Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip

12 oz package fresh cranberries
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cumin
2 tbsp lemon juice
dash salt
2 - 8oz packages cream cheese
1 box of wheat thins

Before you start, some of the ingredients need to sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours so plan ahead.

1. Put cranberries in a food processor. I used my little chopper thing. You could just chop them up yourself if you need to.
2. Chop up your green onion, cilantro and jalapeno pepper into small pieces. Again I just chopped everything up with my little chopper. Careful of the jalapeno seeds - they are the hot part. I didn't add any seeds and I only chopped maybe 1/2 of my pepper.
3. Add all ingredients (but the cream cheese) into a bowl. Mix them all together, cover and store in the fridge for at least 4 hours. I did mine overnight because it was easier for me. The sugar needs some time to soak in to the cranberries and break up their bitter taste.
4. When you are ready to serve, spread your cream cheese all over your serving plate as evenly as you can. I used one that had a little bit of a lip so everything didn't spill. You could use a 9x13 pan too.
5. Pour your cranberry mixture over the cream cheese and spread it all around.
6. Serve with Wheat Thins, Ritz crackers or tortilla chips (my favorite was the wheat thins)

I LOVED this dip. Heidi made it for our recipe club and I was surprised with how much I liked it, just because I don't love cranberries. If anyone needs to bring something to a Christmas party this would be a fun festive idea.
We got this recipe from www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com and that is the same website I got the smore cookies recipe from.

BLT dip

1 C sour cream
1 C mayonnaise
1/2 C diced tomatoes
1/2 C bacon - I just buy the real bacon pieces in the salad dressing isle
1 C chopped fresh spinach
1/2 C shredded cheese

Combine all ingredients together.
Serve with baguettes, crackers, or chips

oreo truffles

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 4-1/4 cups), divided

2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

MIX cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended.

SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

HOW TO MAKE COOKIE CRUMBS

Crushing OREO Cookies is a cinch with a rolling pin and a Ziploc® Brand Slider Bag with the Smart Zip™ Seal.

HOW TO MELT CHOCOLATE

Place unwrapped chocolate squares in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2-1/2 min. or until chocolate is completely melted, stirring every 30 sec.

HOW TO EASILY DIP TRUFFLES

To easily coat truffles with the melted chocolate, add truffles, in batches, to bowl of melted chocolate. Use 2 forks to roll truffles in chocolate until evenly coated. Remove truffles with forks, letting excess chocolate drip back into bowl. Place truffles on prepared baking sheet; let stand until firm.

We make these every year for our neighbor gifts. I always get asked for the recipe--and it's so easy! (Sometimes we crush candy cane and put them on top for a more festive look.)

Watermelon Pops

Watermelon
Popsicle sticks
Star-shaped cookie cutter

Use a cookie cutter to cut juicy star shapes from 1-inch-thick slices of seedless watermelon.

Insert a Popsicle stick into each star, then set the pops on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.

Cover the stars with another sheet of foil and freeze for 1 hour or until firm.

Crispy Cheese Stars

You'll need 2 star-shaped cookie cutters, one slightly smaller than the other (ours measured 4 and 2 1/4 inches between opposite points).

Ingredients
Flour tortillas
Sliced cheese (cheddar, provolone, or mozzarella)
Chili powder or paprika

Heat the oven to 350º. Use the larger cookie cutter to cut out stars from flour tortillas (about 5 per 10-inch tortilla). It's easy for kids to do if you use a rolling pin to roll back and forth over the cutter. Bake the stars on a foil-covered cookie sheet for 5 minutes.

Use the smaller cookie cutter to cut out an equal number of cheese stars from the sliced cheese and place them atop the tortilla ones. Bake the stars for 2 more minutes or so until the cheese melts.

Sprinkle the stars with chili powder or paprika and let them cool before serving.

Cheesy Bread

1 c shredded parmesan cheese

1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese

1/3 c chopped yellow onion

1 c mayonaise.

Mix above ingredients. Place on sliced sourdough baguette. Broil in oven until cheese mixture is bubbly and slightly brown.

This appetizer is always a big hit! Super easy and super yummy.

Lettuce Wraps

8 lettuce leaves
1 cup deep fried rice noodles or won ton skins

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup bamboo shoots or water chestnuts, chopped
1/4 cup green peas
1/4 cup chopped carrots
(can use 2 cups frozen, mixed veggies instead of peas & carrots)

Sauce:
4 tbsp water
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
dash of pepper
sesame oil as desired

Stir fry meat until cooked, add and stir fry onions until fragment (I don't know what that means I just add onions and wait until they are cooked.) Add veggies, stir fry until cooked. Add sauce to meat and veggies; cook until warm.
Rinse lettuce, place fried rice noodles and meat mixture on and serve.

Crab dip

2 oz cream cheese
1 T. mayonnaise
1/4 C. sour cream
1 T. butter, softened
1/4 t. seasoning salt
1/8 t. paprika
4 t. onions, minced
4 t. green peppers, minced
1/4 C mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 can (6 oz) crabmeat

Mix cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, and butter until smooth. Blend in salt and paprika. Stir in onion, green pepper, cheese, and crab meat. Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes, until bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips, or crackers

---So when we make this, we always double the recipe, because that doesn't make very much. When you double the recipe it all fits in an 8x8 pan.(if that is the normal square size, I don't want to go look) We have taken this to tons of parties, and it's always a big hit.