Masonable Mondays #3 - Cheese Balls

Welcome to Masonable Mondays #3! Today we are doing after work snacks. I hate to admit this but at some point in my life I could make dinner out of wine and a cheese plate. I don't do that now! Well not often. But I do enjoy the idea. So this week I decided to make a cheese board in a mason jar. I filled each mason jar with juicy green grapes. Then I made two savory and flavorful mini cheese balls to suspend in a fruit cup. I made one with blue cheese and pistachios and another with jalapenos and bacon. You can't get board with these flavors. I packed the top fruit cup with some whole wheat Ritz crackers. This after work treat is definitely something to rush home to. Or take your snack outdoors. This Masonable would make great picnic food to share with friends. I hope this inspires you to roll some cheese balls of your own. Be sure to share your creations. I always love more #Masonable ideas.

Cheese Ball Masonable
Serves 1

Supplies

1 wide mouth pint Mason jar
2 empty fruit cups

Ingredients

Grapes
Cheese Ball of choice
8 round crackers

Directions

Add grapes to the bottom of the mason jar. Add fruit cup and place cheese ball in cup. Add lid and stack crackers on top of lid. top with inverted fruit cup and secure with mason jar ring. Store in refrigerator until ready to eat.

The first cheese ball I made was based off of a blue cheese cheesecake we have made for the Christmas holidays several times. It is savory and "funky" in a good way. I love the blue cheese, green onions and pistachios. It is very flavorful. Dear sister thought this one was her favorite. She said it was the more exciting of the two cheese balls. I have to agree.

Blue Cheese Balls
Makes 6 Balls

Ingredients

4 oz. 1/3 light Neufchatel cheese, softened
1/2 cup reduced fat blue cheese crumbles
1 green onions, finely chopped
kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste
4 Tbsp. pistachios, shelled and finely chopped
Handful of parsley, finely chopped

Directions

Combine Neufchatel cheese, blue cheese and green onions in a small bowl. Season with salt and peppers. Mix well so all ingredients are evenly distributed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Divide mixture into six and roll into a balls. Place in a shallow dish of pistachios and parsley; roll to coat pressing to cover each ball with nut and herb mixture. Serve with crackers and fruit.

Note: You can roll this recipe into as many cheese balls as you like. Make one cheese ball or even 8 mini cheese balls with a pretzel stick like a lolly pop.

The next cheese ball is both spicy and savory. It is reminiscent of a jalapeno popper. The center is creamy cream cheese, Mexican blend cheese and pickled jalapenos. A classic combination of yummy ingredients. To finish, each cheese ball is rolled in crispy, salty bacon. Why? Because bacon is always a good idea.

Jalapeno Popper Cheese Balls
Makes 6 Balls

Ingredients

4 oz. 1/3 light Neufchatel cheese, softened
1/2 cup 2% Mexican cheese blend
2 Tbsp. chopped pickled jalapenos
kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste
6 slices bacon, pre-cooked and finely chopped

Directions

Combine Neufchatel cheese, cheese blend and jalapenos in a small bowl. Season with salt and peppers. Mix well so all ingredients are evenly distributed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Divide mixture into six and roll into a balls. Place in a shallow dish of bacon and roll to coat pressing to cover each ball with bacon. Serve with crackers and fruit.

Note: You can roll this recipe into as many cheese balls as you like. Make one cheese ball or even 8 mini cheese balls with a pretzel stick like a lolly pop.

Linking to:
Ramblings of a (Bad) Domestic Goddess: Turn it Up Tuesdays
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Cheese

Recycle Tip: Fruit Cups + Mason Jars

Look at this! Did you know that those little individual fruit cups fit perfectly in the top of a wide mouth mason jar. Well at least the Dole brand does. I suspect others do too. How brilliant is that?! Now you can keep all kinds of things neatly separated from others when you pack your lunch or snack. That little cup that would normally be thrown away can be recycled. Use it to keep dry ingredients separate from wet ingredients or visa versa. I did a lot of food prep using this idea this week. I made snacks and lunches. 

Perhaps my favorite snack was the Cheese, Fruit and Nut Jars I made. I got the idea after purchasing Sargentos Balanced Breaks. They are a great afternoon snack and so easy to make your self. You can use your favorite cheese, dried fruit and nuts. The fruit cup and a wide mouth half pint jar makes it easy to make many ahead of time. I made several with two different types of cheese. Everything including the nuts kept their original texture even after spending days in the refrigerator. Here is what I put in each jar:

1 oz. of cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp. dried fruit
2 Tbsp. mixed nuts 

Everyone has heard of Mason Jar Salads by now. But with the fruit cup and a wide mouth quart size jar you can pack your salad with dressing or crunchy toppings separate until lunch. I made a few with artichokes, tomatoes, poached chicken, salad greens, Parmesan cheese and Italian dressing in the cup. 
It made a great light easy to carry lunch.

Another of my favorites was a Hummus and Veggies Snack Jar. I used a fruit cup and a wide mouth pint size jar. I cut up carrot, celery and red bell pepper into sticks. Then I put plain hummus in each fruit cup. Here is where I added variety to my snacks. I topped some with minced pickled jalapeno and some with minced sundried tomato then a drizzle of olive oil. You can use any selection of veggies and hummus. If prepping for a family everyone can have their favorite. You can buy store bought hummus or make your own.

Check out this link for more Hummus recipes.

Last but certainly not least I packed my Chicken Tortilla Soup with the cheese and tortilla chips. I used one fruit cup and two wide mouth pint size jars. I put the soup in one jar and the chips in another. I put the cheese in the fruit cup and placed it on top of the chip jar. Then I put both in the refrigerator. Again the chips kept their crunchy texture even after being in the frig for days. This meal prep idea is going to make life very easy.

Want the soup recipe follow the link below:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

The possibilities for meal prep with these little fruit cups are endless! 
So get out there and eat more fruit.

Some other ideas not pictured here:

Make your own Fruit, Yogurt and Toppings

Keep spreads like Nutella, Peanut Butter or Almond Butter 

separate from your fruit, Crackers or Pretzel Rods

Keep Protein, Rice or Grains separate from your Salad 

so you can warm them before adding to your salad

Keep your Dips separate from your Chips

Or keep cold things like sour cream separate so you can warm your chili

Linking to:

I Thee Cook: Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
Tornadough Alli: Throwback Thursday Link Party
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Reasons To Skip The Housework: STH Link Party
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Cheese

Thai Turkey Spaghetti Squash

I mentioned in the past that I have been experimenting with turning my Pork Noodle Salad recipe into a spaghetti squash dish. Well I have made it several times and I think I have settle on the final recipe. My struggles have been with the dressing and seasoning of the squash strands. I wanted them to have flavor but not be swimming in the dressing. I tried to use less dressing but then the squash was bland. The trick is to make the squash first, dress it with the dressing and set aside while everything else is prepared. That way the flavor has time to absorb into the squash. Then when serving try to drain as much of the dressing out as possible. It is delicious! I have made it with both turkey and pork, both are great. The meat has a spicy lightly sweet sauce. I love the combination of the hoisin and garlic chili paste in the sauce. This dish has all the flavor and texture of the original dish. In this case the spaghetti squash is a great substitute for rice noodles. I love all the fresh Thai garnishes too. You just can't beat the cilantro and onions with the savory, spicy, sweet, and tart flavors.

Thai Turkey Spaghetti Squash

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. lime juice

2 Tbsp. water

1 Tbsp. fish sauce

1/2 cup red onion, sliced

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 Tbsp. hoisin sauce

1 tsp. rice vinegar

1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

1/2 tsp. garlic, minced

1 tsp. fish sauce

2 tsp. garlic chili paste

1 Tbsp. canola oil

1 lb. lean ground turkey (or pork)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/4 cup peanuts, chopped

Directions

To prepare spaghetti squash: Cut squash in half. Scoop out seeds and discard. Place cut side down in a microwave safe dish, add 1/4 cup of water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 8 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes (You may have to do each half separately, I do). When squash is cool enough to handle, pull the squash into spaghetti like threads.

In a small bowl prepare the dressing, combine the 1/4 cup vinegar and next 4 ingredients (through fish sauce) pour over squash strands toss well. Top with some of the red onion, green onions and cilantro, toss again and set aside.

Combine hoisin and next 5 ingredients (through garlic chili paste). Heat oil in a skillet, brown turkey seasoning evenly with salt and black pepper. Add hoisin mixture; continue to cook until well combined. Using a slotted spoon, divide squash into four bowls (or return to the squash shells) and top with turkey mixture. Garnish each bowl with more of the red onion, green onions, cilantro, and peanuts.

Linking to:
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Coriander, chervil & chives
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo

Almond Toffee Butter

Remember the Almond Toffee Butter my friend D found at the Benton Farmer's Market? Well I have to confess it was my breakfast food for maybe a week or more straight. It was so good! Did you catch that last part? WAS!!! Good. Yep, it's gone! No more! So I set out to try to re-create it. The most difficult part is having patience and faith that those little almonds will turn into butter. First it looks like sand spinning around. Then it starts to climb the side of the processor bowl. Then it starts to clump into a dough. Then it starts to spin like a top, real slow around the bowl. Will it ever become butter (Head in hand, shaking my head)? Then after all that, it smooths out and looks just right. How long does it take to make almond butter, you ask? Well for me about the length of a 30 minute cooking show. Pioneer Woman to be exact. I put my poor tiny food processor through its paces. Honestly I did not think it would be able to make another batch. It was a little over heated by the time the almonds were butter. But that little guy has made two more batches since then and I swear in less time each time, Weird? I made one without salt, also delicious. The third batch I got the salt to sugar ratio just right. Really every batch I made was so yummy, but I was after replicating the Almond Toffee Butter purchased at the market. This last batch was perfect! Just the right amount of sea salt, brown sugar and toffee bits. I love the texture of homemade almond butter. The toffee adds a nice little crunch too. I don't think I will ever buy almond butter again. It is too much fun to make I home. I can't wait to experiment with some other flavors. 

Almond Toffee Butter
Makes about 1-1/2 cups, 12 (2 Tbsp.) servings

Ingredients

2 c. whole unsalted almonds
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. walnut oil
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. toffee bits

Directions

Place almonds in the bowl of a food processor, process until it looks like coarse sand. Stop processor and push down the almonds climbing up the sides, continue to process. Add sea salt, walnut oil and brown sugar; continue to process as above until the constancy of chunky peanut butter. Add toffee bits and process until combined. Allow to cool before serving. The flavor is not as evident when warm. Store in the refrigerator, keeps well.

Nutrition information per serving*: Calories 169.4, Total Fat 14.8 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 4.3 g, Monounsaturated Fat 7.9 g, Cholesterol 0.7 mg, Sodium 61.7 mg, Potassium 167.0 mg, Total Carbohydrate 6.6 g, Dietary Fiber 2.9 g, Sugars 2.4 g, Protein 5.0 g.  
WW P+ 5

*Information from the Sparkrecipes calculator. NI may vary depending on the brand or size of the ingredients used to prepare it.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Memories By The Mile: Treasure Box Tuesday
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
Creative K Kids: Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party
Creative K Kids: Tasty Tuesdays
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends

Banana Split Yogurt Pie

Our family has been making frozen yogurt pies for years. I will share the basic recipe and variations in a future post. But for Mother's Day I decided to get creative. I made a Banana Split Yogurt Pie. I faintly remember trips to a Diary Queen or a similar place in the neighborhood to bring back Banana Splits for the family. I remember holding the splits and trying not to let the melting ice cream run all over the place. This pie has all that flavor but is so much neater. The fruit is suspended, frozen in a mix of vanilla Greek yogurt and cool whip. Using fresh strawberries and can pineapple is much healthier than all the sugary preserves and syrups. It still tastes decadent with a layer of chocolate fudge hiding under the cool whip topping. I didn't forget the nuts and cherries. There is a stemmed cherry for each piece. This pie is refreshing, light and delicious. The family was impressed with how much it tastes like a banana split. This experiment is a keeper.

Banana Split Yogurt Pie
Serves 6

Ingredients

2 cartons of light vanilla Greek yogurt

1/3 cup sliced banana

1/3 cup sliced Strawberries

1/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained well

8 oz. light whipped topping, thawed

1 prepared graham cracker pie crust

Hot fudge topping

Chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans

6 Maraschino cherries on the stem

Directions

Place yogurt in a mixing bowl, fold fruit into yogurt. Add an equal amount of whipped topping (about 1-1/2 cups or half of the carton) gently fold whipped topping into yogurt and fruit mixture. Pour into pie crust and spread evenly. Place pie in the freezer and freeze solid. When frozen, spread the top with a thin layer of hot fudge, the remaining whipped topping, chopped nuts and garnish with cherries.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
Mary's Kitchen: Tuesdays with a Twist
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Family Home and Life: Wow Us Wednesday
Bun In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Turnips 2 Tangerines: Four Seasons Blog Hop
Horrific Knits: Inspired Weekends
My Turn For Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Creative K Kids: Tasty Tuesdays
Love Bake Good Cakes: The Ultimate List of Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt and Milkshakes
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Pineapple

Deviled Pecans

These are the best spiced pecans ever! We have tried many recipes and once we found this one from Southern Living we stopped looking. Everyone who tries them says they are addictive. They are spicy and so savory. I like that the spice mix just lightly coats the pecans. You get all the flavor and can still enjoy the texture of the pecan. So delicious! They would make a great food gift this Christmas. We always make them for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Trust me you will be happy you made this recipe.

Deviled Pecans

Source: Southern Living

Ingredients

1 lb. pecans

1/3 cup melted butter

2 tsp. hot sauce

2 tsp. Worcestershire

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper

1/4 tsp. dried mustard

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place nuts in shallow baking pan. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over nuts and stir well. Bake 20 minutes, stirring twice during the cooking. Let cool on thick paper towels. Store in airtight container.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays
Mommy On Demand: Create it OR Bake it
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays
Memories by the Mile: Tuesday Trivia-Illinois and Link Party
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Turnips 2 Tangerines: Four Seasons Blog Hop
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Mommy On Demand: The Blog Strut
Horrific Knits: Fall Into the Holidays
My Plate of Crumbs: Random Recipe Roundup
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Nuts

Quickie Pad Thai

I discovered this recipe in Redbook magazine while at the hair salon back in August. The article was about 3 no cook pasta sauces. I wrote down the title of the article, the issue month and the ingredients for one of the recipes. I just new I would be able to find the recipes on-line. I have been so disappointed, I keep looking but have yet to see the article on-line. So I had to go it alone and try the recipe from the list of ingredients. It is a great easy weeknight recipe. It makes a lot of great noodles and veggies. The leftovers were perfect for lunch later in the week. The flavor of the sauce was well balanced and big on peanut flavor. I found for my taste, I would like a little more spice so I added a drizzle of Sriracha. It was perfect then. Dear sister wanted more salt so she added ponzu to her portion. So I suggest letting everyone customize their bowls with the garnishes of their choice. Definitely a recipe I will make again. Delicious!

Quickie Pad Thai

Adapted from: Redbook August 2013

Make 6 servings                                     

Ingredients

1 lb. linguine, dry uncooked

2 carrots, peeled and julienned

1/4 to 1/2 cup red onion, sliced

1to 1-1/2 cup sugar snap peas, sliced on the diagonal

For the sauce:

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp lime juice

1 Tbsp ginger, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup water

For the garnishes:

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup peanuts, chopped

1 lime, sliced into wedges

Sriracha hot chili sauce (optional)

Additional soy sauce (optional)

Directions

Place a large pot of water to boil. In the mean time, prepare vegetables and garnishes. Combine peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, garlic, sugar, and water in a small bowl whisk until smooth. Season the water with salt and drop pasta into boiling water. Cook pasta according to box instructions.

Drain pasta and mix with sauce, carrots, onions, and snap peas. Divide into bowls. Garnish with cilantro and peanuts. Serve with lime wedges, Sriracha and additional soy sauce.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen: Show Me Your Plaid Monday's
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays Link Party
Love Bakes Good Cakes: All My Bloggy Friends
Memories By the Mile: Tuesday Trivia - Arizona and Link Party
Anyonita's Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin Wednesday
My Turn For Us: Freedom Fridays
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Nuts

Veggies + Fruit = Delicious Salads

I have discovered I really like combination veggie and fruit salads. It all started with some of Mark Bittman's recipes for 101 Simple Salads. In many of his salads he combined veggies and fruit. Some of my favorites are:

1. Grate carrots, toast some sunflower seeds, and toss with blueberries, olive oil, lemon juice and plenty of black pepper. Sweet, sour, crunchy, soft.
2. Cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half; toss with soy sauce, a bit of dark sesame oil and basil or cilantro. I love this — the tomato juice-soy thing is incredible. (Ok, no fruit in this one but it is too good not to share.)
3. Cube watermelon and combine with tomato chunks, basil and basic vinaigrette. You can substitute peach for the watermelon or the tomato (but not both).
4. Mix wedges of tomatoes and peaches, add slivers of red onion, a few red-pepper flakes and cilantro. Dress with olive oil and lime or lemon juice. Astonishing.

Then Hungry Girl added cucumber to her fruit salad. She calls it Ginormous Fruit Salad Surprise. The surprise to me is that the cucumber tastes a little like melon when combined with the fruit. Delicious!

So when I saw this Zucchini Apple Salad in Taste of Home I knew I had to try it. It did not disappoint. It is sweet, tangy and crunchy. I knew I would like zucchini and apples. But I wasn't sure about Italian dressing and apples, I really like it! Sort of a sweet and sour thing. It is more apparent freshly made. It mellows the longer it sits in the refrigerator. Any of these salads would be great to take for lunch or to a pot luck.

If you have any favorite veggie and fruit combinations I would love to hear about them.

Zucchini Apple Salad

Source: Taste of Home

6 Servings

Ingredients

2 medium red apples, chopped

2 small zucchini, chopped

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

2/3 cup Italian salad dressing

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the apples, zucchini and walnuts. Add salad dressing; toss to coat. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 2/3 cup (prepared with fat-free salad dressing) equals 114 calories, 6 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 383 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1 fat, 1/2 fruit.