Brown Sugar Fruit Dip

Makes: Approx. 3 cups

1/2 c. brown sugar
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. whipped topping, thawed
Cut-up fruit of choice

With an electric mixer, beat brown sugar and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add in sour cream and vanilla, beat until blended and smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Chill for 4 hours before serving. Serve with fruit.

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Tips: This is a wonderful fruit dip! It has just enough flavor to enjoy the extra sweetness but it also does not overpower the taste of the fruit. As always, I used my KitchenAid Stand Mixer because it makes things so much easier. Fruit dip is great as an addition to a breakfast fruit platter or a way to convince your kids that fruit is actually dessert!

Recipe from MyRecipes.com

* I'm back after a month off since our new baby arrived! Hopefully I can be more consistent but this isn't the first time I've promised to post more often so we'll see how it goes. Thanks for sticking with Recipes for Moms!

Guacamole

Makes: 2 cups

2 ripe avocados
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dry minced onion
Garnish with chopped onion or cilantro, if desired

Cut avocados in half, remove pit and scoop out fruit. In a bowl, mash avocados with a fork until mostly smooth. Stir in additional ingredients. Serve with tortilla chips or spread on burgers or sandwiches.

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Tips: Oddly enough, even though I grew up in Southern California (where they grow tons of avocados) I never really liked them until I was an adult and took a trip to Mexico City. Some of the food there was so spicy that guacamole was the only thing that cooled it down. Now I love it! I know that in some areas of the country avocados are super expensive so this might be a recipe you have to save for a special occasion. But if you love avocados give our recipe a try and tell me what you think. Do you have a secret ingredient in your guacamole that you're willing to share with the rest of us? I also shared this recipe at Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free's Slightly Indulgent Tuesday & Life as MOM's Ultimate Recipe Swap.

Recipe from my husband. (Thanks hon!)

Crescent Ham & Cheese Tartlets

Makes: 12 appetizers

1 can (8 oz.) refrigerated garlic-butter crescent rolls
1/3 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 c. ham, cooked & finely chopped
1 T. green onion, finely chopped
1 egg
3 T. half & half

Unroll crescent dough into 1 large rectangle on work surface. Press into a 12 x 9 rectangle firmly pressing perforations to seal. Cut dough into 12 squares. Gently press squares into 12 ungreased mini muffin cups, with tips up out the top of the cup. Put cheese evenly into dough-lined cups. Top each with ham and onion. In a small bowl, beat egg and whipping cream with whisk or fork until blended. Spoon slightly less than 1 tablespoon mixture into each cup. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until edges are golden brown and filling is set. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from cups.

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Tips: These were very tasty little appetizers and they look nice too. The easiest way to put these together is to get all of the ingredients together first, keeping the crescent dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to spread it out and put it in the cups. To chop the ham, I used a small piece of ham steak and put it in my food chopper. It came out in nice tiny pieces and not ham puree (which I was worried it might).

I think these would make a nice addition to a breakfast potluck just use regular crescent rolls instead of the garlic-butter flavor. There are almost always coupons available for crescent rolls so wait for these to go on sale and pick some up. If you find a really good sale, then make Somethin' Yummy too! These did take a little bit more work than I prefer to put into an appetizer but at least it was a good outcome. I also shared this recipe at Balancing Beauty & Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday, My Frugal Family's Talented Tuesday & Fireflies and Jellybeans' Show Off Your Stuff.

Recipe adapted from Pillsbury

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Serves: 8-10

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter (no substitutes), softened
1/4 t. vanilla
3/4 c. powdered sugar
2 T. brown sugar
3/4 c. mini chocolate chips
3/4 c. pecans, finely chopped
Graham crackers

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add the sugars; beat just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerated for 2 hours. Place cream cheese mixture on a large piece of plastic wrap; shape into a ball. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Just before serving, roll cheese ball in pecans. Serve with graham crackers.

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Tips: I have made this twist on a traditional cheese ball several times and it is fun to see people's reactions when they realize it's sweet. It can be a dessert or a sweet appetizer so keep this in mind for any of your upcoming holiday parties. As long as you plan ahead to leave time for the refrigerating, this cheese ball is a cinch to put together. Of course this is not to be confused with Chocolate Chip Cheese Bars, which are quite different than the Cheese Ball but just as yummy. As always, I used my KitchenAid Stand Mixer because I don't want to have to make cream cheese and butter fluffy by hand, do you? I shared this recipe at Life as MOM's Recipe Swap.

Recipe from Taste of Home's 2001 Quick Cooking Annual Recipes

Rice 'n Black Bean Bake

Serves: 6

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 jar (8 oz.) picante sauce or salsa
2 c. cooked rice
1 c. (8 oz.) sour cream
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Tortilla chips

In a large bowl, combine the beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and picante sauce. Stir in the rice, sour cream and 1 cup of cheese. Transfer to a greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through. Serve with tortilla chips.

Tips: This is a very tasty, meatless meal that was easy to put together and uses inexpensive ingredients. If you have your favorite picante sauce or salsa already in the fridge try using that instead of buying a new jar since you only need 1 cup of salsa. You can also use reduced fat sour cream and/or cheese to make this recipe a little healthier. You can serve the bean bake over the tortilla chips like nachos or crumble the chips and sprinkle them on the top. My family enjoys this as a main dish but it would also work well as a side dish or appetizer for a party or potluck. I also shared this recipe at Life as MOM's Ultimate Recipe Swap, Our Krazy Kitchen & Breastfeeding Moms Unite's Vegetarian Foodie Friday.

Recipe from Taste of Home's 2001 Quick Cooking Annual Recipes

Onion Bagel Croutons

Makes: 4 cups

3 T. butter, melted
1 1/2 T. oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 onion bagels

In a small bowl, combine first three ingredients. Slice bagel into 1/4" thick rounds. Place on cookie sheet. Brush with butter mixture. Bake at 325 degrees until crisp and brown, about 30 minutes. Cool.

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Tips: These croutons have great flavor and are fast & easy to whip up. They go great with dips and spreads. They can be made up to a week ahead of time and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. If you are using bakery or bagel store bagels, two are probably enough because they tend to be larger than the bagels you buy in the bag. I also shared this recipe on Life as MOM's Recipe Swap.

Recipe from my aunt, Rosanne.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Serves: 8-10

1 carton (16 oz.) sour cream
1 envelope Italian dressing mix
2 (6 oz.) jars marinated artichoke hearts, chopped & drained
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed & well drained
1/4 c. green onion, chopped
1/2 c. red pepper, chopped

Mix all ingredients until well blended; cover. Refrigerated several hours or until chilled. Serve with vegetables or crackers.

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Tips: This is a very flavorful cold spinach artichoke dip and is great for holiday potlucks. Once your spinach is thawed, take it in small handfuls and squeeze all the extra liquid out of it. I was able to get out 1/2 c. of "spinach juice". That much extra liquid would definitely change the consistency of your dip if not removed. I serve it with carrots, celery and Ritz crackers. I also shared this recipe at 11th Heaven's Homemaker Mondays, The Grocery Cart Challenge's Recipe Swap & Life as MOM's Ultimate Recipe Swap.

Recipe adapted from Kraft