Pizza Bites

These look really good, but there are a couple of things I would change about this recipe if I tried it. Instead of buying the pizza dough, I would try using a can of those refrigerated crescent roll things. I'm assuming it would cost less than pizza dough and would work just as well. I would also try using a small amount of pizza sauce in the filling. Here is a link to the original website that I found the recipe on. I hope it works out well if anyone tries it. 

Pizza Bites

Ingredients:

          Enough pizza dough for about one pizza 

          4 ounces of cubed mozzarella cheese (about 20-24 pieces)

          Sliced pepperoni

          For topping: 

                   Olive oil 

                   Italian seasoning

                   Grated Parmesan cheese

 Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
• Lightly grease a 9 inch pie plate or cake pan.
• Divide the pizza dough into 20-24 roughly equal sized pieces.
• Take one of the dough pieces and top with a slice or 2 of pepperoni. Pull the edges of the dough around the fillings and pinch closed. Place it seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. 
• Lightly brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil. Sprinkle the tops with Italian seasoning and grated Parmesan cheese. 
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. 
• Serve warm, with dipping sauce as desired. 

                                

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert

This one caught my eye when I first got a pinterest account. I really want to make this, but there are a lot on ingredients involved. It seems like it would be really good, but very rich. I hope it's not too rich. Oh well, I want to try it anyway. This is a link to the original blog containing the recipe. I hope it works out well if anyone tries making it.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert

Prep time: 20 minutes + chilling                        Yield: 12 - 16 servings

Ingredients:

           20 chocolate cream filled sandwich cookies (aka. Oreos), divided

           2 tablespoons of butter, softened

           1 package (8 ounces) of cream cheese, softened

           1/2 cup peanut butter

           1-1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, divided

           1 carton (16 ounces) of frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided in half 

           16 miniature peanut butter cups, chopped

           1 cup cold milk 

           1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate fudge pudding mix

Directions:

• To make the crust: Crush 16 cookies and toss the crumbs with butter. Press this into the bottom of an ungreased 9 inch square dish and set it aside. 
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and 1 cup confectioner's sugar until smooth. Fold in half of the whipped topping. Spread this mixture evenly over the crust. Sprinkle peanut butter cups over the top. 
• In another large mixing bowl, beat (with a hand mixer) the milk, pudding mix, and remaining confectioner's sugar on low speed for 2 minutes. Let it stand for another 2 minutes, or until soft-set. Fold in the remaining whipped topping. 
• Spread the pudding mixture over the peanut butter cups. Crush the remaining cookies and sprinkle them over the top. 
• Cover the dish and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours so the dessert can set up. If you don't wait long enough it will fall apart when you try to serve it.

Jalapeño Bacon Poppers

I love those jalapeño poppers you get from the frozen section, but I have never seen ones with bacon in them. This would be a great opportunity to try them. I want to try variations on this recipe too, like using cheddar cheese and no bacon... I wonder if that would be good? Anyway, This is a link to the original blog containing the recipe. I hope you like it!

Jalapeño Bacon Poppers

(Yield 16 poppers)

Ingredients:
          1 can of Pillsbury Crescent Dough
            About 2 tablespoons of cream cheese (depending on how much you want to use).
           1-2 fresh jalapeño peppers
       3-4 strips of uncooked bacon



Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Chop the jalapeños into small pieces and clean out the seeds. 
• Cut the bacon into pieces and then cook it. You can also cut up pre-cooked bacon, but it probably won't look as neat and it may crumble. 
• Roll out the crescent dough and cut each triangle into two smaller triangles with a pizza cutter. If you decide not to do this step you will end up with 8 poppers that are larger than bite sized. 
• Layer a small dollop of cheese, a piece of bacon, and a piece of a jalapeño onto each dough triangle. 
• Bring the corners of the dough together and twist the top. Push all the edges together to seal them so the filling doesn't leak out. 
• Bake the poppers for 10-15 minutes. 
• Let them cool and enjoy!

          

Creamy Chicken Pockets

This seems like a great idea. I love chicken pot pie, but I don't like the ones in the boxes that come in the freezer. I don't know if I'm the only one who is picky about meat products, but I often get called weird at my house because I don't like those weird processed meats that come out of the freezer section. This would be a great way to make home style chicken "pot pie" bites and bypass all the arguments with my family about why I don't want to eat the frozen pot pies. It looks easy enough and I'm sure it would be better than anything frozen you would buy in the store. This is a link to the original blog that I found this recipe in.

Creamy Chicken Pockets

(Yield 8 pockets or about 3-4 servings)

Ingredients: 

          2 tablespoons olive oil

          2-3 small chicken breasts, diced

          1/2 cup minced onion

          2 cloves garlic, minced (I think you could also use garlic salt and season to taste?)

          1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 

          1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

          1 tablespoon of softened butter 

          3 ounces of softened cream cheese

          1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt (I would use less if opting for garlic salt instead of cloves)

          2 tablespoons milk 

          1 (8 ounce) package of refrigerated crescent rolls 

          1 tablespoon of melted butter 

           1/4 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs for topping (optional) 

• (You could probably crumble up some Italian seasoned croutons if you have them on hand instead of buying bread crumbs.)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken with the onions and garlic. 
• In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and 1 tablespoon melted butter until smooth. Stir in the cooked chicken with onions and garlic. Add the seasoned salt, pepper, and milk. Mix well. 
• Separate the crescent roll dough into the 8 triangles. Dollop a tablespoon of filling into the center of each triangle and fold the corners up to seal. Press and seal firmly to avoid leaks. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
• Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs (optional). 
• Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Note: To heat up leftovers, bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes.

No-Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake

This cake looks amazing and it doesn't even involve turning on the oven! I can't wait to try this one. Here is a link to the original blog with the recipe in it. I hope yours turns out well! 

No-Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake

(Serves 8)

Ingredients:

                2 pounds fresh strawberries, washed

                3 1/4 cups whipping cream, divided

                1/3 cup confectioners sugar

                1 teaspoon vanilla 

                4 sleeves of graham crackers (about 19 ounces or 24-28 whole crackers

                2 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped

Directions:

• Take out a few or the best looking strawberries and set them aside for garnish (optional). Hull the remainder of the strawberries and slice each berry into this slices.
• With a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip 3 cups of cream until it holds stiff peaks. Add the confectioners sugar and vanilla and whip to combine. 
• Spread a small spoonful of whipped cream on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan or platter. Lay down 6 graham crackers and lightly cover the top of the crackers with more whipped cream. Add a single layer of strawberries to the top. 
• Repeat the layering 3 times, until you have 4 layers of graham crackers. Spread the rest of the whipped cream to the top and swirl lightly with a spoon to add a decorative effect. Add a few more strawberries to the top. 
• To make the chocolate drizzle topping: Heat the remaining 1/4 cup of whipping cream until bubbles form around the edges, then pour over the chopped chocolate. let it stand for a few minutes and then whisk until the mixture is thick and glossy. Drizzle this over the layered dessert with a spoon, or transfer to a squeeze bottle and use that to drizzle.
• Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until the crackers have softened completely. Garnish with additional berries. Serve and enjoy!

Frozen Yogurt Covered Strawberries

These look like they would be great for a snack, or just any kind of treat. Plus they are good for you too! Everyone needs an easy and healthy snack idea. This is a link to the original blog post with the recipe in it. I hope your attempts at making this turn out well!

 Frozen Yogurt Covered Strawberries

Ingredients: 

          Strawberries - Halved or whole (personal preference).

          Vanilla yogurt - The website says the Greek kind works better because it's thicker. 

          Parchment or wax paper

Directions: 

• Dip the strawberries in vanilla yogurt and then place them on parchment or wax paper and freeze them.

Chocolate Heart Peanut Butter Cookies

When I was younger, I used to make these with my grandma, but we always used Hershey Kisses. I saw this on pinterest and I thought it was a cute idea to use heart shaped chocolates instead of Hershey Kisses. This is a link to the Betty Crocker website the the recipe was originally posted on. 

Ingredients:

            1 pouch of Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix

            3 tablespoons vegetable oil

            1 tablespoon water

            1 egg

            2 tablespoons sugar

            36 heart shaped milk chocolate candies (or Hershey Kisses)


Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl: Stir cookie mix, oil, water, and egg until dough forms. 
• Shape dough into 36 (1 inch) balls and roll them in sugar. 
• Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on un-greased cookie sheets.
• Bake 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. 
• Immediately press a chocolate candy into the top of each cookie. 
• Remove the cookies from the cookie sheets and move to cooling racks. 
• Let the cookies cool for about 20 minutes before storing or serving them.