While grocery shopping a few weeks ago, I found BellaFina sweet peppers (baby bell peppers) in Publix.  I bought a package of them because I thought they'd be great for an appetizer or a side dish.  When I got home, I noticed a recipe on the back of the package so then I was even more excited!  The recipe included ricotta cheese which you can't got wrong with!  However, I did have to make a few adjustments to the recipe.  This is how we made our cheese stuffed baby bell peppers...I baked mine and Luke grilled his. :)

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp. oregano, chopped
1 tbsp. basil, chopped
1 tbsp. flatleaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup arugula, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a medium skillet.  Add the onion to the skillet and sauté until the onions soften.  Once softened, remove from the heat and set aside. 

Next, cut the baby bell peppers in half and remove the core and seeds.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, onions, herbs and salt and pepper.  Spoon the mixture into each pepper. 

Spray the cookie sheet with cooking spray.  Place the peppers on the cookie sheet and bake for about 10 - 15 minutes. 

Or you can grill your stuffed peppers which is what Luke did.  Either way, they're delish!!!

My mom makes the BEST stuffed mushrooms, but her recipe calls for bacon so I haven't been able to eat them since I changed my diet.  Over the last year and a half, I have craved her stuffed mushrooms so I decided I had to create my own version.  I have to say I'm very happy with the recipe I came up with!  :)

I'll start with my mom's amazing recipe...



Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

1 16 oz. package of large, white mushrooms
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
6 strips fried bacon, crumbled
1 small chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wipe mushrooms with a damp towel.  Remove mushroom stems and reserve about 1/3 of the stems.  Place the mushroom caps on a large greased cookie sheet.  Fry the bacon until crisp.  Remove the crisp bacon from the pan and place on a paper towel to cool.  Chop the reserved mushroom stems, and then saute them in the bacon grease along with the chopped onion until tender.  Pour the sauteed mushroom stems and onion into a bowl with cream cheese. Crumble the bacon and add it to the cream cheese mixture along with salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce.  Once combined, spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
  

My Veggie Stuffed Mushrooms


1 16 oz. package large, white mushrooms
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wipe mushrooms with a damp towel.  Remove mushroom stems and reserve about 1/3 of the stems.  Place the mushroom caps on a large greased cookie sheet.  Chop the reserved mushroom stems, and then saute them in olive oil over medium heat along with the chopped onion and chopped jalapeno.  Saute until tender.  Pour the sauteed mushroom stems, onion and jalapeno into a bowl with cream cheese.  Add liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Once combined, spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps and bake for approximately 20 minutes.

I love appetizers/snack foods on New Years Eve.  One of my favorite dips was the melted Kraft Velveeta cheese with rotel tomatoes and hot (spicy) sausage, but since I don't eat sausage anymore, I can't eat my favorite dip anymore.  I was craving that dip last night so I decided I had to recreate it, and I think it turned out pretty good!  ;)

Recreated Queso Dip

1 16 oz. pkg. of Kraft Velveeta cheese
1 can Original Rotel
1 can black beans (rinsed)
1 bag of Tostitos (Crispy Rounds are my favorite)

I cut the Velveeta cheese in cubes and then dropped them into the crockpot.  Then I poured the can of rotel tomatoes and the rinsed black beans into the crockpot.  I put the lid on and turned the crockpot on high.  I stirred the dip every 10 minutes to make sure everything was blended together.  After about 30 minutes, the dip was ready to eat.