Carmel Popcorn

½ cube butter

½ cup karo syrup

½ can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup brown sugar

6 cups popped popcorn

Peanuts if desired

Heat first 4 ingredients until sugar melts. Pour over popcorn. Add nuts.

Cracker Jack Popcorn

4 quarts popped popcorn

Bring to boil until amber in color:

1 ½ cup sugar

1 2/3 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon butter

1/8 teaspoon water

Pour over popcorn and add 3 cups peanuts.

James’ Cracker Spread

1 package softened cream cheese

¼ cup olives, finely chopped

¼ cup pepperchini’s, finely chopped (mild green pepper)

Mix together and spread on your choice of crackers. Top with meat such as: pepperoni, salami, etc…

Crispix Sweet Minglers

1 package (about 1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate morsels

¼ cup peanut butter

½ cup peanuts (optional)

½ cup m&m’s

6 cups Crispix cereal

1 cup powdered sugar

In large microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate at HIGH 1 minute. Sir and heat 30 seconds longer at HIGH or until melted when stirred. Stir in peanut butter and peanuts. Gently stir in cereal until evenly coated. Add m&m’s. Place powdered sugar in 2 gallon zipper-type plastic bags. Add cereal to sugar and close bag. Gently toss cereal mixture until evenly coated. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Deviled Eggs

6		hard-cooked eggs, peeled
3		tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/2		teaspoon ground mustard
1/8		teaspoon salt
1/8		teaspoon pepper
1.	Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Slip out yolks and mash with fork.
2.	Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper. Fill whites with egg yolk mixture, heaping it lightly. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Devilishly Good Eggs

6		hard-cooked eggs, peeled
1/4		cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
2		tablespoons Betty Crocker® Bac~Os® bacon flavor bits or chips
2		teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2		teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1		teaspoon yellow mustard
1/4		teaspoon salt
1/8		teaspoon pepper
		Parsley or paprika, if desired
1.	Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Slip out yolks and mash with fork in small bowl.
2.	Stir in remaining ingredients except egg white halves.
3.	Fill egg white halves with egg yolk mixture, heaping it lightly. Garnish with parsley or sprinkle with paprika.

Storage tip

Want to pack these eggs for lunch on the go? Just sandwich two halves with filling sides together, wrap well and place in a chilled insulated lunch box.

How-To

The quickest path to “just right” hard-cooked eggs: Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with water. Heat water to boiling, cover pan and turn off heat. Fifteen minutes later, you’ll have perfectly cooked eggs!

Ham Roll-Ups

1 pound deli sliced ham

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

2 bunches green onions, peeled

Spread cream cheese on slice of deli ham. Put onion on top of cream cheese and roll onion into ham slice. Cut into 1 ½ inch slices and serve.

High Protein/Fat Burner Snack

v Mix together 2 to 1 ratio of cottage cheese to vanilla yogurt (that makes this higher in protein than in carbs)

v Vanilla extract to taste

v Cinnamon to taste (don't be shy with cinnamon...it's one of the most powerful antioxidants you can get...even more than most berries)

v Handful of raw nuts (pecans, almonds, or walnuts are my favorites...but just about all nuts are packed with nutrition and healthy fats to keep your cravings at bay)

v Just a touch of stevia to sweeten (stevia is a non-caloric natural sweetener that I believe is much safer than artificial sweeteners).

Hummus with Pita Chips

Hummus
1		can (19 oz) Progresso® chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained, 1/4 cup liquid reserved
1/2		cup tahini
1/4		cup extra-virgin olive oil
3		tablespoons lemon juice
2		cloves garlic, finely chopped
1		teaspoon regular table salt
1/8		teaspoon pepper
		Chopped fresh parsley
Pita Chips
4		whole wheat pita (pocket) breads (6 inch)
4		tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2		teaspoon kosher (coarse) salt
1.	In food processor or blender, place beans, reserved bean liquid, tahini, 1/4 cup oil, the lemon juice, garlic, table salt and pepper. Cover; blend on high speed, stopping blender occasionally to scrape down sides, until smooth. Spoon dip into serving dish. Sprinkle with parsley.
2.	Heat oven to 375°F. Brush both sides of each pita bread with 1 tablespoon oil. Cut each pita bread into 8 wedges; separate wedges to make 16 wedges for each pita bread. Places wedges, oil sides up, on ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
3.	Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until pita chips are crisp and lightly browned. Serve with hummus.

Did You Know?

Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seed. One-half cup of sesame seed can be subbed for the tahini. The dip just won't be as smooth as if you'd used tahini.

Special Touch

Swirl the surface of the dip with the back of a spoon, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with cayenne for an inviting appetizer.

Special Touch

Add a signature touch—stir in 1/4 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes for a punch of flavor and color.

Little Smokies Appetizers Recipe

Basic Recipe

1 package of Little Smokies sausages

1 can of chili sauce

1 small jar grape jelly

Make these on top of the stove and heat and stir the chili and grape jelly until mixed well and warm. Add the sausages. Let heat for about 30 minutes on low heat. Serve warm.

If using a crock pot, put everything in and stir. Set to low heat and warm for an hour or two. Stir now and then to make sure all the sausages are evenly coated.

Barbecue Smokies

Just put the sausages in a baking dish or crock pot and pour your favorite BBQ sauce over the meat. Baking time is 30 minutes at 350*f. In the crock pot, you’ll need about 2 hours on low.

Orange Smokies

Put 1 package Smokies in a crock pot and add:

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup orange juice concentrate (do not mix with water)

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon vinegar

Heat on low for 2 hours and serve

Little Smoky Piggy’s

Open a can of crescent rolls. Cut each crescent in half longwise keeping the pie wedge shape. Put a sausage on the fat end and roll to the skinny end. Stick a toothpick in to keep these tight and neat. Heat at 350*F for about 18 minutes or until the bread is lightly browned. You can brush with melted butter.

Italian Wraps

1 pound Smokies

2 packages crescent dough

8 ounces sliced mozzarella, cut into 2” x 1” strips

Italian seasonings Marinara sauce

Remove dough from package. Separate triangles along perforated edges. Cut each triangle to form two triangles. At wide end of triangle, place on slice mozzarella. Place Smokie on top of cheese. Carefully roll dough to form crescent around Smokie. Sprinkle Italian seasonings on dough. Bake in 375* F oven for 12 – 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping.

Mexican Deviled Eggs

8 hard-cooked eggs

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup salsa

2 tablespoons sliced green onions

1 tablespoon sour cream

Salt to taste

Slice the eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks and set whites aside. In a small bowl, mash yolks with cheese, mayonnaise, salsa, onions, sour cream and salt. Evenly fill the egg whites. Serve immediately or chill until read to serve.

Parsley Deviled Eggs

8		hard-cooked eggs, peeled
1/4		cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
2		tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2		teaspoon ground mustard
1/4		teaspoon salt
1/4		teaspoon pepper
1.	Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Slip out yolks and mash with fork. Mix remaining ingredients into yolks.
2.	Fill whites with egg yolk mixture, heaping it lightly. Arrange eggs on large serving plate. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Special Touch

Garnish deviled eggs with red caviar and parsley, or top with thin slices of red pearl onions.

Success

Cut a very thin slice off the bottom of each egg white before filling to help the eggs stay in place on the serving plate.

How-To

For an interesting elegant look, cut eggs in half with a waffle-fry cutter.

Pina-Colada Popcorn with Toasted Coconut and Nuts

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2cup butter

1 cup sugar

¼ cup light corn syrup

¾ cup pineapple juice

2 quarts popped popcorn

½ teaspoon rum extract

Toast coconut under broiler for a few minutes until golden. (Be careful; it browns quickly.) Set aside. Melt butter in a medium size saucepan. Add sugar, corn syrup and pineapple juice. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Lower heat; simmer until mixture reaches 270* F. on a candy thermometer. When syrup mixture is the right temperature, remove from heat and stir in rum extract. Pour over popped popcorn and stir until well coated. Stir in toasted coconut and nuts. Spread on waxed paper, breaking into small clusters to cool.

Popcorn Peanut Butter Cups

8 cups popped popcorn

1 cup light corn syrup

¾ cup creamy peanut butter

¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces

Small peanut butter cups or candy coated peanuts

Place popped popcorn in a large bowl. Heat corn syrup in small saucepan to boiling; boil 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and chocolate pieces until almost smooth. Pour syrup mixture over popcorn; toss well to coat. Let cool about 8 minutes. Using a tablespoon; shape popcorn mixture into a ball. Flatten slightly and make an indentation in the center with your thumb. Place on a lightly buttered wax paper-lined baking sheet. Fill each center with small peanut butter cups or candy coated peanuts.

Puppy Chow

2 cups chocolate chips

½ cup margarine

½ cup peanut butter

Melt ingredients together. Pour on box of Crispex cereal into large bowl and mix with melted chocolate. Put 2 cups powdered sugar into a large paper bag. Pour Crispex into bag and add 1 cup more powdered sugar. Shake until well covered with sugar.