Pancetta and Puff Pastry Wrapped Asparagus

And then we made these.

And they were DELICIOUS.

Step 1: Steam the Asparagus
Step 2: Roll our Puff Pastry, sprinkle with salt, pepper and Parmesan. Slice. (enough strips per stalk of Asparagus.

Step 3: Wrap Asparagus in Pancetta.
Step 4: Wrap Pancetta wrapped Asparagus in Puff Pastry.
Step 5: Brush with Egg Wash and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Step 6: Bake at 325 (or whatever is recommended by the puff pastry package) until golden.
Step 7: Enjoy...there's no other choice.

Feta Stuffed Figs Wrapped in Bacon

So...if you haven't caught on yet, out annual Valentine's Meal was a showcase of appetizers which we ate in various courses starting with the Apple Brie Bread and Feta Stuffed Peppers.

Next, we started on some meaty, bacon-wrapped dishes such as these delicious morsels.

Figs, stuffed with Feta, wrapped in Bacon - easy as it sounds.

Bake at 425 until the bacon is fully cooked.

Feta Stuffed Cherry Peppers

For one of our first "Valentine Dinner Extravaganza's" we made these spicy, flavorful little morsels and were not, at all, bummed to make them a second time.

They're vinegary, pickly, not-to-spicy, refreshing and creamy.

They are easy.

The original recipe suggests Peppadews, but our lack of grocer options have lead to our using Cherry Peppers.

Once you have your pickled peppers there are just a few steps:

Step 1: Remove seeds from peppers.
Step 2: Remove seeds from one cucumber and dice.
Step 3: Place 2-3 cucumber cubes in the shell of each pepper.
Step 4: Stuff remaining space of the pepper with Feta cheese.
Step 5: Place in mouth, bite down and enjoy!

Apple and Brie Toasts

One of our all time favorite food combinations is Apples + Brie.

Occassionally, we'll buy a round of brie, dice up some apples, sprinkle the apples with cinnamon and nutmeg, surround the brie by the seasoned apples - bake and dig in with a baguette.

Want something that required an ounce less chopping but held the same flavors - we put this together for annual "Valentine's Dinner Cooking Extravaganza".

Sliced bread.
Topped with sliced apples.
Sprinkled with Cinnamon.
Topped with sliced brie.
Baked for 10-ish minutes until cheese is melty.

Easy Peasy and Absolutely delicious!

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Extended Shelf Life for: Bacon and Green Beans

Did you know a truck full of bacon semi-recently 'crashed' near Laramie? Not sure about all the damage, what I do know is that a LOT of Laramie residents ended up with a LOT of free bacon!

And we recently salvaged a lot of green beans...which the man does not love.

So, when I had the opportunity to put the two together and serve them up to friends, I figured I couldn't go wrong. And, truth be told, these were delicious!

I recommend putting some aluminum foil down for easy clean-up, because these can get a bit messy, but they are ultimately easy to put together and oh-so-delcious.

Simply wrap green beans in bacon, drizzle with soy sauce, butter and brown sugar, bake until bacon is fully cooked and the smells are intoxicating - enjoy!

Sweet and Savory Wonton Appetizers

After compiling a ton of Wonton Appetizer recipe ideas, I was pretty eager to try out some of the recipes I'd found or create my own versions. Everything came together super easy, making wonton appetizers, an absolute win!

Variation 1: Stuff wonton wrappers with pre-made cookie dough, bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.

Variation 2: Stuff wonton wrappers with flavored cream cheese of your choice, bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.


Enjoy with good friends, beloved family and a host of additional appetizers! They were a perfect fit for our New Year's Eve at home with parents and sister, games and lots...and LOTS of snacking!

From the Archives:
January 1st, 2011: Tortilla Roll-Ups

Cranberry Salsa

Extended Shelf Life for: Red Onion, Lime Juice, Jalapeno

A teacher at the school I work at prepared this unique salsa just before the holiday's and I knew immediate that I needed to prepare a batch and take it to our family Thanksgiving celebration. It's sweet, it's spicy and it features cranberries, can a holiday dish get any better? Yes! Because you also get to have tortilla chips at your holiday table, and who doesn't love some tortilla chips and salsa?

Ingredients/Directions:

Run one package of fresh cranberries through a food processor or the mincing component of a high-quality juicer. In a medium bowl mix minced cranberries and 1/2 cup sugar. Mix in 1 drained can of Crushed Pineapple, 1 diced Jalapeno (or 1 thawed jalapeno cube if your a preserver/freezer), 2 Tbsp. Lime Juice (again, if you have frozen cubes, this is a great time to use them!), 1/2 cup chopped Red Onion and 1/2 tsp. Salt. Let set for two hours or overnight and enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips!

Tip: If you have leftovers (since it's a pretty big batch), AND you're in need of a quick lunch, make up a quick batch of brown rice (or quinoa, pasta, etc.) mix in a few large spoonfuls and you'll have a delicious and relatively nutritious lunch!