Savory

Bacon Ranch Pinwheels

I feel like I haven’t been around much! I’m so sorry. And I apologize again for this post not being something sweet or baked! But we can all use some savory right? This past weekend I was at my brother in laws lake house for our annual cousin party. We all look forward to this weekend all year long. We always have a blast! I brought these pinwheels as an appetizer and they were a big hit. Gone. They are really easy and this recipe makes a lot. So here we go!

What you will need:

6-8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
16 oz. sour cream
1 packet of dry Ranch dressing (2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup bacon bits (I made my own but you could also just get store bought)
Shredded cheddar cheese

In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, sour cream and Ranch dressing mix until combined. Thinly spread over a tortilla, making sure not to go all the way to the sides. Sprinkle bacon bits on top and shredded cheese. Tightly roll. Continue until you use up all the ingredients. Place all the rolls in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cut into 1 inch pinwheels. Enjoy!


Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow everyone! Don’t worry, I’ll do another post that will contain booze 😉 For today, I wanted to make something easy that I’ve never made before. This bread is so delicious and will probably be a new family tradition for me to make every St. Patrick’s Day. No special tools required. I loved baking like this! I like to pretend I’m not in this century and go back in time. For some reason, making this bread made my imagination run wild! So, let’s put on our aprons and enter the 1800’s…

What you will need:

Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or greased

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. With a fork, your fingers or a pastry blender, cut in the butter. Stir in buttermilk and raisins until dough is moistened. Knead in the bowl for a minute (dough will be sticky).

Turn dough out onto prepared baking sheet. Shape into a ball. With a sharp knife, cut a cross or “X” shape on the top of the dough ball going about 1/2 inch down.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Let cool a few minutes before slicing, buttering and enjoying!

Meatballs

So, I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but… I’ve never made meatballs before! I mean, what kind of housewife am I?! These are super easy too, and will probably be made all the time now. I decided to blog about this because, well, they are baked so it just made sense. Plus, I paired this meal with a great wine! So, get those wine glasses out and let’s start making a meat a balls!

What you will need:

9 x 13 inch baking dish
Olive oil (to coat baking dish)
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Feel free to add any other spices you want. This is a simple, basic recipe that you can custom every time, depending on the flavor you want. I added about 2 teaspoons of basil.

Also, I made my own bread crumbs, using a slice of bread and made crumbs using the Magic Bullet. So easy!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Coat the bottom of the baking dish with olive oil. Set aside. In a large bowl, place all ingredients.

Mix with your hands until everything is combined. Make balls. Doesn’t matter the size, whatever you prefer. Place meatballs in baking dish and roll them in the olive oil.

Bake for about 35 minutes.

Serve over your favorite pasta and with wine 😉 Enjoy!

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