I grew up eating pimento cheese sandwiches (on white bread, no crust, cut into quarter triangles … naturally). They were a staple at every wedding my grandmother catered, and because I loved being her sous chef, I got to sample them—a lot.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized that pimento cheese is a distinctly Southern snack and that I’ve never actually made it. I don’t have my grandmother’s recipe (which I intend to get from my dad ASAP), so I looked up a half dozen recipes before trying out this concoction. The recipe I followed most closely was this one, which is based on my fav store-bought pimento cheese, Palmetto.

While I think it turned out delicious, I would probably cut back on the cream cheese just a bit next time because I thought it was just a tad overpowering, so that’s how I have written the recipe below. Also, the jalapeño can be increased or decreased depending on how much heat you like.

Jalapeño Pimento Cheese

6 oz low-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/3 cup low-fat mayonnaise
2 tbsp diced pimentos
1 roasted jalapeño, seeded and diced
1½ tbsp grated vidalia onion
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

I made these for the Super Bowl yesterday and they were both delicious and a huge hit with my two year old! I adapted this recipe from Annie’s Eats (LOVE her blog, by the way—you must visit). I made several changes to make these babies a little healthier, so go ahead—pop a few more. Hope you enjoy!

Mac and Cheese Bites
Yield: 48 mini bites

12 oz vegetable macaroni (like Safeway’s Eating Right Veggie Pasta)
1 ½ cups Reduced Fat Ritz Cracker crumbs
2 ½ cups shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
6 tbsp butter, melted
7 wedges Laughing Cow Light Garlic and Herb cheese
2 tbsp butter
2 large eggs
¾ cup skim milk
¼ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray mini muffin pans lightly with cooking spray. In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook pasta according to the directions on the box.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, ½ cup of the cheddar cheese, and the 6 tbsp of melted butter. Spoon a bit of the crumb mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup, and press down with your fingers to form the bottom crust.

3. Once the pasta is cooked and drained, add it to a large mixing bowl along with the rest of the cheddar cheese, butter, and Laughing Cow wedges.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and yogurt, and then stir it into the pasta.

5. Add salt and pepper to the pasta mixture and stir well to combine all of the ingredients.

6. Spoon the pasta mixture evenly into the muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Allow the mac and cheese bites to cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the pan.

I love buffalo wings, but I do not love how bad they are for you. What I really crave is the buffalo sauce, so I figured I would try to kill two birds with one stone: get my buffalo fix and up my veggie servings (which, by the way, are a recommended nine servings a day). I adapted this recipe from the one for Bang Bang Shrimp from That’s So Michelle. My friend Nicole made that recipe and raved about it, so I thought it would be a good place to start.

I’m not a huge fan of pan frying, but these were totally worth the mess! My husband and I LOVED them. I will absolutely be making this dish again!

Buffalo Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, with florets cut off and separated
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
3 tbsp cornstarch
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp garlic powder
Salt & Pepper
¼ cup canola oil
Frank’s Red Hot Original Pepper Sauce or other buffalo sauce
Celery (optional)
Bleu Cheese or Ranch dressing (optional)

Place Panko crumbs in a shallow dish and mix in salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Put your eggs and your cornstarch into two separate bowls.

One at a time, dip your cauliflower into the cornstarch, turning to coat, and shake off any excess. Next, dip it in the egg and then coat with the bread crumbs. As you finish each one, set it aside on a plate.

After you have coated all of your cauliflower, heat your canola oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot (you can check it by flicking a drop of water in and seeing if it sizzles), add your cauliflower florets. Be sure to turn them frequently until all sides are browned. Remove them from the pan and place on a paper towel-lined plate to remove any excess oil.

Let the cauliflower cool for just a few minutes. Working in small batches, put your cauliflower in a bowl and drizzle with sauce; toss gently to coat.

Serve immediately with celery and bleu cheese or ranch dressing.

Go figure that the easiest dish I made for Christmas this year was also everyone’s favorite! It was a bit of a risk—I combined bits and pieces from several different recipes and adapted them to make my own, and I didn’t do a test run on this little experiment before Christmas. Luckily, the risk paid off! I think nearly everyone who tried it asked if I was going to post the recipe.

This is a fantastic appetizer to make ahead of time; in fact, I recommend making it the day before you plan to serve it so that the flavors can develop and the cranberries aren’t too tart.

Oh and special thanks to my brother, Josh, for being my oh-so-talented hand model. {Thanks for washing your hands!}

Cranberry Bruschetta

12 oz fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp oregano
Loaf of French baguette bread

Pick through your cranberries, discarding any that are soft. Place the cranberries in a food processor and pulse a few times to roughly chop. Spoon the cranberries into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Serve on slices of toasted baguette.

I made this recipe from Cooking Light as an appetizer for our Christmas dinner and it was a huge hit. The original recipe called for apricots and blue cheese, but I’m a big fan of fig and goat cheese together, so I decided to change it up a bit. The original recipe also called for them to look like cute, neat little “angels”—mine turned out looking more like pigs in a blanket. But they still tasted delicious, and that’s what really matters!

Figs in a Blanket
Adapted from Cooking Light’s Apricot-Blue Cheese Angels

1 cup boiling water
1 6 oz package figs, chopped (I used Calimyrna, but Mission would work as well)
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 oz crumbled goat cheese
2 sheets frozen pastry dough, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine 1 cup boiling water and figs in a medium bowl, and let stand for 10 minutes. Reserve 2 tbsp of the soaking liquid, and then drain the figs in a colander. Place figs, reserved 2 tbsp soaking liquid, walnuts, honey, juice, and cinnamon in a food processor; pulse until coarsely ground. Add cheese to processor; pulse 3 times or until blended.
3. Place 1 sheet pastry dough on a work surface lightly dusted with flour. Gently roll into a 12 ½-inch square. Cut dough into 25 (2 ½-inch) squares. Top each dough piece with about 1 tsp fig mixture. Working with one dough piece at a time, bring corners up to the center and pinch closed. Place the pastries on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat steps with remaining dough and fig mixture, placing formed pastries on a second baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush pastries evenly with egg. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until golden.

One of my husband’s guilty pleasures is the cajun crab dip in the seafood section of our grocery store. While there’s no question it’s delicious, it’s not exactly healthy. I decided to take a stab at recreating it just a bit better for you. I used real lump crab meat because I got a pound of it for only $9, which was a flippin’ STEAL (P.S. if you can score a membership to a Restaurant Depot, do it!). You can always use imitation crab meat or a mixture of real and imitation if that works better for you. The consensus at our family crab feast. . . I need to make this again—it was a hit!

Cold Cajun Crab Dip

1 lb real or imitation crab meat

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

16 oz fat free cream cheese, softened

1 tbsp hot sauce

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp Cajun seasoning

1 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese

1/2 cup diced green onion

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp horseradish

Mix together sour cream, cream cheese, hot sauce, Worcestershire, Cajun seasoning, garlic, Italian seasoning, and horseradish. Gently fold in the crab meat, onions, and cheese until it’s fully incorporated. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving with crackers, carrot sticks, celery, and/or baked tortilla chips.

Yep, you read that right. And they are seriously delicious! Ok, so they are really more “muffin” than “cupcake,” but if you like buffalo chicken with blue cheese, you won’t be disappointed! I was inspired by the Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes from Cupcake Project. My friend Stacy from work sent around the link and even made the comment that if anyone would try to make something like it, it would be me.

Well, she was right. But I didn’t think it was very practical to put a chicken wing on top of the cupcake because you would clearly have to eat the wing first and would, therefore, not be able to enjoy all of the flavors in one bite. So I decided to put all of the deliciousness right in the batter. Also, I like shortcuts, so I doctored up some Jiffy cornbread mix instead of starting from scratch. The juxtaposition of an appetizer in cupcake packaging may seem strange, but all the more reason your kids (and spouses!) will love them!

Buffalo Chicken “Cupcakes”
Yield: 22 cupcakes

2 boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

2 eggs

2/3 cup of milk

1 cup cooked and diced chicken

3 tbsp buffalo sauce (I use Frank’s Red Hot)

1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles

For the “Frosting”:

6 oz softened cream cheese

5 wedges of The Laughing Cow Light Blue Cheese

4 tsp buffalo sauce

1 celery stalk, diced (for garnish)

Preheat your oven to 400°. Grease or line two muffin pans. Prepare the Jiffy mix according to the directions on the box. Stir in chicken, blue cheese crumbles and 3 tbsp buffalo sauce. Fill muffin cups 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 15 minutes and allow to cool completely. Meanwhile, stir together cream cheese, blue cheese wedges, and 4 tsp buffalo sauce until smooth. Top each cupcake with some of the cheese mixture and sprinkle with a few pieces of celery.

Refrigerated crescent rolls are possibilities in a can! There is seriously so much you can do with them, from breakfast to main entree to dessert and more. Here, I have gathered 8 of my favorite recipes that use Pillsbury Crescent Rolls or Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations (basically a sheet of crescent rolls without the perforations). They are super quick and easy. . . not to mention delicious!

Photo via Pillsbury.com

Bake a sheet of crescent rolls (the Recipe Creations works best for this one) according to the directions and cool completely. Mix  8 oz of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1 tbsp fresh chopped dill, 1 tsp minced garlic and 2 tbsp chopped scallions. Spread the mixture on the cooled crescents, top with your favorite raw veggies, and slice into small squares.

Photo via Pillsbury.com

Taco Pie

Brown 1 lb of ground beef and add taco seasoning according to directions on the packet. Press a sheet of crescent rolls into a pie plate (you may need to separate the triangles for it to fit nicely). Alternate layers of the fully cooked ground beef, shredded cheese, corn, and salsa until you have reached the top. Top with more cheese and bake until the crust is brown (about 20 minutes).

Photo via PlainChicken.com

Chicken Roll-Up Casserole

Fill crescent rolls with a heaping spoonful of a mixture of cream cheese, chicken, butter, onion, cheese and garlic. Smother with a cream sauce of milk, cheese and cream of chicken soup, top with more cheddar cheese and bake for 30 minutes. So good!! You can see the full, detailed recipe here.

Photo via PlainChicken.com

Buffalo Chicken Crescents

Place a slice of provolone cheese on a crescent roll along with a fully cooked fried chicken finger dipped in buffalo wing sauce (like Frank’s Red Hot). Roll the crescents and bake for about 20 minutes. You could also do this with fully cooked shredded chicken tossed in the sauce instead of the fried chicken and bleu cheese crumbles instead of the provolone.

Photo via aisletoaloha.blogspot.com

Jalapeno Poppers

On each crescent triangle, place a dollop of cream cheese, a tsp or so of diced jalapenos and a few small pieces of fully cooked bacon. Pull the corners of the crescent up and twist to create a little purse (this will hold the cream cheese in as it cooks). Bake for about 15 minutes on 350 and start poppin’ (carefully though, that cream cheese will be HOT!).

Photo via oneshetwoshe.com

Apple Dumplings

Place a slice of peeled apple into each crescent triangle and roll up. Put all of the rolls into a casserole dish. Melt 2 sticks of butter, add 1 1/2 cups of sugar and a tsp of vanilla, and pour the mixture over the rolled up apples. Pour a can of Mountain Dew (strange, I know, but it’s delicious!) all around and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 for about half an hour.

Photo via bacontimewiththehungryhypo.blogspot.com

Breakfast Wreath

Place 1 can of separated crescent rolls in a sun pattern- wide sides in, points out- on parchment paper. Place a strip of cooked bacon on each triangle, and sprinkle shredded cheese in a circle, covering the bottom (wide) half of the triangles. Follow the same pattern with 5 large scrambled eggs, and fold the points of the triangles over toward the center, creating a wreath shape. Top with more cheese and bake at 350 for about 18 minutes. For more details on this recipe, check out Bacon Time With The Hungry Hypo‘s blog.

Photo via eatatallies.com

Marshmallow Crescents

Place crescent triangles on parchment paper. Dip 8 large marshmallows in melted butter and then roll in cinnamon sugar. Wrap each marshmallow in a crescent roll, making sure all the edges are pinched together. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Mussels may be intimidating if you’ve never made them before, but they are seriously the easiest, most gourmet-looking thing you can make! You basically just cook them until they open- easy peasy. There are tons of ways to prepare them (white wine sauce, yellow curry, mediterranean, etc.), but here’s a basic tomato sauce recipe that is just delish!

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/4 cup red wine

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp dried basil

2 lbs mussels, cleaned and debearded

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and stir. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, oregano and basil. Stir and simmer for 15 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Raise the heat to medium, add the mussels, and cover for 3-6 minutes or until the mussels open. Once they open, they are done. Remove from heat and pour the mussels and sauce in a large bowl. Be sure to discard any mussels that do not open. Serve with toasted baguette slices and/or linguine.