Tomato Basil Cups Recipe

August 8, 2016appetizers, snacksSheri SpalloneComment

Cook Time: 30 minutes Difficulty: Easy Yield: 30 servings

I love easy peasy recipes! A friend gave me this recipe a few years ago but I had forgotten how addicting these mini morsels were...cheese, bacon, tomatoes, basil, oh my! (I know, not exactly healthy, but at least they're mini bites;). In fact, I served these cuties this past weekend for our family birthday celebration and THEY WERE DEVOURED! You would think I didn't feed my family by how quickly they disappeared!

I tweaked this recipe slightly from the original recipe substituting our new seasoning blend, Basil Pizzazz, and tomatoes right from our garden. You can certainly use your favorite biscuit recipe, but I chose to use refrigerated biscuits from the grocery store:)

This is one mouth-watering appetizer you absolutely need to have in your recipe cache, but make sure you grab a few for yourself, because they will vanish before your eyes!` Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 package bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
6 oz. shredded swiss cheese
1 cup light mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Cherchies® Basil Pizzazz
2 (16 oz. cans) reduced fat refrigerated biscuits
cooking spray
mini muffin pans

Preparation

Cook bacon in oven at 400 degrees until bacon is cooked. Drain bacon on a paper towel lined plate and crumble when cooled. Add crumbled bacon to a medium bowl and add the tomatoes, onions, swiss cheese mayonnaise, and Cherchies® Basil Pizzazz. Mix together.

Slightly grease mini muffin tins with cooking spray. Cut each biscuit into fourths (in half and half again) and place in muffin tins. Mold the dough to make little cups in the muffin tins. Place enough tomato mixture into the tins to create a little mound of filling.

Sprinkle tomato cups with a little more Basil Pizzazz. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cups are golden brown. Tangy, salty, savory Tomato Basil Cups, the perfect easy appetizer or snack! Enjoy!

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Grilled Balsamic Champagne Vegetables Recipe

August 4, 2016leftovers, side dishesSheri SpalloneComment

Grilled Champagne Balsamic Vegetables Recipe

Cook Time: 20 minutes Marinade Time: 2 hours Difficulty: Easy

It's summer and my garden is exploding with fresh vegetables! With summer grilling season well under way, I wanted take advantage of summer's bounty and share our favorite grilled vegetable recipe, Grilled Champagne Balsamic Vegetables. These vegetables are delicious!!

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I made this easy recipe for our July 4th picnic, and the vegetables were devoured! In fact, they was so well received, I was asked to bring my "grilled veggies" to our next potluck. Imagine that? Vegetables getting a "call back" (sorry, theater terms...another blog).

For this recipe, we used red and green peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, Portabella mushrooms, and vidalia onions, but feel free to substitute your favorite veggies (eggplant, yams, asparagus, etc.)

The secret to this recipe is marinating the vegetables in a tangy Champagne Mustard vinaigrette and grilling the vegetables to a perfect "tender crisp" consistency. This recipe can also be used to roast the veggies in the oven, but if you prefer grill marks and flavor of grilled anything then you must grill these vegetables. And, If you have any leftover veggies, chop them up and use them in omelets, quesadillas, or fried rice the next day! Easy peasy!

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Cherchies® Garlic Seasoning (could substitute Cherchies® Garlic and Herb No-Salt Seasoning)
1 teaspoon (tsp) pepper
2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) olive oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) White Balsamic Vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Cherchies® Champagne Mustard
2 red peppers, seeds removed, sliced into 1 inch strips
2 green peppers, seeds removed, sliced into 1 inch strips
2 large zucchini, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
2 large yellow squash, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1 package Baby Portabella Mushrooms
1 vidalia onion, sliced in half

Preparation

Place cut vegetables on two baking sheets. Season the vegetables with Cherchies® Garlic Seasoning (or Cherchies® Garlic & Herbs Seasoning) and pepper. Mix the veggies by hand to ensure the veggies are evenly coated with the seasoning. Set aside.

Prepare the vinaigrette by whisking the olive oil, the Balsamic Vinegar, and the Champagne Mustard in a small bowl. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables and once again use your hands to coat the vegetables evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate the vegetables for at least two hours in the refrigerator (I usually marinate overnight).

When vegetables have marinated, turn the grill onto high to heat up, then to medium low once grill is warmed. Place the vegetables on the grill and cook for 4-5 minutes until vegetables have grill marks, then carefully turn over to cook the other side and cook for another 4-5 minutes. These may need to be grilled in batches depending on the size of the grill. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

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Basil Cheeseburger Macaroni Recipe

July 23, 2016entreesCherchiesComment

Cook Time: 30 minutes Difficulty: Easy

Move over boxed dinner mixes, it's so much tastier to make this dish from scratch!

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Be honest, how many of you have used boxed meal mixes (Hamburger Helper, etc.?) Ok I admit, I used the them when I first married my dear hubby 25 years ago (not that there's anything wrong with that:). Making things from scratch would have been a no-no for me back then, but thank goodness my dear hubby didn't marry me for my cooking;) Boy, how things have changed!

Ok, I'll admit another thing...I'm a cookbook nerd...remember those...cookbooks? Well, I used to (and still do) read cookbooks. The light dawned on me early in my marriage that I could make the same dishes as those boxed meals even tastier and healthier using ingredients I could pronounce and control.

This dish not only reminds me of my newlywed self, flash forward 25 years, it is my most requested dish from our kiddos. It is quick and easy, and the perfect tasty meal for those busy nights.

I usually prepare this dish with our Garlic Seasoning, but decided to "pizzazz things up" this time by using our Basil Pizzazz. Besides mixing up this recipe with different spices, I've also been know to add those unsuspecting veggies to this dish while our kiddos were growing up.

Thank goodness my hubby stuck with me for 25 years because he would have missed out on the "Best Cheeseburger Macaroni yet" (his exact words). God willing, hopefully we will celebrate at least 25 more years, and who knows how good this dish will be then

Thanks for stopping by. Comment below and let us know what you think. Here's how it's made.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. ground meat
1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Cherchies® Basil Pizzazz or Cherchies® Garlic Seasoning
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup beef broth (For this recipe, we used 1 Tablespoon Minor's Beef Base in 1 cup water)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 Tablespoons milk to thin (more or less depending on desired consistency)
2 cups cooked pasta
Chopped parsley (optional garnish)

Preparation

Saute onions in oil in a large skillet or dutch oven until onions are translucent. Add ground meat and Basil Pizzazz and cook until meat is cooked through. While the meat is cooking, cook the macaroni according to the package directions.

Add beef broth to the meat and stir. Now for the best part, the cheese! Add the cheese my friends (Here, in addition to the cheddar and monterary jack cheeses, I threw in the last few pieces of American cheese that I had in the refrigerator).

Drain the cooked noodles and add to the cheesy beef mixture and stir. At this point, you may want to add the milk to the thin out the sauce.

Serve this sinfully cheesy Cheeseburger Macaroni with our Strawberry Spinach Salad and our Savory Wedge Bread (also made with Basil Pizzazz) for a complete meal. Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy! A definite family favorite!

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Best Darn Coleslaw Recipe

July 16, 2016side dishes, saladsSheri Spallone2 Comments

Hands down as the name implies, this recipe is the "Best Darn Coleslaw Recipe". Period. My sister gave me this recipe a few years ago, (I made a couple of tweaks) and it's so good, my kiddos actually eat it. That's right friends, my teenagers are eating cabbage!

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The tang from the vinegar and the sweet kick from the Champagne Mustard marry together well in this delightful coleslaw. I usually try to make recipes from scratch, but because of time constraints, I bought the pre-bagged coleslaw mix instead of shredding the cabbage myself. You are certainly welcome to shred away my friends;)

This recipe is perfect by itself as a side dish, but could be an amazing addition to your favorite pulled pork or sandwich. Bring this coleslaw to your next potluck or picnic, and watch it disappear!

Ingredients

1 small head of cabbage, shredded
1 small head of red cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, skinned and shredded
1 small red onion or large shallot, finely chopped
4 Tablespoons minced fresh Parsley (optional) or Cilantro
2 teaspoons (tsp) salt
1/4 teaspoons (tsp) pepper
1/2 teaspoons (tsp) celery seed
1 1/2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Cherchies® Champagne Mustard (for a spicier palate, substitute our Hot Banana Pepper Mustard)
1/2 cup half and half or light cream
1 cup Light Mayonnaise
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
3 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Rice Vinegar

Preparation

This recipe is best if mixed together the night before or early in the day of your event. Finely chop the onions and add them and the coleslaw mix to a medium bowl. Add chopped parsley (I prefer Cilantro) and set aside.

In another bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients. Pour over the cabbage mixture and add just enough of the dressing to wet the slaw and blend the flavors.