Sweet Potato Cheese Ball

I'm sure it has been far too long since I made a food post.  But meals on a tight budget tend towards the unimaginative and unexciting. However, I wasn't going to let that budget get in the way of having yummy food at my annual New Year's Eve dinner party!  I made a bunch of pizzas because they are easy, cheap, and delicious.  And I decided I wanted to make a cheese ball for an appetizer, because I've never made one and it seemed like a good idea.  I turned to Google for inspiration, and found this recipe.  Of course I modified it.

Sweet Potato Cheese Ball

8 oz cream cheese

1 large sweet potato

garlic powder

mustard powder

honey

cashews

Let the cream cheese reach room temperature.  Boil the sweet potato, and then mash it.  I used a food processor to get the lumps out of the sweet potato, then I added the cream cheese, a shake or two of mustard powder, a very generous amount of garlic powder, and about a tablespoon of honey. Once it was all blended up, I scraped it into a container and put it in the fridge.  Hours later, I scooped it out onto wax paper and molded it into a ball.  That turned out to be a good plan, I was able to form the ball by manipulating the wax paper around the cheese, and kept my hands clean.  I put the wax paper encased ball into the fridge for another couple of hours.  Then, I removed it and rolled it in crushed cashews.  

It was ridiculously tasty.  There is still some left, I'm using it as a sandwich spread. 

Happy New Year!

Pickle-Pineapple Hummus

I finished a jar of pickles at lunch today.  I didn't want to just throw away all that pickle juice...so I came up with something to throw it in. There is still some leftover though, I'll have to think of something else crazy to use up the rest of it.

Pickle-Pineapple Hummus

3/4 c chick peas

1/4 c pickle juice

4 large spoonfuls crushed pineapple

garlic powder to taste

2 tbsp chia seeds

Put the first 4 ingredients in a food processor and blend together.

Transfer to a bowl, add the chia seeds.  (They will soak up the extra liquid)

Sour Cream Basil Dip

3 small cloves garlic

handful of basil leaves

1/4 c chick peas

3/4 c sour cream

As usual, measurements are approximate...I don't really know exactly how much chick peas or sour cream I used. I put the garlic cloves in the food processor first, then when they were chopped up I added the basil, when it was chopped up I added the chick peas, when they were chopped up I added the sour cream and let it all get blended together. Simple and tasty.   

In other news, something is eating my basil plant.  My INDOOR basil plant.  I haven't decided yet whether or not I need to freak out and throw away the whole plant in order to save myself from whatever tiny little  bugs are destroying it. 

Avobroc Dip

3/4 c chopped broccoli

1 avocado

1 tbsp ranch dressing

Throw everything in a food processor and blend til smooth.

Good with chips or your favorite crackers.

Artichoke-Avocado Dip

This could also be called "Leftovers Dip."  I basically through a bunch of things together in a bowl.  I put half an avocado on my burger and wanted to make some sort of chip-dip with the other half.  I also had a little bit of tomato left, so I chopped it up and added it to the avocado.  Then I chopped up an artichoke heart and added that.  And then, I squirted some ranch on top.  And mixed it all up.  It was awesomely delicious with multi-grain tortilla chips.

Deviled Eggs

New Year's Eve dinner party was a fun time.  In addition to the appetizers I made 2 pizzas.  One was Chicken-Bacon Ranch and the other was Apple-Onion.  Both were delicious. 

I never made Deviled Eggs before, but I'd say they came out pretty tasty. 

Appetizer Numero Dos : Deviled Eggs

Crabby Crackers

I'm having a fun afternoon in the kitchen

preparing for my annual New Year's Eve dinner party

Appetizer Numero Uno: Crabby Crackers

Ritz Crackers, Homemade Crab Dip, Radish Garnish

Love my new knives...sliced those radishes like soft butter!