Mini Beer Bread Cheese Curd Muffins

 

Well, football season has ended for the year (I don't actually watch football, I just like to make awesome appetizers that you would serve if you actually HAD people over to watch football....but anyways..), and the Superbowl was yesterday. I made these cute little bite size beer bread with Wisconsin cheese curds on top! (And no, I am not from Wisconsin, nor do I like the Packers..... my husband and I as sad as it may be, although they did do good this year, are both Lions fans.) These bite size morsels are absolutely delicious with a honey mustard dip!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. dill cheese curds, broken into small pieces (or use normal cheese curds and 1-2 Tbs. fresh dill)
12 oz. beer (someone left a Keystone at our house, use whatever you want to get rid of)
1 pouch beer bread mix (I used pampered chef)
1 Tbs. margarine, melted
2 Tbs. chives, freeze dried or fresh
2 tsp. garlic salt

Spray a 24 cup (or 2, 12 cup) mini muffin tin with non stick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix the beer, bread mix, margarine, chives and garlic salt together. Fill the muffin tins about 2/3 of the way full with the batter. Place part of a cheese curd in the center of each cup and press down slightly. bake for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms are slightly golden and the cheese is melted. This recipe makes around 50-52 so spray the tins again and repeat the filling and cooking process until the batter is gone.

I served this with a honey mustard sauce. I combined 1 1/2 Tbs. champagne mustard, 1 1/2 Tbs. course or stone ground mustard, and 2 tsp. honey. Double, triple or quadruple depending on how big of a crowd you are serving this for.

Whitefish Won Ton Tacos

This recipe is amazing. If you are having a meal of random tapas, or need an "under the sea" appetizer for a gathering such as a football party (tis the season right now), these fish tacos are perfect. I am still warming up to the taste of fish, and I ate about 3 of these mini tacos myself. If you don't have leftover fried fish, you could always use grilled whitefish. Just make sure the fish was seasoned well. Another great part about this recipe is that they are pretty quick to make. The longest portion is preheating the oven, and while the won ton tacos are baking, the other components come together in the snap of a finger!

Ingredients:

2 large pieces leftover fried fish (I had whitefish, and it was about 2 cups chopped)
20 Won Ton wrappers

To make the won ton tacos, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a metal drying rack, like shown in the above picture, on top of a 13x9 baking pan. If the slots in the drying rack are about 1/2 inch apart, drape the won ton on top so that it is going over two of the metal lines. Spray with non stick cooking spray and bake for about 6-8 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing from the rack.

Slaw:
1 1/2 c. coleslaw mix
1 small apple, peeled, cored and shredded
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper
1/4 tsp. vegetable oil

In a  medium size bowl, combine the slaw mix, apple, lemon juice, Mrs. Dash and oil. After everything is mixed well, set aside.

Avocado Sauce:
1 avocado, very ripe
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. cilantro paste (4 tsp. fresh cilantro chopped)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. vegetable oil

In a small bowl, scoop out the inside of the avocado. Add the lemon juice, cilantro paste, salt and oil and mix until everything is a smooth consistency. Make sure to taste and further season with salt or lemon juice as necessary.

To assemble the tacos, scoop about 1 Tbs. of the slaw mixture into the bottom of the won ton taco and spread out evenly. Top with a tablespoon of the chopped whitefish, drizzle with the avocado sauce (I put into a Ziplock or piping bag, cut a very small hole in the corner or tip, and drizzle it on that way), and top with a fresh piece of cilantro.

Skinny Beer Dip

Ingredients:

4 oz. fat free cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. Bud Light (or any other light beer)
1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix
1 1/2 c. shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

Mix all of the ingredients together and serve with chips, crackers and deli meat! Great for a game day!

(Makes about 2 cups, 6 servings, and 3 WW points per serving)

Skinny Queso Dip

Ingredients:

1 c. 1% milk
3 Tbs. cornstarch
1 tsp. oil
1 c. minced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/2 c. chicken broth
10 oz. can diced Rotel tomatoes with chiles, drained
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 3/4 c. reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

In a small bowl, whisk 1/4 c. milk with the cornstarch and set aside. Heat a medium saucepan on medium heat. Add the oil, onions, garlic and jalapeno pepper and cook for about 3-5 minutes until the onions are soft. Add the chicken broth and 3/4 c. milk. Boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cornstarch milk mixture to the pan and stir. Reduce the heat to low, and add the tomatoes, cilantro, chili powder and cumin. Stir everything together. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Keep stirring until everything is melted and gooey.  (1/4 c. is 3 WW points)

Peanut Butter Date Bites

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. pitted dates, chopped
1 1/2 c. Crispy rice cereal
1/2 c. Quaker oats
1 tsp. sea salt
5 oz. Peter Pan whipped peanut butter
1/4 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
7 oz. 60% dark chocolate
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
4 Tbs. water (give or take)

In a food processor combine the dates, rice cereal, oats, salt, peanut butter, honey and vanilla. Pulse until everything is combined. Add water about 1 Tbs. at a time until it reaches a paste consistency. Using about 1 Tbs. of the mixture, shape into small football shapes. Place on a tinfoil lined baking sheet. When all of the footballs are made, place in the freezer for 1-2 hours. Chop the chocolate up and add to a double boiler that is set at medium heat. Add the oil and continuously stir until all of the chocolate is melted. Turn the heat down to low. Remove the footballs from the freezer and using a spoon, place one at a time in the chocolate mixture, drain some of the chocolate, and then place back on the baking sheet. Repeat for the rest of the footballs. Return back to the freezer for at least 20-30 minutes. Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving. (Makes approximately 30 bites, 3 WW points each)

Sweet and Sour Turkey Lit'l Smokies

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Hillshire Farm Turkey Lit'l Smokies
1/4 c. fat free sugar free grape jelly
1/4 c. mild salsa

Combine all of the ingredients in a microwave safe dish. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir everything together and microwave again for another minute or so (it might take more than a minute, depending on your microwave settings). That's it! Three ingredients, less than five minutes to make, and delicious!
(10 lit'l smokies is  around 4 WW points)

Garlic Parm Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients:

2 (15 oz.) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced (with garlic press)
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/2 c. Kraft grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread chickpeas onto paper towel and let dry for 25-30 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese until the mixture is moist and at a crumble consistency. Add the chickpeas and toss to coat. Spread evenly on a large baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove immediately from the pan and place into a serving dish. Let cool at least 5 minutes before eating! (Serving size 1/4 cup, 3 WW points)

Moist Corn Muffin

Ingredients:

1 c. flour
3/4 c. yellow cornmeal
1/4 c. Splenda
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 (14-16 oz) can creamed corn
3/4 c. Egg Beaters
6 oz. cup Chobani Greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together. In a small bowl, stir together the creamed corn, Egg Beaters and Greek yogurt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir together until everything is mixed together. Line 12 muffin cups with baking liners. Distribute the batter evenly among the cups. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (Serves 12, 3 WW points each)

Dill Cheese Beer Bread

Ingredients:

3 c. flour
2 Tbs. Splenda
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 Tbs. dill seeds
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried dill
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 (12 oz.) can light beer

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, add the flour, Splenda, baking powder, dill seeds, salt, dried dill and baking soda. Whisk all of the ingredients together. Crack open that can of beer, and pour into the dry ingredients. Mix well but do not over mix. Stir in the cheddar cheese. Grease a loaf pan with non stick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving. Great with homemade dill butter! (Serves 16 slices, 3WW points per slice)

Pistachio Chocolate Rice Crispy Bars

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. whipped butter spread
4 c. mini marshmallows
6 c. Rice Crispy cereal
1/2 pkg. pistachio pudding mix, (just the dry mix)
5 oz. Baker's Semi-Sweet baking chocolate
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbs. vegetable oil


In a large saucepan, start melting the butter and marshmallows on medium heat. Continuously stir until the marshmallows are completely melted. Stir in the pistachio mix. Pour the rice crispy cereal into the melted marshmallows until everything is completely combined. Pour into a 13x9 pan that has tinfoil down on the inside, and is also greased. Spread out evenly. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan melt the baking chocolate, vanilla and veggie oil on low heat. When the chocolate is melted, pour on top of the rice crispy treats and spread out as evenly as possible. I used a football transfer sheet on top of the chocolate to give it design. If you are adding a transfer sheet, Press on top of the chocolate before it starts setting. Refrigerate for at least a half an hour before cutting. (Makes 24 pieces, 3 WW points each)