DoughSeeDough

a balanced plate with room for dessert

Category Archives: Appetizers & Snacks


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Crunchy Caramel Popcorn

Caramel popcorn is one of my favorite foods. We had some around the house, but they were drizzled in one of my least favorite foods – chocolate. After staring at the bag for weeks, having it taunt me, I decided to make some of my own (untainted) caramel corn.

This stuff was seriously delicious. How delicious? It disappeared in 3 days. And this was a LOT of popcorn. Granted, I was kind enough to share with my in-laws and my parents and brother, but I was still in a sugar coma.

I will definitely make this again. Mike and I had a blast doing this together. Combining my two loves (husband and cooking) was a win for sure. Ok, three loves (can’t forget the dogs!) – the pups may have had a few pieces of plain popcorn. And by a few a mean a few handfuls 😉

Crunchy Caramel Popcorn

3/4 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 quarts air-popped popcorn

  1. Preheat oven to 250°F. Line three baking pans with foil.
  2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Allow to boil, unstirred, for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla.
  3. Pour popcorn onto baking pans, dividing evenly between three pans.
  4. Pour caramel in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Stir gently, breaking up large pieces. Serve immediately or store in air-tight container.

Tips for clean up – soak the pot and utensils in hot water. The syrup will melt right off and there will be minimal scrubbing required. The foil in the pans will give you a quick, easy clean up. Just crumple up and toss!


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Easy Hummus

Hummus is one of my favorites. I can eat it with pita chips, veggies, Wheat Thins, on sandwiches, with a spoon (I’m kidding – maybe)… the list goes on and on. The one thing I hate about hummus? Having to buy tahini. I came up with this shortcut version that doesn’t require any tahini at all. Woo!!

Easy Hummus

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and liquid reserved
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon olive oil
Paprika to garnish, optional

  1. Place garbanzo beans, lemon juice, salt and garlic into a food processor. Blend, slowly adding in sesame oil and olive oil. Add in reserved liquid from the garbanzo beans until desired consistency.
  2. Place into a serving bowl and sprinkle with paprika to garnish.


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Buffalo Chicken Dip

I had this dip for the first time over the summer and I just had to recreate it for the Super Bowl! I found a few recipes online and made some adjustments. I made it with ranch dressing this time, but I think that I will try it with blue cheese next time for something different.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 8 oz packages of Neufchâtel cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese), softened
1 cup ranch or blue cheese dressing
1 cup Frank’s Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 bunch celery, washed and cut into 4-inch sticks
1 package crackers of your choice

  1. Place cream cheese, dressing, and Red Hot in a medium size pan and heat over medium heat until melted, stirring occasionally.
  2. Mix in chicken and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Heat until chicken is warm. Transfer to a slow cooker and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top. Cook on low until cheese is melted.
  3. Keep warm and serve with celery and crackers.


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Garlic Bread

I love love love garlic bread. I don’t go out to eat enough to get it, and I don’t like the freezer section stuff all that much. Solution? I make my own! It’s really simple and oh-so-good. Remember though, your garlic bread will only be as good as the bread you put it on. Try to find a local bakery and give them some business!

Garlic Bread
serves 12

1 loaf of French or Italian bread (not a baguette)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

  1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
  2. Cut bread into 1 inch thick slices.
  3. In a small bowl, mix butter, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread mixture onto bread slices.
  4. Arrange slices on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until bread is lightly browned and crispy.  Remove from oven.
  5. Turn on broiler.
  6. Top slices of bread with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Broil for 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately.


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Taco Dip

Me + taco dip = disaster. I need to be really careful when I make a batch of this. If I’m by myself, I will inhale the whole tray. Since I have no self control, I only make this for small gatherings. I most recently made it to watch the NFC and AFC playoffs. I’ve tweaked my recipe over the years and I’ve come up with what I think is a pretty awesome recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Taco Dip
serves 10

1 16 ounce can refried beans (I use the spiciest stuff I can find)
1 8 ounce package American Neufchâtel cheese or regular cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup low fat sour cream
1 packet spicy taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups medium salsa
1 package taco blend cheese
1 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced
3 romaine lettuce leaves, shredded

  1. Mix cream cheese and taco seasoning until well blended. Mix in sour cream until incorporated.
  2. Spread refried beans into bottom of a 9×13 pan. Top with an even layer of the cream cheese and sour cream mixture.
  3. Spread salsa on top of the mixture and top with an even layer of cheese. Sprinkle green onions and lettuce on top.
  4. Serve with tortilla chips  and enjoy! (And remember to share!!)


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Potato Chips

My mother in law was recently on a low-iodine diet, which meant that she had to avoid pretty much all grocery store salty snacks because you can never tell if the salt used is iodized or not. The solution? Homemade potato chips! I peeled the potatoes and sprinkled uniodized salt on them. These were super easy and delicious to make and they were able to temporarily satisfy her craving for salty, crunchy foods. I think the best part may be that you don’t need a deep fryer (or a large pot full of oil) – these babies are microwaved!

Potato Chips
serves 1

1 large russet potato, peeled
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt

  1. Thinly slice the potato into paper-thin slices.*
  2. Place slices into a large zip-top bag with oil. Toss to coat.
  3. Spray a large plate with vegetable oil and place oiled potato slices onto plate, being careful not to overlap slices.
  4. Microwave for 3 – 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. If they aren’t browned, they won’t be crispy. Be careful – these will look uncooked one moment and then burnt the next!
  5. Sprinkle lightly with salt and serve.

 

*I used a mandoline to slice mine. My food processor didn’t slice them thin enough (maybe there’s a blade I can buy?). The mandoline did the job though. It was really quick and easy to use.


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Soft Pretzels

I find myself craving soft pretzels at times. Who can resist their soft, doughy saltiness?? I love these because you can put whatever you want on them – cinnamon sugar, garlic powder, Parmesan, or just plain salted. The best part is that they’re wayyy cheaper to make than to buy at the mall!

Making these is a ton of fun; I’ll have to keep making them so I can practice on my pretzel twisting…

Soft Pretzels
adapted from allrecipes.com
serves 12

4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water
4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
2 tablespoons butter, melted

toppings of your choice* (for the photo above, I used cinnamon sugar)

  1. Dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in a small bowl of warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until creamy.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt. Make a well in the center. Pour melted butter and yeast mixture into well and stir to combine. Slowly incorporate remaining 2 cups flour to form dough. Knead dough until smooth, about 7 – 10 minutes.
  3. Lightly oil a large bowl. Place dough into bowl, turning to coat in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
  4. Preheat oven to 415°F. In a large bowl, mix baking soda and hot water.
  5. When dough has doubled in size, divide into 12 even pieces. Roll pieces into ropes and twist into a pretzel shape.
  6. Dip pretzels into the baking soda water before placing on baking sheet.
  7. Brush pretzels with 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with topping of your choice.
  8. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until lightly browned.

*For toppings, try the following:

  • kosher salt, served with melted cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon mixed with 1/4 cup sugar
  • garlic salt, served with melted cheese
  • Parmesan cheese, served with marinara sauce


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Vegetable Cream Cheese

My friend dropped off a bag of delicious bagels the other day and so I decided to make some vegetable cream cheese to go with it! I’m pretty happy with the result. If you like store-bought vegetable cream cheese, I suggest you whip up this homemade version – it’s so much better!

Vegetable Cream Cheese

Vegetable Cream Cheese

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
1 rib celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

  1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the vegetables are in small chunks.
  2. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.


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Guacamole

Avocados were on sale at the grocery store and I just couldn’t pass up the chance to make some guacamole. We devoured the entire thing in about 3 days using Manny’s Tortilla Strips (the absolute best) as the mode of transportation to get from the bowl to our mouths. Soooooo good! Maybe next time I’ll actually get around to making some Mexican food to go with it.

Guacamole

Best Guacamole

4 avocados, peeled, pitted, and mashed
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4  pinch ground cayenne pepper

  1. In a medium bowl, mash together avocadoes, lime juice and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, garlic and cayenne. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.


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Granola Bars

Granola bars are one of my favorite things to snack on. It’s perfect when I need something to hold me over from lunch to dinner. While it may be convenient to just buy a box (or two) from the grocery store, making them at home allows you to customize the bars to your tastes! I added coconut, walnuts and milk chocolate chips to the fruit and nut “base”, but you could add in an endless number of ingredients!

Granola Bars

Granola Bars

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
6 ounces dried fruit
1/4 cup coconut
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup walnuts

  1. Preheat oven t 350°F. Butter a 9×9 baking dish and set aside.
  2. Mix oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and walnuts together and spread onto a half sheet pan. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Meanwhile, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the brown sugar is dissolved.
  4. When the oat and nut mixture is done, remove from oven and turn the oven down to 300°F.
  5. Stir the oat and nut combination into the liquid mixture. Add in coconut, dried fruit, and chocolate chips. Stir quickly and spread into prepared 9×9 baking dish. Press down mixture firmly and distribute the mixture evenly.
  6. Bake for 25 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven, let cool completely, and then cut into bars.