GEORGIA'S KITCHEN/ APPETIZERS

From a special request of one my children, I will start adding my recipes in categories instead of individually.   There will be more added as I make and create new ones as well.  So for now---enjoy these appetizers.

APPETIZERS...

CREAMY RANCH DIP

Ingredients for dip:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits
2 Tbsp. sliced green onion

Mix all the ingredients and refrigerate. Serve with assorted crackers or cut up vegetables. Makes about 1 and 1/2 cups.
P. S. Leftover dip makes a tasty sandwich spread.

TACO SALAD DIP

(This is a double serving, but makes a huge platter of dip)

2 - 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. Sour cream
2 T. Chili powder
4 T. Mayo
Bunch of green onions
Lettuce (vegetables are all chopped)
2 tomatoes
Black olives
12 oz. Shredded cheddar
Salsa
Tortilla chips

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, chili powder, a couple shakes of garlic salt, and the white bottoms of the green onion chopped together and mix well. Spread evenly on the bottom of the tray. Layer with chopped lettuce, tomato, and the green onion tops. The black olives are optional, but pretty. Finish with the shredded cheddar. Serve and scoop up with the tortilla chips and add salsa if you like.

KOLBASSI CHUNKS IN BBQ SAUCE

3 pounds Hillshire Farms Polska Kolbassi (or your favorite)
1 bottle Open Pit Original Special Recipe BBQ Sauce

Cut kolbassi into nice sized chunks. Place in a crock pot and add bbq sauce and toss until mixed well. Put on lid and cook at medium high heat for 3 to 4 hours or until the flavors have mixed.

SKYLINE CHILI DIP
INGREDIENTS:

1 - 8 oz. cream cheese
1 - 13 oz. Skyline Chili or any other favorite canned or frozen chili
8 oz.. shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 c. chopped onions

Spread cream cheese on bottom of a deep large serving dish and cover with chopped onions. Heat chili separately according to box directions. Pour chili over cream cheese and cover with cheese. Right before serving..microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve and scoop up with tortilla chips.

CHEDDAR CHEESEBALL

Soften 8 oz. cream cheese, 8 oz. mild cheddar and 4 oz. sharp cheddar (cheese should be shredded)
½ medium onion finely chopped
A few green olives

When the cheeses are all softened thoroughly, mix well with an electric mixer until pretty smooth.
To this, add the onion and olives and a shake of garlic salt. Mix again well. Refrigerate until it is firm enough to handle and form into a ball. Serve plain or decorated with sliced olives or shredded chipped beef.

MEATBALLS AND JALAPENO DIP

2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
2/3 c. dry bread crumbs
1 med. onion, chopped
½ c. milk
2 tsp. worchestershire sauce (opt.)
1 tsp. garlic salt
½ tsp. pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients and shape ground beef mixture into 1 and 1/4 inch balls. Place meatballs in baking pans. Bake uncovered until light brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain. And put aside until you add to dip.

Dip:
1 package 16 oz. Velveeta (cubed)
1 can Rotel (tomatoes with chili peppers)
1 or 2 jalapeno peppers (canned and drained)

Dice the peppers and add and mix with the melted Velveeta and tomato mixture.. Heat until the mixture is hot and not scorched. Add meatballs to this and stir carefully. Preferably, put this into a crock pot and keep on low heat for about another hour before serving.
Meatballs can be served and eaten with toothpicks while the cheese sauce can be dipped with tortilla chips.

BACON SQUARES

1 c. Mayonnaise
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. Garlic Powder
2 c. Shredded cheddar cheese
8 slices bacon, crisply fried and crumbled
4 green onions, sliced
14 slices white bread

Heat over to 400 degree. Mix all ingredients together. Spread about 2 -3 Tbsp. Over each slice of bread - end to end. Bake on ungreased baking sheet or parchment paper for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut each slice into quarters with pizza cutter. Serve hot. (Can be made ahead and frozen and then baked when needed). Makes 56 appetizers.

PARTY PIZZA (or Hanky Pankies)
Ingredients:

2 loaves light party rye
1# roll sausage (hot) - browned and drained
½ onion, chopped and cooked with sausage
1 pound Velveeta
1 T. Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp. Oregano
Dash garlic salt

After sausage and onion are cooked, tender, and drained....add the cut up velveeta into pan and stir until melted. Add the remainder of ingredients. Spread on party bread slices. Place on cookie sheet and cook at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Take out and serve hot. (This also can be made ahead and baked when needed).

CHICKEN CHEESE BAGELS
Ingredients:

2 large cans drained chicken
1 - 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
Mayonnaise (enough

 to make spreadable)
Chopped green onion - 2
Bacon bits - 1 Tbsp.
1- 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
2 pkgs. plain or onion bagels

Mix all ingredients together.. Spread on top of bagel halves...(not too scanty). Bake in oven of 350 degrees for at least 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Take out and cool for a few minutes...and using a pizza cutter....slice the bagel half in half (you'll get 4 segments out of each bagel). Serve warm and enjoy.

VEGETABLE PIZZA

2 -8 oz. Crescent rolls (dairy section)
1 - 8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 c. mayonnaise
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix
8 oz. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Bunch of Green Onions, cut up
1/4 cup shredded carrots
2 Plum (Roma) Tomatoes, chopped
Sliced Fresh Mushrooms, Black Olives, Sliced Broccoli, chopped

Spread crescent rolls onto a regular size cookie sheet, pressing seams together as not to have any holes. Bake according to directions until VERY lightly browned. Cool. Mix softened cream cheese with Hidden Valley Ranch packet until blended well..you may want to add just a DROP or two of milk to make sure it's a little more spreadable. Spread on cooled crust evenly. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and all cut up veggies. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour..Cut and serve as you would a pizza. Can be cut smaller for appetizers.....

PEPPERONI BITES

Ingredients:

Ritz crackers
Pepperoni slices
Ragu Pizza Sauce (or your favorite)
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

You can make as little or as many as you like.

Place a small teaspoon full of pizza on top of Ritz cracker..top with mozzarella cheese to cover and finish with a slice of pepperoni. Place in 350 degree oven for just a few minutes until the cheese is melted. May be done in microwave also, but the cracker tends to get a little more soggy..

CHEESE IN ROUND RYE BREAD

Ingredients: 2 pound loaf pumpernickel rye bread

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 stick melted margarine
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. chopped green onions

Cut out a hole in the center of the rye bread, making it a bowl with a rim and all. Set aside the bread to be torn into pieces small enough to scoop. Mix all other ingredients together until mixture is smooth. Place the dip into the center of the bread. Place on a large round platter and put torn bread all around it so people may scoop up the dip with the bread. Very interesting and delicious...

BACON, LETTUCE AND TOMATO PIZZA

1 pkg. refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 c. mayonnaise and 2- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 packet dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
6 Bacon slices, cooked, drained and crumbled
1 c. shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
8 oz. shredded cheddar
1/4 c. green onion slices

Mix mayonnaise, cream cheese and Hidden Valley Ranch packet together until smooth...set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll crescent dough; separate into triangles. Arrange triangles in circle on greased 14 in pizza pan, with points toward the center and wide ends toward the outside. Pat out dough with fingers to 12 inch circle, pressing seams together to seal. Bake 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool completely. Spread the creamy mixture evenly onto crust. Sprinkle with bacon. Top with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and onion. Cut into wedges to serve. Serves 10.

   BACON CHEDDAR APPETIZERS

8 oz. sharp shredded cheddar cheese 1/4 c. Hormel bacon bits

1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 green onions..chopped
Triscuit crackers

Mix all the ingredients together and spread on Triscuit and place on plate in microwave until bubbly..

CREAMY CHEESEBALL

 2 - 8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup French onion dip
3 green onions, chopped

8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 package of Bacon bits 

Mix all well together until smooth..place in refrigerator to chill thoroughly, so that you can handle with your hands...Shape into a ball and smooth and flatten it onto a small plate to serve OR just put into bowl and serve that way. Wrap and keep chilled in refrigerator and serve with crackers.

SALAMI ROLLUPS

1/2 pound thinly sliced hard salami
1- 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

If you want this to have a little tang and zip...add the horseradish to the cream cheese and mix well....or just add to half of the cream cheese....But, either way.. spread 1/2 tsp. of cream cheese mixture onto the slice of salami and roll up....and after you complete them all......put on a plate, covered with plastic wrap and chill. A really neat and quick addition to any party!!

ANTIPASTO EGGPLANT

 1 medium nicely shaped eggplant (would help if it looked like a tree sitting on it's bottom)
Cheese chunks (cheddar, colby jack, mozarella)
Beef sausage, cut into bite sized chunks
Green olives
Black olives
Polish Dill Pickles (bought whole and cut into bite sized chunks)

Using fancy, colored toothpicks randomly place all these goodies all over the eggplant tree..so people can grasp it with the toothpick. Cut the bottom of the eggplant so that it can have a flat base on it.. Also, with a yellow or red pepper...a star can be cut out and with a toothpick attached to the top....It's a very attractive and easy way to serve these foods.