Veggie Dip Pizza

This was made at a Pampered Chef party I went to last week, and it was super good. If you love those ranch packets they sell at the store where you mix them with sour cream, you'll love this! Super good, great appetizer, although I'd probably make it just to eat for myself. Yum!

Veggie Dip Pizza

2 - 8oz. packages of refrigerated crescent rolls (or your own pizza crust recipe)
2 - 8oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 package of dry ranch dip mix
Veggies of your liking, Suggestions:
Purple onion - chopped
tomatoes - sliced thin
bell pepper - in slices
cauliflower - chopped
broccoli - chopped
olives - sliced
avocado - slices
carrot - shredded

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out crescent rolls onto a pizza pan in the shape of a pizza crust. (depending on the size of your pan, this may make 2 pizzas) Bake for about 12 minutes. Once finished cooking, remove from oven and let cool completely.

In a small bowl combine cream cheese, mayo and ranch dressing mix. Mix well. Spread mixture over the cooled crust. Arrange veggies over the cream cheese layer. Slice into pizza slices and serve.

*I'm sure this could be made into a fruit pizza very easily, mixing a little sugar and fruit preserves with the cream cheese and layered with fruit. Sounds good to me!

Bacon, Lettace and Tomato Dip

Bacon, Lettace and Tomato Dip

1 package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup ranch salad dressing
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
6 bacon slices, crisply cooked, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped celery (I omitted this and used green onions)
2 Tbl finely chopped onion
1 tsp sugar
Lettace leaves (for decoration)

Mix everything together and enjoy with crackers, pita chips, toasted fresh bread, whatever you would like. Great for a football party, appetizer for holidays or just for something to munch on! Enjoy!

Ranch Chicken Bake

ok this one sounded a little plain, but boy was i wrong! it was so good! and really easy! this would be a great appetizer or for a meal.

Ranch Chicken Bake

Ingredients:

1/2 large loaf French bread (cut the whole loaf in half lengthwise and use one half) or 1 small/medium loaf cut in half lengthwise.

2 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded (i used a large can of canned chicken)

8oz (1-2c) grated mozzarella cheese (or slices of provolone)

1 medium tomato, sliced

2 green onions, sliced

2 Tbsp light sour cream or mayo

ranch dressing (I use Hidden Valley Light)

Directions:

Preheat broiler, or bring oven to 400. In a small bowl, combine chicken, green onions, sour cream or mayo, and enough ranch dressing to make a chicken salad (some people like very little, others prefer more dressing). Scoop and spread onto French bread. Top with tomato slices and sprinkle with cheese (or layer slices, if using the provolone cheese). Bake just until cheese is bubbly and golden. Cut into slices and serve.

Cream Puffs

I got this recipe from my friend Jenny, and Jenny is pretty reliable for recipes because she's actually a pastry chef. I haven't attempted to make them yet, but I did try them when she made them once and they were so good!

Cream Puffs

1 c. water
½ tsp. salt
½ c. butter
-Combine and bring to a boil

1 c. flour
-add to boiling mixture

5 eggs
-add one at a time


TURN ON THE OVEN TO 450*
In a medium pot or deep pan put: water, salt, and butter
Bring to a full boil then remove from heat
Add flour and mix until no lumps are present and a film appears on the bottom
Stir until cools to about body temperature
Add one egg at a time,
Mixture should look shiny and be soft, but not runny
Drop by spoonfuls or use a piping bag
Place on a greased pan 1 inch apart
Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 300*
Bake until a rich golden brown (even colored)
Remove and cool

When cool you can:
-Cut the top off and fill
-Poke a hole in the bottom and fill
Filling: pudding, whipped cream, chicken salad, tuna
Top: you can did the tops in chocolate or a Carmel sauce


*Use your imagination and have fun make something that taste good to you, remember that recipes are just a guide!

Thin-n-Crispy BBQ Chicken Pizza

This recipe was inspired by the Biggest Loser Cookbook. I got the idea from there, but tweaked it for my own personal tastes.

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Thin-n-Crispy BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 Tortilla
2 Tbsp. BBQ Sauce
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
2/3 chicken*

1/4 cup slivered red onion (optional)
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

Preheat oven to 400º. Put tortilla on a cookie sheet (no grease) and put in the oven to crisp. Cook on both sides of the tortilla for 4 to 5 minutes each. Remove from oven, spread BBQ sauce evenly then top with chicken, cheese and the optional ingredients is so desired. Put back in the oven and cook until the cheese melts. Cut into wedges and serve. This can be served as an appetizer or eaten by one person for a meal/snack.

To cut down on calories, use a low-fat tortilla - it really doesn't taste any different. For even less calories, try to use a BBQ sauce that has low sugar.

*I tried a couple different things with the chicken. I tried cooked, chopped-up chicken breast and didn't like it very much. The best I found was to use canned chicken. I used as much as I wanted and put the rest in the fridge for another use. I also tried it with cheddar cheese and didn't like the flavor and when I switched to mozzarella I was much more pleased with it.