Cheesy Chipotle Dip {The Perfect Holiday Party Recipe}

This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias, Inc. and its advertiser #SeasonedGreetings . All opinions are mine alone.

When it comes to holiday party recipes, I often find myself sticking to the tried and true favorites that we serve every year. This year I decided to "spice"things up a bit and try a few recipes outside of our usual cheese plate, veggie tray and salsa routine. In planing ahead for our annual Christmas party, I decided to use our Friendsgiving get together as the test run for some new appetizers.

There was a large, football watching, beer drinking, male heavy crowd at Friendsgiving and so this Chipotle dip made with Tabasco sauce was the perfect thing to serve. I grabbed an assortment of Tabasco sauces while at Target last week and chose the Chipotle version to use in my dip. While Justin always keeps Tabasco sauce in the fridge as a condiment, I had never really cooked with it so I decided to adapt one of our favorite cheese dips yet again.

This Swiss Cheese Bread Dip is a family favorite that originally comes from the kitchen of my pseudo-aunt Nancy Jane. My family would riot if it wasn't served at our Christmas party each year but I get tired of serving the same appetizers over and over again. This year I will be serving its spicier, older cousin- Chipotle Cheese Dip.

I tweaked the original recipe by adding some chives, some Tabasco Chipotle sauce, and swapping out the Swiss cheese for Pepper Jack. Top the finished dip with an extra drizzle of Tabasco and some chives and you have a very festive looking Christmas dip. My Friendsgiving guinea pigs destroyed this dip. In fact, we served one half of the dip when the football game started and I had to refill it with the second part of the recipe before the first quarter had even ended.

The smokey flavor of the Tabasco was complimented perfectly by the creaminess of the cheese and mayo and the chives added the perfect amount of flavor.  What's great about this dish is that you can adjust the amount (and flavor variety) of the Tabasco sauce depending on how adventurous your party goers are. The girls in our group felt that the 1/2 tablespoon in the dip and the extra 1/2 tablespoon I used on top of it was just perfect but many of the men felt it could have been kicked up a notch.

This dip was such a hit at Friendsgiving that it is definitely going to be on the appetizer menu at our upcoming annual Christmas party. And I have a feeling I may be making a double batch just in case.

Cheesy Chipotle Dip

• 8 oz.cream cheese (softened) 
• 3/4 cup of mayonnaise 
• 2 cups of shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
• 1 tablespoon of finely sliced chives 
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of Tabasco Chipotle Sauce
• Chips, crackers and/or veggies to serve it with

1.) Mix together the cream cheese, mayo, shredded cheese, chives and 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of the Chipotle Tabasco (this can vary depending on how much heat you and your guests prefer)

2.) Place mixture in an oven safe dish (I usually split mine up into two different servings). I drizzled another half tablespoon of Tabasco over mine before I baked it and it looked (and tasted) amazing. 

3.) Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the dip is bubbling and browned around the edges.

4.) Top with a few extra chives for decoration and serve warm with chips, crackers, and veggies.

Friendsgiving 2014

This past weekend we celebrated Friendsgiving 2014. My good friend Aaron was the amazing hostess and she went crazy with burlap and metallics in the best possible way. Everything was perfection and what follows is a little photo and word dump recap of the celebration.

Theme: burlap, metallics and white serving ware.

Tablescape: #24long, baby's breath, taper candles, white linen napkins, gold chargers and mason jars.

Drinks: Sangria, Hot Cider, beer, wine & spirits galore.

Hanging lights, twine, chalkboards and falling leaves.

The ladies.

The hostess and official Friendsgiving mascot, Quincy.

Dahlia.

 A little family "Christmas card" photo shoot.

A little Pie Party for dessert.

Cheers to amazing night of food & friends. So much to be thankful for. We are luckier than most.

Thanksgiving Pie Party

Looking for more Holiday Party Ideas? Check out all of my party plans and season recipes HERE!

I bake a lot of things from scratch for the holidays. Pies aren't one of them. Every year Justin goes on and on about how he wishes I would make pies so this year I decided to make sure that he would have plenty of pie at all of his holiday celebrations.

Since I have probably only made one pie in my entire life, I decided to grab a variety of Mrs. Smith's pies from Walmart to bring to our recent Friendsgiving celebration. Justin loves all pie flavors equally so I grabbed a Pumpkin, Cherry, Very Berry, Dutch Apple and Traditional Apple Pie as well as Cool Whip for topping. I also got an extra Dutch Apple and Very Berry to make mini mason jar pies too.

The night before the party I baked up all the pies so that I would have minimal prep in the morning. We were helping the hostess decorate so I wanted to not be stressed out. I made an Apple Pie Spice Cool Whip to go in the mini pies and for topping the regular pie slices and I had made that the night before too. It was so nice to be able to get everything done ahead of time and Mrs. Smith's makes it so simple to bake the pies right out of the freezer.

The morning of, I assembled the mason jar pies and stored them in the fridge for later. I originally made the mason jar pies for convenience since dessert is often eaten while standing around mingling and pie in a jar is way easier to eat than an actual slice is.

But as it turns out, the pie jars were a huge hit. Every single one was eaten. My personal favorite was the Dutch Apple with Apple Spice Cool Whip, toffee and a salted caramel drizzle but people got pretty excited about the Very Berry with chocolate sauce too. This also further proved my theory that everything tastes even better in a jar.

My friend Aaron was the hostess this year and she had an adorable decor theme of burlap, whites and metallics so I decided to go with plates and napkins to match. I also added a little sparkly burlap ribbon to my mason jars. It only took a few minutes to do and it made me so happy. I think the guests appreciated it too. Stay tuned tomorrow for a Friendsgiving post with photos of all of Aaron's amazing decor and tablescape.

I wanted to have a little hot beverage station to go with the desserts so I pre-made some hot spiced cider and brought it over to the party in an insulated airpot and even though it was made at 3:30 in the afternoon it was still "nuclear hot" according to the guys at 10pm.

I couldn't find hot beverage cups to match my plates and napkins so I bought basic white cups with coffee sleeves and added a little gold and silver washi tape to them so they would go with the decor. Little things like that make me irrationally happy when it comes to entertaining. I also put out some metallic markers so people could label their drinks (or pie plates if they were possessive like that).

When setting up the pie table I used cake plates and three tiered dessert stands to give some height and depth to the table. I used a mason jar with burlap ribbon around it to hold my spoons and I went with disposable pie cutters and plates because I didn't want to be digging through all the trash for my servingware and it made clean up very easy. I made sure to save the box the mason jars came in because it makes for a great way to store and transport mini desserts. 

To make the dessert station interactive I set up a chalkboard voting station where guests vote for their favorite type of pie. The voting (and the majority of the dessert eating) didn't take place until well after dark so I didn't get a shot of the final tally but I am pretty sure that Dutch Apple won. Although I am positive that if the mason jar pies had a number, they would have won by a landslide.

Want to save on Mrs. Smith's pies and Cool Whip for your next party? Be sure to print out this coupon to save $1.00 on Mrs. Smith’s Pie with the purchase of Cool Whip. I was able to get two prints of it and saved $2 on my purchase last week.

If you need more inspiration for the holidays, check out the Cooking Up Good website. They have recipes, sweepstakes, loyalty programs, coupons and more!  If you're looking for a new dinner idea or a chance to win some awesome prizes, be sure to check it out!

Mason Jar Pies

Dutch Apple Version:

• 1 cooked and cooled Mrs. Smith's Dutch Apple Pie
• Apple Pie Spice Cool Whip (see recipe below)
• Salted Caramel Sauce
• Toffee bits
• Chocolate sprinkles (optional)

1.) Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out two scoops of Dutch Apple pie into the bottom of the mason jar. 

2.) Top with Apple Pie Spice Cool Whip, drizzle with caramel sauce and top with toffee bits and sprinkles. Store in the refrigerator. 

Very Berry Version:

• 1 cooked and coole Mrs. Smith's Very Berry Pie
• Cool Whip
• Chocolate Sauce

1.) Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out two scoops of Very Berry pie into the bottom of the mason jar. 

2.) Top with Cool Whip and drizzle with chocolate sauce. Store in the refrigerator. 

Apple Pie Spice Cool Whip:

Mix 1/2 tablespoon of apple pie spice into a tub of Cool Whip. Store in the fridge. 

Enjoy!

Looking for more Thankgiving dessert ideas? Check out these 15 non-pie recipes!

This post was sponsored by Mrs. Smith's Pies & Cool Whip. All ideas and views are my own. 

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Fried Mac & Cheese Bites {Entertaining With Nestle}

This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias, Inc. and its advertiser #Feast4All. All opinions are mine alone.

When it comes to entertaining, Justin and I am consider ourselves to be pretty experienced. We host two big parties each year and in between, we are always having family and friends over for dinner, drinks or desserts. And while we usually plan way in advance for our annual celebrations, I like to have things on hand for the occasional impromptu get together or random family and friends who tend to stop by without warning during the holidays.

It's no secret that Justin and I love Stouffer's Mac & Cheese and I usually keep some in the freezer for last minute guests. While we love it as is, this past weekend we were heading to Friendsgiving dinner and I wanted to do something a little out of the ordinary with our favorite Mac & Cheese. I have always wanted to make Fried Mac & Cheese Bites and Friendsgiving seemed like the perfect excuse.

We made the mac & cheese the night before and may or may not have snuck a little for ourselves before sticking it in the fridge. The next day we just used a mini cookie scoop to make bite sized balls and dropped them in the fryer right before heading over to our friend Aaron's house for dinner. I know it's hard to imagine Stouffer's Mac & Cheese being any better than it already is but trust me when I tell you you have to try it like this.

Another thing that is nice to have on hand for holiday guests is ice cream. I actually coveted these Limited Edition Peppermint Drumsticks quite a few times in my recent trips to Walmart before I actually bought them.

Florida is still in the 80's despite the quickly approaching holidays so single serving ice cream is a great dessert for those nights we are sitting out on the porch with friends. It's hard to feel festive with 75% humidity but these certainly help.

Fried Mac & Cheese Bites

• 1 party size tray of Stouffer's Mac & Cheese
• seasoned panko bread crumbs
• 2 eggs, whisked 
• flour
• oil for frying

1.) The night before, bake the Mac & Cheese according to the directions on the package. Let cool completely and store covered in the refrigerator over night. 

2.) Right before you make the bites, pop the mac & cheese in the freezer for about 10 minutes. This makes it easier to shape. 

3.) Heat oil for frying to 350 degrees.

4.) Scoop the mac & cheese into bite sized balls.

5.) Roll the balls in flour, then in the whisked egg, then coat in panko. 

6.) Drop into the fryer/oil and fry until golden brown. 

7.) Serve immediately. 

Bruschetta Turkey Bake

This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias, Inc. and its advertiser #TasteTheSeason. All opinions are mine alone.

With Thanksgiving, Holiday parties and Christmas coming up, I already know that we will be spending more money than usual at the grocery store. And while I budget for and don't mind the extra shopping, it can add up. The upside of all the cooking and entertaining is that we usually end up with a lot of leftovers which can make for great meals the days after we have people over. After our annual Christmas party we usually don't have to cook for a few days and just eat leftovers for most meals.

I am pretty sure we end up with more leftovers than your average person because Justin and I have something I like to call "fear of never enough food" syndrome. I don't know if it's that he is use to cooking for a firehouse full of hungry men or if it is my love of cooking and baking that leads us to over prepare but somehow we always end up with way too much food. Not that any of our friends and family ever complains.

We just get so carried away. Why have two appetizers when you can have five? Are six dessert choice enough? How many rolls should we buy per person? Do you think our guests will eat three fourths of a pound of meat each? (For reference, the answer is no.) These are the types of questions we ask each other as we prep for our annual Christmas party. Our friends and family always joke that no one goes hungry at the Tobins' House.

And even though no one goes hungry, our fridge still ends up full of leftovers at the end of the night. Neatly sealed, wrapped and organized leftovers I might add because our mothers have what we like to call "can't stop, won't stop cleaning and organizing" syndrome. We have stopped trying to get them to stay out of our kitchen, you don't want to get between them and their cleaning products. It might actually be their favorite part of the party. (If they are reading this they know I say that with love.)

Usually we end up eat the leftover chicken, turkey or pork as is with sides or maybe as sandwiches the first night after a party. But by the second day of leftovers, I am ready for a change. One way to mix it up is to shred or dice up the meat and use it in a casserole or soup or on top of a salad. But it needs to be simple because I am still not up for anything difficult in the kitchen two days after a major party.

This Bruschetta Turkey Bake is a little twist on the chicken version I think my mom got from a Kraft Food & Family magazine back in the day. I love it because it only takes minutes to put together and you can make it with all your leftover holiday turkey.

Be sure to grab an extra box or two of Stove Top and some Kraft cheese next time you are at Walmart so you can be ready to spice up your holiday leftovers too. If you need more inspiration, check out the Cooking Up Good website. They have recipes, sweepstakes, loyalty programs, coupons and more! What's not to love? If you're looking for a new dinner idea or a chance to win some awesome prizes, be sure to check it out!

Bruschetta Turkey Bake adapted from THIS recipe

• 1 can  (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for turkey 
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 to 1 1/2 cup cooked shredded turkey
• 1 tsp. dried basil leaves
• 1 cup  Kraft Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1) Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, broth and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.

2) Layer turkey in a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray; sprinkle with basil and cheese.

3.) Top with stuffing mixture. Sprinkle on a little more shredded mozzarella.  Bake 20 min. at 400 or until browned,

25 Homemade Donut Recipes {National Donut Day}

Happy National Donut Day! Or is it Doughnut Day?  Or is Donut Day in June? Apparently today is one of two National Donut Days and since no one really needs a reason to celebrate donuts here are 25 of my favorite homemade donut recipes!

Many of these recipes and photos are not my own. If you would like to see, pin or share a specific recipe please click the image to go to the original site. If you want to pin the whole collection then please pin the collage image above!