Sweet Onion and Sun Dried Tomato Dip

This dip is simple to make and fun to eat! Sprinkle a few extra bits of sun dried tomato and green onion on top of the dip, just before you serve to add color.



1 large Sweet Onion - diced
4-8 Sun Dried Tomatoes (oil patted off) - diced
8 oz Cream Cheese - softened
3/4 cup Mayo or Salad Dressing
3 oz Parmesan Cheese - freshly grated
CRP
s/p

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Rice and Veggie Balls

I used a combination of left over rice and vegetables from the night before to make these little vegetarian rice balls for lunch. The rice was cooked in apple juice, chicken stock and thyme, but you can use any cooked white rice. You can also use any vegetables that you want, I used these because they were in the fridge.



Oil for frying
Onion
Garlic
Parsnips
Apple
Cauliflower
Carrot
Fresh Thyme
Rice - cooked
1 Egg - beaten
1/8 cup Flour
Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs



Heat the oil over medium high heat.

The onion, garlic, parsnips and apple were cooked in a little olive oil just until the onion became clear. They were left over from another meal. The other veggies were used raw.

Dice all of the vegetables into very small pieces.



Stir the vegetables, herb and rice together.



Mix in one egg and just enough flour to bind the mixture.

Pinch some of the mixture out of the bowl and form it into a ball about the size of a racquetball or golf ball.



Spread the bread crumbs on a plate.

Lightly roll the rice ball in the bread crumbs. Then set it aside, on a plate.



After you have formed one ball, rolled it and set it aside, do another. Continue this until all of the mixture is rolled and breaded.

Jalapeño Corn Cakes

These corn cakes are quick and simple, thanks to the help of Jiffy Mix!! Use them as canopies for a party appetizer. Or, serve them along side my Gazpacho with Crab and Shrimp, like I did.



1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 Jalapeño - finely dice, seeds removed
Cumin
Chili Powder
Garlic Salt
White Pepper
1 Egg
3/4 cup Milk

Heat grill pan and grease with non stick cooking spray.

Mix everything together (you can add 2 T melted butter or shortening, if desired). Don't over mix, the batter will be lumpy.

Use a tablespoon to evenly place the batter on the hot grill pan. Leave room between each cake, so that they don't stick together.

Rosemary Skewered Shrimp

I took these little guys to my friends Alisha and Molly's dinner party. I served them with my Creamy Herb Dip. They were easy, tasty and very pretty! There were ten people at the party, so I only put one shrimp per rosemary stem. If you're cooking for more people, or have less rosemary to work with, add two or three shrimp per stalk.



Rosemary Skewers

You'll need a lot of thick rosemary steams. Clean and dry them. Then trim them, if needed.

Firmly hold the top of a rosemary stem between your fingers. Use your other hand to grab the bottom of the herb. Slid your fingers down away from the tip of the rosemary, removing the needle like leaves. You want to clear a space large enough for your shrimp to fit on it.

Set the skewers aside.

Chop the rosemary that you remove from the stalk and use it in the marinade, stalk, and dip.

Marinade

24 Shrimp - peeled and deveined (reserve the heads and shells)
1/5 cup Evoo
1 T Soy Sauce (I used gluten free)
Lemon Juice from 1/2 a lemon (reserve the squeezed lemon)
3 cloves Garlic - crushed and peeled
Black and White Pepper
Cayenne
Smoked Paprika
Thyme
Rosemary
Chives
Sugar
splash of White Balsamic Vinegar
splash of Water

Mix everything together in a bowl. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.