 1% is fine

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
2. Add bacon to a large skillet and cook over medium heat until nice and crispy. Add onions and cook until translucent. Remove and drain on a paper towel.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, salt, pepper, a;and hot sauce.
4. Add hash browns, shredded cheese, cottage cheese, bacon and onions.
5. Mix until combined.
6. Scoop mixture into prepared baking dish and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until center is set. Let casserole rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
7. Top with snipped fresh chives if desired.

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

2 lb. Beef stew meat (cubed chuck roast)

4 tbsp cornstarch, divided

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp black pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tbsp tomato paste

4 cups beef broth

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ lb red potatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks

10 ounces pearl onions

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

4 celery ribs, sliced

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp dried basil

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried parsley

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp allspice

¼ cup cold water

1. Dust beef stew meat with 2 tbsp cornstarch and season with salt and black pepper. In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add beef stew meat, and sear until all sides are browned, about 5 minutes.
2. Add in minced garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant.
3. Pour in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce to deglaze the pan. Add red potatoes, pearl onions, carrots, celery, and tomato paste. Season with salt, sugar, parsley, paprika, oregano, basil, black pepper, and allspice.
4. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. In a small bowl, mix together remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch with ¼ cup cold water. Stir until completely dissolved. Pour the mixture into the stew. Stir over low heat until stew thickens.
6. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
   
   Slow Cooker instructions:
   Follow steps 1 and 2 to brown the beef and give an initial cook of the garlic and tomato paste.  Then combine this and all remaining ingredients in a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.  Follow step 5 to create a cornstarch slurry.  Add to stew and cook another 30 minutes, until thickened.

Sauteed Yellow Squash

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp butter

½ red bell pepper, chopped

2 small to medium yellow squash, sliced

1-2 small zucchini

salt and pepper

2 tbsp chopped parsley leaves

2 tbsp chopped chives or 2 scallions, optional but i like it

Preheat skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, then butter. When butter melts, add red peppers and squash and zucchini. Saute 12-14 minutes until squash is tender. Add salt, pepper and parsley. Add chives or scallions if you would like a layer of light onion flavor on the dish as well.

Marshmallow Caramel Popcorn

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup butter

9-10 marshmallows

12 cups popcorn

Microwave brown sugar and butter for 2 minutes. Add marshmallows. Microwave until melted, 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Pour over popcorn

Hot Cocoa Cookies

Prep time: 4 hours 15 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes

For the cookies:

½ cup unsalted sweet cream butter

1 ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate

1 ½ cup flour

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 ¼ cup brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

12 large marshmallows, cut in half

For the chocolate icing:

2 cup powdered sugar

4 tbsp unsalted sweet cream butter, melted

¼ cocoa powder

¼ cup hot water

½ tsp vanilla extract

Christmas sprinkles

For the cookies:

1. In a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring frequently. Once melted, set aside to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
3. In a standing mixer, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla on low speed until combined.
4. Add the cooled chocolate and mix until combined
5. Gradually add in the flour ingredients and mix until combined.
6. Scoop the dough (will be brownie like texture) into a bowl and cover with foil and place into the fridge for 4 hours.
7. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
8. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop some batter into your hands and roll into a ball
9. Place cookies about 2 inches apart
10. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes
11. While cookies are baking , cut the marshmallows in half
12. Once cookies are baked, place a marshmallow into the center of the cookies and lightly press down
13. Place cookies back into the oven for another 2-3 minutes
14. Place a wire rack over another cookie sheet to allow the icing to drip off
15. Once cookies are done baking let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack while you make the icing
    For the icing:
    1. Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix until combined
    2. If the icing is still to thick, add about 3 tbsp of hot water to it to thin it out
    3. Using a spoon, spoon some icing onto the marshmallow on the cookie
    4. Repeat step number 3 onto a few more cookies
    5. Sprinkle a little bit of sprinkles onto the cookies
    6. Repeat the last two steps onto the remaining cookies. Remember to only put icing onto a few cookies at a time because the icing will dry fast.
    7. Once all the cookies have icing and sprinkles ENJOY!

Homemade Ranch Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream

½ tsp dried chives

½ tsp dried parsley

½ tsp dried dill weed

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Optional: Add milk to make it thinner and easily pourable. About 1 tbsp at a time.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, chives, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cover an refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.